Tubereuse Indiana is one of my favourite Creed perfumes. It has the famous creed ambergris base that I find so mouth watering- it lingers on my skin forever and gets warmer as the day or evening goes on. It’s a different twist on tuberose- warmed up with vanilla and ambergris and some spice that is not listed by Creed- it takes the white floral and makes it sweet. This isn’t the bombastic (and unwearable in my case) Piguet Fracas, or the full blown green & lush Frederic Malle Carnal Flower (which is beautiful but not always wearable…) Straight up tuberose perfumes tend to have that dreaded “cheese” note for me- L’Artisan Tubereuse, Jo Malone Tubereuse among others. I’ve learned that I prefer a white floral blend- a soft one that does not present an olfactory challenge, and I like them more if they tend to be on the soapy side of a floral. L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons Extreme is a good example- much maligned by perfumistas as bland and pedestrian, but I adore it. It smells pretty, clean soft and feminine and often that is just what I want.
As much as I adore gorgeous beautifully composed perfumes, as time has gone on I don’t want sillage monsters that reach out to strangle anyone in the near vicinity. I find that those who do are suffering from olfactory exhaustion, meaning they no longer smell the perfume they wear every day, and add more and more or go for killer perfumes that should not be worn in public. I wore Givenchy Amarige back when it was launched, and even Giorgio…before I knew better. Funny how our perfume tastes evolve. Thankfully!
As for a my white floral preferences, I prefer the gentle and sweet tropical night blooming variety. I would not be surprised to find out Tubereuse Indiana had a bit of soft jasmine, orange blossom or gardenia even if they don’t say so. I won’t hold that against Creed because it just smells so good. So I won’t get into whethere or not Tubereuse Indiana is a “ true tuberose” perfume or not…
It does smell slightly tropical, but then takes a slightly unexpected turn to oriental with the vanilla ambergris combination. I know there must be other spices in there, but according the Creed there is just bergamot, tuberose, vanilla and ambergris. They claim the tuberose is Indian, hence the name, but I also thought the name might be a twist on the spices. Whatever else might be in there, it’s so soft and beautifully composed that it becomes a sum of it’s parts. Never too much, not indolic at all, the warm spicy notes accentuate the creamy quality of the white flowers. This is a huge compliment getter, and men and women seem to love it equally. I love that is not common at all, and I have yet to run into anyone who wears it. I’ve had people say it makes them think of walking at night under flowering trees while on tropical vacations and others have said it smells like a beautiful flowery soap.
As with almost all Creeds, this wears excellently. It lasts for hours and the ambergris gives it a tenacious but not cloying quality. I love it because it can go from jeans and a nice sweater to an evening event- it dresses up or down beautifully- and is one my favourite “blends into the skin” florals. Lovely. I love it in the summer, but it takes on a slightly different character in the winter. The soft spices become slightly more prominent, and it makes me think of sweet spicy floral tea. I end up wearing this more in cooler weather, and it is a holiday favourite for me.
Creed is available at select Holt Renfrew stores across Canada or from the Creed website.