Creed – Viking

Before I start my review, I’d like to extend my thanks to Jennifer Villalba from the Creed Boutique in New York for a sample of this fragrance.  If you’re looking for any Creed products, she was absolutely lovely to work with.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Creed’s newest release, Viking, which is described by the brand as, “a fiery men’s fragrance that bottles the fearless spirit of boundless exploration for the modern man who goes against the grain”.  Viking opens on me with a strong blast of bergamot and a somewhat sharp lemon that seems to appear and disappear throughout the opening.  Despite the fresh brightness of the bergamot and lemon, the opening is also decidedly masculine with a spicy dark feel. 

As Viking begins to develop, the citrus begins to fade and the pink peppercorn and rose become much more prominent.  The rose feels very much like a burnt rose and retains that heady spiciness we started to sense in the opening.  I don’t detect the peppermint as an individual note but instead I feel it adds to the sharp edge of the spice.

The middle wear of Viking, about 3 hours into wear, has much of the component feel of the drydown.  I begin to get a clean patchouli and a distinct woodiness.  The drydown moves to include more of an earthy feel to the woody notes.

Viking wears as an interesting and moderately intense complex woody aromatic.  It wears on me for about 10 – 11 hours with a moderate projection.

Top Notes:  Calabrian bergamot, Sicilian lemon, La Réunion baie rose (pink peppercorn)
Middle Notes:  Peppercorn, Bulgarian rose, peppermint
Base Notes:  Indian sandalwood, Haitian vetiver, Indian patchouli, lavandin absolute

Perfumer: Olivier Creed