Orange Spice by Creed (1950) {Perfume Short (Review)}

With its pot-pourri name, evocative of houses warmed up by the inner glow of fall and winter, Orange Spice by Creed ends up evoking warm interiors, yes, but in particular that of an 18th century tavern filled with the smoke of civet-scented tobacco stuffed in clay pipes in a room made sultry from the steam of spicy tea cups and mugs of cooked wine. The scents that linger in the air are a powerfully animalic civet, the sunny bites of oranges, wisps of medicinal clove, the sweet smoldering note of cinnamon, and the leathery suggestion of Tonka bean with its subtle powdery almond facet... 

Although created in 1950, Creed Orange Spice readily captures an old-world and old-regime atmosphere where cobbled streets reverberate with the sound of rolling carriages. An "Ye Olde Civet Cat" sign is dancing and creaking in the cold wind, and one is day-dreaming of centuries past while sipping a hot cup of tea poured from a modern kettle.

Classified by Creed as a masculine cologne, it is more an evocative repository of wintry memories and traditional anticipatory emotions linked with Christmas. Its central, non-advertised civet accord makes it a very sensual, warm and exotic scent in time in an era where this feral note has gone out of fashion several times already.

Although the dry-down is slightly slanted towards the masculine with its classic Eau de Cologne overtones, its impeccably elegant signature feels unisex.

It is a very pure, hedonistic, and smart civet perfume for aficionados of the old civet cat and for those craving an invigorating deep spicy citrus scent with festive, cozy, balmy and sensual overtones for the cold season. It is like an 18th century version of the 20th century Happy by Clinique with all the differences that the separation in time and tastes create.