Original Santal Creed for women and men

I'm getting original allure homme mixed with Rasasi Hawas. Very linear and very fruity. Can't tell if I'm a fan yet but it seems way overpriced for a simple designer scent profile.

applied original santal and suddenly felt like the Pied Piper. Sexy women flocked to me like the salmon of Capistrano, flowing towards my irresistible scent. I had to remind them, One at a time, ladies, one at a time!

I had a review here beforehand. I deleted it, Straight up bad for 200eur. Smells very synthetic and just like those soaps you can get for like 20eur a piece w lavender on them. I really dont like it, and the sandalwood is barely there and when it is it just smells cheap. Shame that this bears the name creed.

This fragrance fulfills the promise of offering a high-quality sandalwood experience, showcasing Creed's trademark mastery and creativity. A standout feature is the addition of fluted vanilla, which evokes the aromatic sensation of a comforting raspberry, reminiscent of Montblanc Individuel but with a refined, pleasant, and less artificial touch. Unlike Tuscan Leather's candy-like raspberry, this rendition is expertly crafted, perfumed, slightly creamy, and remarkably smooth, resembling the scent of fresh raspberry skin enveloped in a purified cologne, exuding harmony. The addition of coriander lends a subtle spiciness to the blend. While it may not be overtly woody, the presence of sandalwood is undeniable, offering a pure and radiant white wood essence. This fragrance stands as yet another underappreciated masterpiece from Creed's collection. Its performance ranges from average to above-average.

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.

A gorgeous, warm and inviting fragrance with a gentle spice note throughout. There isn't a ton of complexity here, what you get in the opening remains linear throughout the drydown. But this really appeals if you want a winter-leaning, dry spice fragrance.

Identical to joop. Beautiful but not worth the $$

This cologne is fantastic. It is very strong, so do not spray too much or it can quickly nauseate both you and everyone around you. When applied in small amounts, this is a fantastic fragrance. Seems to be good for both winter as well as summer nights.

Doesn’t have the greatest performance (a few hours at most), but a pretty great scent ones it’s dried down

Opening: Very piney scent in the opening presumably from the juniper berries. You get a soft sweet spiciness from the coriander as well. And a fizzy citrus accord from the ginger.

Dry down: soft rounded woodiness from the sandalwood, with a hefty amount of lavander, A more pronounced green floral note from the geranium and soft white floral aspect from thee orange blossom. As it dries a bit more you pick up the sweetness of Tonka, a light creamy woody aspect from the sandalwood and cedar and some musk twisted in on top of oak moss.


This gets better the more it dries down

When I think of Creed I think luxury, elegance, perfection, longevity. This fragrance was very nice. It is sophisticated and nicely blended. It leans more male than female IMO. But with the price point being what it is it just did not meet my Creed expectations. Given the choice there are other Sandalwood fragrances I prefer like Atelier Cologne Santal Carmin and other Creed's I prefer like SMW, VIW, Aventus and Spring Flowers.

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.

Original Santal is a great fragrance with a blend of aromatic and warm notes. In the opening you will get a refreshing burst of ginger and cinnamon. The mid reveals a rich and creamy blend of sandalwood and lavender. It then evolves into a velvety combination of vanilla and tonka bean, adding a touch of sweetness and warmth. Longevity is remarkable, lasting for hours on the skin, and the sillage is moderate, projecting just enough to leave a subtle trail behind you. Original Santal is an elegant and versatile fragrance suitable for both casual and formal occasions, making it a perfect addition to any fragrance collection.

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.

I will start by saying the bottle itself is beautiful. Love the color gradient
and the heavy cap. Great sprayer!
The scent opens up a little off putting and sharp/sour but it quickly starts to open up to a smooth creamy long lasting skin scent. I get a small scent bubble around me most of the day. The sillage is not huge on my bottle from what I can tell. But the longevity is very nice. It def is a smoother JOOP! homme smell. More like the pre reformulated JOOP! Try before you buy unless you're a Joop! fan I guess.

I don't how people compare it to individual Montblanc they are similar for the first 15 minutes only. It's another level of fregrance

I’ve tried a ton of Creed fragrances and love a lot of them. That being said, this is one of the few I’d absolutely never purchase.

I like it a lot but it’s severely overpriced. It’s a niche price for a designer fragrance. I have a decant of this and Mont Blanc Individuel and would say they’re close enough. The Creed is ‘fuller’ but considering I got the Mont Blanc for $20 at a Burlington I’d feel like an idiot if I bought the Creed. This is not ‘inspired by’ Individuel it’s as if they were trying to directly copy it. It’s marginally better.

There’s nothing really special about this. If I was in love with the dryer sheet raspberry DNA and wanted the best version of it this could easily be worth it but as a Creed collector and fragrance enthusiast this is one of the easiest decisions to pass I have ever made.

So Cool Water is a cheaper version of GIT? This exactly Individuel and Joop but the ingredients are way more natural and expensive. It’s like a level up of the same dna.

#254 in my "Tour de Fragrance"

I see why people like this. Wood and vanilla, nothing unusual, but the cinnamon note is what makes this a nice fragrance, BUT, you can get the same notes with Mont Blanc Individuel for under $28, so why pay this price?.

