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Royal Water Creed 1997

7.5 / 10 422 Ratings

A popular perfume by Creed for women and men, released in 1997. The scent is fresh-citrusy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Fresh

Citrus

Green

Spicy

Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Lemon

Vervain

Mandarin orange

Peppermint

Clementine

Heart Notes

Juniper berry Basil

Basil

Pepper

Cumin

Base Notes

Ambergris

Tonkin musk

Ratings

Scent

7.5422 Ratings

Longevity

6.9341 Ratings

Sillage

6.5330 Ratings

Bottle

7.9337 Ratings

Value for money

5.9158 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 11/26/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

New Brand Prestige - The Royal

1872 for Men

Pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette

Zeus

Bois du Portugal

Corallium Eau de Parfum

Reviews

26 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/11/2021

7.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Golcher
139 Reviews

Golcher

3

perfectly adequate

Most people I've seen reviewing Creed fragrances usually skip this one, they barely mention it or describe it as forgettable and even though it's really nice I get where they're coming from however, Creed's Royal Water is very clean, nice and classy.

It opens with a nice citrus blast followed by a big dose of Juniper Berry and a hint of Basil, once again all very bright and classy and very safe and that's my only complaint (if you can call it that). I'd hope for something a little more daring, a little more exciting and Royal Water seems a little bland or plain, it won't offend anybody though, you may not get any compliments but EVERYONE will remember how good you smell.

Great office wear, very distinguished but the key word here is 'uncomplicated', it does nothing exciting, it doesn't go out of its way but what it does it does goes a long way

06/22/2025

8Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

JustasL
16 Reviews

JustasL

3

Italian lemonade

At first sniff, Creed's Royal Water didn't capture my heart. I was even tempted to sell my early 2000s batch bottle, but due to its lack of popularity, it was a hard sell.
However, now I'm delighted it didn't sell.
I do understand why it is one of the least popular and least loved Creed fragrances. After trying modern citrus scents from brands like Roja, Xerjoff, Acqua di Parma, and Louis Vuitton, you might initially think Royal Water is 'meh.' The citruses may seem too old-school and not photorealistic. However, this fragrance resembles more of an Italian lemonade than a typical citrus scent, which is truly amazing. It often takes time for most people to appreciate and fall in love with it. Imagine being served a homemade, refreshingly sparkly citrus and fragrant basil lemonade, garnished with a juniper stick and basil leaves in an Italian restaurant. That's exactly how delightful it smells.

Sillage is moderate, and longevity is above 8 hours. Unisex. Leaning
masculine. More suited for people over 30 years old.

8/10

11/27/2025

9Scent 1Longevity 3Sillage

MJacobo
20 Reviews

MJacobo

1

A Beautiful Scent With Appalling Longevity (On My Skin, Anyway)

This would be much closer to a 10/10 across the board for me if it lasted at all on my skin. Others do not have this problem so, as with all reviews, take this with a big grain of salt. The scent is gorgeous, clean, crisp, herbaceous, watery. There’s citrus but it doesn’t overpower the other notes, which is a refreshing change from lots of popular perfumes (including ones that I like!). A very artfully blended fragrance in my opinion (longevity notwithstanding) and the basil really does come through, for better or worse — I personally love it. I think that it can be worn year-round and for all occasions from formal/professional to casual. But by the gods, the longevity... I swear this stuff is gone within the hour whenever I wear it. And especially at this price point, that stings. Maybe I just got a bad batch of this otherwise stunning offering from Creed.

01/25/2015

9Scent 8Longevity 7.5Sillage

DaveGahan101
535 Reviews

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DaveGahan101

Top Review 31

I Can't Get Enough of Creed!

Fragrances come and go in my collection, it’s always in motion... but a certain core always remains. Those are the scents from Creed and Kurkdjian. Perhaps it’s also because my very first niche fragrance, which I smelled about 3-4 years ago, was Creed Silver Mountain Water. They say you never forget your first (and last!) love. Next came Aventus, Green Irish Tweed, Millesime Imperial, and now Royal Water. All of them impress with their freshness. At first sniff (or a one-time test with a 2ml sample), they are all very close together except for Aventus. They all have the "Creed essence" similar to Guerlain, Kurkdjian, or even Nasamatto... like a red thread... and yet they excite me because they are all "differently fresh." GIT has a green-mineral note, SMW has blackcurrant and tea, MI has more maritime and salty notes. Many share the beautiful sandalwood drydown; when GIT is smelled after 5 hours, it has the exact same wonderful note as in MI. I don’t care about the marketing nonsense and batches... I’m not even interested in whether Napoleon, David Bowie, Lady Di, or Mother Teresa wore it.

