Aventus 200 Plus

Creed Aventus released in 2010 and has spent the intervening fifteen years as the single most-cloned masculine in the perfume market - every dupe house publishes their version, and the entire dupe-house category benchmarks itself partly on how close to Aventus they can land. The Essence Vault's No. 200 has been in their range for years; No. 200 Plus is the brand's deliberate upgrade, marketed explicitly to enthusiasts who want the most faithful possible interpretation. The composition tracks Aventus's identifying pineapple-birch-oakmoss spine: a vibrant pineapple-bergamot-blackcurrant-apple opening, a birch-led heart with patchouli and jasmine providing the smoky-woody-floral middle, and a base of oakmoss, musk and ambroxan that gives the original its addictive chypre-leaning close. No. 200 Plus reads recognisably Aventus across all three phases; the first ninety minutes in particular are where the pineapple-birch handshake is closest to the Creed original, and the smoky-fruity tension that defines Aventus is intelligible throughout the wear cycle. Where this still differs from the genuine bottle is in the base. Creed's particular oakmoss-ambroxan-leather depth - the part that justifies the three-hundred-pound retail and lasts the famous twelve hours - cannot be reproduced at budget price. The dupe holds eight or nine hours rather than twelve, and the dry-down reads cleaner without the slightly leathery, slightly animalic shadow that gives Aventus its grown-up character. The honest summary is that this is one of the more credible Aventus interpretations on the UK budget market and a defensible introduction to the genre, but the comparison to the genuine Creed remains a comparison to the genuine Creed. The reference point for the original is the modern fruity-smoky-masculine cluster that includes Armaf Club de Nuit Intense, Lattafa Khamrah Qahwa and Initio Atomic Rose rather than the conventional designer-fresh aisle.