Carmina by Creed

I tested it in-store and was instantly captivated, yet I regret not wearing it on my skin. The cherry is juicy and ripe without being cloying, while the rose has a modern touch. It feels incredibly original, and I’m dying to know how it smells on me. I’ll be testing it again to decide, because given the price, I want to be sure.

I tested it on skin and initially the cherry dominated, which I liked, but later powdery musk notes emerged that made it feel heavy. It has an enormous trail that pursued me all day, unfortunately. It made me smell like a wealthy lady from the 70s or 80s, well-dressed in a bar, the kind who doesn’t smell of talc; that is exactly what it smells like.

Carmina is a powerful woman. I love it, but it isn’t for everyone; you have to try it to get drunk on it every day. I received compliments from other women who didn’t ask how nice it smelled, but what I was wearing; it smells exquisite. I searched for it for the cherry, but luckily it is real, not syrupy. The rose adds elegance, although I admit no rose suits my skin well, but Carmina resonated with me. It is for a strong, sensual, and sophisticated woman. For me, it is synonymous with power; it has great projection and longevity; the clothes the next day still carry a delicious scent.

Lately, I’ve been perplexed by the launches from renowned houses. This has left me lukewarm and apathetic. It isn’t a bad perfume technically and is superior to its homologue, ‘Queen of Silk’, which smells more of shrillness and heaviness. This is pleasant, fragrant, and long-lasting, which is not asking for much these days. It is a composition of rose, a savourable base, and a pinch of cherry that doesn’t smell like cherry. The bottle oscillates between well-couche and coquettish. Let’s forget we are niche; let’s call it fragrance. And of course, the magic recipe when creativity is lacking: ambroxan and advertising. This is nothing special or original; it doesn’t make the ground move or convince anyone. It is negligence and fickleness. If it were a shelf fruitie at half price, it would be fine, but it’s like a mainstream melody from the top 40, repetitive and forgettable. If you have money, you like modern roses, and want to make a statement, go ahead. If not, I think there are better options for the price.

What a perfume! What a way to bewitch the atmosphere! It is totally addictive and very personal. It is floral, musky, and very sensual. It is a unique experience to wear it and receive its bursts every now and then that you can’t stop smelling. And its bottle… that intense, mysterious pink, as if from an Andersen fairy tale. It has that magical, intoxicating halo that will enchant those who live with one foot in reality and the other in fantasy. A dream made into perfume.

Carmina was love at second sight. It seems curious to me that several comment on the cherry: fleeing from it for being cloying and resembling Vicks (like in Tom Ford), but in Carmina it is ripe and honeyed cherry, the one that gives the touch where the rose, which I imagine red and velvety, gives that mix. My relationship with Creed has been love/hate, but with Carmina -and a few days ago with Wind Flowers- it has blossomed because they are a beauty. It was love at second use because the first time, on a very hot day, it seemed oppressive, but the second occasion, I loved it. It is so sensual that one feels like wearing it with a beautiful dress on a romantic night. The longevity is excellent and the bottle is one of my favourites from Creed for its colour. It demonstrates that cherry doesn’t always have to be sweet to the point of nausea or synthetic, and that rose doesn’t have to be wilted or too fresh; that middle ground between both notes, which I appreciate more, makes Carmina a perfume in its entirety.

A bona fide niche category rose. You’ll find magic and complexity within. It’s not the typical rose that wanders alone, sometimes accompanied by an intense patchouli and other times by a piercing musk. Here lies the phenomenon of a ripe, fruity rose with amber, spicy, and very warm characteristics. I don’t appreciate the violet note, and the saffron on my skin is very shy, almost imperceptible. The frankincense contributes that slightly woody, woodsy aspect, while the myrrh adds a fabulous aromatic spicy touch. If I had let myself be swayed by the Fragrantica reviews in English, I never would have bought it, but knowing this has become a nest of trolls, I decided to trust my own instinct upon seeing the notes. Thanks be to God, my hunch was successful, a tremendous feat. Longevity and projection are impeccable: 5 stars. As a complex fruity rose, I recommend it. It has the air of l’Artisan Parfumeur’s Arcana Rosa, but with dark cherry.

I’m one of those who flees when I see the cherry note, as it always turns out horrendous on my skin. This launch brought me a tremendous contradiction because the fragrance’s marketing, the beauty of the bottle, and the good reviews made me want it in my collection, but the cherry note pulled me back with every impulse to buy blind. Where I live, it’s not easy to test perfumes like this; there’s only one chain of perfumeries that stocks Creed, and not all branches have testers. I’ve been insisting for months to find the blessed tester, and today, FINALLY, IT HAPPENED! I passed the perfumerie more than 5 hours ago and I can still smell Carmina on my skin (which isn’t characterised by being friendly, as not all perfumes last on me), so I can attest to its great performance. As for the scent, when I first smelled it, I detected roses, pepper, and amber. The cherry note developed later and it’s not a shrill, artificial cherry (which I detest so much)… it’s a dark, ripe, sweet cherry. There’s something about this perfume that reminds me of something I’ve smelled before, but I still can’t discover what it is. It’s like an aged cherry caramel. It also has something that makes it addictive because I can’t stop smelling my forearm where I sprayed a SINGLE SPRAY of this beauty. I can’t wait to have the bottle to enjoy it in all its splendour. If you have TikTok, I invite you to see my reviews @estefybonham

I am a sworn enemy of roses; they make me dizzy and ruin my day, just like with Delina. With this perfume, although the sharp rose note comes through, it hasn’t caused me any discomfort. It’s such a strange scent that I have my nose glued to my arm almost like a tic. It smells of mature rose mixed with acidic raspberries, as if someone had dusted me with a sachet of raspberry drink powder. It’s incredibly potent: I applied it after my evening shower and when I woke up this morning it still smelled good, so it surely lasts more than the 10 hours I’ve noticed.

Bittersweet and smoky cherry. The longevity isn’t as exciting as the scent, but I accept its weakness for the luxury of the bottle and the quality.

What a wonder! I can’t believe such a strange and addictive scent at the same time. I don’t know what it smells like, it’s the first time this has happened to me, I have no idea, but I love it. I think it smells like sweets with a slightly acidic touch. It’s exquisite, long-lasting, and has an incredible trail. Edit: I left some perfume on a coat and now the whole wardrobe smells like Carmina. What a wonderful thing!

Oh my goodness… Today I received a decant of this wonder and it’s straight to my wishlist. This Christmas, it’s coming. It’s a hyper-realistic bouquet of dark red roses. Realistic but truly so. What a well-made job. Nasal orgasm. It bears no resemblance to Delina or the cherry perfumes I detest. Edit: for those who love rose but fancy a chocolatey base: Aurum by Xerjoff ❤️.

Goodnight autumn or winter with this perfume. It doesn’t remind me of Lost Cherry, thankfully! This one is presentable, more like Black Orchid. It’s sweet, cherry and rose dominate, but the incense, pepper, and wood attack it, making it intense and deep. It’s a good proposal, although the sillage leaves something to be desired and Creed isn’t for every wallet. Scent 9/10, Trail 8/10, Longevity 7/10.

Absolute madness! A perfume with my name on it? I never imagined that… Good heavens, it’s from Creed and will cost a fortune… Forget testing it; blind buying is the only option. What a laugh. By the way, I don’t believe they intended it to be a proper name… the word comes from Latin, it’s the plural of ‘carmen’ (verse, song, poem), so the correct pronunciation is ‘cármina’. Hence the ‘Carmen Burana’, anonymous or popular songs, as far as I understand… Similarly, in proper Spanish here, we read it as a grave word, ‘carmína’… 🤷🏻♀️