Erwin Creed enjoys racing cars - and creating the Ferrari of scents

Erwin Creed seems quite shy as he describes why he enjoys extreme sports. When I heard that the young heir of the House of Creed fragrances liked boxing, skiing and motocross, I was expecting a wild child, a younger version of Richard Branson. Instead, a tall, dashing, 29-year-old French version of Jonathan Rhys Meyers from The Tudors, with deep brown eyes and a crisp gray suit, was quietly putting his thoughts about boxing together. Bonjour!

“I wanted to find a city sport,” he starts. “I don’t want to run on a treadmill in the gym.”

He downplays his dangerous hobbies, saying that racing cars and skiing are just for training, that he doesn’t have any sponsors or anything of the sort. Finally, he admits, “I like the danger. Because after, I feel more…” He pauses. “I mean, I love golf also. I just love sports, because after you feel good, you feel relaxed. Your mind is more clear.”

When it comes to perfume, on the other hand, the effusive and headstrong risk-taker emerges. Erwin Creed is the seventh-generation perfumer and future head of the House of Creed. While his father, Olivier, is still the master perfumer for the company, Erwin has been getting his hands dirty (or rather, quite fragrant) helping develop new fragrances and traveling the world for the ingredients for their perfumes.

“I don’t want to take over as the guy who does nothing,” he says. So his nose has been working overtime to help the family business, which amazingly remains the only privately held luxury fragrance house in the world. While he shies away from the “certified nose” title, his sensitive nose can identify different scents, which can be a problem when it’s off-duty and just wants to relax.

“Sometimes when I go to a restaurant, we sit down and I realize, I can’t sit here, the woman beside me showered in perfume!”

I wouldn’t be surprised if she was one of his adoring admirers all over the world, enamored over his good looks, dangerous hobbies and, I’m guessing, great smell. (Good news, ladies: no Kate Middleton yet to this Prince William of Creed! Hurrah!)

Although it’s already celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, Creed fragrances seem to remain the best-kept secret of the rich and famous. With their unbelievably illustrious client list and commitment to quality and tradition, these luxurious scents are, in fact, the “old rich” of the perfume counter. (They make the ubiquitous celebrity fragrances look so nouveau.) Quick background check: Established in 1760 by James Henry Creed as a fashion shop in London, their simple fragrances caught the royal nose of Queen Victoria, who soon appointed Creed as the official royal supplier. Soon, the rest of the European royal cliques, from Hungary to Spain, couldn’t get enough either, and in 1854, Creed moved to Paris under the patronage of Empress Eugénie.

As if that’s not enough street cred, they’ve since then continued the tradition of carefully crafting fragrances mostly by hand and impressing more of the cool kids with their superior quality. While they’ve never had celebrity endorsers and refuse to blatantly name their famous clients (*cough* Julia Roberts! *cough* … *cough* Pierce Brosnan! *cough*), I was able to pry some secrets about a couple of their best-selling scents. Prince Rainier of Monaco commissioned their fresh Fleurissimo for Grace Kelly to complement her bouquet on their wedding day. The fragrance Spring Flower was the signature scent of the iconic Audrey Hepburn. While my celebrity-obsessed, TMZ-watching side craved more, Erwin is quick to insist that they treat each client equally. “Today, we have too much inequality. If you like fragrance, you will get the same fragrance as a famous person. Everyone’s the same. Welcome to Creed.”

Smelling like your favorite celebrity sounds enticing, and that explains why the fragrance counters have been filling up with more celebrity scents. Sadly, sometimes it’s just the name that celebrities give to these products. “They’re maybe involved five or 10 percent,” explains Erwin. “It’s only marketing to make money. They don’t make it carefully. If they put a great perfumer behind it or natural ingredients in it, it will cost a lot. That’s the problem.”

Creed doesn’t shy away from natural ingredients. In fact, it’s the essence of their essences. “Ingredients are the base and the inspiration,” declares Erwin. Creed insists on using the best natural ingredients instead of synthetic ones, even if practically all luxury scents use synthetics already. Irises from Florence and ambergris from Calabria may mean more expensive perfumes, but Creed is fixated on creating the best. “Quality is the number-one thing,” says Erwin. Forget about setting a budget, because that constricts creativity from the get-go. Forget about setting a sales target or obsessing over the price margins. It’s about creating great perfumes that justify whatever price. “We have the opportunity to make a Ferrari, so why would we want to make cars just for quantity?” he challenges.

Aside from their quality, Erwin believes their creativity sets the House of Creed apart. While they keep a close eye on the market, they don’t follow. “Most of the brands don’t want to make mistakes so they don’t take the risk to innovate.” The more he talks about it, the more I see how passionate he is about making fragrances. “Sometimes, when I’m creating a formula, I’m … you know … whoa…” He trails off and whistles, as if spotting a gorgeous woman he just fell madly in love with.

A choice selection of Creed best-sellers is available here in Manila through Rustan’s, but Erwin can’t recommend one because he doesn’t have a favorite. “I try not to say this is my favorite, and that I use a lot, because when I need to make a new perfume, my subconscious will try to make the same one. I fight my subconscious,” he laughs.

While he has no problem wrestling with his inner voice, he admits working with his Dad can be difficult. “It’s painful,” he shares. “But I’m young. I need something that’s not easy. And I need to be tested. I don’t want to just copy my dad.”

When he finally takes over, Erwin promises to “maintain the way of Creed. We make new collections, but we don’t want to change direction.” That direction has been working for Creed for more than two centuries. I’m amazed at how, despite its rich traditions and exclusive history, Creed somehow emerges democratic through the availability of its fragrances. “I don’t want to say we are the best. You choose; the people choose.” He shrugs confidently. “We make perfume special.” He doesn’t elaborate, truly the risk-taker. He knows their perfumes will say — dare I say, spray? — it all.