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 😁

Such a unique fragrance. I have a hard time finding non sweet / spicy Fresh fragrances and this fits the bell perfectly. I think along our Fragrance journey we all fall in love with particular notes and we seek those out. What makes this fragrance unique & fresh is undoubtedly the Juniper Berry combined with sandalwood. The sweet warmer notes of are perfectly balanced they wash away any jagged edges while also hanging back and not fully revealing themselves until much later hours after the initial spray. The Juniper is so robust that even though it is a top note there is so much of it or there has to be some in the base or mid as well as it permeates an aura outside and in and stays with you for several hours. This fragrance is delightfully divine, I have Mint Blanc Individual as well and I absolutely adore and love that fragrance as well it’s one of the best cheapies ever and is imo a must have. If you want something fresh that isn’t aquatic, overly fruity, or deep & musky and is more of the clean soapy linen smelling freshie in the same category I would say as a Sedley if you enjoy that you will love this.

Creed - Original Santal Warm, fresh and inviting. Relaxing cinnamon, soothing lavender, zesty ginger and smooth sandalwood with just a bit of bite... these are just some of the notes in this perfect composition. It’s very clean, balanced, and transcendent... I envision laying on a bed of grass in a sandalwood forest, looking up through the tall trees to the sky as they sway gently and harmoniously from the breeze of a warm sunny afternoon. With no stress to be near, I smile, knowing that this moment is one of many I’ll remember forever and the peace that it has given me... breathe in... breathe out.. It’s easy to compare this to Mont Blanc Individuel, it’s a nice scent, too. However, I get a completely different vibe from that and find it nowhere near as captivating, but I owe Mont Blanc a sense of gratitude for paving the way for this magnificent release. For that reason alone, the “feel” I get from this, is why Original Santal is worth the extra dough for me... a beautiful, high quality fragrance and one I will always have.

Honestly this is by far my favorite sandalwood fragrance. This one introduced me to the note and I instantly fell in love with it. It is a bit spicy, very clean smelling which I love and fresh and when it dries down it is powdery. Longevity yes is an issue but that is the case with the sandalwood note in general. Last a long time in clothes. I spend so much time and money trying to find a “higher” quality mysore sandalwood scent and never got a full bottle of this. Now I have bought other fragrances, one being Santal complet ( don’t bother with that one, you have to layer it with sunscreen if you want to get an hour out of it) and I keep on smelling my empty sample that I got from Nose like a year ago. As of price here in Europe is not as expensive as I have seen in the USA, it’s cheaper than private blend Tom ford which I find extremely overpriced. I am going to be buying a bottle hopefully this year and stop buying for a bit. Smelt 40 fragrances this year and I only go back at 3-4 of them.

One of the most interesting and courageous sandal perfumes I have ever experienced, usually, Sandal is quite often mated with florals or gourmands, since this marvelous creamy woodsy element goes very well with the latter both but here it"s the center binding element for spicy gourmand fougere, yes, it's a very rare classification or combination I know, but this is really what I smell, juniper-rosemary-petit grain-lavander quartet serves the fougere part, the vanilla-tonka duo builds the mouth watering tart-like gourmand base, where the ginger-cinnamon-coriander trio establishes the spicy core DNA, and all tied together with the key element santal in the center, an perfect example of balancing extensively different olfactive groups in an exquisite blend of finest ingredients of their genre. Yes a bit pricey at first sight, but when you use it for some time, you feel that the impeccable quality of the ingredients inside are definitely worth every cent.

Amazing scent, classic!!! One of the best Creeds! The resemblance with Individuel Montblanc is astonishing! I understand that both were created after Joop Homme that was created 10-15 years prior. I love both and have both but Creed is a better quality scent and Montblanc has more interesting notes in it (raspberry for one). Great scent for winter/fall but can be worn year round. Good longevity but projection is very close to skin scent after 1 hr. My wife's favorite but she can never tell the difference between Creed and Montblanc. They are really that close in the air. I would say if I had to pick one, I would pick Montblanc: the Creed is 4-5 times more expensive and really not 4-5 times better, but if money is no object, go with Creed, it does have a premium quality edge feel to it :) Overall, perfect office/casual or date scent as the projection is not too strong and it is a compliment monster!!!

Definitely in my top 3 fragrances if not my favorite fragrance of all time! IMHO the best from creed! 10/10 beautiful classy, fresh, seductive sandalwood. My signature scent. Can be worn all year round but shines most in the warmer/milder temperatures. Beautiful combination of sandalwood, lavender, vanilla, & Tonka bean. So easy to wear for all occasions whether dresses up or dressed down. It projects pretty well for me in the first 3-4 hours and then sits a little closer for the next 6-8hrs. Overall lasts around 10-12 hours on me. I have an older batch 120ML bottle and a newer 2021 100ML bottle there are slight differences I won’t get into atm, but both are absolutely amazing! I think the older batches last a little longer maybe because of maceration & slightly more woody/vanilla. While the newer batches are a little more fresh & sweet. Both must haves for me

Classically masculine smelling, I get an airy aromatic on top of a creamy soft sandalwood, and an herbal and spicy fresh lavender, a lot of lavender. Not super complex or anything but successfully achieves the old school woody fougere very well, it’s so uplifting I love it so much. Sad part is it stops projecting very quickly less than an hour and I can no longer detect anything without holding my nose into my arms. What’s there is a powdery and faint lavender, the lavender drowns out any of the actual sandalwood that would be left, reminds me a lot of the base of Le Male. I think Original Santal is just outside of being full bottle worthy to me, this is an amazing old school men’s cologne but also kinda performs like one and becomes a struggle to enjoy on myself for more than a couple hours.

