CREED Acqua Fiorentina
A Nouveau Renaissance
By Victoria Austin
For nearly 250 years, the House of Creed has raised the
standard in the art of perfumery. From Creed’s long-held
traditions of using only the highest quality natural materials
and creating their own essences via infusion techniques now
abandoned by most other perfumers due to the expense, to
maintaining a no advertising policy, Creed stands alone.
Word of mouth from one generation of royals and aristocrats to almost seven generations of another has stood them well. From Queen Victoria to Prince Rainier of Monaco for his bride, Grace Kelly, from classics like Fleurissimo to Green Irish Tweed and many, many others, CREED is a name like no other in perfumery. Many perfume houses possess unique histories, but none quite like the enduring father-to-son legacy of CREED.
Today, the legendary House of CREED continues to make its mark in the world perfume market ushering in a nouveau renaissance of old-world sensibilities and time-honored traditions. In an age where new, fast and easy are the demands of the mass markets, CREED takes us back to the Renaissance where creating extraordinary art such as those created by Bottecelli, da Vinci or Michelangelo, requires time, patience, the best raw materials and the highest skills and craftsmanship. In this vein, CREED’s newest Millésime collection release, Acqua Fiorentina (Florentine Water), is presented.
Sixth and seventh generation Creeds, Olivier, and his son, Erwin, took their inspiration for this beauty from the dawn of extraordinary artistry and craftsmanship birthed during the Renaissance in Florence, Italy in the 15th century. Garnering the abundance of fruits and flowers of the verdant earth around Florence, CREED formulated Acqua Fiorentina as they have for centuries -- by hand -- and without the addition of synthetics. Greengage plum is a new and unique element used in this formulation, and what a beauty it is, emanating a tantalizingly juicy quality creating a luxurious path to the heart notes.
There we discover a sheer veil capturing the beauty of Renaissance roses, pink carnations, bergamot and fresh Calabrian lemon. The final notes of Virginia cedar and Indian sandalwood bring restrained warmth to the mix. There is lushness in these notes, but a lovely transparent one that is finely tuned. The opening greengage plum note drips with sweet nectar in the beginning, but is not overly sweet to my nose. The entrance of the heart notes brings forth a lush rose and carnation garden at dawn when the blooms are fresh with dew, wafting on a cool morning breeze that drifts into the orchard picking up the sparkling citrusy lemon notes to cool the spice of the carnations, but not cancel their aroma completely. As the dry down ensues, only a soft warmth from the cedar and sandalwood can be detected, keeping Acqua Fiorentina floating and drifting like the Arno River in a pastel pink dawn.
CREED Acqua Fiorentina exudes femininity not only in its bouquet, but in the soft
pink tint of its juice. Experiencing this sheer loveliness, Acqua Fiorentina leads
me to believe that CREED has another timeless classic fragrance on their hands –
and on my pulse points, as well. My sample is almost completely empty and I must
have a full bottle, and more to pass down from mother to daughters to granddaughters
as in the wonderful CREED tradition. What a nouveau renaissance for this age –
mothers and daughters, along with fathers and sons, sharing and wearing the same
timeless fragrances from CREED.
On an even more uplifting note, CREED is donating up to 5% of proceeds from U.S. sales of the beautiful pink Acqua Fiorentina in October to benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund. CREED Acqua Fiorentina is offered at $130 for the one ounce flacon, $230 for the 2.5 ounce bottle, and $350 for 8 ounces.
Creed Acqua Fiorentina is avaliable at Bergdorf Goodmans during the Sniffapalooza Fall Ball
Creed Acqua Fiorentina is available at Neiman Marcus,
Bergdorf Goodmans, select Saks Fifth Avenue as well as authorized CREED outlets such as Parfums Raffy and Aedes De Venustas
Photo image: Kenneth Gregg Collection
Victoria Austin is a freelance writer, singer and fragrance collector and enthusiast living happily with her family in Texas.
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Sniffapalooza Magazine is independently owned and operated by Raphaella Barkley.
