Creed Aventus (2010) Review

“Wow Dennis, you smell very nice”. “Ooooohh, you smell quite nice Dennis”. And so the cycle repeated itself. The culprit: Creed Aventus. You see, I was taken aback by the positivity around this scent. To my nose, this stuff smells ‘OK’, maybe pretty good but it’s no vintage Dior Homme Intense. Not to the ladies though because there is something in this juice that seems to elicit compliments and attract positive attention.

My experience with Creed Aventus began over a year ago when it was launched. Everyone was talking about it and judging by their reactions,  it seemed to be a polarizing scent. Some people were bowled over by it while some people absolutely hated it. I was hooked! I had to try it! After over a year of curiosity and fruitless bargain hunting, I buckled and finally bought a sample of Creed Aventus from EBay.  5ml of the stuff cost me £15! Yes, prohibitively expensive. I took the plunge regardless because you only live once… right? So now my purchase was made and I eagerly waited. Much to my chagrin, it was just after the Christmas period and the inefficient UK postal system ground to a screeching halt.

"Ahh", I thought, unwrapping the packaging. "This is the holy grail, that precious elixir. This is it, I have found it", chimed my overly dramatic mind as I examined the little sample.

After what seemed like a year of impatient waiting (a week and a half), I finally received my sample and I proceeded to test it with great anticipation. “Ahh”, I thought, unwrapping the packaging. “This is the holy grail, that precious elixir. This is it, I have found it”, chimed my overly dramatic mind as I examined the little sample. You see, I’d previously tested it over a year ago and I had a pretty distinct memory of what I thought it smelt like. The first sniff brought great disappointment. This wasn’t the Creed Aventus I remembered. It wasn’t even close. Not a great start is it? Did it redeem itself? Let’s get into this Creed Aventus Review and find out shall we?

What is it?

Creed Aventus is an uplifting fruity fresh fragrance from the venerable niche fragrance house Creed. It has a smoky sillage trail that very gently envelopes the wearer in a fine haze of scent. There are reports of the sillage and longevity being ‘stellar’ and ‘amazing’ but I’ll be in the minority as I beg to differ. It’s not anaemic in the way Burberry London would be but it isn’t a monster. More akin to La Nuit De L’Homme in terms of strength so it’s definitely no slouch. I have to assert that there is margin for error as I have only tested it a handful of times and also because I believe I may be poor at detecting various musks. Since there is musk in the base notes, I may just be failing to detect it due to predisposed anosmia or olfactory fatigue. This strange phenomenon doesn’t seem to be confined to my nose. I have read accounts of people receiving compliments long after they’d stopped detecting it.

Aventus has a tendency to deliver ghostly sillage. Now you smell it, now you don’t. What I found was that every now and then, I could detect that pineapple musk aroma and then it would suddenly disappear. Interestingly, my peers could detect it easily which leads me to believe that olfactory fatigue had a role to play in my overall feelings of Aventus’ strength. Either way, I still feel that a powerhouse this is NOT. It’s much gentler and more intimate than that and I think that is part of the charm of Aventus.

It centers itself around a pineapple note. There is also musk in the mix which I have trouble detecting, however, I can appreciate its effects. Musk tends to add a fullness and density to a fragrance and Aventus has this character. There have been reports that Aventus smells a bit like burnt wood/smoke and that is, in my opinion, spot on. I had to do a double take when I detected this but it’s so well done, you needn’t worry about people thinking you spent the night by a campfire.

Aventus is housed in the traditional Creed bottle. It can be purchased in 30ml (£85), 75ml (£142) & 120 ml (£175) spray bottles. For serial Aventus lovers, 250ml (£255) splash flacons are also available. The bottle is clear and coincidentally, so is the juice. The lid is black and there is a textured label that  is decorated with a (textured) picture of a man on a horse. Possibly Napoleon.. but don’t hold me to that.

What’s in it?

