Creed
Green Irish Tweed
The Story
Released in 1985 and widely attributed to Pierre Bourdon, Green Irish Tweed set the template for the green, violet-leaf masculine that the next two decades copied. Creed has always described the starting point simply, as a walk through the Irish countryside.
Ozonic
The air before a storm
A clean, airy transparency like the charged sky just before rain or sheets billowing on a line. Crisp and almost electric, it suggests altitude and open windows, weightless and modern, the smell of pure breathable space rather than any single thing.
Aquatic
Salt air and open water
The cool, transparent smell of seawater, wet stone, and the briny spray off a wave. Marine and clean with a saline mineral edge, it conjures windswept shorelines and open swimming, refreshing and weightless, like breathing beside the sea.
Iris
cool powder over damp earth
A cool, silvery powderiness with a buttery, slightly carroty rootiness and a whisper of damp soil. It feels elegant and restrained, almost melancholic, like fine face powder and suede laid over something quietly earthy.
Powdery
Soft hush of dressed skin
A velvety, slightly dry softness of iris root, violet, and fine talc, like face powder or clean linen warmed by skin. It feels intimate, refined, and nostalgic, blurring a fragrance into a gentle, cushioned haze.
Woody
Dry grain of cut timber
The smell of cedar shavings, sandalwood, and dry vetiver roots, a sanded, resinous warmth with a faint pencil-box rasp. It feels grounded and composed, the quiet backbone that makes a scent read as serious and lasting.
Amber
Golden resin glowing warm
A soft, resinous glow built from labdanum, benzoin, and vanilla, sweet but dusky, like sun-warmed tree sap with a hint of incense smoke. It radiates a cozy, golden heat that wraps close to the skin and lingers.
Galbanum
Bitter green sap that smells of crushed stems
What it is
Galbanum is an oleo-resin that weeps from cuts in the stems and roots of Ferula gummosa, a giant fennel of the carrot family native to Iran and Central Asia. The hardened gum is steam-distilled into an oil or solvent-extracted into a dark, viscous brown absolute.
How it smells
Sharp, bitter and intensely green, like snapped plant stems and crushed leaves with a turpentine-like, resinous bite. Beneath the harsh opening lies a musky, woody, slightly balsamic warmth, and at low doses it reads as cool, dewy, living greenery rather than aggression.
In perfumery
One of the few natural green base notes, valued as a fixative and as the defining accent of green chypres and florals. It pairs with oakmoss, iris, hyacinth and neroli, and gives the bracing green overture to many classic green florals, sometimes famously overdosed for a wall of greenery.
Good to know
Galbanum is among the oldest aromatics on record, named in the Book of Exodus as an ingredient of the sacred temple incense and burned in ancient Egypt and Persia. Iran remains the principal source of the gum thousands of years later.
Vervain
Crushed lemon leaves sparkling green and sharp
What it is
In perfumery, vervain means lemon verbena, Aloysia citriodora (syn. Lippia citriodora), a South American shrub of the Verbenaceae family brought to Europe in the eighteenth century. Its essential oil is steam-distilled from the leaves and flowering tops. Common vervain, Verbena officinalis, sits in the same family but is near-scentless and not used.
How it smells
Bright, sparkling and citrus-forward, with a fresh lemon character sharper and greener than lemon itself. A delicate herbal, leafy quality keeps it from being merely citric, recalling lemongrass but with a vegetal, slightly bitter edge. It opens crisp and dewy, fading quickly and cleanly.
In perfumery
A top note giving an opening sparkle that transitions into the heart. It freshens citrus colognes, fougères and green florals, pairing with bergamot, neroli and mint. The natural oil is rich in citral. It headlines L'Occitane Verbena and brightens many summer eaux.
Good to know
Genuine lemon verbena oil is costly and high in citral, a sensitizer that limits its dose under fragrance safety rules, so many verbena scents lean on litsea cubeba and lemon synthetics. The leaves also make a beloved soothing bedtime tisane in France.
Violet Leaf
Cool green leaf breathing crushed grass and cucumber
What it is
An absolute drawn from the leaves of Viola odorata, the sweet violet, grown chiefly around Grasse in France and in Egypt. Fresh leaves are washed with solvent into a waxy concrete, then alcohol-extracted into a thick, deep-green liquid. Roughly one ton of leaves yields under a kilogram.