Royal Water is citrus-fresh, green-yellow like not quite ripe lemons, not particularly natural but very beautiful. For me, it’s a mix of unripe lemons and a lot of bergamot oil, not unlike Earl Grey tea. However, it doesn’t contain a tea note like in SMW. Instead, there’s a beautifully total verbena note, like GIT and earlier (!!!) Joop Nightflight had. If this note, along with juniper, is present, I can almost be sure that I will really like the fragrance. And yes... I really do... I just can’t get it off my wrist... like if there was a "addictive" ingredient like Iso-Super or Ambroxan in it. But I suspect it’s the laundry musk that gives the fragrance the necessary depth. There are also very light traces of mint. The greatest compliment I can/want to give Royal Water is that it simply smells different from all the other so-called fresh fragrances. It radiates a certain majesty and calmness like MI. It reminds me of Italian colognes (more Borsari than AdP) without being old-school. The Creed fragrances come closest to the term "masculine style" for me, timeless and rarely trendy, perhaps Aventus... but there it was more the outstanding sales success that made it seem "trendy."

Royal Water belongs in the category of light summer fragrances, even though it has a decent longevity of nearly 6 hours. In winter, it naturally gets a bit lost outside... but I enjoyed wearing it, especially when office spaces are heated with dry air. How beautiful will Royal Water be in spring and summer when everything is blooming and fragrant outside and a light breeze is blowing??!!!!

Conclusion: For me, another great Creed fragrance, this time however not 100% (more like a tendency of 95%) with a small deduction due to the lower longevity compared to GIT, MI, SMW. It’s recommended for fans of fresh fragrances like Molecule, Laundromat, Kenzo PH, Vetiver Babylone, who don’t like overly loaded scent bombs, as well as fans of Chanel Blanche or Atelier Colognes. It’s unisex but for me 65:35 masculine.

I’m sure that in spring, "Original Vetiver" will complete the series and (for now) conclude it.

08/25/2015

6Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Meggi
1018 Reviews

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Meggi

Top Review 24

Lady Zahnhaaria

Created in honor of Lady Diana. Aha. Most of us can undoubtedly remember the rush of devotionals dedicated to her, including the acclamation of her canonization and the 'Goodbye-England’s-Rose' plague. I am reminded of that cynically malicious line from 'Casablanca,' where Bogey, alias Rick Blaine, comments on the robbery and murder of two officers to obtain the legendary transit visas: “They had a hell of a luck: Yesterday they were just two unknown German officials, today they are dead heroes.”

Charity is undeniably great, but - even at the risk of stepping on the toes of Diana admirers: I personally have much more respect for an ordinary person who does something for the common good while managing a daily life without a servant entourage, than for selfless luxury showcase charity (I’m not talking about their desirable results!), even if I might be doing a disservice to truly committed celebrities in individual cases. But that’s just a side note.

Fuzzy-grainy bergamot opens the fragrance. As if that weren't enough, verbena is also listed, which is quite plausible and characteristically comparable. A clear olfactory statement, I don’t recognize any connection to the former princess; probably Mr. Creed simply had the scent lying in the drawer and wanted to ride the wave of lucrative sales.

I agree with the previously mentioned gum note, though not the mint variant. I feel more reminded of Hubba Bubba from 1980, although I might be mistaken, as I have been avoiding such things for decades now.

By the end of the second hour, the fragrance - I felt similarly about the development of Numero Uno from Carthusia - approaches its remaining grainy bergamot combined with spices, reminiscent of mashed potatoes with nutmeg. I distinctly perceive basil, a wonderful note between classic and extravagant, but unfortunately, I usually don’t feel entirely comfortable with the corresponding scents.

However, the identity-defining element in the middle is primarily the juniper berry. It comes across as noble, perfectly wearable on a moderately warm summer day, as well as certainly suitable for any other occasion.

Overall, the scent reminds me, at least by early afternoon, of various others that were very moss-oriented (even in paper form). That’s not my thing. Moreover, I also suspect cloves or nutmeg among the spices, which are also typically not my favorites. I think this lady has some bite. Fortunately, a trace of bergamot consistently remains. A portion of green vetiver might still be on board towards the end.

As the ninth and tenth hour progress, my completely unexpected Lady Di memorial day comes to an end. The sillage, by the way, should not be underestimated; time and again, a warm-spicy prickly wave unexpectedly rises and brings the scent back to memory.

I tested Royal Water alongside Silver Mountain Water, and certain herb-soapy similarities are indeed noticeable. This has been reported on various occasions. Not quite to my taste, for the third time; I prefer it less classic. In the overall assessment, the fragrance is therefore only a sixties for me.

I thank Ormeli for allowing me to test Royal Water.

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