Creed: Acqua Fiorentina (2009)

                                                  Acqua Fiorentina

Summary: Creed's newest fragrance is a plum and cedar-themed scent inspired by 15th century Florence, and yet another departure by a family of perfumers who constantly surprise.
 
Pros: On me, this is all about cedarwood with accents of sandalwood and citrus; greengage plum is the masterpiece top note that frames the woods; keeps me sniffing my wrist and sighing with pleasure.
 
Cons: Yet again Creed releases a fragrance with a bottle and image that epitomizes softness and floral femininity while the juice inside that bottle feels anything but;  it's simplicity might cause sniffers to pass it over; where are those roses and carnations?

Notes: "Greengage plum, renaissance rose, pink carnation, bergamot orange, Calabrian lemon, Virginian cedar and Indian sandalwood."

Reminds me of: There's something of Acqua Fiorentina that feels familiar, like the topnotes of D&G Light Blue or Lanvin Eclat d'Arpege.


Designer's Description: "The inspiration is 15th century Florence in Italy, where artists and innovators such as da Vinci and Michelangelo lit a new flame of beauty and culture, sparking a Renaissance of art always growing in worth, even today. Orchards and farms around Florence are sources for Acqua Fiorentina ingredients. Acqua Fiorentina is an investment in fragrance, a statement about the lasting value of fine scent, shared and enjoyed generation to generation."

 
Creed's US website further explains: "Visually pink, Acqua Fiorentina also supports a Renaissance in health. A portion of proceeds from U.S. sales in October will benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund."

Number of times tested: 5 times within the last month.

Number of sprays applied for this review: 1 spray to the back of each hand and wrist.

Fragrance Strength: Millesime (Eau de Parfum)

Development: (Linear / Average / Complex) Top and middle notes meld immediately to create a citrusy, fresh, tart plum accord. This juicy aroma is juxtaposed against white woods, the basenotes, from the very start. And that's the entire story. As the scent dries, the woods take center stage with only an echo of the top and middlenotes.
 
Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) For a fragrance as sparkling and light as Acqua Fiorentina, the lasting power is quite good. I find myself re-applying every 3 hours or so: While it doesn't disappear in seconds, I quickly miss the burst of greengage plum and need to sphritz a little more. Still, for that price tag, it could carry a bit more "oomph".

Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot) As mentioned above, this one stays close to the skin.
 
Note About the Packaging: A pale pink water housed in the classic Creed bottles. The 1 oz edp spray is the typical glass atomizer; the 2.5 oz edp spray is housed in the curvacious atomizer with feathered plumes etched into the center of the glass bottle and silver flowers etched onto the bottle's sides evoking Florentine gardens and the 8 oz splash flacon is transparent glass with the silver Creed feathered plumes decorating the totality of the bottle. The white paper box and silver/white lable is typical of Creed's packaging.


The Bottom Line: In the 1980's, when I first discovered Creed, I found many of the fragrances to share similar accords, especially in the basenotes. The 20th century, however, finds Creed heading off into unfamiliar and often surprising territory with offerings such as Love in White's rice steam note, Love in Black's controversial and somewhat gothic violet-iris-musk, Virgin Island Water,'s lime-rum-coconut and now Acqua Fiorentina's plum and cedar. While the two Love scents caused quite a stir and had perfumistos divided in their reactions, I think Acqua Fiorentina will find an appreciative audience right across the board.
 
As I mentioned earlier, one of my biggest beefs with Creed's latest offerings is the way in which they ascribe gender to their fragrances based on the bottles and marketing. I worry that they are limiting their potential customer base whereas lines like L'Artisan and Lutens allow the customer to project their own story and interpretation onto the composition. Nonetheless, I was (and still am) utterly charmed with Acqua Fiorentina but like my experiences with the two Love scents, I had to wear AF a couple of times to appreciate its true beauty - those woody basenotes.

 
My initial impression of Acqua Fiorentina was to pass it over as derivative and unoriginal. However, as the scent blossomed in Florida's July heat, I found myself wanting to sip the juicy topnotes and kept coming back to the woods (insert image of Marlen's left wrist plastered to his nose). Where similar fruity-florals overwhelm with sugary sweet berry and apple notes in the opening and then trail off into white musk drydowns, Acqua Fiorentina takes a decidedly different path, and in the words of Frost, it has made all the difference. So often, cedar scents tend to overwhelm me conjuring images of cedar shoe trees and mountain chalets, but the drydown of Acqua Fiorentina is so pleasant and so subtle that I think I can admit that I feel slightly addicted.
 
My own projected story of Acqua Fiorentina is inspired not by Florentine renaissance gardens, but a recent trip to Napa Valley, California, where I drank a bottle of wine named "Provence" at Peju Vineyards. A chilled, fruity red with sparkling topnotes, Provence had a deliciously tart edge and subtle oaky base that had me wracking my brain to figure out what it reminded me of.

A week later while back at home and enjoying the last of my Acqua Fiorentina sample, lightning struck - Acqua Fiorentina recalls the delicious Provence, a cuvee whose blended topnotes hint at AF's own blended topnotes. As much a wine lover as a perfume lover (though admittedly, fragrance is my number one obsession in life) perhaps this is why I feel no gender for Acqua Fiorentina and want a big bottle all for myself, ignoring the storyline the perfumers themselves created for it and replacing it with my own. And afterall, isn't that partially the power of fragrance, the ability for it to become associated with experiences in turn creating scented memories?

I understand that Creed is a house with a history and a decidely luxurious brand that demands luxurious pricetags. I worry that a scent so straightforward and simple, despite its mouthwatering qualities will have some asking themselves if it's worth it. That's up to the customer to decide. For me, Love in White has made such a huge impression on not just me, but close friends and family who now rank it as their all-time favorite aroma, that the price tag seems justifiable. Time will tell how the scent-obsessed world reacts to Acqua Fiorentina, but for now, I'm happy to drink the last of my Peju Provence while reveling in the beauty of Creed's newest, and perhaps most un-Creed-like creation.

Please visit the official web presentation of Creed
 

Images: Creed, see.lauren, Pink Sherbet Photography, PcPig, DominusVibiscum

Author: Marlen Harrison
Guest writer

Creator and Editor of PerfumeCritic.com, Marlen Harrison was also author of Basenotes.com's ADDICTED column and one of the community's moderators. Marlen has been a regular contributor to NowSmellThis blog, BeautyAddictMag, and The Washington Blade. He is currently completing his PhD in English Composition and TESOL and teaches at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.