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Fleurs de Bulgarie Creed 1845

7.5 / 10 56 Ratings

A perfume by Creed for women, released in 1845. The scent is floral-spicy. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Sweet

Powdery

Fresh

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Bulgarian rose

Base Notes

Rose

Ambergris

Musk

Ratings

Scent

7.556 Ratings

Longevity

8.143 Ratings

Sillage

8.040 Ratings

Bottle

7.747 Ratings

Value for money

7.410 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro · last update on 05/07/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Fleur de Thé Rose Bulgare

Deep Roses

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

11/12/2012

LiliumLibido
51 Reviews

LiliumLibido

Helpful Review 5

Not what the name says

Oh sure, there are roses in Fleurs de Bulgarie. However, they are not the true theme of the fragrance, in fact I doubt they were meant to be: A house as reputed as Creed knows how to create a predominantly rose scent, take Fleurs de Thé Rose Bulgare, for example.

But not this.
Fleurs de Bulgarie uses the roses as a stepping stone for the Ambregris. In fact, anyone who really gives it enough time for the full development to proceed and the drydown to take place will notice: This perfume is all about the Ambregris, the roses are only there to provide a flavor, if you will.

It will touch the skin and be a delightful opening of fresh, dewy roses, with the typical aroma that only Bulgarian roses can impart. Beautiful. But as the fragrance moves on, the roses become more transparent and only lend their texture and part of their scent to the rest of the composition. As the Ambregris takes center stage, it retains some of the roses' characteristics, but the real alpha player is and remains the Ambregris.
And as such it does what Ambregris is famous for: it dresses the skin with a veil of warmth, depth and animalic pungency, not in an overbearing manner, mind you, but not in a forgettable manner either.

Will it smell like roses? YES. To a point. In the end, it plays up the skin of the wearer to the Nth degree of attraction, because that is what Ambregris is: The lusty agent. The roses are the counter point, they are what keeps the fragrance from becoming an overly one dimensional animalic excess. There is a fleshy, salty angle to Fleurs de Bulgarie which for me makes it better suited to, um... certain non public encounters. *wink*

12/06/2012

9Scent 10Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

5

A Case in Point

Creed FLEURS DE BULGARIE is an excellent example of why and how this house has survived over the centuries and continues to enjoy a cult following. I do believe that the thrashing doled out against Creed by the authors of The Holey[sic] Book may have something to do with the fact that people generally seem to be less obsessed with this house than they were in the past. I suppose that the massive proliferation of new houses, many of which have been launching dozens of what may be regarded as "cool" niche perfumes, may have something to do with it as well. However, the perfumes speak for themselves, FLEURS DE BULGARIE being a case in point.

I first reviewed this perfume a couple of years ago, before I had much conscious experience with ambergris, and while I found it to be an excellent rose perfume, I believe that I did not fully grasp its beauty until relatively recently. Unlike tea rose perfumes--and this house has its own--the key to the beauty of FLEURS DE BULGARIE is the base. I think that Liliumlibido is really on to something (read below). "It's the ambergris, stupid!" No, I did not really "get" it the first time around.

Now, having sniffed dozens of less noble compositions featuring rose, I recognize that there is a richness, and a density, and texture to this creation which set it apart from the recent rose parade of quick and easy often fruity rose launches intended for a "younger" market. At the same time, this perfume steers rather far from grandmother and dowager rose fragrance stereotypes. This is a sensual, provocative, seductive rose. I love it. I really do.

04/02/2012

10Scent 10Longevity 10Sillage

Lola82
361 Reviews

Lola82

1

La Cousine Bette

MMMMMMMM? i wonder the coniving heroine
from Honore de Balzac's Cousin Bette
wore this when she intends and does
destroy her extended family or Lola Montez
the famous dancer and courtesen who seduced The Hungarian Virtuoso Franz Liszt Or Ludwig I of Bavaria the King of Bavaria; Satine from Moulin Rouge!
Or the divine Sarah Bernhardt in her famous role of As Tosca the Diva a Perfume fit for a courtesan.

The note of velvet red roses caresses your skin conjoures up deep burgandy
curtians of brothels and opera houses
circa 1848 a Parisian Brothal full of
Loose women with revealing gowns of rich color low necklines tight curls
cascading around the face men with there top hat long black wastcoats hair fashioned with sideburns and long hair
playing Roulette getting drunk
or dancing the can can.

The Amber make's it sweet sort of a naive girlish quailties and musk makes
it a bit Esotaric there's a secular and
holiness about this fragrance a Contradictory of good girl and bad girl
mentality which i enjoy perfect for church and perfect for sex and naughtiness. well everyone has two sides to their Charactor.

07/16/2023

MihaelaA
5 Reviews

MihaelaA

1

Not so much rose, but addictive

An unexpected perfume. I thought it would be a big flowery fragrance, with roses center piece. There's a rose center piece - but it's a just-blossomed rose, with a faint green perfume (not the Bulgarian rose definition), with what I presume it's ambergris. I have not been able to identify ambergris in perfumery but I guess that's what I feel after a couple of hours - it's slightly sweet with vanilla/ tonka. I did not expect to love this perfume but I could not stop sniffing it, it's fabulous. And discontinued...

