If you love Creed Aventus but on principle refuse to spend that much on a fragrance, fear not, there are other options! Several fragrance houses have captured the very essence that everyone loves about Aventus resulting in a very good selection of clones.
Creed Aventus clone: The search for the best
It’s my favorite fragrance so I went in search of the best Creed Aventus clone. There are many fragrances with a similar scent profile to Creed Aventus but the cheapest one I tried I believe is the best. Which one was it? I’ll reveal all in a moment!
What does Creed Aventus smell like?
What is it that so many people love about Creed Aventus? Definitely not the price! But its scent is addictive. When you first spray any fragrance and instantly love it, it’s not always easy to explain why.
Before I tried Creed Aventus, I read many independent reviews, and all of them listed different notes in its fragrance pyramid. Bemused, I looked at three official Creed sites: the UK, the US, and Australia. Guess what? All three were slightly different too! There’s more about this later on.
What does Creed Aventus smell like? A quick answer is it smells gorgeous and expensive. I know several people who wear Creed but in order to give an honest answer, I headed to a local stockist to try a sample fresh from the bottle. Here it is:
This is a summary of how Creed Aventus is advertised as smelling:
- Top notes of apple, bergamot, blackcurrant, and pineapple
- Middle notes of birch, jasmine, rose, pinkberries, and patchouli
- Base notes of oak moss, musk, ambergris, and vanilla
Ignoring the official fragrance notes, what does Creed Aventus smell like to an everyday person like me?
As I wasn’t wearing any fragrance, I applied a liberal spray to both wrists, gave it a few seconds, and then took a gentle slow, smell. What I immediately picked up was a beautiful fresh, clean ripe fruity scent – citrusy, sharp, and tingly.
After about 30 minutes the fruitiness subsided a little but I could still pick up citrus. I could definitely smell patchouli (t’s one of my favorite fragrances), wood, and rose.
Six hours later, there was still a lovely scent on my skin. The citrus was still obvious, mingled with an earthy, musky, leathery scent and a subtle hint of vanilla.
The best Creed Aventus clone
Before we go any further, though the word clone means an exact copy, there really is no clone that is a perfect match for Creed Aventus.
Not one of the following would make a true Creed Aventus fan give up the real thing – unless they fell on hard times and could no longer afford it! There’s a full explanation of why this is a bit later on.
The best thing about any good Creed Aventus clone is it allows someone who can’t afford the real thing to wear something that smells similar enough at a fraction of the price.
For a copycat to be labeled the best Aventus clone, ideally it should be able to fool someone who loves the real thing into believing it is the real thing.
This is a very tall order with a niche fragrance of such high quality. Most clones are at best, great fragrances with a similar scent profile.
Here are some of the best alternatives to Creed Aventus currently on the market, in no particular order except my favorite one is first:
1. Perfumer’s Choice No.9 Victor by Milton-Lloyd London
I ordered this particular copycat after several Aventus lovers’ told me it’s the Creed Aventus clone they like best.
It has the long-winded name, Perfumer’s Choice No. 9 Victor, and is produced by Milton-Lloyd Cosmetics, London. It comes as an Eau de Parfum in a 2.8 fl. oz (83ml) glass bottle with a spray applicator.
The reason this is my favorite clone is that a few Creed wearers I know thought I was wearing Aventus and to me that says quite a lot about it.
There are several things I love about this fragrance:
- It’s one of the cheapest clones of Aventus and you will see just how cheap if you click the button at the bottom of this review.
- It’s a lovely fragrance to wear in its own right, not just as a clone.
- Its projection is good enough for people to notice and compliment it when they get to within 3 feet.
- A-three spray application gives the right projection and lasts about 4 hours.
- It’s in a dark bottle that protects its contents from light damage.
I’m not going to bore you with a fragrance note description, I’m just going to describe the scent and how it changes throughout the day.
A soon as it’s sprayed, Perfumer’s Choice No. 9 has that Creed Aventus fresh citrus fruity hit. There’s no initial, alcohol smell at all which is often noticeable in cheaper fragrances.
Very quickly, a woody, musky smell becomes apparent. Several hours later, there’s still a citrus aroma and a musky, vanilla undertone.
After 4 hours, I felt it was time for another application but I think this is a good amount of time for a fragrance of this price to last. You certainly wouldn’t worry about reapplying it several times throughout the day as it’s such a good price.
My verdict is that Perfumer’s Choice No. 9 is not exactly the same as Aventus – no clone truly is – but it’s close enough to make it a really good choice if you can’t afford the real thing.
Other cologne clones are similar enough too but not for this price.
You certainly won’t regret trying Perfumer’s Choice No. 9
2. Supremacy Silver by Afnan
I’m recommending Supremacy Silver by Afnan because I almost mistook it for Creed Aventus recently. I thought I could smell Aventus and asked the person what fragrance they were wearing.
As soon as they didn’t say Aventus but replied, “What do you think I’m wearing?” I knew it had to be a clone.
The projection of this fragrance was about 3 feet – just right and not overpowering. The wearer had applied this particular Creed Aventus clone about 3 hours earlier and assured me it lasted for about 6 hours.