This is challenging to review. Fresh fruity opening, way too sweet if you smell it from a very close distance, and the nicest and most comforting drydown I've felt in a long time. This is the fragrance that you smelled when you were little on your uncle who just came back from his luxury voyage around the world. A great all time classic and all-rounder that's easy to wear in most climates and contexts. Great ingredients, decent performance, but a little bit expensive. It's still a good candidate for my collection. As a side note, I do think that this is a fragrance that requires the person who wears it to be quite mature. I'd say that a man can comfortably wear this even in his 70s, but not earlier than 35. L.E.: I bought it at a good discount.

I love the smell of this. Sweet, fruity and with a hint of spice. Well balanced too! I think this is different compared to most creed fragrances as its more towards the sweet and fruity side. I can see this being unisex but its more towards male users, needs to have more florals to lean towards for females. I can see why this would be more suitable for the colder months, but when i smelt this for the first time, I thought about the sunsets in india, similar to olivier creeds journey to india with this scent, which is for warmer, humid seasons. Being a indian british myself, I can see myself wearing this if I visit back to india during near sunset time. Yet in the same time I would not wear this in the UK during mid-day in a summer afternoon.

This is so good that I also wear this during summer nights and less spray of course. I have no option because I live in a tropical country and we only have summer and rainy season. If I know that I’ll be indoors and there will be AC every where, like a casino/hotel resort. It cuts through the smoke of the casino floor and expect compliments from the gamblers sitting next to me. I guess when all you smell is cigarettes, Original Santal will smell like heaven. When I bought this, it was a gamble knowing that it is a cold weather collection and I won. I also wear it outdoors, but only during night time. Don’t get scared or intimidated because it’s not too heavy. Just a couple of sprays will definitely work even in a tropical country at night.

I have this and I also have Mont Blanc Individuel. This is undoubtedly a better fragrance, it’s much less synthetic and you can just tell it’s quality. That does not mean Individuel isn’t a good alternative, not everyone wants or can afford to spend $450 on a cologne. There is no shame in that. Individuel Is very very similar just lacks the quality and on me I think Creed last longer. I love original Santal but honestly it’s not an every day fragrance for me, it has ti fit into a certain vibe. It is one of the more interesting creeds and the first one I really loved but I bought several others over this one as my collection was growing because I knew it would be a limited use style cologne. It is absolutely beautiful though

I blind bought this fragrance about 4 years ago as my 4th Creed after MI, GIT and Aventus. It is as high quality as the other offerings from the Creed house with great sillage and excellent longevity. I love wearing it on cold mornings in the winter and still enjoy it as I lay down for bed. The open is strong sandalwood and cinnamon spice with the underlying base notes hidden in the background for about an hour or two. Around three or four hours into the experience, the more subtle and quieter notes of rosemary and vanilla remain. The tonka imparts a greenish vibe. This is an easy to wear and relatively versatile scent and a safe blind buy (but Creed priced).

I only have 3 Creeds. Green Irish Tweed, Aventus, and Original Santal and to my opinion these are the only Creeds worth the money and these are the only ones I’ll be buying once I run out off. I have repurchased Aventus and planing the same thing with GIT and Original Santal. Maybe I need to buy Montblanc Individuel and Armaf Tres Nuit it if I want to have the Original Santal and GIT vibe while at home or just doing chores close to home. Creed prices are no jokes everytime my wife nags at me for buying Creeds and having too many colognes. Being single and collecting colognes was so much fun before I got married.

First I will say I love this DNA. I wore Joop a lot in the 90's and still own it along with Mont Blanc individual. I've smelled this before but dismissed it as not that much different from the less expensive options. Today I wore this on skin. I must confess this is better than both Joop and Individual. It smells much better and more natural than both on my skin. It also has what I perceive as leather in the base along with cinnamon and creamy sandalwood. This would be a good find to add to my collection if I could find it discounted.

Original Santal smells like something I would like to drink. I find this scent refreshing and exuding good vibes. There was a season when this was a daily wear for me and I still enjoy it time to time. In respect to the actual scent profile, I have a hard time picking out the individual notes, and looking at the breakdown here, I would not have guessed them. So, I'm not sure how to explain the smell, only how it makes me feel. It sets a good mood for the day, what more could I want from a fragrance. I hope everyone enjoys this too.