Love them or not, most can agree that Creed has produced some of the finest perfumes, be it Green Irish Tweed, Aventus, Royal Oud, Millesime Imperial, or others. Santal was one I wore extensively during my stay in Ireland from 2016 to 2017. The memories associated with this scent are indelible. Last week, I rediscovered it in my brother’s collection, prompting me to revisit and review it. The initial spray delighted me, and I couldn’t believe it was the same fragrance from seven years ago. However, as the base notes emerged, it became evident that it had been reformulated and diluted. These are my thoughts:

TOP NOTES
This is smooth and somewhat synthetic, but not excessively so, just enough to be noticed. The scent opens up with a familiar ‘clean laundry’ aroma you’ve probably encountered in other perfumes.This effect is achieved through the spicy ginger, a blend of effervescent citruses, and the gin-tonic-like essence of juniper berries, which play a prominent role as the fragrance unfolds. The balance and synergy of these notes set the stage for what’s to come in just a few short minutes.

HEART NOTES
As the top notes dissipate, the heart notes step forward, revealing the fragrance’s warmer and more aromatic core.
Lavender, orange blossom, cinnamon, and a generous dose of heliotrope (not mentioned in the official note breakdown, alongside cinnamon) create an impression reminiscent of sweet ice cream. This is where I believe the fragrance truly shines and becomes most enjoyable, at least for me.

BASE NOTES
What remains are faint traces of notes from the top and heart, accompanied by somewhat just okay vanilla, tonka beans, and underwhelming sandalwood. I have my doubts that the sandalwood here is the real deal. By this stage, the aromatic aspects have nearly dissipated, leaving behind a prevailing sweetness. Regrettably, no matter how much I wore this new version of Santal, the base was consistently where it fell short. It’s not bad, but it also doesn’t reach the level of something truly remarkable.

OVERALL
Original Santal better than what is cloning(Joop Homme and Montblanc Individuel) but at a much higher price. Whether it’s worth it is up to you to decide. Since this is my brothers bottle, no harm was done. I cherish the memories I’ve created with it in the past, but the past is past, and it’s time to explore other perfumes.

Read the full review at scentgrail.com

The fact that this is similar to a Mont Blanc fragrance doesn't take away from the fact that this is an incredible fragrance on its own right. It has good projection and decent longevity. the silage is good with the only downside being the price. If at all possible, purchase both the EDT and the EDP.

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

This is a dated scent, it invokes some memories of my early working years around the turn of the millennium. Not all good memories, but some are pleasant to revisit. And even the not too good memories, I revisit to be pensive and see it from a different and older set of perspectives.

This has great performance compared to a lot of creeds. It is perhaps one you would call "beastly".
The lavender, moss, cedar, sandalwood, floral strxuture of it is ubiquitous in a lot of popular American male fougere fragrances. It has that artificial sweetener, laundromat clean, chemically pleasant scent that can get a little sickening if you wear it too long or spray too much.
A little goes a long way, and if sprayed discretely, can be a very refined accessory to a well dressed gentleman at nite or in the office.
It is very easy to don this one in an unsophisticated and uncultured way.
You have to have experience wearing fragrance correctly to use this one correctly.

It is one I rarely reach for these years. But it was the one that got me to buy a Creed. It was the most interesting one I found from creed back then. I haven't bought a Creed since.

For the fragrance only, not looking at price, and for what is up my alley, I give this a 7.0.

One thing I've been noticing is how challenging Creed salespeople can be at Nordstrom. The amount of times I get offered to try SMW is crazy, even though I'm looking at this (Original Santal) and Royal Oud - really they have nothing to do with SMW.
Anyways, this is AMAZING! I really see the comparison with Individuel, though the ingredients here are of higher naturality and quality. A great offering for signature scent that could easily be worn year-round!

I'm sampling a few Creed fragrances right now, so i've found those I like and some i'm not crazy about. Santal, although it smells perfectly fine as a fresh, clean fragrance, I can't get it out of my head that every time I sniff my wrists, all I get is baby powder. It's not subtle either. I've been around friends with kids and the white talc powder they use after changing a diaper, this is that fragrance. For the price of Creed's fragrances, I wouldn't recommend this one when many other identical scents go for much less. Just to show i'm not trying to hate on Creed, i've got Aventus and Royal Oud decants as well and they are utterly beautiful scents.

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!

Here’s the scene: 1am after a formal event or dinner, beach bonfire, tie off, shoes and socks off, single malt scotch, Cuban cigar, Original Santal permeating. Done and done.

Sandalwood, lavender & orange blossom are what I predominantly smell in the opening- mid. This is a light & soft composition where everything is so well blended. I wish the cedar was more active, No spice. This opening in to the mid is fucking FANTASTIC 🤤!

Late dry down, my favorite part (2hrs in) the tonka comes forth & the sandalwood slides to the back.. the tonka almost gives off that good ‘ol ambergris creed DNA 🧬.

Late dry down (4hrs in)..
the scent becomes too sweet. It’s a lite sweetness, but it’s pure sweetness like tonka/ vanilla/ sweet patchouli type shit going on & I can’t get down with that. The joop comparison is probably accurate at this point.

Would be a absolute favorite if the opening/ mid was linear throughout.

