Creed Love in Black – New Release

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. 🙁

  • Jesstant says:

    I’m using Spring Flower from Creed, and i love it! Creed is really not like the products sold in the department stores,to me, those are just filled with alcohol. Com’n, just because they are celebrities doesn’t mean they know how to make perfume.

    I’d be very grateful if i can try this new one – Love in Black! Please enter me in the drawing!

  • Becky says:

    I am very excited to hear about a new fragrance from Creed which strays from their other recent scents…thanks for entering me in the drawing!! :d/

  • Ilus says:

    I LOVE Creed. Love in White is my favorite. So when I heard Love in Black was out, I ordered it right away from Neiman Marcus online. Creed doesn’t smell cheap like some perfumes and it wears tres fabu! I look forward to receiving my Love in Black today 😡

  • kopa says:

    Sorry to comment on an old post, but I have to speak up on behalf of all BNers who aren’t obsessed with Creed! Personally I’m sick to death of all the frickin’ Creed threads that seems to pop up like roaches just when you think you might not ever see one again. I haven’t tried the whole line, but I think their stuff is at best marginally pleasant and at worst completely devoid of interest. Not to mention the incredibly pretentious “I wear Creed and nothing else” attitude you get from some people… Spare me!

  • Molly says:

    Patty & March, Can you recommend any perfumes that remind you of Sacred Datura? I also like (forgive my knowledge of terms for scent) musty earthy smells, damp woods, dirt, spicy, night blooms. Rich, sultry, but not too overbearing or old lady rich (ie Coco Chanel makes me feel to old and Estee Lauder Aromatic Elixer is too strong). Never powders, rarely sweet. Thanks for any recommendations!

  • Molly says:

    Wow. I just stumbled across your blog as I was trying to search for a perfume that smells like Sacred Datura blooms, my all time favorite, I so wish I could bottle it. I pick a bloom from my backyard every night and place it on my nightstand to lure thick dreams. I live in Albuquerque where this plant is a true warrior-ess. Anyhoo, I am so thrilled that I found this site! I love the scent descriptions and story telling. Although I’m a little worried as I could easily spend all of my cash on hand on scents and this blog is unquestionably going to be added to the favorites bookmarks. And how fun that you’re sending lucky gals fancy perfume! My friends and family laugh at the way I smell everything. Oh how sad I would be without my sense of smell. Looking forward to reading your new and older posts.

  • Jan Lugenbuhl says:

    With the most exquisite, cultured, and majestically symbolic First Lady as its “muse”, Creed’s Love In Black is probably the most enticing fragrance that this fragrance house has created, and after reading your review and the various comments, I am salivating at the prospect of this new and elegant-sounding scent! I would LOVE a sample, if I’m not too late! I was born in 1960 and vaguely remember Jack and Jackie in the White House, as well as her years as a member of the “transatlantic leisure class”, and I’ve always admired her and enjoyed her style. So far my favorite Creed fragrance is “Jasmine Imperatrice Eugenie” (as my paternal grandmother was named Eugenie), and although I have sampled practically all of them, this new creation has me most fascinated. I love your descriptive phrases (“a shadow over a summer garden”) and as a fair-complexioned brunette, like Jackie, I hope it will express “me” as well. Nice review. And thanks for the offer to send out samples to some of us.:)

  • Teresa B says:

    I went to the Creed counter yesterday as I am turning 30 today and wanted to find a new perfume for my new decade of life. (I tend to associate perfumes & songs with life’s moments.) This past Christmas I had bought my boyfriend Green Irish Tweed and love it. So at the perfume counter for myself this time and so many choices from Creed, and after about 4 whiffs my nose was done =) The saleswoman did tell me about the new Love in Black though, and I thought maybe I’d wait for that to come out before I decide which new scent I will call my signature scent for the new life lessons, the big experiences (marriage, kids, first house) and confidence I am looking forward to.
    I’d love to try the sample if you have any.
    Thanks for the review!!

