Creed Aventus was originally launched back in 2010 and is a fragrance that comes up many times in conversations amongst the frag community; some good, some bad. The biggest complaint is the differences in formulations. Go to any eBay posting, Reddit posting, etc. and when you see someone selling their bottle of Aventus, the particular specification that HAS to be in that listing is the batch code. Why? Because most people really don’t like certain formulations and will avoid altogether. I can say, I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to smell a bunch of different formulations but from what I can surmise from what I read, some of the formulations are bad so I kinda get it.
Since the original fragrance launch though, we’ve had Aventus For Her come out in 2016, Aventus Cologne in 2018 and Aventus 10th Anniversary in 2020. Not a lot to really change throughout the years when you have one of the best-selling niche fragrances on the market. So, why change it?
As of June 26th, 2023, Aventus (under the house of Creed), is now owned by Kering SA, the parent company of Gucci. It’s just another headline about another big cosmetic and beauty company snatching up fragrances houses and making them their own (more recently Tom Ford being bought out by Estee Lauder). So, when a business as big as Estee Lauder or Kering buy another business to add to their portfolio, the first thing they need to do is test the waters on expansion. Enter in the newly launched, Absolu Aventus.
This brand new frag is Kering’s second move with their newly acquired Creed company in 2023 (first was Carmina back in September). Now, whether this fragrance was already in development from Creed prior to the acquisition or not is unknown, but it’s been a fragrance that the community has been talking about for months now. People claim to have already sampled it; people claim to already own a bottle of it. All of these claims before the company even made their initial announcement that it was coming. All this did was breath excitement into those of us who have been yearning for an Aventus fragrance that lasts more than 6 hours. I have to be honest; I was SUPER excited for this release. And let me tell you, the wait was worth it.
This fragrance opens up a lot like the previous versions that came before it did, but lacking the pineapple scent that was in the original. Absolu Aventus is definitely a more strong, present version of Aventus and has very subtle differences from the original which I find to be ok in this instance. Most of the time I speak negatively towards a company for cash-grabbing with a fragrance that’s not too far from the original, but I think that Absolu Aventus does a great job of retaining the original scent but just making it bolder and last WAY longer. I even think it may even be a bit more masculine over the original, if that’s even possible. My advice, get both and try for yourself. It’s one of those instances where it’s hard to explain and you just have to see for yourself.
Final Thoughts
I tested the original Aventus on one arm and Absolu Aventus on the other. After that dreaded 6 or 7 hour mark, the original Aventus had faded, and it was a severe skin scent at that point and was really hard to detect - nothing much to talk about there. Scent profile was still good, just weak in performance. I mean, I don’t think anybody has ever really complained about Aventus as a whole, it’s just been an overall performance dud for most people and it was sad spending that much money on something that didn’t last very long. Absolu Aventus on the other hand…wow. Next morning smelled the two arms – Aventus, non-existent. Absolu Aventus? Still there! Killer flanker in my opinion!
The word from a Creed rep is they only made 10k of these making this the rarest launches from a fragrance company in recent memory. If you have your own 75ml bottle, hold near and dear to this because once it’s gone…it’s gone. Can’t get a bottle? Decant House has got you covered! Grab them while they’re here (If I may, let me recommend a 10ml so you can have more!). As usual, take care and I’ll catch you in the next one!
