Free Flower For Women

Free Flower opens with a bright lift of bergamot before quickly handing over to the star of Creed's Fantasia de Fleurs: a lush, jammy Bulgarian rose. This is rose as a full, rich bloom rather than a dewy fresh-picked petal, given a soft powdery elegance by Florentine iris in the heart. The drydown rests on ambergris, lending a gentle warmth that frames the florals. As a dupe it follows the original's heady floral structure closely, but tones down its most controversial element: where Creed's generous ambergris can tip animalic, even slightly musty in warmth, Free Flower keeps the base cleaner and softer, the trade being a flatter, less three-dimensional rose and a touch less of the original's sensual depth. Longevity is good for a budget floral though it won't match the original's six-to-ten-hour wear. An elegant, romantic rose-iris for daytime and dressed-up occasions that captures a vintage Creed at a budget price.