Kredo
Nishane (2022)

Starts as a very similar albeit a much stronger part of TF Oud Wood and dries down to to a vibe I call BR540 for Men which I feel in a lot of popular frags nowadays, Haltane, Liwa, Oud for Greatness etc.

The longevity is eternal like many Nishanes so if this is important for you it's a positive. I personally couldn't find an occasion to wear this.

What I am also surprised and looking to know more about is that the perfumer of Kredo, Jean Louis Sieuzac who is behind legends such as Kouros and Fahrenheit almost 40 years ago, is alive and kicking. Couldn't find much info on him online.

Kredo by Nishane (2022) is perfumed by the venerable and well-respected Jean-Louis Sieuzac, a perfumer known for huge classics now-worshiped by vintage enthusiasts. This does not smell anything like those - so check your expectations accordingly - and probably won't go down in perfume history as one of his more notable compositions, but that's okay. With the limited palette and reliance on novel abstract materials caused by IFRA restrictions and marketing gurus determined to make every fragrance at every price point the lowest common denominator of taste among potential buyers, Sieuzac did the best job he could. That job results in a rather interesting interpretation of the recent saffron/vanilla/oud molecule combo phenomenon that has evolved as a merging of Tom Ford Oud Wood (2007) and Baccarat Rouge 540 by MFK (2015).

What Sieuzac does with this particular "blob" accord is accent it with more vanilla and add in some osmanthus, adding a surprise smooth fruity twist that makes the thing far more palatable than any other genotype of this particular trope I've encountered. That said, this isn't something I'd wear or buy, so I will rate accordingly. The opening is a bit sharp and harsh, with the pink pepper being particularly piercing, with a green pungency of patchouli alcohol and saffron materials to smooth it over. The osmanthus is just about lost in all this, but emerges sometime later, feeling more like apricot yogurt with all the vanilla and javanol that enter the fray.. The "oud" is slight, and suede is basically a cashmeran pyralone mix with some verimoss to give that "BR540 feeling" in the late drydown. Performance is persistent, but not projecting super far.

Overall, this isn't bad; but Nishane as a house overall is fairly expensive, with super-powered proxies of more popular niche or luxury perfumes, sold at half the quantity for about the same price as 100ml from any other comparable brand, with a bit of Turkish cultural glaze to smooth it over, and sometimes a left-of-center twist like with Kredo to distract you from what you're really buying. In this case, it's another entry in the nameless, faceless field of "luxury" perfumes, where the point is to make the most opaque plasticene smell of smoothness and richness imaginable, like the equivalent of Hershey's Symphony chocolate, sold at Godiva prices. Sieuzac isn't to blame here, as he does a lot of niche and luxury perfume briefs anymore, since he can't make another Dior Dune (1982) or Pascal Morabito Or Black (1982) for designers anymore. Neutral