How it smells
Crisp, green and watery rather than floral. It opens with crushed leaf and cut grass over a cold cucumber tang and a faintly metallic edge. As it settles, a dry, slightly leathery and earthy facet emerges, far drier than the candied purple flower itself.
In perfumery
A top-to-heart note prized for green freshness and a transparent leathery lift. It pairs with iris, rose, cucumber and leather and cools fougeres. It is a signature note in classic green-leather compositions; many violet-leaf openings also lean on synthetic methyl octine carbonate.
Good to know
Its character is carried by a single trace molecule, (2E,6Z)-nonadienal, called violet leaf aldehyde or cucumber aldehyde, present at around one percent yet doing most of the smelling. The same compound is exactly what makes freshly cut cucumber smell green.
Ambroxan
Synthetic ambergris that glows like warm skin
What it is
Ambroxan is a synthetic aroma-chemical, a tetramethyl naphthofuran first semi-synthesised at Firmenich in 1950 to mimic ambergris and sold there as Ambrox; Ambroxan is the trade name the same molecule carries from another house. It is semi-synthesised from sclareol, a molecule extracted from clary sage (Salvia sclarea), which is oxidatively degraded then cyclised into ambroxide. Modern biotech routes now ferment sclareol for higher yield.
How it smells
Dry, warm and ambery with a clean mineral-woody character, faintly salty and musky. It reads as soft skin, blond woods and a touch of velvety sweetness, almost odourless up close yet vast in projection. It diffuses without sharp edges, smelling like sun-warmed air.
In perfumery
A powerhouse base and fixative giving radiance, longevity and a skin-like glow, often used to amplify woods and ambers and to project a whole composition. It is the engine of countless modern fresh and ambery blockbusters and the near-solo star of several minimalist single-note compositions.
Good to know
Ambergris is a rare waxy substance formed in sperm whale guts and found washed ashore. Ambroxan delivers its key facet without harming whales, sidestepping legal and ethical issues. Firmenich's fermentation route, using clary sage enzymes expressed in microbes, made it cheaper and far greener to manufacture.
Sandalwood
Creamy meditative woods that breathe in slowly
What it is
Sandalwood oil is steam-distilled from the heartwood and roots of slow-growing Santalum trees, classically Santalum album of Mysore, India. As the wild Indian source neared collapse, plantations of the same species in tropical Western Australia now supply much of the world's perfumery-grade oil.
How it smells
Soft, creamy and milky, with a smooth woody warmth and a faintly sweet, rosy, almost buttery edge. It carries no sharpness, only a rounded balsamic depth. It stays remarkably steady on skin, glowing quietly for hours rather than opening and drying in distinct stages.
In perfumery
A base note valued as both scent and fixative, sandalwood lends creaminess, warmth and a meditative softness that binds compositions together. It pairs beautifully with rose, jasmine, vetiver and spice. Many meditative woody and incense fragrances celebrate it at their heart.
Good to know
Genuine Mysore sandalwood was so overharvested that India tightened export controls and the wild tree became vulnerable, with oil prices reported around two thousand dollars per kilogram. Plantations of Santalum album grown near Kununurra in Western Australia now sustainably recreate the original creamy profile.
Fragrance Character
Vervain strikes first, sharp and lemony over cool iris. Violet leaf carries the middle, green as snapped stems, with a damp, silvery edge that reads instantly fresh. The base is where it earns its reputation: ambergris and sandalwood, salty and smooth, lasting long after the green has quieted.
Longevity
how long it stays on skin
This gauge reads the expected wear time, how many hours the fragrance keeps speaking on skin before it fades. A marker near the low end means a few fleeting hours, while a marker pushed to the far end promises a scent still present from morning into night.
Sillage
the size of its scent trail
This reads how far the fragrance reaches beyond you and the trail it leaves behind. Low sits soft against the skin, an intimate whisper noticed only up close; high climbs through moderate and strong toward enormous, filling a room and lingering in the air after you have left it.
Experimental
For the bold and curious
Unconventional, boundary-pushing scents for someone who wants to provoke a reaction and stand apart. Suited to artistic, challenging compositions: inky tar, rubber, fermented fruit, metallic or animalic facets that defy easy liking. On this wheel a glowing coin means it rewards the adventurous nose, a dim one means it plays things safe.