It has that nice citrusy, fruity note of Aventus and a smokey, woody note alongside. It also came over as expensive, more like a niche perfume which is probably why it’s a very good Creed imitation.
I would say Supremacy Silver is a lovely fragrance in its own right that happens to smell quite like Creed Aventus.
The bottle has a classy appearance too and you wouldn’t think twice about buying it as a gift for someone who likes Aventus but doesn’t actually own any. At about $45 for a 3.4 fl. oz (100ml) Eau de Parfum, it is very affordable.
This is available from a variety of online sellers at varying prices so it’s best if you google it and see who has the best price and reviews.
3. L’Aventure by Al Haramain
Al Haramain L’Aventure is a 3.4 fl.oz (100ml) Eau de Parfum and has a very similar scent to Creed Aventus. Though you can’t tell from the image above, the bottle is a solid chunky cube shape.
This Creed Aventus clone has a lovely citrusy top note of bergamot but not the sharp pineapple hit you get from Creed Aventus.
It dries down to a nice woody, patchouli smell after an hour or so. It doesn’t have great longevity so you’ll probably have to reapply it after 2 to 3 hours. But the cost means this isn’t a problem.
It’s an excellent price and many people who buy it are sure they can’t tell the difference between Al Haramain and Aventus, as you will see if you click the button at the end of this review.
Al Haramain is a very nice, wearable fragrance in its own right. It’s kind of like Creed Aventus but not a cologne I would mistake for it.
If you like Creed Aventus style fragrance, and you’re on a budget, this is an admirable alternative.
4. Zara Vibrant Leather
Launched in 2016, Zara’s Vibrant Leather EDP is a woody men’s fragrance with a top note of bergamot, a middle note of bamboo, and a base note of leather.
This simple combination gives a nice scent that makes you think of Creed Aventus. It’s a great price at around $30 for a 4.4 fl. oz (120 ml) bottle.
Vibrant leather is a simple but elegant fragrance. As you spray it you’ll notice the citrusy, spicy aroma of bergamot which does make you think of Creed Aventus.
After a few minutes, the bergamot subsided to reveal the woody middle note of bamboo and after about 30 minutes you’re left with a beautiful leathery base.
Although Vibrant Leather is initially like Aventus, this doesn’t last. It doesn’t have great longevity and has to be reapplied after 3 hours or so but as it costs less than 10% of the price of the Creed favorite, this isn’t such a big deal.
It’s quite like Creed Aventus when initially applied but doesn’t dry down to the same scent.
I’m a fan of Zara fragrances in general. They have a vast choice of fragrances at extremely low prices.
How to get Aventus for less instead of settling for a Creed Aventus clone
One way to get Creed Aventus for less is to buy a decant. Shop around and check reviews and you may get a 3.4 oz unsealed bottle for as little as $60. But do be careful to check the seller’s feedback.
Another way of getting the real thing for less is to buy a larger bottle. As with many fragrances, the bigger the size you buy, the cheaper the contents per ounce.
Creed Aventus comes in many sizes ranging from 50 ml (1.7 fl. oz) to 1 Liter (34 fl. oz) bottles:
If you buy this size from Creed it is currently $1600. This works out at about $160 per 3.4 oz, so a lot less than the $435 you would currently pay for a 3.4 oz bottle. Obviously, $1600 is a lot to pay out in one go but this gives you options such as:
- Buy with 9 other Creed Aventus loving friends and share it out.
- Save up and carefully store it in a dark cool space – it should last several years.
- Buy some glass vials and become a decant seller! You can sell varying size, starting from 1 ml at $7.00
Why there are no perfect Creed Aventus Clones
Creed Aventus is a unique niche fragrance and no clone has managed to exactly copy it. There’s are good reasons why:
- Creed uses very old expensive infusion methods to produce their fragrances. Replicating these would make clones as expensive and so defeat the object.
- Aventus has a complex scent profile that’s difficult to copy exactly.
- Creed makes fragrances in small batches which is why you hear of slight variations from one bottle of Aventus to the next. Again clone producers can’t afford to do this at the prices they sell for.
- The ingredients used in Creed Aventus are natural, top-end, no expense spared and often hand-picked. Clones can’t afford this luxury.
The Creed Fragrance Pyramid
This is slightly confusing but really, when it comes to choosing a fragrance the top, middle and base notes are just for guidance and I’ll bet most people can’t truly distinguish one note from another when they sample a fragrance.
The fragrance pyramid of Creed Aventus according to creedfragrances.co.uk
The fragrance pyramid of Creed Aventus according to creedboutique.com
The fragrance pyramid of Creed Aventus according to creedperfume.com.au
Best Creed Aventus Clone – Conclusion
Creed Aventus is difficult to clone exactly but there are several colognes that are similar enough and sell at fantastically low prices.
The best Creed Aventus clone as far as I’m concerned is Perfumer’s Choice No.9 Victor by Milton-Lloyd London because it has a similar scent profile, smells very like Creed Aventus, and is the cheapest of all the clones.
If you also like Oud Wood by Tom Ford, you’ll love this gift set on Amazon which contains Perfumer’s Choice No. 10, a very good likeness to Oud Wood, along with the Aventus clone, No.9.
If you love Creed fragrances, Royal Oud clones are popular too.