From selecting the oils to designing the packaging, centuries of experience and technique are bottled in every Creed fragrance.
It seems anyone can release a fragrance nowadays, from pop singers and reality TV stars to lingerie brands. The array of spritzes and scents on offer can put consumers in a head spin, and often sacrifice quality for cheapness and fast manufacture.
But a truly iconic perfume, like a fine wine, requires myriad complex processes that pay respect to fragrance traditions dating back thousands of years. Because, also like a fine wine, a great perfume should be intoxicating and delicious.
The House of Creed, founded in 1760, has built its reputation on creating rare scents using proven ancient techniques. James Craven, Creed fragrance expert at independent fragrance boutique Les Senteurs, says perfumers protect their processes behind a veil of secrecy, “reluctant to let the daylight in upon their exquisite and fragile magic”.
Describing how a new fragrance is born, he explains that the perfumer “needs to address hundreds of ideas. What is his conception? What is his story, his theme? Which concentration of scent best expresses his ideas ‒ a delicate fleeting wistful eau de toilette or a dramatic thundering opulent parfum? Which bottle might be most expressive in reflecting its precious contents?”
Genuine Parma violets and the purest rose essences from Bulgaria, Turkey or Morocco are carefully selected in favour of the synthetic versions
And that’s just coming up with the idea.
Creed’s master perfumer Olivier Creed, a direct descendant of the house’s founder James Henry Creed, globetrots with his son Erwin to source the highest quality ingredients.
Italian jasmine, irises from Florence, genuine Parma violets and the purest rose essences from Bulgaria, Turkey or Morocco are carefully selected in favour of the synthetic versions used by many large perfume companies.
It’s been that way since the first fragrance, Royal English Leather, launched in 1781 in honour of King George III. Cult fragrance Green Irish Tweed, one of Creed’s bestsellers, has notes of lemon, verbena, iris and violet leaves from quality natural ingredients sourced from suppliers and botanists all over the world.
The newest icon on this impressive roster is Aventus for Her, which has been intricately composed to complement its male counterpart, Aventus, and to celebrate la femme forte (strong women) everywhere.
Iconic and truly irresistible: Aventus For Her is as compelling as its male counterpart CREDIT: LOUISA PARRY
As befits a fragrance house dedicated above all to quality, Aventus for Her has been five years in the making. That time and care is evident both in its fruity-fresh notes and in the bottle which, designed with luxury glass maker Pochet de Courval, deserves to be displayed on a vintage dressing table. The dove-white packaging, with leather style etching, is topped with the classic cap stamped with the coveted Creed plume.
Olivier Creed, who also created the original Aventus, says: “The final composition was no small feat, as we worked tirelessly for years to create a fragrance that emulates women the world over who are visionaries in their everyday lives.”
Cutting corners is not an option for Creed. Aventus for Her used the house’s signature 4,000-year-old infusion technique, a process abandoned by other perfumers as too costly. This protects the integrity of each ingredient without preservatives.
The House of Creed, founded in 1760, has built its reputation on creating rare scents using proven ancient techniques
As James Craven explains: “Creed infuse their raw natural materials to produce their own oils. The materials are extracted in a solvent solution which is heated to draw forth the oils. This slow and gentle heating to boiling point draws out the essential oil – sometimes known as an attar - of the plant.
“The oil is evaporated with the steam of the solvent. As the steam cools, the oil may be collected, very g
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