• Top Notes
• Blackcurrant, Italian bergamot, French apples, Pineapple
• Middle Notes
• Roses. dry birch, Moroccan jasmine, Patchouli
• Base Notes
• Musk, Oak moss, Ambergris, Vanilla.

The notes in the fragrance are certainly interesting. Personally, I have only ever actively detected rose, patchouli, vanilla, pineapple and bergamot in any fragrance. In Aventus, I can definitely detect the pineapple, apple and the bergamot. Towards the end I detect a smouldering wood note which I can only assume to be the dry birch. As I always say, pyramids are poor indicators of what the final thing smells like but it is interesting to see what’s in it anyway.

Who is it for?

I feel that Aventus is for the young, distinguished gentleman who likes to make a statement without saying too much. He lets his tastes communicate his personality. His clothes, his grooming, the colors and most importantly, the fragrance are all meticulously selected to convey certain aspects of his personality. Young is a broad term… anything from early 20′s to your late 50′s.

It is perfect for the workplace as it is a rather understated fragrance that gently wafts about merely tickling inquisitive noses and then disappearing altogether. It’s a great scent for social settings as it attracts a LOT of attention without being loud. That folks, is weird. And it’s what makes Aventus special. Many of you seek that one special fragrance that will get you a lot of female attention. Aventus is one of the most complimented fragrances on basenotes (it’s only been out for a year and it is already besting legendary scents that have been around for decades) and this I feel is no accident. You’ll enjoy the attention it brings even if you may not enjoy the scent all that much (since you probably wont be able to smell it).

Creed Aventus (2010) Review.

The initial spray of Aventus brings with it a cascade of sour and sweet fruity notes. You immediately get the ‘essence’ of pineapple. By this I mean, the note doesn’t smell like the actual fruit, but you know that it is derived from a pineapple. Also, because pineapple and apple are present, the smell might be a slightly confusing combination for many to discern. This however, doesn’t make it any less pleasant.

There is also an oily/waxy quality in the opening which I also notice in Terre D’Hermes. I suspect that there is some Iso E Super in Aventus. Apparently it is a note some people have trouble detecting while on the other hand, some people have no such troubles. This goes in line with my experience.

The top notes also feature Bergamot and Blackcurrant. I personally don’t have an immediate recollection of what blackcurrant smells like so I have some trouble detecting it. Bergamot of course is a citrus note and there is no trouble there.It’s always very perceivable in the opening and it’s clear that Aventus has quite a lot of it.

At this point, it begins its seduction. The scent is very soft and gentle in nature. This gives it a refined and understated quality that justifies that massive price-tag somewhat. At this point, it starts delivering its sillage in that ghostly fashion. One minute you can detect it and then rather suddenly, it’s gone. As someone who prefers to enjoy fragrances and get an understanding of their progression, I find Aventus frustrating to wear. Conversely, it attracts a LOT of compliments and I don’t mind that at all. The only thing is, I’ve transcended the stage where I wear a fragrance purely for the compliments so that is not enough to sway me toward purchasing a big bottle of Creed’s Aventus.

Toward the end, after around 5-6 hours, you begin to sense a burnt wood note which I suppose you may call ‘smoky’. The base is very weak and to my nose, it wears very close to the skin. Strangely though, it was at this point I received a compliment. Could it be that the mystery note I couldn’t detect was projecting quite well and that combined with everything else, it doesn’t actually smell like ‘burnt wood’? Who knows? It’s difficult with these kinds of fragrances and Aventus is tough to describe accurately. Nevertheless, when it IS detectable, it’s a nice fragrance. It doesn’t quite have that ‘Wow’ factor that Original Santal or Green Irish Tweed has.

Is Creed Aventus For You?

If you want to be noticed and if you like receiving lots of compliments from women, this is it. This is a crowdpleaser and there is just something in it that people can’t help but love. It’s also a very clean smell that works well if you are professional and would like to wear it in the workplace. The sillage is gentle but very invasive. It fills up the room in a very thin haze of scent which I suppose works well as opposed to bludgeoning people’s noses in the way Joop! Homme does.