Edit:
Dry down smells EXACTLY like Lancôme Hypnose pour homme

This was lighter and cleaner than I would have expected from a fragrance touting sandalwood.
On first application, this smelt soapy, alcoholic, quite frankly, bathroom and a little toilet-cleaner-esque. That's probably as much to do with the over-use of lavender in bathroom cleaning products as anything else, but caveat emptor. I thought I was going to loathe it, but the bathroom smell faded quite quickly, and the warmer middle tones came through creating a clean, light incense scent of floral blending with scented wood. The florals are exquisite.
I keep picking up deep, cold hits of something akin to eucalyptus, tea-tree, menthol, pine, or camphor, you know the type. It wasn't clearly the lavender, but I suspect it was the astringent notes from the lavender, rosemary, juniper, and geranium blending together to make a single winter forest note. Also a bit reminiscent of cleaning products, but it could be clean laundry as much as clean toilets, so I have no aversion to it. It may give a super-smeller a headache, though, as it does go high into the nostrils, so you may wish to avoid wearing it around anybody you know to be pregnant. I'd jokingly say it could be great for cold and flu season, but in reality it doesn't project enough.
Would I buy it for myself? No. Would I buy it for another person? Yes, but not at full price. This would be an excellent office event for somebody who wanted to sleep clean and fresh without the scent being thin or effeminate. I believe it would be most suited to somebody with a heavy, musky body odour, once again, because of those clean, astringent notes. If you are the type of person whose sweat smells strongly even when it is fresh, this could really be a great buy for you.
It is also not a very overwhelming fragrance as the projection isn't large, which is another reason I would recommend it for a musky skin type - it shouldn't come across as masking one's body odour.
It's gone from my skin apart from a very faint sweetness after five hours.

I was never a fan of the sweet Joop/ Individuel DNA. However, I’m on a mission to review every single male targeted Creed fragrance in production. So, here we are. Off the opening, I’m hit with juniper, coriander, ginger and citrus. I can also smell that quality Creed ambergris in the background. Thankfully, this was not as sweet as I expected. The sandalwood and vanilla gives it a slightly sweet and creamy dry-down. I’m not getting a full bottle anytime soon. However, this one is good enough to revisit in the future.

An absolutely gorgeous fragrance.

The sweet spicy warmth of cinnamon paired with the creamy sandalwood. Incredibly inviting and comforting. Performance is average, but it perfectly suits the scent.

My second favorite fragrance of all time.

10/10

For those performance freaks.. I know it is rip off and I know it’s not fair. But when you use this 10% and keep it a while away it will perform like a beast. Not sure why creed has this bullshit with all their scents but it really is like this. Mine 2019 batch was trash.. but after using few times now 8 months later 6 sprays goes 2 days almost on my fabrics with the Sillage.. it sticks for weeks on my fabrics. So again it’s shit how it has to perform but if you love this one like I do.. give it a chance in this particularly way

Allen 48287 here below starts with...

Such an unique fragrance. LOL.
How can this be unique? It is a clone/dupe/copy cat of Montblanc Individuel.

Rumor has it, Pierre Bourdon was so p..off that Creed cloned his fragrance and what's more called it original, that he finally cloned Creed Aventus with Montblanc Explorer.

Honestly I don't know how close this is to the 3 year older Individuel. Just know that the later was one of my favorite fragrances for many years and opened a 2e bottle of it last year.
According to the ratings here, Original Santal is more a long lasting moderate sillage fragrance.
Individuel is a performance monster which I would wear on a working day. Got home, took a shower and still could smell it on me. I once told this to a friend and my wife actually claimed she could smell it on me still the following day.

It is a beautiful Monday morning. Autumn just kicked in, tree leaves started changing colours. You are on a business trip. You just woke up in a luxury 5-star hotel room. The bed is as comfy as it gets, the white bedsheets are immaculate, you feel like a king!
You have a little bit of time to lay down, relax, admire the surroundings. You feel rejuvenated and calm, you feel like you can do anything.

This is what I feel wearing this. I don't understand the hate that this fragrance gets ( maybe because I never encountered a person wearing Joop! Homme).
I think this is a beautiful sensual fragrance. The performance is ok ( I bet older batches perform better).
I have smelled an older batch of original santal before. There is a difference. The new ones are more fresh, less spicy- I would say that Creed made original santal more versatile. I much prefer the older, more spicy batches, but I love my modern OS just as much.

To me this is one of those fragrances that I don't want to live without.

Woody, spicy, cosy. Good.

7/10

Smells fantastic, but lasts 2 hours max. It's definitely not worth the price tag with such poor performance.

From the new note listing looks like this has been reformulated with new notes. No cinnamon? I will have to sample the new batches.

If you've not seen the genius film that is 'Trading Places' then do so. Anyway there's a scene in it where Dan Akroyd has just been released from custody and he returns to see his fiancé at a Squash club. The scene starts with four ultra-80's Preppy guys singing some dopey bullshittery (brilliant parody Messers Harris, Weingrod and Landis)...anyway buddy boy 2nd from right is the living embodiment of this fragrance. Go ahead a look it up on YouTube you'll agree with me.

this is a scent that kind of speak privilege and entitlement, this scent went to boarding school and had more than two holidays abroad a year growing up. This fragrance is more accustomed to the smell and swell of comfort in the bosom of the maid than their mother; this scent has only once made deliberate eye contact with its father after it turned 18. This scent's Grandfather was good friends with both Gerald Ford, Harold Wilson and Henry Kissinger.

In fact all Creed's share this weird profile, this scent like many Creeds is not for me, though not bad, just not great

6.2/10 Zeta chi, Zeta chi, Zeta Chi my friend...