Office
Polished but never overpowering
Close-quarters professional settings where a scent should be noticed only by those near you. Suited to restrained, clean compositions with modest projection: tidy citrus, soft musk, pale woods that read competent and considerate. On this wheel a glowing coin means it works in shared workspaces, a dim one means it carries too far.
Evening
After dark, turned up
Dinners, drinks, and nights out when a fragrance can deepen and project with confidence. Suited to richer, warmer compositions: ambers, resins, smoky woods, or plush florals that bloom under low light. On this wheel a glowing coin means the scent comes alive after sundown, a dim one means it stays better suited to daytime.
Romantic
Close enough to be felt
Intimate moments and date nights meant to draw someone nearer. Suited to warm, sensual compositions that hum against skin: creamy florals, vanilla, soft musk, a touch of spice or amber that invites closeness. On this wheel a glowing coin means it sets an alluring mood, a dim one means it leans more practical than seductive.
Formal
Refined for the occasion that matters
Weddings, ceremonies, galas, and dressed-up affairs that call for composure and elegance. Suited to polished, structured scents with quiet authority: smooth woods, refined florals, soft leather, nothing loud or playful. On this wheel a glowing coin means it carries the right gravitas, a dim one means it feels too casual for the room.
Casual
Easy comfort for unhurried days
Everyday wear with no agenda: errands, coffee, friends, a slow weekend. Suited to soft, approachable scents that feel clean and natural, like fresh citrus, light woods, or a gentle skin warmth. On this wheel a glowing coin means the fragrance fits these laid-back moments, a dim one means it asks for more.
Day to Night
where its mood naturally falls
This slider reads the hour the fragrance was made for. A marker to the left leans luminous and bright, easy in daylight and open air; slide it right and the character turns deeper and warmer, the kind of presence that belongs to evening and candlelit rooms.
Winter
Warmth that carries through cold air
Cold air mutes and slows a fragrance, so winter rewards the dense and the warm: resins, smoke, vanilla, leather, and ambered spice that radiate heat against the chill. The bar shows how strongly this particular scent holds up and glows in cold weather.
Spring
Fresh blooms in mild, rising warmth
Mild, humid air lifts lighter compositions beautifully, so spring favors dewy florals, green stems, soft powder, and transparent citrus that feel alive rather than heavy. The bar shows how well this particular scent matches that fresh, gently warming season.
Summer
Bright and airy in real heat
Heat amplifies and projects scent hard, so summer calls for cool, crisp, breathable things: sharp citrus, salty marine air, aromatic herbs, and watery freshness that refresh instead of cloy. The bar shows how comfortably this particular scent wears in real warmth.
Fall
Spiced warmth for cooling days
As temperatures drop, richer materials read clearly without smothering, so autumn suits dry woods, warm spice, tobacco, amber, and golden fruit that feel cozy and contemplative. The bar shows how naturally this particular scent settles into crisp, cooling days.
Best Worn
Daylight and open air, from first warm days to crisp autumn walks. It works as hard in a meeting as it does on a weekend.
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The Vibe
The Nose
Olivier Creed
Perfumer
Sixth-generation head of the House of Creed, master perfumer from 1980 until his death in May 2026. Creed credits him with Aventus, Green Irish Tweed, Silver Mountain Water, Virgin Island Water, Royal Oud and Millésime Impérial.
More by this noseMillésime 1849Absolu AventusCarmina
Pierre Bourdon
Perfumer
French perfumer who trained at Roure in Grasse and was mentored by Edmond Roudnitska. He was head perfumer at Takasago Europe, later Fragrance Resources. He composed Yves Saint Laurent Kouros, Davidoff Cool Water, Frédéric Malle French Lover and Iris Poudre, and Shiseido Féminité du Bois with Christopher Sheldrake.
The Maison
Creed
The polished entrance, from Green Irish Tweed’s cut grass to the swagger of Aventus, tried by the millilitre.
Creed is the fragrance you notice before you notice the person wearing it. Fresh citrus caught over old wood, a lavender that reads like a pressed collar, a pineapple sparkle that has become shorthand for confidence. These are scents people commit to for years, which is exactly why they reward trying first.
- Origin
- Paris, France
- Founded
- 1760
- Known for
- Aventus, Green Irish Tweed, Royal Oud
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