  • Musette says:

    Reporting from the Creed counter (nearly) – Shelley Incredible and I were doing the run-through for the Chicocoa Event and got to sample this today – you iris/violet lovers will like this, I think. Softly dark – more dusky and musk, if that makes sense.

    xoxo a footsore Musette – btw : let this be a cautionary tale for all you Eventers – WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! You can change into cuties for the cocktail party but I’m not joking about comfort – you don’t want to have to cut a Very Fun Day short because your dawgs are howling!)

    xoxoxox

  • Mary says:

    The older I get, the more I admire Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. An American survivor, with class, I was sad when she died. I associate her, for some reason, with Jicky (maybe it’s the name?), but will love to sample Creed Love in Black, if, heaven knows, I can ever afford it. One shouldn’t have to *be* a Kennedy to buy extra-nice things, as a rule… Thanks for the review, I really enjoy Perfume Posse, followed the link from Now Smell This.

  • Jean says:

    This sounds divine, I’d love to try it! Please enter me in the drawing.

  • Claudia says:

    I would love to try this, so please enter me in the draw. Many thanks! 🙂

  • Kristy Victoria says:

    I don’t know how you find as much time as you do to respond as much as you can thus far, anyways!

  • nubs says:

    I am a newbie to creed,living in fear of the the price point to tell the truth.

    I have sampled three with varying results
    Springflower -sent to me by a POLer with the warning , give it to the kid, its up her ally , you are so going to hate this …. ODD , but I do not hate it , I like it and wear , though she was correct, perfectly up the kids alley.

    Tuberose Indiana – at a mini sniffa with a POLer , she tells me “it smells like a dewy rose” Me , “it does indeed, I can see why tuberose haters eat this stuff up , all rose , no tube”

    Vingage Tabarome- wow , swoonworthy , then I saw the price of the jug on offer and swooned for real.

    Throw me into the draw , I aim to somehow make my way through this line.

  • Laurie says:

    A common theme…not a Creed lover either. Only one I’ve ever had to have was Angelique Encens. Other than that one, meh. Wanting to try this one – they got me with the Jackie O line ; )
    Please enter me in the drawing!! Thanks.

  • Maura says:

    Great review! I’m not a typical Creed fan either but would love to try this if I’m not too late for the drawing! I’m on a violet kick lately! ~Gracias~ 🙂

  • Texas_Snow says:

    I haven’t felt much Creed love…but this one is intriguing. Iris & violets with cedar is unusual. Count me in for the sample drawing!

  • Tori says:

    Mmm… it sound like there might be a Creed I’d enjoy! I’d love to sniff it.

  • Lucy says:

    Please enter me in the drawing!
    I love Creed. I think they started getting hit with bad press since that NPR interview when The Guide was making the publicity rounds, they were sacrificed on the altar of something or other, but hopefully that will blow over soon. I like their men’s fragrances, they are great for women, like Irish Tweed and Silver Mountain Water and also their antique formulations which are strong and complex. I don’t have that much of a problem with their formulating fragrances around iconic personalities, especially in comparison to the current celebrity fragrances endlessly churned out these days for Brittany and JLo and others.

  • sunnlitt says:

    hi,

    I love violets. I would love to be entered in your drawing.
    thanks!!

  • zeram1 says:

    So can you detect the “cedar” in any phase of its development?
    Please enter me in the drawing as well.

  • Jennifer Ouellette says:

    Thank you for the review. I have been dreaming about this fragrance since I saw it was coming out. I am not near any places taht sell Creed so this totally helped me to imagine what it is going to smell like. You Rock!

  • Patricia says:

    There’s something odd in Love in Black, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps its because I’ve only smelled it once at NM (they have a tester for presells) but it is odd. the next day dry down was lovely though (a blotter fished from the back pocket of my jeans).

    I did enjoy Love in White (my sample vial of it became the fragrence a friend wore for her wedding), but not enough to own a full bottle.

  • Melissa says:

    Well, I seem to be following the herd. Love iris and violet, indifferent to most Creeds except the the lovely Angelique Encens. Every once in a while, if I feel like smelling like a gigantic bouquet of flowers, I spritz on a drop of 2000 Fleurs…A strange urge indeed. Usually passes quickly.

    Would love to be entered in the drawing though!

  • Kim says:

    violet usually doesn’t do well on me and I haven’t found a Creed that I can love yet. But I am willing to give this a try – the notes sound wonderful so please sign me up for the sample draw.