My favourite every day/signature scent creed. The opening 10/15 minutes comes across as slightly harsh pencil shavings (I believe from the Virginia cederwood as in Santal 33 but not as prominent in the whole scent as in the Le Labo - the citrus in here balances it). Then it smooths quickly out with sandalwood, cinnamon spice and sweetness. I get around 8 hours longevity with moderate projection. I did get it on a discount from myOrigines in EU so was good value for me.

I smelled this at Nordstrom, this doesn't smell anything like Joop! I didn't get Joop vibes at all- this smells very tasty! You can smell the premium ingredients 😄

Seriously folks, this is Joop! Homme. And I hate Joop! Homme. I can't imagine Creed has ever made a worse fragrance.

This was on my purchase radar for years. I liked and wore MB Individual and Joop Homme. I just didn’t want to spend the money, until I found OS super cheap on the grey market. This isn’t groundbreaking but it’s an excellent fragrance. It’s smoother and fresher than the other two. It has good longevity for a Creed as well. Another crown jewel to my collection!!

I don't get any sandalwood or cinnamon in the opening. For the first hour or so it smells like old lady flowery perfume. After a while I recognize more of the masculine notes. It not bad, but not what I was expecting when seeing the notes it is supposed to have. I have a fragrance where the only 2 opening notes are sandalwood and juniper berries and the scents aren't even remotely similar. I'm wearing it now, almost 3 hours after putting it on and I still smell a bit flowery, but again I still like it to a degree.

I’ve always had a thing for Original Santal by Creed. It’s sweet, spicy and leans towards masculine. It lacks that “special something” IMO but is a great smelling fragrance that will garner the wearer many compliments.

Juniper berries and spice. Such a wonderful blend. The woods and vanilla mellow out the herbal notes.

One of my favorite and most unique fragrances. I smell freshness up top and lots of almonds and hints of vanilla. It reminds me of royal oud except it’s more fresh and linear, quite easily one the best fragrances I’ve ever smelt. It is super classy and luxurious

fun fact, the one who made Montblanc Individuel that smells really similar to this Creed Santal is one of co-maker of this fragrance. Pierre Bourdon made individuel. no wonder why they smell so similar vibe to each other.

Yup, Like a good blend of joop and mont blanc individuel. Easy reach fragrance!

Similar vibe between this, Monte Blanc Individuel, Joop!, and Rasasi Daarej. In order of value (the quality of the scent compared against its price point), I'd rank Daarej, Original Santal, Individuel and Joop!.

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.

One of the most interesting perfumes I have ever tried :) Its smells like clean money, 10/10

So I loved this one more than anything from the Creed house and got it from the local store 50 ml bottle, this is the number one after Aventus imo, but I am really mad about projection/longevity/price. It is smelling nice, but literally 30 minutes, after 30 mins you can't even smell it on the skin, this is crazy overhyped and basically just a scented water.
For the same money I've got 50 ml of Richwood from Xerjoff, smells like clean white money sandalwood/patchouli which stays with you for whole day and shines from your skin giving you confidence and calm energy.

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.

I like it. Woody and slightly more masculine scent. It is different enough from the cheaper ones that have same profile. Slightly fresh and slightly sweet.

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!

Quality sandal wood fragrance. Pretty sweet.

My favorite from the house of Creed. Sure, it does smell a lot like Individuel, but smoother. Overpriced perhaps, but the quality is there. One of the quintessential signature scents, able to wear it wherever, whenever. 8/10

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.

There is not one word of a lie in any of the Montblanc Individual comparisons. It smells smoother and higher quality to my nose, but do you like this scent profile enough to justify jumping from Montblanc to Creed?

Personally I love this one as a date night fragrance. Very sweet, the sandalwood is beautiful - incredibly well blended fragrance. It's one of the few that I simply had to have when I smelled it. It's still in my collection, but it isn't in my rotation anymore. These days, it's been replaced by more innovative offerings.

Higher quality Montblanc Individual.
Nice strict masculine scent.

tried all creed's, and excluding the aventus which is obviously the best one, this one was (atleast for the first few minutes) the second best. a very intriguing opening leaves you wondering about the dry down, and the dry down is like heaven. the opening is more spicy and after it soothes down to a nice soft vanilla and tonka bean. ginger is more present early, while the sandalwood stays from beginning to end. very very nice, other creed's either try too much or are for more older people and more serious occasions (green irish tweed). if you like a little bit more of a oriental (middle east-ish) kind of smell this is 100% for you. females can wear it too.

To @andysmellsgreat the whole reason why the similar section has Mont Blanc Individuel is because Creed clone the DNA and made Santal. You do sound like a Creed lover or a Niche snob to not realize the resemblance in the two fragrances. And Joop Homme which is just a sweeter “younger” version on this DNA that came out a decade ago. There might be niche fragrances that mimic Santal’s version of the DNA better, but it doesn’t change that Creed is famous for taking older or even newer popular formulations and rebranding them as something new with their name slapped on the bottle. Niche Fragrances have been cloning Designer fragrances Just as much as Designers have been cloning Niche fragrances. In the real world no one cares, because it’s about if it smells good, not the price tag. The only one that’s impressed about your Creed or Niche fragrances is your buddy, no girl is gonna be worried if you’re wearing Creed instead of Mont Blanc. Santal like most of Creeds fragrances now a days, pale in comparison to the clones that come out. Not only in performance & sillage, but at price too. Unfortunately, Creed has turned into a company riding off its name than it’s fragrances. New Batches of Santal, Aventus, Millesime etc. have been releasing abysmal batches over the years, so do yourself a favor and buy the clones or the originals that are in every way better than Creed’s current batches. Santal was good in early-mid 2000s, like every creed, but now as become a week clone of its formal self

5/10

Umm… had a bottle, bought the body wash and found an official carded sample.

