Himalaya by Creed

It gives me a headache and feels suffocating; smells like powdered soap and sandalwood. I don’t detect the citrus at all—it feels very cold, like a steel iron. Still, I absolutely love it: it’s rich, charming, timeless, and impeccably high quality. Scent 7.5/10, Price 3/10, Projection 7/10, Longevity 7/10.

I received the best compliment of my life: someone told me I smelled like new clothes and freshly showered. I wear it every morning when I go out.

Smells similar to Green Irish Tweed but without the fresh forest notes; the sandalwood is very prominent, and the bergamot makes it citrusy, fresh, and delicious. If you’re looking for a spring and summer perfume, I recommend it.

Timeless Joy, vibrant, and versatile. It’s a superlative freshness that works even in winter. It’s therapeutic and changes your mood. The opening is almost medicinal, mentholated like the 80s sports spray, then it dries down to woody and musky without losing its freshness. The gunpowder note at 15 minutes gives it a crazy edge. It shares similarities with XS EDT, but this one smells more generic and vintage; here, the quality is palpable from the start. XS is more fugue-like and green, while Himalaya is frozen nature. In short: ‘Frozen Nature’. Ideal for cold winters. An alternative to Platinum Egoïste. Total buy.

Creed Himalaya disappointed me quite a bit. It claims to be fresh, refreshing, and citrusy, but it’s not. I didn’t detect any citrus, only dry and earthy cedar, heavy and animalic ambergris, plus green and herbal notes that aren’t listed. It feels rancid.

Very 80s, Boucheron-style. The opening is citrusy, but then it shifts completely toward the feminine due to the powdery notes. I wouldn’t buy it again; I only purchased it for the price, not for the scent in the end.

Creed’s crack fragrance, no wonder it’s the most copied house in history. Fresh, perfect for the heat, just putting it on makes me feel refreshed (or maybe it’s a great placebo playing tricks on the mind). Moderate longevity and projection, like all Creed scents and any fragrance with so many natural ingredients, it just delivers.

This perfume sparked a huge interest in perfumery for me after I tried it at Perfumerías Julia in Santander—it shocked me. I didn’t expect such an impact; literally, time stopped. My parents are perfume connoisseurs, but I’d never felt anything like this. The opening is citrusy, but soon makes way for sandalwood and amber; the opening is perhaps the best part. It lasts moderately short for me, fading on me after half an hour, but others definitely notice it because you get used to it quickly, which doesn’t happen with Sauvage Elixir. It smells like a spiritual master, a middle-aged man: it doesn’t incite, but it instills respect and a sense of approachable authority. The wearer is confident without making a fuss, coming from all walks of life, and is the kind of person you always want around.

Exquisite if you enjoy barbershop-style scents. In short, it’s Creed’s version of a barbershop. If you already own Platinum Egoiste, Percival, Fierce, Legend… you won’t find anything new.

Himalaya smells like Paco Rabanne’s XS (1994), which in turn is very similar to Adolfo Domínguez’s Agua Fresca (1993). Since both were created by geniuses like Ramón Monegal and Rosendo Mateu, it’s no surprise they share much of the same olfactory pyramid. XS is less sharp and more herbal, while Himalaya is more refined, boasting an incredible woody, musky, and amber base. On my skin, it lasts over 10 hours even in temperatures above 30°C, though it doesn’t project much: it’s a personal bubble for 2-3 hours, followed by a 10 cm skin sillage for another 3-4. It’s pleasant, versatile, and dresses well—ideal as a signature scent—but it’s not exclusive, and I think it’s overpriced. Au revoir!

A perfume that reminded me of one from my youth from an Avon catalog that someone gifted to me, which I later gave away because it was too intense for my taste. But this one takes the cake; it’s a beast in scent and projection, with top-quality ingredients and brutal longevity. It’s not just brutally strong in a simplistic way, but ‘die-hard’ in terms of finish. With a single spray, it’s more than enough. I’d recommend it… obviously, in a blind buy… obviously not. Try it first if you’re sensitive to strong scents.

Many people immediately think of Creed’s Aventus, which is good but loses exclusivity. Himalaya is far more exclusive because very few know about it. It offers a 360-degree twist on the familiar and is rarely imitated. If Aventus has masculinity, Himalaya surpasses it by being bolder. My advice: try all of Creed’s hidden gems before buying Aventus; it might be the one for you. I give it 9/10 for being extraordinary and unique. WARNING: always test on clothes and skin before buying, not all scents work for everyone.

I agree with Juancar: Himalaya and Silver Mountain Water are the best of Creed, both in scent and longevity. Thanks to that powerful base of sandalwood and musk, the other notes cling to the skin, creating magic. It smells of cedar and citrus for up to 12 or 13 hours. It’s more masculine, easy to wear, refreshing, and cool. It has no pretensions or weird notes; with just four simple notes, it creates a rounded, high-quality composition. Worth paying for a Creed if your skin is made for it. If it suits you, people will fall in love, be charmed, and point you out everywhere. Definitely worth trying. In my case, Himalaya or Erolfa are brutal in their simplicity, while Green Irish Tweed smells like a pool hall to me. Undisputable quality. 9/10.

It starts with fairly natural and balanced citrus, especially the Sicilian lemon (though not as natural as in Annick Goutal). I also thought I smelled neroli. At 5 hours, the sandalwood and a salty sensation from the ambergris are clearly noticeable; here it feels right, unlike Dior’s Sauvage, which I didn’t like. At 10 hours, it’s a musky sensation with soft sandalwood. At 12 hours, just residual musk and cedar. With the 1 ml sample, the trail was heavy-moderate for the first 3 hours, then moderate for the next 3, and the last 6 hours were skin scent. It’s a soft oriental-woody fragrance, ideal for spring and daytime wear. Supposedly the heart is sandalwood, but I didn’t feel it was impactful; I prefer the sandalwood in Chanel, where it has more personality; here it’s very shy.

It’s a well-structured, high-quality musky fragrance. Maybe not too original, but it has an abundance of elegance and versatility—two reasons enough to try it. Himalaya is a timeless, masculine fragrance with a refined aroma that, while perceived with some looseness, is absolutely not aggressive. It can be worn easily in all seasons and occasions.