Hi there ULGers, Before going away in November the Libertine crew invited my mate Ainslie and me to the launch of their latest blockbuster. I often hear perfume people say Creed is a blokes brand and that the women aimed perfumes aren’t as good. Honestly, I beg to differ. The only Creed bottle I paid full retail for was Fantasia de Fleurs. It’s a very lightly salted, spicy Bulgarian rose. Sure, the guff about it being Empress Sisi’s personal perfume might be bullshit but the fragrance is glorious. Vanisia, Iris Tuberose, and Angelique Encens have all been decants in my collection, leading to a pre-loved bottle purchase of Iris Tuberose.
Launch night was a big deal. The perfume world of Sydney. Execs, SAs, marketing teams, bloggers, vloggers, TV stars and hoi polloi. I had already spent the day in town and was so completely underdressed it was hilarious. This was a dress to impress event. Oh well. Nobody got seriously hurt by my poor fashion choices.
Carmina by Creed 2023
Creed Australia gives these featured accords:
Top: Black Cherry, Saffron, Pink Pepper
Heart: Rose de Mai, Violet, Cashmere Wood, Peony
Base: Frankincense, Myrrh, Amber, Musk
First let’s look at the bottle. After the massive fail of the Wind Flowers bottle I’m really interested that they have taken this route. The colour is gorgeous, like seriously and ridiculously fabulous. Cherry pink! They have reworked the cap, it’s fine but I don’t really understand why they needed to. Then they’ve used the traditional male bottle shape. It’s definitely sturdier on the foot than the shield bottle. Maybe I’m a grouchy old goat but that shield bottle was one of my favourite in perfume land.
OK, enough about that, how does Carmina smell? The opening moments are CHERRY! Sweet cherry soda pop. Roses make an early appearance and the sweet sizzle of the pink pepper berry makes both the fruit and flower zing. Big, overblown, jammy roses only very slightly tamed by the green, white-floral-adjacent-ness of violet. This is a fun confection. I’m so not sure of this but the whole shimmering opening makes me think there are some aldehydes giving everything some razzle dazzle.
Do you remember Modern Muse Le Rouge Gloss by Estée Lauder? Kendall Jenner was the face? It was a similar vibe but had this weird saccharine backtaste to the fragrance. Carmina is like they’ve taken a similar route but without that chemical waste undertow.
The heart becomes more peony as it goes forward. Not like a real peony though, this is the perfumers peony dream. That rose/peony/cherry accord is so good. It’s probably not exactly what I picture myself smelling of but that damn gorgeous bottle keeps me coming back for more.
The base remains sweetly cherry soda and rose floating over some woodsy ambers that you’ll definitely recognise. Carmina continues thus quietly pumping itself out for hours and hours. Creed has definitely listened to the masses wanting longevity. While not beast mode for ladies the projection and sillage are both excellent. It’s right up there with Baccarat Rouge and its horde of lookey likeys.
Do I love it? I’m totally ambivalent. I will say that I keep returning to Carmina and giving myself a cheeky spritz on one arm. The bottle calls me as it sits on my desk.
What about you? Sound good?
Portia xx
Undina's Looking Glass 
I doubt this will be joining my hoard. Cherry always interests me as a note until I sniff it. Almost all these recent cherry scents smell of cheap cherry sweets, drinks, cough mixture or antibiotic medicines. I find these too sweet & fake smelling.
If I see a tester in the wild I’ll try on paper but won’t go in search of a sample
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Fair calls in all directions Alityke.
This is probably not made with you in mind. It might be though…
Portia xx
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Strangely I love cheap cherry sweets. Sour cherry drops are heaven
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Are they the hard ones?
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Yup. Sour enough to cause mouth ulcers if you eat too many.
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HA!
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Thank you for your take on this! If the bottle is sitting on your desk, does that mean you *did* fall for it? I have several cherry favorites, but I will be curious how the saffron behaves in this one. Saffron on my skin gets kinda bossy. That beautiful red, Creed, bottle does appeal to me. (Also loved thinking of you in civilian clothes at the party-almost like you were an undercover agent!)
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Hey MossyBerry,
I love it and don’t love it. It is really good but not what I want to smell like. The bottle has stayed on the desk because I have to do a clean up and put a bunch of stuff back away. Also, it might still stay because I really love looking at the beautiful bottle.
OMG! Maybe I have fallen for it and am in denial. That’s a LOT of chatter around.
Portia xx
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I love that you went to such a chi chi event dressed in your everyday gear :)
Love the bottle. I do like Creed, but it’s pretty much beyond my fragrance budget. I’d try this.
I have FdF too, Portia, and it’s such a sumptuous fragrance. I have the tea rose scent too, and a couple of the other ones. Maybe I’ll try them again-I remember I have Irisia. It’s gorgeous. these scents are potent, and sometimes I just can’t wear them for my life here-people can be disdainful of nice things.
Thanks for the review, and for telling us about the whole experience-it’s like you brought us with you!
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HA! Thanks Carole. It was real fish out of water stuff but I survived.
YAY for another Fantasia de Fleurs fan. Please wear your good stuff and let those pesky people be as disdainful as they like. Who cares what they think?
Portia xx
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I sampled Carmina about a month ago. I thought it was the best of the sweet cherry scents I have tried, but it was too cherry soda, cherry cough dropish for me to even buy a decant. I do love the bottle, though!
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Heya RR,
Fortunately I didn’t get the cough drops, just the cherry soda reference.
Yeah, the bottles is “chef’s kiss”
Portia xx
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With the release of Wind Flowers, I was hoping that Creed was seriously moving in a new direction with their bottle designs. But you’re right, the bottle was an epic fail, and I felt that there wasn’t anything memorable about the fragrance either. I found both the name and contents at odds with each other.
I received a sample of Carmina during its release. I was hoping for something amazing, and simply got a trip to the soda shop instead. For me, Carmina was disappointing at best. This fragrance could have gone in so many positive directions.
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Hi Flaconneur,
Bummer about your Carmina ride. Yeah, if that’s not your style Carmina is probably not going to be your gateway perfume.
Portia xx
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