It reminded me of Fyre Island. Hyped up and really nothing there.

It’s nice but a meh creamy sandalwood with minimal texture unless you snort it like cocaine… I find the ‘similar’ suggestions to be pretty laughable too… sorry… they are ironically not in the league of this let alone smell. There are many other modern niche brands that have a better quality performance and relevant sandalwood smell for the same price or less.

I’m not a Creed hater nor am I a Creed Tatoo wearer on my Pen!$ like some here. Original Vetiver is my fave Vetiver of all time and Aventus is just a given that you’ll like it if you like Mens perfumes.

This however pleasant is poor value for performance.

It’s old school for people whom wear caps and drive their Convertible MGBs down to Nice from London.

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

A very pleasant perfume. Though named Santal, it has sandalwood as the opening note and dry down to vanilla tonka combination. I was expecting more sandalwood and so kinda disappointed. But if you like woody scent and don’t mind a sweet dry down, be sure to give it a try.

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 😁

Great smell. But terrible longevity. Plus it is indeed a copy of MB Individuel as that one came out before Creed.

I love this fragrance!! However, at this price point you are much better off with Mont Blanc Individuel Original Santal is blended better but the differences are nuanced as opposed to night and day. If its important for you to know your wearing a £250 fragrance get the Creed, if you purely just enjoy the scent profile get Mont Blanc.

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.

Sorry but this the clone of Montblanc individual released in 2003! Creed often did that before 😉

Like walking in the wind in autumn

Like all CREEDs this has a magnificent opening that takes a few moments to develop -- then takes some twists and turns and goes into another place. I love this about Creed! It's very magical . This opens and feels a bit like a uppity Dior Fahrenheit , albeit smoother , more AIRY .... then morphs into a sweeter scent in the dry-down (at that point - the Fahrenheit resemblance vanishes--if you were wondering) . Not my favorite CREED but the first few minutes are awesome and the dry-down is nice - but you alpha-men that HATE "sweet" scents -- do NO blind buy !

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.

It took me a while to buy this as I wasn’t sure whether to actually pull the trigger but seeing as I got a big discount I decided to. I don’t regret it. Everyone who is saying “buy mont blanc” they aren’t wrong but I do think this certainly has more quality about it.
This is much more refined and softer, a very warm fragrance. I love it.

Rather pretentious of Creed to call it “Original” Santal, don’t you agree?

Reminds me of all the perfumes I own.Really strange! Very simple but I love it!

I love it and hate it at the same time. There's something really nice about it but it does smell like a urinal cake. Might make a nice candle but wouldn't wear it.

This one is a timeless beauty. I hope blackrock doesn't ruin it.

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.

I just got a sample and comparing Mont Blanc Individual and Creed Original Santal and it’s really really close. OS is definitely fresher and smells crisp n clean compared to the fuzzy muddled smell of MBI. I don’t think I could justify spending the money on the Creed version over the Mont Blanc. Unless you really know fragrances I’d challenge anyone be able to tell the difference especially at a passing glance (sniff). If money isn’t an issue OS is the better fragrance, not by much though as its a dated smell in my opinion.

This is a direct rip-off/clone of Mont Blanc Individuel, which to my tastes is not something a niche house SHOULD be doing but we're so far removed (time-wise) from when these two fragrances were released, but nonetheless it should be reviewed with that in mind...

Not a lot of niche houses have taken inspirations this direct from designers, but here we are... and it smells like you would expect from a niche house cloning a designer. All of the notes are virtually the same, but done in a more sophisticated (read: expensive) way while adding an undercurrent of cinnamon to provide some of the depth that is achieved less naturally by Mont Blanc in Individuel.

As a "Creed Fanboy" I must say that Original Santal is a beautiful scent that people should at least smell once, but as someone who appreciates the utility of clones, there is no reason for Original Santal to exist. At current prices at discounters, you could by nearly (10) 75ml bottles of Individuel for the price of one 100ml bottle of Original Santal and it would be a better use of that $250 USD...

On my sample this scent is pleasant enough (raspberry fabric conditioner) not sure what the 'santal' is all about. The price is just way off, just use individuel. 2/5

This is a very outstanding version of the highly headache inducing synthetic JOOP. Phenomenal and Masculine. A little Generic but, Natural, Rich and Woody!. The cinnamon, sandalwood and Juniper is Great. It has a hot red scent smell. Makes me want to wear this on playful date night while wearing a red shirt and maroon pants. Its last all day subtlety. Strange I bought this in Marshalls for $90 slashed 2.5 oz. bottle. Authentic and a steal. I don't know how it ended up there. Neiman Marcus $299.99 2.5 oz. Very good buy if the price is not a issue. It would make a good candle also.

1 line summary: Just buy Mont Blanc Individuel.

I Love this fragrance sooooo much it’s hard to say anything negative, but I’d love for creed to give a stronger version , awesome scent id like it to project more though IMO 8/10 not that unique but perfectly blended .. Makes you jus want to smell yourself all day

A Upmarket Joop with weaker performance thats smells nice but is way overpriced.

