Creed
Creed
91 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot arrives with modest citric clarity before the amber's warm, honeyed presence immediately begins to assert itself, creating an almost caramel-like sweetness that softens the citrus's typical brightness. The rose hasn't yet emerged—you're simply experiencing amber's golden, slightly resinous opening.
The Bulgarian rose finally surfaces, marrying itself to the amber with an almost inevitable intimacy. The rose doesn't bloom so much as deepen the fragrance's character, adding a floral earthiness whilst the sandalwood begins its gentle climb, creating a creamy, almost incense-like texture that shifts the composition toward something more traditionally "perfume-like."
What remains is fundamentally an amber-vanilla-sandalwood trio, stripped of rose and bergamot, becoming increasingly soft and skin-scent intimate. The amber's animalic qualities become more pronounced against clean, pale sandalwood and creamy vanilla, a refined whisper that lasts considerably longer than its initial projection would suggest.
Vanisia occupies a peculiar space in Creed's catalogue—a fragrance that feels more like a Victorian apothecary's interpretation of amber than a contemporary scent. The bergamot opener is restrained, almost demure, serving as a delicate foil for what emerges beneath: a rose that doesn't announce itself with the typical fruited brightness of modern florals, but rather settles into the composition with botanical gravitas. Bulgarian rose here is rendered soft and almost powdery, its inherent green qualities dampened by the amber accord's dominating presence.
This is fundamentally an amber fragrance with a rose at its throat. The ambergris and sandalwood create a resinous, slightly animalic foundation that feels vaguely reminiscent of classical men's fragrances from the 1970s—there's a creamy, almost soapy quality to how the sandalwood interacts with vanilla, preventing the composition from becoming cloying despite the sweet base notes. The spicy accord (likely cardamom or cinnamon threading through from the rose heart) adds a subtle warmth that prevents this from reading as purely feminine or purely masculine.
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3.9/5 (74)