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Creed Cologne (specifically russian leather and Tabarome), is it worth the price?

JLStorm

Practically Family
Messages
608
Location
Pennsylvania
I dont live anywhere near a store that carries Creed scents, although I may try to find a store during one of my up coming business trips. Im curious about the price though. I have this nasty habit of being drawn to things that are more expensive, simply because they are more expensive and assuming that they are better; sometimes this is the case, often it isnt. I really wanted to try the russian leather at first, but I cannot find it. The Tabarome also seems interesting, but at 120 - 200 a bottle, I really want to know if I am paying for a name and a limited production, or if I am paying for ingredients and the scent?

If its more the price of a limited production and the brand, then I would rather save my money and find something similar to the russian leather or Tabarome scents, anyone have a recommendation?

Thanks.
 

DBLIII

One of the Regulars
Messages
229
Location
Hill City, SD
Not sure whether she is still on ebay, but some years back there was a lady who sold samples of Creed. I checked, at least as best I could and it was the authentic stuff as she'd also sell entire bottles -- and after I ordered some samples from her, I couldn't tell the difference between what she sent and what a very high-end store had in stock. Having said all that, Creed is interesting and definitely has its own aroma, whatever one you choose. For me, I just stuck with plain old bay rum after my foray into the world of expensive colognes.
 

rmrdaddy

One Too Many
Messages
1,217
Location
South Jersey
JL,
I'm not sure if you have perused the threads here regarding wetshaving or are already a member of Badger & Blade or not, but that may be a possible avenue for you as well. There is a very active BST (buy/sell/trade) thread on B&B where many colognes and aftershaves, among all the other shaving accountrements, are offered up. It might not be an instant gratificaion answer, but if you have trepidation about the investment, it may be a viable alternative.
 

JLStorm

Practically Family
Messages
608
Location
Pennsylvania
I was a member at B&B and was one of the original moderators of SRP, but I dont go on either one much anymore, they make me want to buy too many things lol.

Im really looking for a fragrance thats very heavy on the leather and pipe tobacco scents. Something masculine that I never hear (this can be worn on a woman or a man), that drives me nuts. I dont want anything that any woman would wear, unless she wanted to smell like a man.

I'll ask on SRP as well, I hadnt thought about that, thanks.
 

RobStC

A-List Customer
Messages
371
Location
Edinburgh, Scotland
JLStorm said:
Im really looking for a fragrance thats very heavy on the leather and pipe tobacco scents. Something masculine that I never hear (this can be worn on a woman or a man), that drives me nuts. I dont want anything that any woman would wear, unless she wanted to smell like a man.

IMO, Tabarome (the 'original' is the only version I have tried - I believe the 'new' Tabarome is a little lighter and less individual) is the way to go if you want lots of leather and tobacco. Cuir de Russie is less obviously leather-ey, without the tobacco notes. I found that Tabarome was too rich and heavy for me, and prefer Cuir de Russie, but YMMV.....

Creed stuff is certainly expensive, but I think it's worth it for the naturalness of the fragrance, plus a little goes a long way (especially with Tabarome).

RobStC
 

JLStorm

Practically Family
Messages
608
Location
Pennsylvania
Thanks for the replies. I posted a similar question with some more specifics on basenotes.com and I ordered some samples of scents that were not Creed, although some were just as, or more expensive. I really want to stay away from anything that is discontinued. Having to pay a lot for cologne is one thing, having to pay a lot and having to suffer through hours or trying to find a discontinued fragrance at a reasonable price is another entirely.
 

Adcurium

A-List Customer
Messages
316
Location
Newport County, Rhode Island
Tabarome

JLStorm said:
I dont live anywhere near a store that carries Creed scents, although I may try to find a store during one of my up coming business trips. Im curious about the price though. I have this nasty habit of being drawn to things that are more expensive, simply because they are more expensive and assuming that they are better; sometimes this is the case, often it isnt. I really wanted to try the russian leather at first, but I cannot find it. The Tabarome also seems interesting, but at 120 - 200 a bottle, I really want to know if I am paying for a name and a limited production, or if I am paying for ingredients and the scent?