This is totally subjective obviously but all I get from this scent is car air freshener. It smells like an Uber. Just not for me.

Pretty decent clone, or copy, of Mont Blanc's fragrance. For the price of this and all of Creed's extremely overpriced juice that gets weaker and weaker, they should be put out of business. No one should have to pay the prices of some of these scents when the dupes out there are so good and in most cases, last longer.

I get the Joop Homme comparisons even though it's years since I've worn that one. This is less sweet but has a similar sweet and spicy vibe, if toned down somewhat. For a Creed, it seems to be a bit more playful and fun than their usual offerings while still remaining classy and high quality.

I first sampled this on paper last year and quickly fell in love with it. But the salesclerk was pushing for Green Irish Tweed which I also liked so I bought that instead. Fast forward to 2021 and I managed to get a full bottle. I don’t think I love this as much as when I first sampled with but I still think this is a good fragrance. To my nose it smells a bit like a sweeter YSL L’Homme Ideal, and I guess it’s the spices, lavender and vanilla that’s giving me the same vibe. I barely smell the sandalwood, and I don’t get the reference to India because this smells more like a barbershop fragrance to me once the sweetness mellows down. People have been comparing this to Montblanc Individuel but this is a much better fragrance I think than that synthetic bomb. Creed’s fragrances are very polite, gentlemanly and very wearable, I guess this evokes what a British gentleman would probably smell like.

This one just gives off that classic ambergris/ambroxan, 'seaweed rotting in the hot sun' scent.
Unless you want another 'ambergris' scent, probably best to avoid.

Long lasting and usual creed high quality.

Original santal has left me wanting to start with a few questions. Number one question is the creed website and fragrantica differ in one area that is extremely important when talking about a fragrence called original santal (which in case you didnt know translates to the french word for sandalwood). Now creed shows they use authentic mysore sandalwood. The sandalwood from Mysore in India is so expensive the government puts restrictions as to who and how much can be farmed and cut down every year. Heavily regulated stuff and heavily taxed. I was personally under the impression that the price to use mysore sandalwood is so high as to almost make it near impossible to use in a commercial composition like this. If anyone knows if this is true i would love to hear about it in the comments above. Also i am curious if there is a way to tell if creed is just flat out lying about their use of mysore sandalwood and what the consequences of such an action would be? Ok so after all that you would think i hate the scent right? I dont i love it im on my second bottle but unfortunately this will probably be my last. I only wear it when it gets really cold and in texas lets say i wear it 5 to 8 times a year thats it. Most sandalwood scents are great in the heat... original santal is great in the cold. Women love this scent on me. Its a crowd pleaser. I must admit i have never tried mont blanc indivudual or explorer i forget which one is close to this.. but i hear the MB projects more and when you are wearing something as elegent as this you dont want a screamer. Luxury doesnt yell .. it doesnt need to. I wear original santal in the winter and original vetiver in the summer in texas, but i was thinking about it and i guess because creed does such a good job freshening the scent up with juniper berries here for example and with their patented bergamont openings in other scents, you could probably wear this all year long. But for summer i would rather wear EROLFA or milliseme imperial or aventus or bois du portugal. Just my 2 pennies. But the sandalwood cinnamen and vanilla and tonka combo is beautiful here. Also most fragrence triangles you will notice have sandalwood in the base creed made OS with a top note of sandalwood, it isnt the start of the show but its there & you can really feel the quality lavender in this composition. Most of the times lavender gives off this feel to me not really a smell but its almost like you can sense Lavenders presence. It is very well done i wish it lasted longer but i dont mind re applying. If you can not afford creeds sky high prices check out boucherons jaipur homme edp. They arent clones but they both give off a very similar spicy cinnamen vibe in the air and i would venture to say the quality on both is very comparable. What isnt is the price. You can get 100 ml for 30 to 40 bucks with jaipur homme and original santal is 350 or whatever for 50 ml and i saw on creeds website they want a G for 500 ML .. LOL. Welp i guess i kinda am a sucker as i am working through my second bottle and of all the oppulent and romantic scents to wear on valentines day i chose this. If i had to make a winter creeds list this would make the cut along with tabarome, viking & royal oud. If money doesnt matter go for it if you can.. just try and get the older 75 or 125 ml as with all creeds the older the better as once they switched to 50 and 100 ml bottles i fee the quality dropped off substantially. To me this is an 8.5 out of 10. People can say what they want about how this is like joop or MB but i promise you in this situation go with the OS if you can. Ebay or discounters have lots of the older bottles for sale. Cheers mates!

I don't know why, but this totally reminds me of Sauvage Parfum. It's very sweet and clean smelling, but I was expecting something else from this one.

I was wanting a woodsy and natural smell from this, but it's a little too sweet and sugary for me. Performance is decent, nothing to write home about.

I had been wanting to check this one out for some time now, but kind of disappointed. This is a pass for me as its just way too similar to DS which I already own.

Awesome scent, 10x better than the synthetic Joop. A rich spicy sandalwood scent, probably even one the best done sandalwood based fragrances for men out there. I will buy a bottle for the collection. Cinnamon, Lavender, Vanilla and Mint always get a woman's pheromones pumping I see with my experience with this

Cinnamon lavender baby powder cookies. Would you eat that? I wouldn't. Smells like Joop! but less obnoxious... but still a bit weird. Drydown improves after the harsh opening.