    Thank you for saying what you did about the comments. One of the great things about this blog is the interaction between the commenters – you and March and the guest authors always seem to be able to trigger lively discussion. But I wondered if it was getting to be too much work and thanks for all of it! 😡

  • Eileen says:

    Good news and great review, Patty! Creed fragrances seem to agree with my body chemistry, so I’m glad to hear that LIB may be another one I’ll like. Some, like Love in White, just haven’t been my cuppa, but at least the Creeds don’t turn all sweet/funny on me like some other houses. I’ll keep an eye out for it.

    Please do enter me in the drawing!

  • JenniferR says:

    Ok, another not-so-loving Creed commenter, wanting to be persuaded by a sample of iris/violet smooth elegance …
    Please enter me in the drawing!

  • Olfacta says:

    Sometimes I wonder when enough is going to be enough with Jacqueline…but the fragrance sounds nice, please enter me in the drawing! Thanks…

  • hollyb says:

    I love your blog, please enter me in the drawing!

  • RHM says:

    I like to try any & all Creeds, just so I can emm…well….you know…darn it! I just like to try them.
    Now that I know this one is an iris/violet, I HAVE to try it.
    Sign me up gurl friend!
    Christine

  • aelily says:

    I’ve never tried a Creed. I have a few on my “Sniff List,” but haven’t had a chance to get them yet. I would love to try this one. I can’t seem to get an Iris to stay on my skin! Does anyone have any other suggestions?

  • carole says:

    To date, I love all Creeds I have tried. Favorites in clude Love in Whote, Irisia (which sometimes wear me, rather than me wearing it) and TI. May I be included in the draw, too?

    Thanks!

  • Gretchen says:

    Yes, the bottle looks more Goth than Jackie, but I’m intrigued anyway. Put my name in the hat, please.

  • merenguehips says:

    Please enter me in the drawing…I adore iris, but haven’t really noticed violet one way or the other yet…

  • pantera Lilly says:

    I want to be in the drawing!!! The fragrance sounds lovely. Thanks Patty.

  • Goose says:

    Sounds like a decent new release, definitely marketing-wise… and violet/iris? I might even have to try this myself.

    Please include me in the drawing too 🙂

  • AnnE says:

    Patty, your description of this is great, and I’d love to be entered into the drawing for a sample! I haven’t been smitten with Creed scents in general, either, but I do admit that one of my best purchases was a giganto bottle of Angelique Encens. Perfect for swapping – no spritzing required, lol!

    You know, I have to give you credit for your addendum about comments; that was a very nice thing to do. I’ve always thought, “wow, keeping up a blog must be a heck of a lot of work, and you always have to think of nice things to say back to people.” Something I, personally, would have a very hard time with. =d>

  • pavlova says:

    Hello Patty,
    As a lover of iris and a major JackieO fan….please include me in your drawing. As always, many thanks…

  • denise cooper says:

    I’ve never actually tried a Creed fragrance and this might be a good place to start. Please enter me in the drawing. thank You

  • Anthony says:

    Please include me 😡

  • Linda says:

    Oh, I would love to be in the drawing. It sounds exquisite — cool, violet-and-iris loveliness sounds so welcoming today.

  • tmp00 says:

    I would love to be in on the draw, thanks!

  • Francesca says:

    I love violet, too. I’m curious about this fragrance now. Though I have to admit The Fragrance Guru and I did have a good giggle over the promo copy for this.

  • MarkDavid says:

    I have always enjoyed Creed fragrances, wore SMW yesterday in fact. I think they’re getting a terrible rep lately and Im not so sure it is deserved. I haven’t really enjoyed any of their latest releases, but this one sounds quite good. Do please add me to the raffle, would love a sample!

    -MD

  • Janet in California says:

    I would like to find a Creed I like, although I wonder why at their prices. A symptom of the collector craziness I’m sure. Please enter me in the draw.

    Thanks!

  • Farah says:

    Iris, violet and blackcurrant sounds like something I must try, even if Creed are often better at their masculine scents, rather than their feminine ones. So please enter me in the drawing, thank you!

  • barbara says:

    I am a Creed fan(did not like White, either).Love violet and blackcurrant…do enter me in the drawing, as well….

  • CC says:

    Hi Patty … great review. Being a newbie I really haven’t had a chance to try any Creeds. Would love to be included in the drawing. Thanks.

