Creed SAs in stores like Neiman Marcus and Harrods are reputedly snooty, and quick to fire off snarky comments at the hoi polloi that pass by. If they hand you your ass, you deserve it, because the Creed line has its own pop-quiz scent, designed specifically to give those pesky salesmen pause. The name EROLFA, which belongs to the only true "aquatic" masculine offered by Creed, is comprised of equal parts Erwin, Olivia, and Fabienne, Olivier's son, daughter, and former lover, respectively. All of this is elementary, and openly advertised on the Creed Boutique website, but that doesn't mean the SAs know anything about it. It's fun to give pop quizzes.
The first hour with this scent is quite nice, a simple citrus intro with a dry, electrical ozone note. It's as though someone took static-charged air, mixed it with sea water, and threw it into EROLFA's core. An herbal greenness shows up in the heart, with hints of moss and dampened pine, but these are soon eclipsed by a very dry and austere woodiness, which is fractured by the cooler ozonic notes into a semblance of sun-baked sand. This is where EROLFA leaves off, all dry and sandy, an extremely close skinscent. Even the ambergris doesn't amplify the base beyond a slight sweetness. After ninety minutes, I have to squish my nose into my arm to smell it. After two hours, it's all but gone.
If you want this effect for less money, give Mario Valentino's Ocean Rain (Roudnitska's last creation) a try. I think it's a shame Creed changed the packaging for EROLFA. The box had a little painting of yachts, which was nice. I believe the current version has the plainer blue felt label, similar to the off-green felt of Green Irish Tweed's box. Pretty for sure, but not as unique as the yachts. Why, oh why do these companies fix things that aren't broken? If I'm going to buy a transient aquatic that barely makes it to lunch, at least give me the satisfaction of feeling special when I reach for its gimmicky, overly-ornate packaging!