Grade: C
Quick take: cinnamon lavender baby powder

Haven't worn this in awhile, forgot just how good it is. This is the epitome of a winter scent for me. I love spraying it on my leather gloves. Sexy, sophisticated, comforting and cozy. Goes perfect with a Polo sweater on cold days. While mont blanc individuel does smell a lot like creed santal, they just do not have the same quality. Original santal is for men and mont blanc individuel is for boys

This is a scent profile i simply cant get along with. Screechy, cloyingly sweet...this one is not one bit better than that individuel which is just as unwearable to me.

تاپ نتی رو مخ و حال خراب کن که به مرور بهتر میشود
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Scent & Quality: 6/10
Longevity: 8/10
Sillage: 7/10
Creativity & Uniqueness: 5/10
Affordability: 3/10
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Overall: 5.8/10

Batch: C4116C01
One can tell this is quality juice with lots of naturals. SUPER powdery/aromatic, floral, tart/sharp fruity juniper note, mild spices (I dont pick up on cinnamon???) with a woody base/backdrop (although I dont pick up on much sandalwood either LOL!). Super flowery/sweet/powdery/floral fragrance for me, very unisex for sure...I find the scent trail/bubble is amazing but much better on a woman for me. I like it but I wont wear it, I am hooked on Royal Oud (my all time favorite Creed) which is much more my style and has become my winter signature scent.
Fantastic longevity with decent projection...I can see this worn for formal occasions.

Who remembers Dolce&Gabbana pour Homme (1994) ? I think that Original Santal took inspiration from the old D&G pour homme.

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).

Let me preface this by saying I blind bought MB Individuel early in my fragrance journey and despised it. It just had too much going on while also smelling like a laundry sheet. I get the comparison to OS, however, OS has really grown on me with its simplicity. Its woodier and with juniper being substantially better than raspberry for the fruit. Others will be happy saving with MB (which I am envious of) but this is far above in terms of quality.

Creed Original Santal EDP opens with a moderate projection of woody, spicy, floral, and sweet notes. The opening is well-balanced, aromatic, refined, elegant, inviting, and very pleasant. The tonka bean is a base note, but its sweetness comes up as soon as the fragrance is applied, however, isn’t overwhelming, just enough to add a delectable touch; the woods and spicy notes come up together are they featured notes, the sandalwood and closely followed by the juniper berry are the noticeable woody notes; the sandalwood has a sweet, creamy and woody note; whereas the juniper berry is fresh, sharp, intense, woody, piney, green, and resinous. The spices complement the woods quite well, the ginger is noticeable as well as the cinnamon, a mix of slightly sweet-spicy cinnamon and sour spicy ginger that makes the fragrance feel fresh and intense. The lavender is also noticeable, a neutral floral touch. As time passes, the fragrance becomes dry and slightly powdery, both the tonka and vanilla work as projecting ambery accords, but don’t make the fragrance too sweet. The most noticeable opening to a dry-down change in this fragrance is the change from a sharp, bright, crisp opening, to an ambery, woody, and slightly powdery dry-down. Once Creed Original Santal EDP has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a moderate projection, mildly sweet (tonka), woody (sandalwood, juniper), and spicy (cinnamon, ginger) fragrance with some floral (lavender) accords. The fragrance feels clean, creamy, delectable, dense, elegant, exotic, formal, fresh, gentle, high-quality, inviting, mature, masculine, modern, natural, nicely-blended, playful, slightly powdery (ambery-like), resinous, refines, slightly sour (ginger), mildly sweet, versatile, warm, woody, and pleasant.

