Royal Mayfair

Windsor

Creed 2009

Creed's Royal Mayfair caught me off guard during a "perfume house visit," while Himalaya had been on my wishlist for quite some time and I finally wanted to conduct another skin test. Unlike most well-known Creeds from the Brigarde, RM is rather on the sidelines and is not hyped as intensely as Royal Oud (especially again at the moment) or the now mostly hidden Aventus tucked away in the drawer.
After testing it for the first time, it took me quite a while to "understand" it. Unlike Himalaya, which at that time clearly had the upper hand with its consistent freshness and quickly found its way into my collection, RM presented itself to me as a rather cumbersome rose-eucalyptus. Only weeks later did it become increasingly interesting to me, and I could appreciate its drydown, allowing it to also find a place in my collection.

Right after spraying, one is indeed reminded a bit of those (thankfully rare for me) days of colds when one has to use Vicks Vaporub.
But hardly has one wasted a thought on that, the rose bed opens up a minty-floral freshness that clearly has a unique selling point for me.
In all this floral and woody spectacle, to now speak of a gin note that one can at most guess but by no means smell outright seems exaggerated. But in fact, RM carries a zesty-clarifying freshness over time that, in my opinion, can be found in some gins (Hendrick's, Bobby's...?!) as well. This is not really surprising when you consider that a good gin is usually made with 5 - 11 "botanicals" (lemon peel, juniper, orris root...) that come at least somewhat closer to the RM fragrance pyramid.
I find RM to be an excellent scent that initially tries to demand quite a bit from you, but over its course is capable of rewarding the wearer with its floral-minty freshness. (Like a gin tonic in a rose garden after work).

The longevity and sillage are somewhat disparate, but are in decent Creed fashion. Initially, it radiates very strongly, similar to a night rubbed with Vicks Vaporub, and one should avoid smelling directly from the sprayed wrist. The subdued level it reaches after about a quarter of an hour lasts for a good 7 hours, and one does not necessarily have to reapply during a workday.

At this point, I would also like to draw attention to a tip from DaveGahan101 (thank you again for that). He mentioned that two spritzes of Himalaya would counteract the initial cumbersome nature a bit. And lo and behold... it fits like a glove! I'm not really a fan of layering (except for Molecule), but this creation has simply captivated me since then. If the floral bed or the Vicks Vaporub is too unpleasant for you, you should definitely add a spritz of Himalaya. It not only brought me a 100% feel-good factor but also numerous compliments. And so, after work, one not only sits in the rose garden with a gin tonic but also admires in the background the Himalaya, which provides a bit of shade on this hot summer day ;)