11/14/2012

2Scent 10Longevity 10Sillage

Venice
56 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Venice

Top Review

Once upon a time...

The fragrance "Fleurs de Bulgarie" was created by James Creed in 1845 for Queen Victoria. At the heart of this scent is the rose, showcased on an impactful base of amber and musk; back then, real, natural ingredients, namely genuine amber and real musk, were used, but today these substances have been replaced by synthetic fragrance components for environmental reasons. The rest, however, is authentic from the 19th century. Empress Sisi of Austria was so enamored with "Fleurs de Bulgarie" that she appointed James Creed as her court perfumer. Later, the fragrance Fantasia de Fleurs was created for her, which today, despite all IFRA and EU regulations, is still available in nearly the same form as it was then.

Hold on! Stop! While this reads beautifully, and people with a penchant for history, for nostalgia - people like me - enjoy such tales. But it is merely a marketing fairy tale - one of many. Now, it bothers me that I, who considers myself the greatest paranoid when it comes to PR nonsense, have fallen for such nonsense here on Parfumo.

So what about the house of Creed? It is true that it was the court supplier to all European royal houses in the 19th century - but not for perfume, rather for clothing. James Creed founded the tailoring dynasty Creed in the 18th century and made a name for himself, as mentioned, in the following years. There is no evidence for Creed perfumes. Creed first appeared as a perfume house about 30 years ago with the fragrance Green Irish Tweed from 1986.

But now to the scent: I had previously written a comment about it, which was built around this whole story of historicity, Queen Victoria, etc. I can no longer take responsibility for that. I wrote that the scent was musty, scratchy, harsh, sharp, soapy. Not particularly flattering for a fragrance that has no flattering qualities itself. My conclusion was: "A scent that is not only historical but also smells like it." I must modify that: A retro-styled, soapy-scratchy-musty rose scent that desperately wants to testify to this apparent marketing fairy tale of Queen Victoria's signature scent. But without this halo of historicity, how is such a scent to be judged? I found it unbearable but considered it an interesting experience of how perfume might have smelled back then. The perfume had a historical bonus for me, which of course now falls away. What remains? An outdated, cold, soulless scent that has about the value of a fake museum piece. If someone builds a replica of a historical car, adds wear and tear, possibly installs a broken engine, and then sells the "good piece" for a high price, they offer nothing but a story, especially since the car is not usable. With FDB, it is not quite so drastic; after all, the juice can be sprayed on and - at least theoretically - worn. But the deliberately antiquated character of this scent, whose composition as a stiff, sharp, scratchy rose soap scent leads to it not being easily wearable, unless someone really likes that.

Yes, this rose scent is not cool but cold. The rose note is similar to that in Rose Barbare; however, the Guerlain scent brings a certain creaminess, a sensual complexity, despite all the retro echoes. FDB, on the other hand, has a static, steely texture, an icy or iron monstrosity that does not merge with the skin in the slightest; it feels more like putting on armor. Essentially, the attribute "soapy" says nothing about the rigidity and severity of this scent; it implies a cleanliness aspect that the scent does not necessarily provide. Quel Amour by Annick Goutal smells like rose soap, and that can be quite pleasant. FDB does not actually smell like soap. It goes beyond cleanliness and purity in a hygienic sense; rather, the scent evokes thoughts of boarding house proprietresses from the Victorian era. Or of Miss Rottenmeyer from "Heidi." It seems that Creed has drawn on the negative associations of the Victorian era.

My current conclusion: The scent is entirely focused on the story with which it is sold. Its value rises and falls with this story. If it turns out to be a lie - and it has turned out to be - this creation can be dismissed as a soulless, retro-styled contraption. "Soulless" has previously been the keyword for the Creed scents I have tested so far; however, I do not presume to make a final judgment on the rest of Creed's perfumery, as I have not had the apparent perfume legends of this house - Bois de Portugal, Himalaya, the aforementioned Green Irish Tweed - under my nose.

And one more personal conclusion I can draw from this story about a story for myself: One - in this specific case, me - is susceptible to PR poetry when it tells you what you want to hear. You believe what you want to believe. I have always been curious about historical perfume art, long before Parfumo, wondering how scents must have smelled back then. So a fragrance so loaded with history naturally hit the mark. Lying is inherently bad, but there are moral motives that can justify it. Perhaps the house of Creed was in a crisis and needed the money; who knows. However, that does not change the scent, which has turned out to be a historical costume for a marketing run, an antiquated monstrosity that may never have existed in the time it pretends to be from, or something similar. But once again, I do not dare to venture into historical diagnoses...

PS: Thanks to Jifat for the generous sample.

PPS: After careful consideration, I am reducing the rating down to 20% since the mentioned bonus falls away.

And one last postscript: I added the last paragraph before the conclusion later; the scent description was too short in my outrage over Creed;-).

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