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