If its more the price of a limited production and the brand, then I would rather save my money and find something similar to the russian leather or Tabarome scents, anyone have a recommendation?

Thanks.

I've got to say, I think Creed and the Tabarome scent is worth every penny. I called the NYC boutique and bought it directly from them and I think shipping was free. I DO have a local store that sells it but honestly, I doubted its authenticity (there is a HUGE Creed knockoff market, and I didn't want to be victim. If I'm spending 300 bucks I want the real stuff) But, the Tabarome they now sell is the Tabarome Millesene (sp?) which is different from the ORIGINAL Tabarome (which they do sell, but it is from old stock and is now 'vintage', which also means it's well over $300.

It is high quality and worth every penny, IMHO.
 

Tomasso

Incurably Addicted
Messages
13,719
Location
USA
RobStC said:
Creed stuff is certainly expensive, but I think it's worth it for the naturalness of the fragrance
Yep, that's what you're paying for.....an of course Oliver's jet....
 

Daniel

Familiar Face
Messages
53
Location
Denver, Colorado, USA
Samples of most colognes are available from The Perfumed Court. It's always better to try a sample before you drop a couple of hundred bucks on a bottle.

A not-too-expensive leather I like is Elsha. I like it better than other leathers, even Chanel's much-worshiped Cuir de Russie.

I haven't been impressed with the stuff from Creed. It's much-vaunted over at Basenotes, but I tend to prefer scents by Guerlain, Caron, and even Thierry Mugler.

Good luck!
 

Tourbillion

Practically Family
Messages
667
Location
Los Angeles
As far as I can tell from Creed's website, both Vintage Tabarome and Cuir de Russie are now discontinued. Basenotes doesn't seem to have this information though. So, if you are trying to avoid discontinued products than you should avoid both of them. Personally I love some of Creed's discontinued scents, and if I had the money I would pay top dollar for them (I'm thinking of the supposedly unisex Angelique Encens that I no longer have and miss terribly).

That being said, I prefer Vintage Tabarome to the Millesime and having only smelled Creed's Cuir de Russie once, I prefer their Royal English Leather (which isn't discontinued).

Since I am female I don't actually wear any of these, but Creed's scents are made with good materials. I am actually a fan of leather scents for both sexes though. I have a sample LT Piver's Cuir de Russie, as well as Chanel's ladies one. I have a host of modern ones too. One of the few men's scents that I do wear is rather cheap English Leather by Dana. Creed is a little bit overpriced, but not compared to some of their competitors, and they do have good scents.
 

RobStC

A-List Customer
Messages
371
Location
Edinburgh, Scotland
As far as I can tell from Creed's website, both Vintage Tabarome and Cuir de Russie are now discontinued.QUOTE]

Yep, this indeed seems to be the case. I was saddened to be told, by the very nice lady in the Creed shop (Ave. Pierre 1er de Serbie) when I passed through Paris the other day, that Cuir de Russie is no longer made as they can't source some of the ingredients - she wasn't sure which ingredients - and the only Tabarome they could offer was the Millesime.

Ended up buying a couple of new ones for me - Zeste Mandarine /Pamplemousse as a general daytime fragrance, and a large bottle of Royal Scottish Lavender for evenings. Although the RSL is apparently also being discontinued!!! Why oh why do I always fall for stuff they no longer make..... :eusa_doh:

Oh well, just have to eek out my remaining supply of Cuir de Russie.....

RobStC
 

Tomasso

Incurably Addicted
Messages
13,719
Location
USA
RobStC said:
Why oh why do I always fall for stuff they no longer make..... :eusa_doh:
I HATE that when that happens. It is maddening to search for discontinued stuff that you love.
 

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