Creed — Angélique Encens (2019)
Essence
Angélique Encens (2019) is Creed’s limited “From the Vault” reissue of one of its most cult-revered Private Collection fragrances, originally dated 1933 and long associated (per Creed’s marketing) with Marlene Dietrich. Released in 2019 in a 75ml Millésime bottle sold only through Creed boutiques, with Olivier Creed framing it as a homage to his father James Henry Creed, it is a soft, smoky incense-amber with a powdery vanillic drydown. It is now discontinued again, returned to the “vault” as a once-a-decade limited classic.
Scent Profile
There is a genuine puzzle at the heart of this fragrance: the 2019 note pyramid (violet, Bulgarian rose, Russian coriander; sandalwood, cinnamon, white pepper, patchouli; incense, musk, vetiver) differs markedly from the classic listing for the original (angelica, tuberose, rose, jasmine, amber, vanilla, incense, ambergris). Yet Creed reportedly assured buyers the 2019 juice “is in fact the same formula as the original,” and a collector who owned both said that on paper strips “these two are IDENTICAL from start to finish,” with only a slight skin difference attributable to the original’s aging. Taking the experiential reviews together, the scent reads as: a powdery, dark, vanillic opening that morphs into a translucent, camphoraceous frankincense; a clean, almost “angelic” white floral-soapy facet (coriander rather than literal angelica to some noses); a dry woody spine of cedar/sandalwood; and patchouli lending a glossy-leather tartness. The famous, divisive facet is a “play-doh” note many attribute to the powdery incense-heliotrope interplay. The signature move, as one critic put it, is that unlike modern scents it “grows into its beauty,” fluffing out on skin “like an angora sweater laid to dry in front of an open fire.” The drydown is a soft, dry, not-very-sweet powdery vanilla and incense.
Performance
Strong. and reviewers report “projection is very good and longevity excellent at over 12 hours on skin,” and the original was described as “a monster for sillage.” available data on the 2019 edition shows high longevity (≈a qualitative verdict) and sillage (3.0/4). The construction is a slow bloomer - quiet-ish opening growing fuller over hours - rather than a loud-then-collapsing modern profile. A cool-weather, autumn-and-winter performer by near-universal agreement.
Wearing Context
Autumn and winter, evening, cool air. Reviewers tie it to bonfires, Halloween and “the night smells of bonfires”; it is repeatedly framed as gothic, mysterious, film-noir, “funerary,” even “Roman Catholic.” Officially feminine in this 2019 release but functionally unisex (the amber, incense and vanilla broaden it; the Bulgarian rose is the make-or-break for some men). A statement scent for occasions where presence and drama are welcome, not a daytime office wear.
Comparisons & DNA
It sits in the ambery-woody incense family with a powdery floral lift. Critics place it near the comfort-blanket end of incense rather than the austere liturgical end (explicitly contrasted with Comme des Garçons Avignon, Cardinal and Heeley/LAVS, which reviewers find “too literal”). The powdery heliotrope-violet drydown is repeatedly likened to Guerlain L’Heure Bleue and to Caron’s powdery style (one reviewer said it “smells more like a Caron than a Creed”), with further nods to Parfumerie Générale Iris Oriental and Guerlain Bois d’Arménie for the ambery-woody feel. Detractors compare its civet/musk facet unfavorably to Jicky and Kouros. Within Creed it is prized precisely because it “smells nothing like the style of most Creed compositions today.”
Reception
Among the most reverently reviewed of all Creeds, with a vocal “best thing Creed ever made” contingent - on Bois de Jasmin’s incense round-up, commenter “Nikki” called it her “absolute favorite incense… the non plus ultra of incense perfumes, complete with fascinating history, background, beautiful heroine and alas, discontinued.” But it is genuinely polarizing: a significant minority find it “gross,” reading the musk/civet base as “a wet, dirty, mildewed dish towel,” and one prominent critic landed at a neutral “above average” 2.5 - a qualitative verdict, judging that “it opens strong but deteriorates… leaving one shrugging.” Common praise: uniqueness, the incense-vanilla blend, the slow bloom, the “play-doh” charm for those who love it. Common criticism: the powdery vanilla softness “takes away a lot of its positive impact,” and the price is indefensible to many. Blind-buy verdict: explicitly “not a blind buy” per multiple owners - sample first, and only if you love dark, powdery, incense-forward orientals.
Versions & Reformulation
Multiple eras exist and matter: the long-running vintage Private Collection version (sold historically in large 250ml hide-covered flacons with ground-glass stoppers), and the 2019 “From the Vault” Millésime reissue in a 75ml boutique-only bottle. maintains separate database entries - “Angelique Encens (1933)” and “Angélique Encens (2019)” - with different pyramids, the discrepancy noted above. Creed’s stated position is that the 2019 is the same formula; some long-term wearers detect minor differences, generally attributed to aging of older bottles. Now discontinued/returned to the vault.
Acquisition Notes
Top-tier luxury pricing, and now a collector’s hunt. The 2019 boutique release was priced at $750 for 75ml per PerfumeMaster’s listing of the Millésime edition, while The Perfumed Court reported the reintroduction at $585 for the 75ml bottle - a discrepancy worth noting between sources. Sold exclusively through Creed boutiques when available; never on the standard website. Decants and samples are the sane entry point (The Perfumed Court, Fragrance Vault and similar carry both vintage and 2019 decants).
Notable Facts & Lore
- The Marlene Dietrich association - that the 1933 scent was created as a tribute to her and her role in The Blue Angel - is the central legend, repeated everywhere and tied to the femme-fatale, golden-age-Hollywood image.