Much of the recent Creed buzz has been about their latest Millésime, Aventus. My review for this scent is upcoming, but I would like to address an internet meme which claims that Aventus is a stark departure from Creed's house style. Nothing could be further from the truth. Aventus is a sensible stop along the Creed line, as it follows another EDP of less repute: Spice and Wood.
There's a big difference in popularity between Aventus and S&W, and I figure price is the main reason. Technically, 8.4 ounces of Spice and Wood is cheaper by the ounce than the 4 ounce flask of Aventus, but Creed has made S&W part of their "Royal Exclusive" line, which is simply a series of scents that are only offered in one massive size. The pricing over at Creed is pretty hard to figure out, but maybe some industry insider somewhere understands what they're doing. I'll never understand why anyone would buy Creed's 2.5 oz bottles when you can get an extra 1.5 ounces for just $45 more. Maybe traveler's preferences have something to do with it.
S&W is the one Creed fragrance that irritates me to no end. It's something I definitely liked enough to purchase, but can't see having 8.4 ounces of. Nor can I justify coughing up $575 dollars for a fragrance. This annoys me because there aren't many must-have Creeds out there, and if it were part of the regular Millésime line, S&W would be a must-have. If I ever sell that $10,000 painting I did back in college, a bottle of S&W will be my celebration scent. Popular Science Magazine recently wrote to assure me that the statistical probability between pigs sprouting wings and my selling the painting favored the pigs by a relatively small margin. So there's hope.
Meanwhile, I'll settle for remembering how this perfume smells. Subtle opening notes of citrus, birch, and red apple give way to a rich melange of cedar and angelica root, which eventually crescendos into a sweetly-spiced drydown. The spices are mated to the usual ambergris, and I find the base quite potent. S&W is a delicate fragrance, yet hugely masculine due to the bitter pairing of apple and birch.
It isn't unreasonable to suggest that the scent hosts the most realistic birchwood note in modern perfumery; the first ten minutes of sniffing this scent yields a startling array of incredibly realistic elements. I find the spices in the drydown to be a little sweet for my liking, but still amenable enough to my tastes. There's a nice use of oakmoss here as well, something one doesn't find very often in a Creed, except for Aventus.
If you have the money to spare and are looking for the perfect autumnal perfume, this could be your juice. One day I'll get down to the Creed Boutique and give it another whirl. Who knows, maybe Luis can talk me into something foolish.