  • sallycantdance says:

    The packaging and the name seem funerary to me, bordering on the gothic. Once I read that the scent celebrated the life of Jackie O. (as, apparently, both First Lady and jet set celebrity) the presentation reminded me of the black cloths of mourning decorating the death of Abraham Lincoln. Macabre!

  • MJ says:

    Please enter me – cedar and a shadow over flowers on a sunny day (ooh! symbolism, foreboding!) sound wonderful. I do love that cute little top hat on the bottle – nice touch (was it supposed to be equestrian to tie back to the horse riding?).

  • Christina H. says:

    Hi Patty! I adore nearly all Creeds including the men’s line. Please include me in the draw!

  • Jennifer says:

    Add me to the drawing. I admit I have been intrigued by this scent ever since I saw the black bottle (I have a bizarro thing for opaque black bottles).

  • susi says:

    Never had a chance to sample this line, and I could probably never afford it, but iris/violets sounds interesting. Put me in the drawing, thank you!

  • Christine says:

    Oh violet and iris are so lovely and this sounds really really nice. If not groundbreaking. I don’t imagine I would part with that much money for something I wasn’t head over heels with, but you never know.

    Please enter me in the drawing.

    Thanks!

  • Theresa says:

    With that price tag, I’m afraid to fall in leave, but the iris/violet thing sounds so nice. Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!

  • susieq24 says:

    Fantastic review! I ahve to admit I have a love-hate relationship with Creed. There are scents that I looove and others that are just way to frilly for me – although I’m stretching my scent boundaries to start to appreciate all types of scents, not just those that suit me. I’ve recently gotten into violet notes but iris (particularly No. 19 ) have always been one of my faves. I would love to try this and see how it comapares to the SL Bois de Violette – althogh some would say the great Serge is incomprable!:x

    • Patty says:

      Bois de Violette is more candied, I think? This is more velvety, less sweet, but not a dry violet at all, like, say, Caron’s violette Precieuse.

  • Lora says:

    This sounds very nice – please enter me in the drawing. thanks!

  • Billy D says:

    You just had to tease us Iris lovers, didn’t you? I’ve also never found a Creed that works on me, despite the quite vociferous superlatives thrown at the line by the SA at Neimans. They all seem sort of “watery” to me. Anyway, I’d still love to try a sample:-)

    PS: I think Jackie wore Jicky, which is an interesting choice I think.

  • Louise says:

    Hmmm…could this be the first Creed that works for me :d/ ? While I admire some of older “men’s “-Tabarome, Bois de Portugal, none yet has developed well on my skin.

    There’s always a first, though /:)

    And Patty-comment as it strikes you…just don’t stop writing 😡

  • Aimee L'Ondee says:

    Mmm, I love me some iris, I’d love to try this. Please enter me in the draw, and thanks!

  • Shelley says:

    First of all, as usual, a delightful read. I do like iris, and the right violet…who knows? ‘Twould be fun to discover one of those BINGO! perfumes…please do enter me in the draw.

    Second of all, both your posts and your follow-ups are most wonderful, but life would be much worse if you were to not post at all than if you cut back on all of the follow-up comments. I have appreciated and enjoyed all take the time you have taken in your writing to date, and I think that you are being very clear-headed in your approach to handling comments in the future. Many *happy* seasons of blogging to come!

  • Carol Sasich says:

    this sounds like something I would love Patty…
    I sniffed the Odori Iris when we were in Parma last week , and it is also lovely…but the price was no better there . I would split a bottle with you from luckyscent if you buy one , I don’t need the bottle ( fab as it is…)
    there are many stories to tell from sniffa Firenze !!!
    please include me in the drawing !!

  • Chris says:

    Iris yes, violets… ehhh… but I don’t hate ’em. Seems to be a stretch linking this to Jackie O, I always pictured her as smelling of any given Chanel (except No. 5, for obvious reasons).
    The description of the scent’s dark mood reminds me much more of the song “Jackie’s Strength” by Tori Amos than Jackie O. herself. Even though the song directly alludes to her, the lyrics are vague (it IS a Tori Amos song).
    So now I’m curious if the scent lives up to either allusion. Please enter me in the drawing for a sample.

  • noyna says:

    Would love to be entered in the drawing. Haven’t found many Creeds appealing, but I do love iris/violet… Thank you!

  • katia says:

    Hello,

    Great post ! Could you include me in the drawing ?
    Have a great day !

