CREED Jardin d'Amalfi Eau de Parfum

The second (OK, maybe the day) CREED's Jardin d'Amalfi Eau de Parfum ($575) became available at the CREED Boutique in New York City last fall, I ordered it. I had been waiting, and I pounced. "I'm not a CREED addict," she says unconvincingly!

A CREED Royal Exclusive, which meant I "had to" buy a 8.4-ounce flacon (twist my arm!), Jardin d’Amalfi arrived in an elegant hand blown Pochet glass bottle etched with CREED’s crest. CREED doesn't exaggerate when it claims that these flacons are art object and fragrance in one. Remove the cut-glass cap to reveal an open-neck pour, a little inconvenient for this klutz, so I decant 30 ml at a time into a glass spray bottle I purchased (I keep a storehouse of different size vials and bottles; I have smaller ones for purse sprays).

Sixth-generation master perfumer Olivier Creed proudly introduced Jardin d’Amalfi (translated Amalfi Garden), to evoke a lush grove of flowers on Italy’s glittering Amalfi coast on a summer afternoon in 1927, when a performance by the American modern dancer Isadora Duncan captivated a continental audience. Not just the coast and its glorious gardens, but an historic moment in the history of dance! Tragically, Duncan died later that year when her large silk scarf, draped around her neck, became entangled around a vehicle's open-spoked wheels and rear axle in Nice on the Riviera. Jardin d'Amalfi honors the region as well as a dancer whose influence on modern dance is indisputable.

In your first moment with Jardin d'Amalfi, your senses fill with the characteristic scent of citrus - symbolic of the Amalfi coast - woods, apple, and rose in an artistic blend of fresh green, fruity perfection. The top notes are tangerine, bergamot, pink berries, and neroli. The heart of Jardin d'Amalfi was composed with Virginia cedar (an evergreen fragrance that is light and fresh), French apple, and Bulgarian rose. The base dries down with Haitian vetiver, white musk, and (oddly) cinnamon. Fortunately, I cannot smell the cinnamon because I really don't like that note. I smell the vetiver and delicate white musk, contrasting but complimentary notes that leave me in the glorious coastal garden.

Here's how CREED U.K. described Jardin d'Amalfi. I love this description. Since I often struggle to describe my impressions of fragrances I adore, I try instead to help you visualize their inspiration. While the placement of the notes is described a bit differently than it in the U.S., the mental image perfectly describes the lush elegance of Jardin d'Amalfi.

Cruise down the beautiful Italian coast on an emerald sea to the glorious Jardins d'Amalfi, glittering with exotic fruits and piquant spices. CREED’s new scent in their collectors’ Royales Exclusives line is a luscious homage to la dolce vita and the glamour of international Society on the Amalfi coast: the drama of the landscape, the balmy air redolent with fragrance, and that ineffable sense of Italian romance, leisure, and elegance. Erwin [Creed] has personally sourced oils of Amalfi tangerine, Sicilian lemon, and bergamot from Calabria to give the dazzling exhilaration of the top notes a wholly authentic Italian provenance. These gracefully yield to a dark woody heart of vetiver, sandalwood, and pink pepper: a shady walk along mountain paths gazing out onto the shimmering sea. The classic CREED base is of Olivier’s signature ambergris blended with Tonkin musk: gloriously soft, rich, and very tenacious.

CREED recommends the separate purchase of a 1.7 oz CREED leather-wrapped shatterproof take-anywhere atomizer for your fragrances that are provided in a glass flacon. Although I adore the atomizers, they are pricey ($165). Plus I would need one for every CREED flacon in my expanding collection. One of my dreams is that one day, an atomizer, any color - it doesn't matter, will arrive via UPS from a secret admirer, perhaps someone who smelled Jardin d'Amafi on me and remembers the scent in his dreams. Some dream about the guy; I dream about the fragrance and its accessories.

Jardin d'Amalfi makes me happy. My entire mood is uplifted when I apply it. I'm wondering if I need a second bottle, although I've had the same thoughts about Royal Service, and I haven't won the lottery yet. There are considerations in my single life, like the mortgage and car payments. If there weren't, I would own every fragrance CREED sells (and I'd have searched out all the discontinued ones too). They are aristocratic in all the best ways. (Remind me to tell you the lengths to which I went to get Scent of Oger, possibly one of the rarest CREED creations ever sold).

If you like effervescent, fruity, green fragrances with a dash of flowers, you'll be as happy with Jardin d'Amalfi as I am. CREED fragrances are sold by my friends at the CREED Boutique and Neiman Marcus. If you live near me, stop by the counter at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria to meet Francesca and Wendy. They are passionate in their knowledge of fragrance. They will help you select the CREED fragrance that's perfect for your tastes.

Photos courtesy of CREED, villasamalficoast.com, and sicilyguide.com