Creed Royal Oud Review

Source: www.fragrantica.com

Hello ladies and gentleman! I hope everyone is having a great day! Today I am going over a fragrance that I thought I reviewed already, but it turns out that I only mentioned it in a few articles. So here we go, Creed Royal Oud...One of the more popular releases from Creed. Let's get into it!


Presentation

The real bottle is a Creed bottle. I say "real" because I have a decant. The actual bottle is pretty classy like all Creeds are. Black and gold always has that simple sophistication that screams "class". However, mine is a decant. It's simple, labeled clearly and the atomizer works pretty well. So, no complaints. I did order this one from www.myfragrancesamples.com.

The Royal Oud decant is on the right. Sorry, it's night time and I couldn't take a new picture of the single decant.

Notes 

Top 
Lemon, Pink Pepper, Bergamot

Mid
Angelica, Galbanum, Cedar

Base 
Indian Oud, Tonkin Musk, Sandalwood


The Scent

Creed describes this fragrance on their official website with this," Wood, leather, marble, and gold. These luxurious elements of a Persian palace are the inspiration behind the architecture of Royal Oud. Precious, sweet oud is carefully extracted from agarwood trees, a carefully-guarded resource that grows only in certain parts of India. Oud’s rarity lends to the expense of the fragrance’s coveted raw materials, prized by both the men and women who wear it. A fashionable favorite amongst today’s royals and heads of state, Royal Oud’s universal blend bottles the splendor of palace life across continents."

Opening

Royal Oud opens with a bit of citrus combined with some pepper and cedar with a solid backbone of greenness. I get a lot of galbanum off the top with this one and it persists through the fragrance life. Most people speak of the woody nuances and spice, but my nose picks up a lot of musky and green galbanum. Perhaps the oud could be slightly medicinal and lend to me smelling it in this way.

Dry Down

The dry down gets a bit more composed and some refined and spicy cedar comes out stronger, accentuated by pink pepper/You can also smell a bit of sandalwood helping the cedar stay woody. I still get a good dosage of galbanum in this phase as well. Perhaps my nose is sensitive to that notes. It's real galbanum too, not synthetic at all. This whole fragrance smells wonderfully natural. As I said before, I think the oud might be a bit medicinal, which lends to the galbanum smell, plus angelica root is slightly pungent as well. Sometimes it gives off almost a light mint vibe to me, with spices and woods.

Longevity

I get around 8-9 hours of longevity with this one. Around 3 hours of arm's length projection and a nice sillage trail for most of the life of the fragrance. It's not a beast mode fragrance, but this one is not meant to be loud and obnoxious. This fragrance is meant to be classy, and the performance reassures us of that.

When to Wear it

This fragrance is best in the cold to mild weather. I think it is pretty versatile and can be worn any time of the year except in the dead heat of the summer. To me, it's more of a formal fragrance, but it could be worn casually as well. Just not with sneakers and a t-shirt. This fragrance has a bit too much class for that. I would say not to wear this unless you are over 30. A confident younger man in a suit could certainly pull this off though.


Overall Impression

This is a very classy and gentlemanly fragrance. It's done in the classic Creed style that seems to transcend age barriers. It smells natural, expensive(it is pretty pricey), and sophisticated. This is a fragrance for a confident man who knows what he wants out of life.

Is it worth the price tag? I am not sure, initially, I would say yes, but there are many clones of this one including Lomani Intense Black, Alexandria Royalty, and Genre Parfums Royal Intellect. I haven't smelled any of those, so I cannot attest to how good they actually are or how close they are to Royal Oud. If you have tried any clones of this one and have also tried Royal Oud, let me know in the comments which you like the best!

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My discount code MUSINGS10 will be active until January 31st. You will get 10% off the already low prices at www.whatsmyscent.com. Go grab a few decants and try his service out. You won't be disappointed.

Disclaimer: No, I do not get any portion of the sales from you using the code. It's simply a special code to get a little bit more off your order to my viewers.

Creed Viking Review

Image sourced from fragrantica.com.

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I hope today is finding you in very good health and happiness! Today I will be reviewing the newest men's release from the house of Creed, Viking. Shoutout to Nathan Geck for sending me a sample of it! Let's get into it.

Notes

Top- Calabrian bergamot, Sicilian Lemon, Pink Pepper

Mid- Pepper, Bulgarian Rose, Peppermint

Base- Indian Sandalwood, Haitian Vetiver, Indian Patchouli, Lavandin

Scent
Creed describes their newest fragrance with this caption taken from Creedboutique.com:
"Viking, a fiery men’s fragrance that bottles the fearless spirit of boundless exploration for the modern man who goes against the grain. Inspired by the incredibly crafted longships, a centerpiece of the Viking Age and one of the greatest design feats of the ninth century. A symbol of a voyage and undeniable perseverance, longships were carefully designed for the skilled seaman who embodied unbridled determination to conquer. Viking marks the brand’s first major men’s scent since the introduction of the cult best-selling Aventus in 2010."

This fragrance opens with a sharp burst of lemon, peppercorn, and peppermint. I don't mind it, but it could be off-putting to some. After a few minutes, it starts settling into a warmer spicy fragrance, while still being fresh with the lemon and peppermint. The sandalwood then comes out to give it a spicy woody feel with the lavender and rose to keep it clean, but not overly powdery.

Many people have likened this fragrance to Old Spice. While it does share some similarities with Old Spice, it is a completely different fragrance. It's a spicy aromatic fragrance, just like Old Spice. Viking is fresher and more modern. It's gentlemanly and classy, as you would come to expect from a house like Creed.

People also say this one is "mature". I couldn't see a teenager wearing this, but any working professional could pull this off. I am 32 and I do love Old Spice and I love this one as well.

Performance is great on me. I get about 3 hours of projection and 8-9 of total longevity with a great sillage trail.

Personally, I really love this. I wasn't a huge fan at first, but it grew on me after a few wearings. However, I will not buy a full bottle of this one. It's just not worth $500 for 100ML. I think it is fully worth $250(at a discounter) though. So, with that being said I will stick to a decant of it once my sample runs out.

This one does get some disdain in the fragrance community and I think it is unjustified. Aventus was a huge success and this one doesn't follow in the same footsteps. However, this is a showing of what the Creed house really is, more classic fragrances. I am glad that Creed has shown they are still willing to make fragrances like this. Not just mass pleasing ones like Aventus.

I hope you enjoyed the review! Have a great day and remember to +1 this post and hit the blue follow button! Thank you for all of the support!


Buy a full bottle here:
https://www.fragrancenet.com/cologne/creed/creed-viking/eau-de-parfum?mv_pc=fragrantica&utm_campaign=306335&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=fragrantica#306335

Buy a decant from my friend Mark at Myfrangrancesamples:
https://www.myfragrancesamples.com/product/viking/