There are few perfume houses which are prouder of their history than Creed. That pride can be a point of contention amongst many perfumistas but I’ve always found it to be sort of charming. Whatever you think of that the longevity of the House of Creed is equally admirable and in 2011 they begin their 251st year. As they move forward they begin the next phase by creating a fragrance that nods to the past while simultaneously looking to the future.
Royal Service is the new fragrance created by Olivier Creed who as a sixth-generation master perfumer is the living embodiment of Creed. M Creed chose to have his service look back to the royalty and First Ladies who have worn their own signature Creed fragrances. If that was all M Creed did Royal Service would have felt like a Creed Greatest Hits. At each phase of development while there are notes which remind you of previous Creed fragrances M Creed uses a new note to twist them in a slightly different way. The overall result is a Royal Service which smells full of energy and sophistication it also smells indelibly like a Creed.
Royal Service starts off with a trio of fresh citrus notes as M Creed takes bergamot, orange zest, and grapefruit. Each time I wore Royal Service this opening was lively and crisp as each note was clearly defined and I really enjoyed the opening moments. The heart is where the Creed DNA really comes to the fore as iris and neroli comprise the core of Royal Service. When M Creed is on top of his game he can make floral notes leap off my skin and in Royal Service the iris is as alive as it gets. The base notes are musk and amber and they ground Royal Service with their depth. Both notes are kept on the lighter side of their normal spectrum but they dominate the closing phase of Royal Service.
Royal Service has outstanding longevity and average sillage.
For those of you who want to play the history game you can try and match the notes above to the previous Creed fragrances worn by the great ladies of the past. From my point of view it is the future I look forward to and in Royal Service M Creed shows the 251st year of the House of Creed is as successful as the years previous.
Royal Service is a limited edition of approximately 300 crystal decanters and will be available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and CREED Boutique in time for the holidays.
I’ve put pictures of the ladies who are reported to have worn the Creed fragrances and you can leave a comment matching the lady to the fragrance if you want to play.
Disclosure: This review was based on samples provided by Creed Boutique USA.
–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor