Original Vetiver
Creed (2004)

smells incredibly natural like im literally in a field of vetiver. for me this was worth it heavily discounted cause im more in love with the novelty than the performance

Lately, I've been feeling so nostalgic for when niche fragrance was so new to me, sixteen or seventeen years ago, and Creed seemed so distinguished to me at the time. Having already been familiar with the great Guerlain Vetiver, I tried this out at the Creed counter in Neiman-Marcus in around 2008. At the time, the bottle came with a silver metal cap, and the smell to me was so sophisticated and clean. Though even then, I noticed the the vetiver was far into the background, and that it was built around bright citrus, soapy aromatics and musks.

To tell the truth, I've never actually smelled Mugler Cologne and cannot make the comparison, but it seems the consensus is that the two are quite similar. I just recall at the time, in the newness of this whole new realm of fragrance, that this made me feel good to wear. It was a simpler time for me, and this was a simple pleasure. It would be interesting to see what memories light up in my mind once more after smelling it again after so many years. That is, if it still smells the same, which is a whole other argument as we know.

The opening consisted of citrus notes paired with some ginger giving a fresh crisp feeling. The vetiver emerges soon after, which contributes to freshness of the scent. A nice fleshy green vetiver is what I get from it, very inviting and appealing. The base dries down to the familiar ambergris notes and some musk. A very simplistic scent that does not shout out to others close by. It can be worn casually or at work. This is ideal for warmer weather, particularly spring and summer. It's a safe scent. This one gets compared to the infamous Mugler Cologne and I found to be a worthy substitution for that scent, it could be considered an upgrade. Nonetheless for both Mugler Cologne and Original Vetiver, one cannot go wrong with either.

This is talked about as a happy friendly vetiver. A expensive Mugler cologne. Id say it does smell like the Mugler, but it has more vetiver. The Mugler is a citrus clean soapy flowers. This is that with a vetiver backdrop. I smell the vetiver similar to the Guerlain in the background. Ultimately this is a standard fare, soapy clean and green fragrance. I found longevity decent and projection a bit below average. This was from an authorized spray sample. I could see getting this someday, but I was hoping for a little more Creed basenote magic that I did not get. Even though this is a low priced Creed, I'm still docking it for being expensive. Presentation is quite nice. The gradient green on those Victorian looking bottles. Pretty nice. Neutral. This reminds me as well of the Elle Saab Vetiver, for what it is worth. I think I liked that one a bit more, even if they costed the same.

Perfect work or getting $hit done scent. Extremely underrated, and one of the best ever released by Creed.

This is the dumb-grab from Creed.

Of all of the Creed scents out there this is probably their best one in terms of quality, performance and versatility. Like Guerlain's Vetiver (1961), this is a fragrance that you can wear anywhere and fit in without issue. It works in the office, works during casual events, would work on a date (warmer months preferred); it would even work at a formal event.

It has a savon accord very similar to Mugler Cologne (2001), but with the addition of vetiver, though that vetiver is a background player in this. I've never found Original Vetiver to be a "vetiver fragrance." What makes this work so well is the soap note made by the combination of a really good citrus and floral combination. It has great performance (by Creed standards) in regards to longevity and projection. Wear this in the spring/summer for best effect.

If you need a cheaper alternative to this, pick up Mugler Cologne. It's not the same, but it's in the same ballpark, much the way Set Sail St. Barts (2007) by Tommy Bahama is the ballpark alternative to Creed's Virgin Island Water (2007). That said, if you have the disposable income, I think that Original Vetiver is the one Creed fragrance that I would go so far as to say is a blind buy. It's difficult not to like this one.

Big thumbs up.