The Creed Fragrance Counter Is One of My Favorite Places in the World

Creed is one of the world's oldest and most respected perfume houses. It has been handed down from father to son since 1760 and is still privately controlled, making it one of the best examples of turning passion for something into a substantial fortune.

This morning, I walk into my kitchen to find my grandmother and mother sitting there waiting for me, wanting to know if I want to go out and eat or spend the day together.  Long story short, the three of us, plus my youngest sister, who is in high school, end up at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City for a day of luxury shopping and fine food.  It was what life is all about, in a nutshell; experiencing great things with people you love.

Creed Fragrance – One of My Favorite Companies in History

Our first order of business was the ritual that is now part of our lives: The Creed, Bond, and Chanel counters at Hall’s Department Store.  For years, both Aaron and I have made our fragrance purchases from the same wonderful woman, who introduced us to the scents we now take for granted.

It was she who helped introduce us to Creed, which is one of the highest, most respected names in the perfume industry because it was literally the royal perfumer to the heads of Europe including Queen Victoria in England, Queen Maria Christina of Spain, Emperor Nicolas II of Russia, Emperor Francois-Joseph and Elisabeth of Austria-Hungaria, Napoleon III, and Empress Eugenia.  For centuries, tycoons, movie stars, and professional athletes have blended their own custom fragrances and the scents are just extraordinary.

Anyway, I bought a 2.5 ounce bottle of Bois du Portugal, which came to only $227.27 after tax (my guess is it works out to spending roughly $1 to $2 per spray).  It is a really heavy scent that is more appropriate for winter but I have been meaning to add it to the collection for some time.  I was going to buy the Original Vetiver, but I decided that will be my reward for finishing my second book (again, the incentive system I use just like I did back in college – it is a tangible goal that makes me want to work toward it, even though I could just buy it any time I wish).

Unfortunately, Hall's didn't have the new Sublime Vanilla fragrance by the House of Creed. I'll just have to keep waiting.

Also, I was introduced to Creed’s Aqua Fiorentina, which is far lighter than anything I wear but that I think might make a good summer scent.  It made up for the fact they didn’t have the new Sublime Vanilla, which is the first in the line of Royal Exclusives and would cost roughly $600 after-tax ($550 pre-tax).  Take vanilla, my favorite fragrance and flavor, and combine it with my favorite perfume house and it was a fairly good bet I’m going to drop the cash for a bottle.  It turns out that Creed is having a hard time getting the inventory into supplier hands so I may just have to wait.

We shopped for awhile; had coffee at the Starbucks in Barnes & Noble, checked out Restoration Hardware, an art gallery, William Sonoma, and the Apple Store.  Then, we headed over to our dinner reservation, which was at The Melting Pot.  That was such a unique experience for my family that it deserves its own blog post so I’ll try and do that once the pictures get emailed to me.

Once that was over, we headed to Zona Rosa so my mom could pick up some candy at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory as I got two black coffees for myself and Ruby.  Combined with the stormy, overcast sky, warm winds, and almost no rain (my favorite weather), it was a fantastic day.

Related posts:

1. The Creed Fragrance Collection Post Expansion
2. In Response to Question from You Fellow Creed Fragrance Collectors
3. Creed Aventus Is My Favorite Scent of All Time
4. Creed Is Sending Me a Free Bottle of Creed Aventus
5. The Official Creed Boutique Store on Madison Avenue
6. We Spent the Afternoon and Evening with One of Our Favorite People in the World, Diana Crane
7. Random Surprise: Creed Sent Me a Bottle of the Royal-Oud Several Months Before Launch Day
8. Mail Bag – Can We Get a Look Inside Your Fragrance Cabinet?
9. Creed Spring Flower Review
10. I Just Set a Terrible Example … I Gave In and Bought Another Bottle of Creed