I wasn’t a huge fan of Creed’s Love in White. The Magnolia in it is just not a note that I love, and, well, I sorta despise the scent personally. So when I heard about Love in Black being released, I wasn’t exactly hopeful that it might even be remotely something I’d like.
So let’s go to the marketing blurb, which isn’t heinous at all. Created to celebrate Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, it uses elements that were symbolic of her life. Night-blooming wildflowers from the Greek Isles; Virginia cedar from the countryside where she rode her horses; iris from Florence, a city she loved; clove and tonkin musk; blackcurrant from Bourgogne; and Bulgarian rose.
Now, I have no idea whether this would remind me of Jackie O or if she would have worn it, but it is elegant and not frilly in the least – it feels a little darkish, but more like a shadow over a bed of flowers on a summer day, not something that only comes out at night. It has a lovely iris/violet floral open, velvety soft and just glides right out of the open into the heart. Now, y’all know I am a complete iris/violet slut, and this perfume is not going to be an exception to my unabashed love of those notes. It’s beautifully rendered, with just a touch of sweetness that adds so much softness to it, but it never veers off into syrupy purple goo, just stays elegantly cool and soft. If you loved the Dior La Particuliere special edition iris one, I think it was No. 9? You will adore this. It’s got the same cool, smooth, elegant treatment that would fit any occasion, day or night. I think guys who like to wear violet/iris combos would welcome this in their wardrobe too.
I’m not going to say there’s anything groundbreaking in this scent. It’s well done and lovely and a good addition to the Creed line, which I admit I just haven’t found a lot of things in the line that I’m smitten with (Hey, BNers, don’t hurt meeeee!!! – I kid, you know I love y’all! 
). This is going to be one of the few exceptions – I will wear this – and have been – a lot and very happily. The price tag is eek! territory – $230 for a 75 ml bottle and $130 for 1 ounce. The gigantor flacon is the way to go, $350 for 250 mls, splitting it with your friends. Right now available only in the Paris boutique, it is due to arrive in U.S. stores in September. My early prediction: This is going to be a bestseller for Creed. They’ve got the marketing right, the image tied to Jackie O, the black bottle, playing off the success of Love in White, and a nicely done fragrance in the bottle.
Disclaimer and happy news for y’all! I was sent this fragrance to review Creed, which never has an impact on if I like something or not, but I do like to disclose it, and I need to bundle up some of it to send to March as well, but I’m going to give away TEN 2.5 ml samples to some lucky commenters. Just leave a comment, and I’ll draw ten names out and post the winners on Thursday.
BTW, just a note about comments. I (and I know March does) love your comments, and I love the way so many of you have these great discussions amongst yourselves. Sometimes be a really daunting task to find the 2-4 hours a day necessary to respond to all comments. So, for me, I want comments to be something I keep loving, so I’m not always going to be able to respond to all. I may just respond to a couple that have questions in them or that I have something to offer back. Some days, I may respond to all of them. I just don’t want anyone to feel like I may be ignoring them if I don’t respond to all comments. And I sure don’t want less comments! That would really suck. 
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