MrPink

Aventus - the KING (as many call this fragrance) - is the heart scent of many men, of boys who want to become men, of F*ckboys and other subcategories of the male gender - at the same time, it is probably also libidinous cocaine for many established women and easy girls. (Or whatever combination you might be into: Be nice to each other, have fun, and protect yourselves! I think everyone knows what I mean and where I'm going with this… and I hope no one feels excluded - love is for everyone.)

But back to the actual comment --- For me, Aventus is dead!
And I’m happy to explain why:
For a long time, I couldn’t and didn’t want to afford a full bottle, I had decants and tested my way through the clone landscape (quite successfully), but somehow I felt that my collection wasn’t complete without the king. So I jumped at the chance when I found a good offer!

I had only tested Aventus in various perfumeries apart from my decants, so I had never experienced the complete Creed Aventus experience.

When the package finally arrived - disappointment across the board. - 220€ - and this is what I get?

The bottle - has a cheap feel, the cap made of the cheapest plastic and squeaks worse than a Chihuahua when you step on its paw.

The scent is nice, I admit a bit more citrusy in the opening than I remembered, but okay - batches and so *sigh* - in the drydown, however, it has the familiar Aventus elegance and the longed-for “panty-dropping” qualities too!

The longevity - what can I say? Sprayed on in the morning at 7 for work - barely noticeable after lunch (I treated myself to 8 sprays including shirt collar and lapel!). On another evening for a date, I applied Aventus again, and over the course of the evening, it vanished faster than testicles in winter bathing in Malmö!

- and that for 220€?

Since the shop was verified and also known on Parfumo, I could rule out a fake. So what kind of brew is Creed now pushing under the flag of the king? Creed is known for skillfully talking their way out of the batch madness: “We use natural ingredients, that can lead to qualitative differences in scent and performance!” - okay sounds logical, but why does only Creed have such significant fluctuations in scent and performance? And why always in a gradual descent to the previous batch? - I don’t believe the tale of raw material fluctuations, I believe the answer is greed. Creed knows that Aventus has become a status symbol, they also know that men will buy it as long as women want to smell it - and if they have to bathe in it to smell like Aventus at the club or on a date to achieve their goal of the evening (Is there actually an Aventus shampoo yet? :D).
Whatever the reasons may be… unfortunately, it doesn’t change the facts!

This whole thing is truly a sad spectacle, but as they say:

Pride comes before the fall!

With this fragrance, you don't stand out; you adapt wonderfully and elegantly to your surroundings. A bit like water, which also adjusts to every environment.

This reminds me of Bruce Lee's famous quote:

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water.
Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup;
You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle;
You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot.
Now water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend."

Therefore, I think this description fits the fragrance quite well:
It is pleasing, unobtrusive, elegant, and "slick".
For me, it is one of those fragrances that impresses with its simplicity and calmness.
Certainly, Gentle Fluidity (Silver) is an all-rounder par excellence!

To me, it primarily smells wet, like a dry warm wetness, as if you are drying off after jumping into a cooling lake in the summer heat; I also perceive slightly "metallic" notes - probably from the juniper berry.
Overall, very harmonious, balanced, and despite its simplicity, interesting - and anything but synthetic!
Additionally, there is the elegant musky freshness that, paired with the vanilla, gives the fragrance a certain creaminess and almost cuddly nuances.
It is not a typical aquatic scent and certainly not a shower gel fragrance.
It is woody - fresh - clean - cooling - creamy - spicy and, in its simplicity, very complex.
Certainly of high quality, as one would expect from a MFK.

It is everything and nothing, it adapts, is changeable, moldable, transparent.

Its power and charm come from the simplicity of things.

Like water.

Layton - probably the most well-known and hyped niche fragrance (right after A.).

There have certainly been some discussions about Layton, and from pure hate to excessive praise, everything has been thrown at it.