You must also have deep pockets to justify owning a bottle of Aventus. The official cost of the 30ml is £85. For that much, you can have your hands on the seductive Montale Black Aoud (which is not similar) or even Terre D’Hermes pure parfum which has a similar waxiness to it. I’m aware that Terre D’Hermes contains a substantial amount of Iso E Super and therefore I am convinced that this could be it. But I may be wrong. Furthermore, I am aware that some people may be sensitive to Iso E Super and react negatively with headaches to it so I recommend you test it via a sample or visiting your local department store.

Purchasing Creed Aventus.

There are multiple ways to get your hands on Creed Aventus. You can always purchase a full bottle if you can afford it. Conversely you can purchase small samples from EBay. You can also watch out for used bottles on the Basenotes marketplace. And finally, the best way to do it, is to partake in a joint purchase of the fragrance with a group of fellow Basenoters in a decant split. You put together funds to get a large 250ml flacon and split it between yourselves. I think the standard price for a 50ml decant is ~£70 including delivery.

So if you can afford it, you can buy Creed Aventus via my Amazon affiliate link.

Creed Aventus Review Wrap up.

So there it is folks. Aventus is a mystery. One of those fragrance that is difficult to figure out and it is all down to this ‘mystery’ note which some have trouble detecting and some do not. This is evidenced through the division of opinions on the longevity of the scent. Some describe it as ‘overpowering’. Although it could be those overly conservative cousins of ours who live across the pond. I literally burst out laughing when I hear someone say ‘I use only half a spray, I can’t bear no more’. What nonsense, grow a pair and spray some more! Rant over. I doubt it’s a sensitivity issue though as I am convinced that the real culprit is either anosmia or olfactory fatigue.

When you can smell it, Aventus is soft, gentle, understated and most of all, very pleasant. It’s an uplifting, clean smell that gives you confidence as you just know you smell great. I have to say though, in terms of strength and longevity, you can do far better for a lot less.

Let’s see how it scores.

Longevity: 6/10 (I can detect it for the first 4-5 hours. I received a compliment after about 6 hours)
Scent: 8/10 (An unusual smell that’s strangely familiar. I have to say though, I can’t think of anything that smells like it. Very nice)
Uniqueness: 7/10 ( It smells like something I know of but I can’t put my finger on it.)
Value for money: 3/10 (Expensive, horribly expensive.)

Overall, Creed Aventus scores an above average 6/10. Was it not for the stratospheric price tag, it may well have done much better. I also forgot to mention that this was the first Creed I’d worn properly. Was I impressed? Yes, somewhat. It’s a nice fragrance and there no doubt about it. But when you are forking out £85 for 30ml, nice just doesn’t cut it. You need spectacular longevity, ample sillage and that ‘wow’ factor. Does Aventus have this? Unfortunately, it falls short on two of the three. The ‘wow’ factor is certainly present. It’s definitely the most complimented fragrance I have ever worn (in a single day). That is not normal and it shows that this is a wonderfully composed scent that turns heads.

So maybe I AM anosmic to the notes in Aventus and it lasts 15 hours in reality, blah blah blah. That is totally beside the point. I like to ENJOY my fragrances so there is no point in me owning a bottle if I can’t smell it. Therefore, on that basis, Aventus is not the right scent for me. Had it cost £15 for a big bottle, then the 5 hour longevity I get wouldn’t have been much of an issue. But for ten times that price, it IS an issue. For that reason, I cannot recommend Creed Aventus. You may try it and it if works for you, go for it. If you can’t access it, do NOT buy it blind. The disappointment is potentially too great. You can do much better for the price. All negativity aside, there is NO disputing that it’s very nice, smells expensive and is popular with the ladies. Maybe for some of you, that’s enough to get you whipping out those credit cards. For now, I’ll pass. I still have half a sample left. Maybe I’ll change my mind… but then again, maybe I might not.