  • kathleen says:

    I have a few favorites in this line and have been curious about this new one. Just recently I had the opportunity to sniff Apres l’Ondee which has me craving violets. I would love to be included in the drawing, Patty.

  • melamici says:

    Like a few others here, the only Creed I think is worth the price is Angelique Encens, which I never want to be without. Your review has sparked my interest — I’d love to try this!

  • Kayliana says:

    I WANT CANDY !!!!!

  • Anne says:

    You woke me up out of my summer fragrance blues. May this be the ONE! I love iris, and if the violet plays as nice as you describe, she can play too!

    BTW, do you ever get the clove mentioned in the notes? :)>-

  • Gail S says:

    Another violet/iris ho lining up :d Actually, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Dior La Particuliere one, but I had such high hopes – maybe this one will be more to my liking. I’ve enjoyed a number of Creeds such as Royal Water and Jasmine Imperatrice Eugenie, so I would also love to be entered in the drawing!

    • Patty says:

      If you didn’t like the Dior one, I wouldn’t get super-hopeful that you’ll like this one. I *loved* the Dior one with a passion, so this suited me really, really well.

  • MattS says:

    Violet/iris sluts? Gather in line. I like the sound of this much, much more than I had expected. Like most here, never been drawn to the Creed stuff, excepting Angelique Encens. Mmmm…I always love those Dietrich perfumes. Jackie O’s not so bad herself. I could use a smidge of this…

    And as for comments, Sweet Patty, “you don’t have to say you love me , just be close at hand…”

    😡

  • Ines says:

    This one sounds really interesting. I can’t wait to try it – plus, I just love the look of this black bottle. 🙂
    Please, enter me in the drawing.

  • annie says:

    As those before me,I’ve never found a Creed worth the bottle price,and most are rather ‘blah’….but,with the notes you mentioned,I really am(forive me)kinda,sorta drooling…it would be rather nice to find a scent that I would wear often….Please enter me in the drawing,and I am going to visualize it appearing un my mailbox…the last time I won anything,was a turkey at a church potluck at age 13,so you see…it’s time8-|

  • dinazad says:

    I find most Creeds to be a bit on the “meh” side, but the opulently austere Angelique Encens and the ever-changing Acier Aluminium are fast favourites I’d hate to be without. And I have to say you make Love in Black sound quite enticing! I’d love to be in the draw!

  • sylvia says:

    id love to be entered in the drawing! in general i find creed’s so daunting, not least due to the pricetag. in reading your description, i found myself thinking about FM iris poudre for some reason. does this compare at all? or is it a completely different kind of elegance?

    • Patty says:

      I don’t get much of the iris Poudre vibe from it. The musk really tamps it down and shadows it in a good way. No aldehydic or powderiness on me at all.

  • Amarie says:

    Hi, have been away for a while… been missing you all.
    This ‘fume does sound rather nice, quite elegant, which is how I’ve always seen Jackie O. The inclusion of clove and black currant? Interesting. Please include me in the draw, I would love to try this.

  • stephanie says:

    This actually sounds like something I might like. So put me in the drawing! 🙂

  • Elizabeth says:

    I’ve never been a Creed fan, but I could be convinced otherwise.:) I like the notes in this. Please enter me in the drawing, thanks.

  • Alica says:

    Thank you for entering me in the drawing.

  • Bryan says:

    Well, I wasn’t looking forward to this one….until NOW. I do love violet/iris, so I’ll give it a go.
    Please include me in the drawing, and I love you.:d

  • Creed sneaks in musk without warning, and I loved the opening of Virgin Island Water, and then a sweating Metro rider who believes the only thing that goes under your arm is a newspaper crawled out of the bottle and gave me a sloppy wet kiss. And while others think VIWater is fleeting, the kiss of musk stays all day on me.

    So I will have a go at this, because I have a thing for violets mixed with . . . anything. Cookie dough would be alright with me.

    Put me in the drawing, please!

  • telesilla says:

    Violet/Iris notes? Oh that sounds lovely; please enter me in the drawing. 🙂

  • CindyN says:

    Patty,
    With the exception of Virgin Island Water, I have never liked a Creed fragrance. Like you, I adore Violet/Iris notes, so I have high hope for this one. Maybe I will get really lucky and win a sample! Please enter me in the drawing!