Original Santal

The problem with review websites, is that you have no idea who is reviewing them. Their tastes, experience, what the want from a fragrance, how bad they are at picking up notes in the fragrance itself, etc. If one were to scroll this page they’d think you have a highly synthetic blend of cinnamon, vanilla, and Mont Blanc juice that should be in a red squeaky bottle that costs $5 at your local Walmart. I’ve always liked Original Santal. One of the first Creed’s I was drawn to. It’s playful, warm, woody, familiar, and classic. There’s something so timeless and multi-faced about this fragrance. It can dance in to the night, it can calm, and it’s also a statement and compliment getter. Yes, it’s expensive. Because it’s a Creed. But, show me a better blended house and I’ll tell you that there actually isn’t one. Their style, presentation, and overall aesthetic all around is unmatched. And where performance is usually Creeds issue on some, that is not the case here. I can go to bed, sleep 8 hours and still wake up smelling my hand. Admittedly, I do wish all creeds possessed this level of strength. But when dealing with mostly natural ingredients it’s difficult to get that beast performance. But hey, it is what it is. Original Santal! The bottle is beautiful and certainly matches the experience. Predominantly red glass fading in to a light yellow/clear top, with a metal silver cap (which was a long overdue change) and certainly makes a difference when applying and clicking the cap back on! Immediately the scent is a light white sandalwood; crisp, spicy, dry. Truly divine. My senses explode in to action and I’m stimulated for the evening or day! Coriander and juniper berries dance on the top with rosemary and mandarin play alongside, and as it transcends deeper as time moves forward it’s fortified by the cedar and tonka as it dries down in to a mellow and somewhat sweeter amber coal which stays well over 12 hours. Whether you can pick the ingredients and notes out doesn’t matter much, because what you are presented and left with is smelling like what I imagine an invigorating night in Morocco would be like. Woman under your arm, smiles, dancing, and memories being made. Life unfolding in a spontaneous and effortless way. Definitely a buy to add to your arsenal. It’s one of those fragrances that you just can’t resist smelling your arm. It’s truly a delight. And for those comparing it to hoop or MB.. I bet you’re just coping because you don’t want to spend money. Because this is just super quality. I think the most optimal time I’ll be reaching for this is summer days but more-so nights, and all throughout fall. But because of how intoxicating it is, I could grab it damn near anytime Love.

First time I wore Original Santal, circa 2009, back when I worked in wealth management for a company that offered discounts on luxury products including Creed, I distinctly remember a Creed representative telling me this was conceived and marketed as a "women's perfume". Since sandalwood has been an obsession since childhood I didn't care and went through a few bottles of this back in the day. Still wear it every now and then (even it it is supposedly "girly" ) but nowadays prefer to get my sandalwood fix from Ajmal Santal Wood. In those days Creed marketed itself as a pedigreed house offering luxury products of "niche quality" (to account for the abysmal performance) to the high net worth individual. The old version of Original Santal is a sweet coumarin tonka-heavy sandalwood, fairly linear, typical lousy Creed performance - yet I always found the sandalwood in Himalaya much nicer. In recent years Creed seems to have really amplified the vanilla in Original Santal since the old version is mostly sandalwood and tonka. Yes, Montblanc Individuel is superficially similar to Original Santal. Or vice versa. Recently, while looking for sandalwood attars from India, came across a fabulous company called Parag Fragrances with many types of sandalwood including an excellent version of Original Santal in their "French perfumes" line that's infinitely better than Individuel. And cheaper. It's even called "Original Santal". If you like Original Santal but not the ridiculous price or the crappy performance, check it out.

This is one of my first non-freshie Creeds and to be honest, I'm a tad shocked; I'm very anti-Creed due to the over-hype of it, I have owned Milesime Imperial, Viking, Virgin Island Water, Aventus and currently own Green Irish Tweed and obviously this. I only like Green Irish Tweed as in the sense I'd buy it again, but this....this is something different. This took me by surprise, as the moment I sprayed it I got an immediate flashback to 20 years or so ago, and I could not place it, then it hit me like an idiot; Joop, OMG, it's almost as if it's a lighter, less synthetic, slightly better quality than the original Joop. I do not have much more to say other than if you liked Joop in your yesteryears, then you will most certainly love this. This has ignited a fire in me to go on a hunt across Creed's various frags to see what I might find. If anyone reads this and has any suggestions, please feel free to let me know :) UPDATE: on the back of this purchase, I have gone and purchased Creed Himalaya (which I discovered I hate), Creed Millesime Imperial (that I like), Creed Viking (also like), Creed Aventus Cologne (not yet received), and another 100ml of this as a backup, and it is now my signature scent! From a Creed hater, to this being my sig scent, and I really have not had a sig scent per se, ever.....that's saying something! Enjoy! And God bless!

Premium quality, creamy spicey and sweet sandalwood. Yes Montblanc individual is very close or vice versa, but you can’t compare these since, creed use more naturals, ambergris and Musk in this composition.. strange that fragrantica does not report it. When you would compare them side by side you will smell differences and differences that really matters.. since original santal is very smooth and very classy, where individual gives me headaches. But let’s stop comparing and focus on this beautiful scent. It’s warm, it’s fresh and spicey. Versatile and classy as well. Good quality from creed again and I was lucky to get a 2018 batch from the store, so that said.. it’s far better then the new ones. New ones are bit more fresh in the opening, and this one gets to that point later in a very more balanced composition to me. Definitely smoother In the fall. Winter it can be nice but you have to use some more sprays on clothes so it sticks for a while. Performance: 12+hours longevity under my shirt. 6 hours on my hand. Sillage: you smell it trough whole the day if you spray on chest and bit on your neck. Don’t overspray it but like I said in the winter use it on clothes and 2 sprays on your wrist. Classy sandalwood which is creamy, spicey fresh with that natural lavender and musk with ambergris makes this a class perfume. Bit outdated but never to old!

What can I say about this fragrance? It's love at first sniff! I notice lately that I turn my interest more to sandalwood scents (4 out of 6 perfumes of mine have sandalwood note). I have never smelled any fragrances from this house (only the popular Aventus I eager to smell but no tester available in the store at that time). Months later I went back and asked if it's available. Luckily, I was able to finally smell the iconic fragrance. Sniffed Aventus and I was like 'meh'. Good smell but not great. Suddenly, I saw this gorgeous red bottle with the words "Original Santal" and asked the SA to spray it on my arm. Sniffed OS and it made me lovestruck! Smells spicy powdery on my skin. Some say they can't smell sandalwood note. For me, I can smell it, not enormous but its really there. I don't know some say this only works best in the cold weather. I think they're right but testing it in a humid, hot weather, I enjoy it more. Performance on the other hand suffers at least on my skin. It's a great scent and versatile for me (dress up, dress down, semi-formal, even casual, day and night). It all depends on your preference in using this fragrance. Really expensive IMO but I think worth to have it in your collection. Looking forward acquiring this one 😁