Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Love in Black by Creed : Perfume Review

Although I am by no means acquainted with their entire line, which means that what I am about to say should be taken with a grain of salt, Creed perfumes have left me underwhelmed for the most part – something that is probably reflected in the fact that I have not reviewed any of them so far. However, their newest offering has taken me by surprise. Love in Black, also briefly mentioned in this month’s Perfume for the Occasion is the first Creed perfume that has really grabbed my interest. As it is absolutely perfect for fall, I believe this is the best time for a more extended review.

Okay, lets start with the good news: Love in Black has an absolutely breathtaking opening! A couple of seconds of bracing, almost fruity sharpness shocks the nose into attention. What follows is pure indulgence: a delicious (and I mean mouthwateringly so) blend of nutty notes that unfolds ever so gently while still presenting the wearer with full-bodied appeal. If I absolutely had to be more specific, I’d have to name hazelnuts, fresh, sweet almonds and hints of chocolaty nougat, but in all honesty, the full effect is quite abstract. Aside from delicious, this nutty blend is also extremely comforting. As it is soon joined by the most marvelously creamy, whipped and oh-so buttery iris and sweet violet, the scent’s embrace becomes all the more satiny and luxurious. Slowly, the scent starts changing, first by becoming earthier and then by acquiring beautiful dry/dusty quality that reminds me a bit of pomegranate skin. About an hour later, the wonderful, warm buttery scent shows the first signs of freshness (uh-oh) and the woody scent of cedar also becomes more obvious, although it will still remain quite mild for a while. Now for the bad news: (I sort of tipped you off at the beginning there, didn’t I?) About an hour and a half or so after application you will notice some extreme changes. The nutty flavor is by now completely gone and the lovely iris-violet is hiding somewhere in the background, requiring deep inhalations to be detected. Having detected the biggest crime, lets move on to what we’re left with, shall we? Dusty pomegranate and berries, cedar (which has by now acquired a good bit of the smokiness one expects from good essential cedar oil), and conventional rose. I am not trying to say that Love in Black falls apart in the drydown; that would be unfair. It does however pull an extreme transformation, which I am most definitely not happy with. The drydown is completely incongruent with the beautiful, dark, comforting top and heart notes that I have admittedly fallen in love with. This leaves me feeling a bit cheated out of a fragrance-love and I can’t help but lament the disappearance of all that goodness. I would have honestly preferred a more linear scent; I’d have sacrificed the full development for the very special, luxurious and warm scent this could have been. Having said this, I definitely recommend you try this yourself. Not only so that you can experience the full glory of the top and heart notes, but also because you just might be able to tolerate the drydown better than me. I still believe this is one of the best releases for this fall. As for me? Well, I won’t be buying this one but having almost fallen in love with it I am once again motivated to explore the Creed line better.

Images: www.creedperfumes.co.uk and www.nougat.co.za


12 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Divina, I can say I sufferer the same unimpressed with Creed issue, that is until I tried Angelique Encens, which I highly recommend you check out.

chayaruchama said...

Jen is right on about Angelique Encens- which layers with Tabarome Vintage in such a way as to promote profound swooning.

That said, I agree that the drydown on this is a bit in the dusty side-
But it seems to love me, so I love it back.

Love to you, my dear.

waftbyCarol said...

I have not sniffed this , but I really dislike it when cedar takes over ( all the Andy Tauer's blow up into cedar bombs on me ) , sooooo...but I really love Tabarome and I sometimes love Jasmine Imperitrice Eugenie...

Aimée L'Ondée said...

Hi Divina,
Yes, so glad you reviewed this! I tried this a few weeks ago and really liked it. I'm glad you remind me to get to know it all the way to the drydown before shelling out, though!
This is one of the few Creeds I like.

Ines said...

Hm, I don't know why I don't get anything but the violet for quite a while...It behaves weird on my skin although the violet is ok, only it smells like sth my grandmother used to wear - she loves violet fragrances. :-)

Anonymous said...

Dear Divina,
Thank you for this lovely review! I've tried some Creed fragrances, but I think we all agree here - there is something that makes us say to ourselves "Well, a good perfume, but maybe not for me!" Added to which: they are all SO ruinously expensive!
So, plastic back in pocket this time!
Hugs,
Linda

Divina said...

Dearest Jen, I am not 100% sure but I think I have tried Angelique Encens and if it is the one I remember, then I remember myself thinking that I liked it a lot but it reminded me too much of Ambre Narguile to give it second thought? Does that sound at all right? If the two are nothing like each other, then I am probably confusing it with some other perfume. Whichever the case, I will definitely try it again on my skin since you suggest it!

Divina said...

My dearest beautiful Ida, is Tabarome Vintage very different from the modern juice? I've tried the modern juice once, but it seemed slightly too masculine for me. Another rec for Angelique Encens I see! I will be trying it :) Really glad Love in Black is working for you - it is growing more and more on me as well. By the way, I generally love dusty perfumes, I just was missing the volluptiousness of the opening with this one and didn't like the discrepancy is all.

Divina said...

Hi Carol! I agree with you - I actually really like cedar, but it has to be well blended and not take over. It's strong stuff! I am not familiar with all of Andy's creations but I do love L'Air.

Divina said...

Hi Aimée L'Ondée :) Yep, it's quite a lot of money per bottle chez Creed, so it's always a good idea to explore the scent quite well!

Divina said...

Ines, you're not the only one who associates violets with grandmother perfumes! I've heard/read this so many times, especially from North Americans who have strong associations with violet scented toiletries and grandmas :) I absolutely looooove violets and thankfully have no such associations. In Greece, during the time when I was growing up older ladies used to favor traditional Muhlens colognes and floral compositions featuring rose or lilly of the valley. I guess the cologne scent is the one I most readilly associate with 'grandma' but thankfully, it doesn't happen often.

Divina said...

Hahaha, totally agree Linda, sweetest! Also for that price I would really appreciate different bottles. There's something....

.... PIRATEY! about them!

Although if I fall in love with the juice the bottle won't be an influence :)