Erolfa

II spent my 10th Anniversary Trip with my wife in San Diego and had a list of scents I wanted to refresh my mind about. Erolfa was last on the list, but after smelling it on the card, I was incredibly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I kept the card with me as we continued to shop and loved the mid almost as much as the opening, so I went back and sprayed it into the inside of my elbow... A week later I purchased a bottle from a verified discounter (not that I don't think this is worth the price tag, it's just Creed prices and the grey market exists for a reason). The Batch Code is 20B01N and I've worn it 4 or 5 times since getting my bottle and while the opening is incredible, the mid on this batch isn't quite as good as what I experienced in the store, but what I am noticing is that as time wears on, the performance and scent has grown as it has macerated. The opening is this bright, lime-bergamot-over-lemon punch which is so beautifully satisfying that it is hard to describe. That punch is subtly punctuated by a sharp tone which is definitely the caraway, which provides a nice sort of "end" to the opening as it makes its jaunt through your olfactory system. While it's common to rag on Creed for any number of reasons, this scent is a perfect example of how great the house is at exquisitely layering the notes within their fragrances. The mid BEGINS with that caraway punctuation and then moves into notes (in this batch at least) of gingery nutmeg and pepper that transitions smoothly into a brief hint of jasmine if it were rubbed onto an ambergris stone in the base. This batch in particular goes very heavy on the muskiness of the ambergris, it's almost as if the ambergris they used for this batch was of the more "pungent" variety as you get A LOT of ambergris and musk. That muskiness eventually fades into a pleasant but too faint for my liking, bit of cedar. My only complaint about my batch (SO FAR -- and I will update this review if things change) is that despite being wonderfully layered, the scent moves through its layers VERY quickly, with the opening fading away around the 1-2 hour mark before blitzing through the mid to that very pungent and musky ambergris base, which is what lingers for hours 3-6. I'm getting about 7-8 hours of longevity out of it, and what I have noticed is that heat REALLY impacts the performance of this scent. While it's a great office/signature scent for the warmer months, the fragrance certainly can "revive" itself if you start sweating in the sun, which is something to keep in mind if you plan to be outdoors with it all day. You won't need as many sprays. For me it's a damn good, near perfect summer fragrance, but does not knock Millesime Imperial off of its perch, namely because of how much more citrusy the opening is, making it similar but still not quite comparable.

I had worn a sample of Erolfa previously and received some compliments from both men and women. I really enjoyed the freshness of it and the woody ambergris base that is prevalent in other fragrances from Creed like GIT, so I bought a 100ml for spring/summer. After the weather warmed up this past week, I decided to try this on. Here’s a few anecdotes and notes.. - I knew longevity would be an issue. I bought it anyway. - I first sprayed it once on the top of my hand prior to bedtime. My wife immediately made the comment that it smelled ‘like toilet cleaner’. (Note: EVERY fresh fragrance with citrus notes smells like that with her. This is nothing new.) Upon waking the next day, I sniffed where I sprayed and there was nothing. Not a trace. This concerned me. Erolfa is not cheap. - The first day that I wore it, I applied six sprays twice. I could not detect any scent bubble around me after 3.5 hours. - I wore it to work over the week. One of my coworkers, a woman, who always comments on what I am wearing said nothing. I never asked her what she thought of it. Another female that I work with who enjoys fragrance said that she could smell it and, after mentioning my wife’s previous comment, said that while it smells like I got out of the shower and that she liked it, she could see why my wife made the toilet cleaner comment. This seemed to be a diplomatic answer. With all this aside I can say that, even with the longevity and the sillage deficiencies, I really enjoy this. I’m 54 years-old and, after being suckered into making multiple unisex fragrance purchases which lean more feminine to me, I want more masculine, less sweetened fragrances. I don’t want to be a walking popsicle. Leather-based and deep animalics, though I enjoy them, will cause arguments in my house, so I must stick to woody and fresh. I find myself leaning more toward vintage fragrances, because to me, this is what men used to smell like. Call me old school! - I like the musk of the melon! Citrusy too! -I love the ambergris accord in the drydown. It’s manly. - A wee hint of pissiness, but again this is manly. -Cumin is there. Not jumping out, but just a hint of funk. -Sandalwood/soft musk/ salty ambergris are reminiscent of Green Irish Tweed. -Day and warm afternoon fragrance. - Work/home/ out and about Epilogue- Work was finished yesterday, so I headed to the store for a quick shop. I sprayed on Erolfa in the car, shopped, and then headed home. As I was unlocking the door and stepping through the threshold, our little dachshund Ellie surprised me, excitedly dashing in behind me from the yard to welcome me home. My wife followed suit. My wife said that the dog could smell me from around the corner and knew that I was home. And then she said, “You smell great! What are you wearing?” ;)

