 It's good, but is it that good? Let's discuss. I'm Brian Sacawa, you're watching He Spoke Style, where we are dedicated to giving you all the tips, knowledge, and inspiration you need to dress well, have more confidence, and unlock your potential. It's rare that I'll do a single fragrance review, but since it is the 10-year anniversary of Creative Antis, I thought it was apropos, especially because this fragrance is held in such high regard and is often called one of the best, if not the best, in the entire world. And that is not an exaggeration. People absolutely love this fragrance. It gets tons of compliments, and I'm sure you're wondering, what is it that makes it so good? Before we get to that, just a few quick bullet points about the history and background of this fragrance. So introduced in 2010, crafted by Olivier Creed in collaboration with his son Irwin. It was inspired by the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. The name is derived from ah, which means from, and Ventus, the wind, from the wind, which is an allusion to always being driven and moving forward towards success. And speaking of success, Ventus has become the best-selling fragrance in the entire history of Creed, which stretches back all the way to 1760. So obviously, what makes a fragrance, a blockbuster fragrance, is how it smells. And I have to say that Ventus is a very special scent. It's very difficult, in my opinion, to do something that is unique, but that also appeals to a very, very wide audience. And I think that's especially true when you are dealing with a brand that has a very long history, that is, by and large, a niche brand, and a product that is not cheap. 50-mil liter bottle costs $325. 100-mil, $435. 250-mil, $670. 500-mil, 1,055. And a 1,000-mil liter bottle coming in at $1,600. So we'll come to whether or not I think it's worth the price, but now let's actually dive into some of the notes that make Creed of Ventus such an unmistakable scent. On the top, you've got bergamot, black currant leaves, apple, and pineapple. You know, when you spray this, immediately you're hit with that freshness. And the note that does come through the most is pineapple, completely unmistakable. It's got that sweetness you're imagining right now, but it's not overpowering. It's very balanced with everything around it. Right out of the bottle, this pineapple note is what I would say is the number one element that makes a Ventus so interesting, different, and unexpected. Of course, there's more to any great fragrance than what you smell right off the bat. Now, as this dries down, it develops in the middle with notes of pinkberries, birch, the woodiness really does start to come through at this stage. And you also have some patchouli and jasmine. As it fully develops, the base notes you get hints of are musk, oak moss, ambergris, and vanilla, with the latter kind of peeking through very distinctively. Overall, I would characterize the scent as slightly sweet, fresh, and somewhat woody. Creed, on their website, calls it a fruity and rich fragrance. Rich, I can kind of get behind. Fruity, I think, is a little bit of a mischaracterization. There is definitely that unmistakable pineapple note, but it's not fruity in the way that that suggests. It's definitely a masculine scent that can be worn all year round. And in terms of longevity, it lasts around eight hours on my skin and becomes more or less of a skin scent in the last hour or two. For as many people that love Creed, Aventus, the fragrance does have its fair share of haters as well. And a lot of people who are in that camp generally find Aventus unremarkable in terms of how it actually smells and attribute its popularity to the marketing effort that was put behind it. There are also people who I might call fragrance snobs or maybe fragrance hipsters is a better term, who simply don't like it because it is so popular. But you gotta think that it's popular for a reason, right? I mean, a fragrance doesn't get as popular as Aventus if it smells like shit. It doesn't matter how much marketing you have behind it. If it doesn't smell good, it's not going to be a winner. So there's definitely something special about Creed Aventus. In a certain way, it's as neutral and boring as like Aqua De Jau or Osovage in that it has that sort of mass appeal to it, but it's also unique in a very inoffensive way, not in a niche fragrance or fragrance nerd kind of way. And that is what I think really gives it the edge in the realm of fragrances that have that universal appeal. What's different, however, and since I mentioned Aqua De Jau and Osovage is the price. So those two, we're in the 80 to $100 range, whereas Aventus, as you saw it and probably know, is upwards of three to $400, which begs the question, is Creed Aventus worth it? I can only give you my opinion here, and I definitely encourage you to have a discussion about this in the comments. And in my opinion, Creed Aventus is worth it and deserves a place among the most classic men's fragrances of all time. I didn't include it in my roundup of the top 10 most classic men's fragrances, but that was because it is such a modern scent. If you are a fan of classic fragrances, I definitely recommend you check out that video right over there. See what my favorites are and see if I've got yours on the list.