But what is actually being criticized? - In the discussions I’ve heard, it often revolved around the following question:
Is this even niche if it is so "uncomplex" and pleasing? And is it really worth the (retail) price?
I don’t want to start a fundamental discussion here, but: What is niche anyway? Does it have to smell like a smoky farmhouse or an avant-garde urinal? (This is not a judgment on my part! But anyone who has ever drifted into the "extreme artistic niche" knows what I mean!)
For me, niche primarily means quality - and in my humble opinion, Layton is a high-quality fragrance.

But now to the point:
Layton is not exciting, it is not one that stands out from the crowd and screams for attention - no attention grabber.
What I appreciate about it is, above all, that it evokes personal memories/associations - specifically to Boss Bottled!
While it is not particularly similar to it, Layton does have that vanilla-apple pie vibe in my opinion. It's just that this here is a rich, opulent homemade pie, made by grandma, with apples from her own garden, butter from a wooden butter churn, and lots and lots of love - and a little mint for garnish. So in short: top-notch quality - artisanally impeccable!
Does it reinvent apple pie? No. Michelin would probably not award a star.

But it is olfactory soulfood!

In the end, you can like the recipe or not; not everyone likes apple pie - nevertheless, this one is damn well made!
Furthermore, I find Layton to be a wonderful introduction to the niche world!

And last but not least, Layton has an incredible cuddle factor, the vanilla ice cream just melts away (if you know what I mean) ;)

.... now I’m hungry.

PS: Wear what you want and like, whether it’s cow barn or apple pie!

How can a fragrance with officially 3 notes exhibit such complexity?

But let's take it step by step... at first, I smell a strong dose of spices - cinnamon, peppery, and powdery-creamy with a hint of vanilla, the Trente-Quatre comes around the corner and makes it clear right away where the journey is headed - What a blast - lecko mio!

But is it really clear where the journey is headed? Because after a short time, flowers join in.
Wait ... FLOWERS? FLOWERS? Yes. Flowers! And not just one flower, but a whole bouquet - primarily, I perceive a rose and a violet note, with the former clearly dominating. I also think that a bit of iris supports the sandalwood and thus contributes to the "creaminess."

In the drydown, what Dyptique can do becomes apparent! When the vanilla and sandalwood provide stability together and the flowers and spices sort themselves to their respective places, you are surrounded by a noble spicy creamy aura! The Trente-Quatre is elegant, seductive, mysterious, and yet surprisingly suitable for everyday wear. Here, classic French perfumery is interpreted in a modern way.

I also have the following visual association with Tentre-Quatre:
Do you know that film scene where someone stands in a trench coat under a streetlamp, you see the smoke from the cigarette in the light, and you can only recognize half of the face from the shadow of the flat cap/the fedora? - This mysterious man is probably wearing this fragrance!

It surprised me a lot - positively.

In life, we have many "firsts" - the first kiss - the first love - the first sex - the first drunkenness - the first fight - when was the last time you did something for the first time?

This question can certainly take on philosophical dimensions - but here I want to talk about my first WOW experience with a perfume. And unlike some other "firsts" - this one even said "Pardon." ;)

Now to the backstory - I was relatively new to the world of perfume and had visited the niche perfumery of Edith Lücke in Trier for the second time. Until then, I hardly knew Nasomatto at all - but the bottles attracted me. So there I was, and of course, I immediately reached for Black Afgano, which I knew from some YouTubers. But somehow I found it boring and way too ashy and sweet for my taste. Then a nice lady approached me and told me I had to try Pardon. Said and done. She sprayed Pardon on a scent strip... and it was all over for me.

Chocolatey floral opening - with slight aftershave vibes. Then an earthy woodiness comes in (patchouli?). And again and again, the scent is accompanied by a light spiciness (something cinnamon-like and oud?). But what always accompanies this fragrance in an elegant manner is a powdery, fresh creaminess that I had never smelled before.
Smelling this fragrance in the perfumery was an olfactory daydream.

It was the first scent that made me feel something that went beyond "it smells good."

It was the first scent that completely thrilled and at the same time overwhelmed my mainstream-shaped nose.

It was the first scent with a groundbreaking olfactory WOW experience for me.