In a community full of people that act like pantomimes; trying to chase of what's the new "in" or "hot" thing right now, debating on what's the best oud & rose combo release of the month, or of them trying to excuse themselves of why they pay premium price tags ($300+) for "niche artisanal scents with luxurious raw materials" for products of the likes Anomalia, Le Labo or MARC ANTOINE BARROIS that mostly consists harsh aromachemicals, fantasy notes or basically 3-4 synthetic notes and promoting their product as "minimalist approach"; classic scent profiles such as Erolfa are basically fighting the establishment, and they are there to remind you that in the end of the day.. less is more, and that luxury is quiet. Erolfa is genius made by one. Pierre Bourdon tried to fuse his mastery of his revolutionary for the time aquatic style, with the dirty edge signature of his predecessor and master E. Roudnitska. The reference to Eau D'Hermès in this is clear but subtle, no wonder since Bourdon wanted to create an honorable homage to it since his first steps into being in Grasse's perfumery school. Before I say what I think about the scent I want to disclaim that yes; I am a bit biased and the reason is that Bourdon is my favorite perfumer. I've been collecting for more than 20 years.. way before the youtube/tiktok craze was even about to start.. I always remember that I never liked aquatics or marines.. looking back at my collection I may find 2 or 3 of them at best.. I always hated this specific scent profile with passion, and the reason is that I found them dull, repetitive & uninspired.. ADG, Miyake's L’eau d’Issey, CK one.. you name it.. in my mind I was better off not spraying anything on me than spraying something like that. The paradox of the matter is that since I bought Erolfa it's been my signature scent for 3 years now.. if anybody would have told me that I'd wear an aquatic as my signature I'd tell him that he's a mad man.. well here we are. The scent is alluring, spiking, nose tickling, aquatic, fresh & complex.. it grabs you from the nose and it makes you chase it.. it's one of those that you need a bottle for you to appreciate, because 2ml samples wont make you understand the greatness in this.. you need to live with it to truly understand it. misc info: since I liked it so much, I tried to get my hands on an old bottle (blue plastic cap, clear bottle), well the "big" difference is the ambergris.. but that's about it.. I can definitely say that the current formulation is great, and it doesn't have many things to be jealous of the old one.

Erolfa is one of the brand’s more iconic releases, overshadowed by more popular scents from this house that came out a couple of years later and took direct inspiration from this composition. The past is Green Irish Tweed, and future releases inspired by this fragrance include Silver Mountain Water and Millésime Impérial. There’s no way around it, so it wouldn’t be fair to place this composition anywhere besides in my Holy Grail section. TOP NOTES The opening is full of bright citruses such as lime, orange, and mandarin, including mild watermelon accord and herbal touches of rosemary and ozonic violet. These herbal aromas add a unique twist to the citrusy top notes, creating a refreshing and complex fragrance that cannot be said for many other scents from this house. HEART NOTES The transition to the middle stage becomes a semi-soapy and salty vibe with a more nuanced and aromatic experience. However, the heart notes state that there are many different variations of floral ingredients here. Honestly, I don’t detect them at all, which is weird. What I do detect when the initial burst starts to settle down is this aquatic/barbershop mix of ambergris, ginger, clean oakmoss, and a pinch of spicy black pepper. BASE NOTES A good dose of ambergris, creamy sandalwood, pencil-shaving cedar, and oakmoss stand out in the base. They anchor the scent’s brightness, allowing the fragrance to evolve from a breezy, aquatic citrus to a more grounded yet airy scent. White musk is an essential component in this context, serving as a fixative that binds all the other elements together. OVERALL This unexpected masterpiece from Creed proves the brand has more to offer than its most popular fragrances. The fact that I got it via swap for another fragrance(why I don’t have the box) doesn’t change my mind about it being one of the most refreshing experiences in recent years. Read the full review at scentgrail (.) com

This was the first Creed fragrance I fell in love with when trying Creeds out in a high end store in 2019. It was genuine love at first “sight”. I tried all the popular Creed:s but they didn’t scratch the itch like this one did. I bought three 100ml bottles immediately that day since the pricing was right ($260/bottle) and I’ve been wearing this wonderful fragrance regularly since and I’m half way through my 3rd bottle as of right now. In my current batch (19R01) the basil & bergamot are both extremely obvious in the very opening. While the lime comes a little later. I am loving the ambegris, gingery and bergamot pleasing dry down a lot. This batch lasts me a confident and comfortable 3 hours of good projection until it becomes a skin scent - the last two hours. 5h tot. I am however investing in a 120ml bottle from my birth year (2003) very soon. I have heard older batches are a lot greater in terms of both longevity and sillage. 10/10 summer fragrance and EASILY my favorite Creed. Absolutely gorgeous scent overall. A very much fitting outfit for Erolfa would be a long sleeve navy blue linen shirt, over a plain white t-shirt. Roll up your sleeves to just under your inner elbows. A nice watch - Omega Sea-Master (blue) or a Tudor BB58 (blue). A well fitting pair of beige chino shorts, a brown leather belt and a pair of brown leather loafers/navy blue trainers. (No show socks of course). No headwear or a beige fedora with a navy blue or white band - no in between. Eye wear - choose as you please. Definitely not a safe blind buy but you can definitely learn to enjoy this (like I did with Aventus. I literally gagged when I first smelled Aventus and now I find it wonderful).