BATCH REVIEWED: 2020.
WOW RATING: 8/10. A very good woody and spicy fragrance with a noticeable quality touch.
DISLIKE RATING: 0/10. The notes and resulting scent are inoffensive.
UNIQUENESS: 10/10. The composition creates a unique and recognizable scent.
MASS APPEAL: 7/10. A great and quality woody fragrance, but not necessarily a mass-appeal.
PROJECTION: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet around the wearer.
SILLAGE: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet behind the wearer.
APPLICATION: 6 atomizations.
LONGEVITY: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 hours, a reasonable projection for over 2 hours.
SEASONS: Winter, spring, summer, fall, colder days, and climate-controlled environments.
OCCASIONS: Formal events, outdoor gatherings, gym, office, business, casual, holidays, vacations, romantic, dating, clubbing. This is an office-friendly fragrance.
VERSATILITY: 10/10. The fragrance combines woods, fresh and sweet notes, an all-year-around fragrance.
GENDER: Advertised as unisex, the woody and spicy accords create a slight tilt to the masculine side.
AGES: 30 and above.
RECOMMENDATION: Creed Santal EDP can be purchased discounted for about $175. Those looking for a high-quality sandalwood fragrance will find here the answer. It is a nice-to-have.
BLIND-BUY: Yes, but only if you are familiar with its main notes.
SIMILAR: These are examples of fragrances in the same genre. Cartier Declaration D'Un Soir is a spicy, soft floral, and sandalwood fragrance; Costume National Homme EDP is a good sweet, cardamom, spicy, and pleasant fragrance; Amouage Reflection Man is a great powdery, sweet, woody, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, and spicy fragrance; Zadig & Voltaire This Is Him, is a sweet, vanilla, sandalwood, and incense fragrance, but lacks performance; Escentric Molecules Escentric 03 EDT is great, green vetiver, woody cedar, spicy ginger, and citrusy fragrance; Chanel Egoiste Platinum EDT is a great cedar, vetiver, and oakmoss fragrance; Escentric Molecules Escentric 04 EDT is unique, sandalwood, fruity Osmanthus, green galbanum, juniper, with citrus and soft floral accords; Carolina Herrera 212 Sexy Men EDT is a very good sweet vanilla, amber, sandalwood, leathery guaiac wood, and spicy fragrance; Alfred Dunhill Icon Elite Men EDP is very soft, mildly sweet, ebony wood, suede, and sandalwood fragrance; Bond No 9 West Side EDP is a great and projecting, very sweet vanilla, sandalwood, amber, ylang-ylang, rose, and peony fragrance; Bond No 9 Chinatown EDP is outstanding, it features very sweet vanilla, sandalwood, floral, tuberose, gardenia, and spicy cardamom; Grand Parfums Chinatown is an excellent clone with outstanding performance; Hugo Boss Bottled Intense EDP is very sweet, vanilla, sandalwood, spicy cinnamon, cloves, and apple fragrance; Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey Pour Homme Wood & Wood is sweet, resinous elemi, apricot, cardamom, sandalwood, and woods fragrance; Mancera Instant Crush is a fascinating woody, amber, citrus, and vanilla scent; Mancera Jardin Exclusif is fruity, powdery, sweet, and musky; Mont Blanc Individuel Men EDT is a versatile, mildly sweet vanilla, citrus, mint, spicy, and woody fragrance with some green, floral, and fruity accords; Creed Original Santal EDP is unique, mildly sweet tonka, woody sandalwood, juniper, spicy cinnamon, and ginger fragrance.
SUMMARY: A moderate projection, mildly sweet (tonka), woody (sandalwood, juniper), and spicy (cinnamon, ginger) fragrance with some floral accords. The fragrance feels clean, creamy, delectable, dense, elegant, exotic, formal, fresh, gentle, high-quality, inviting, mature, masculine, modern, natural, nicely-blended, playful, slightly powdery (ambery-like), resinous, refines, slightly sour (ginger), mildly sweet, versatile, warm, woody, and pleasant.

After trying this perfume several times -from an official sample and from tester bottles at perfume boutiques-I understood Creed and my skin seem to hate each other. On me, Original Santal opens like a cheap men's cologne and after fifteen minutes... magic! It's gone. I'm not anosmic to it as people around me can't smell it either. Stubborn lady, I kept trying: different seasons,different weathers... same disappointment. I don't dare rating it because there's a clear case of 'bad chemistry' between us. By no means I'm saying this is bad: it just doesn't work on me -nor does Axe ;). Just in case, try before you buy.

Light and fluffy raspberry dryer sheets. Slightly powdery. Overpriced, considering Montblanc Individuel is 90% the same scent. It's just okay.

Beautiful sandalwood creation. Strong opening, evokes a few sneezes. Stays around quite a bit eventually sandalwood reigns. Just a really nice evening fragrance.

Comically underrated crowd pleaser from Creed! Sexy, creamy, masculine, and a true powerhouse. Has some light vanilla along with bursts of yummy sandalwood and cinnamon. Performance is well above average with great projection. I get 10 hours with it on 3 sprays. Mont Blanc smells awesome for its price (and I know it was created first) but Original Santal certainly smells of much better quality. My second favorite Creed behind Green Irish Tweed. Incredibly sexy and handsome Creed release. ❤️❤️❤️

In my opinion, this is the finest perfume created by the house of Creed and the nicest fragrance I have ever come across.

Mont Blanc Individuel and Joop Homme are nothing like Santal. It’s quite frankly insulting for anyone to suggest that they are of the same calibre as Santal and it just shows a complete immaturity and adolescence to fragrance appreciation. It’s like saying why buy a 200 quid bottle of Champagne when you can pay 8 quid for Prosecco.

I’m not suggesting anyone should go out and spend £200+ blind buying this. I appreciate fragrance is a very subjective and personal thing. I just believe for all fragrance lovers out there you need to experience this little beauty. I would be heartbroken if this ever got discontinued.

Scent 10/10
Projection 8/10
Sillage 7.5/10
Compliment garnering 11/10 (Santal makes them swoon)

This is literally 90% similar to Joop Homme. Yes it's slightly different, but not different enough (or good enough) to cost 8 times the price

I see the comparison with Joop, it’s there but as you’d expect there is more quality here and some very nice additional facets.

The juniper pops more here, the tonka and vanilla gives a really nice almond aspect, and the blend overall is nice and smooth especially the sandalwood and Cinnamon that defines the fragrance and becomes the only thing left after a few hours.

Not that Original it turns out but well worth owning.

So I've been spraying this on in stores over the last year for some reason. Just found myself being drawn to it.

Unfortunately after an hour it becomes a skin scent. Long story short, I got a bottle. Must be lucky because I'm getting much better performance from this one.

The smell, is sort of reminiscent of Himalaya with a sweet overtone. Warm, sensual and handsome.

Joop homme, nah. I see what people are saying but OS is a gorgeous, classy fragrance. Polished and well done. Joop is a loud, sticky, aggressive scent.

Individuel, more similar. Individuel is metallic and synthetic. Its the polished quality of OS that makes all the differents.

Santal is more woody than the other two.

Love it. Took me years to appreciate it.

9/10

Smells like JPG Le Male to me. Maybe slightly less powdery.

To start Santal smells completely different to Montblac Individual. That said, comparing side by side you can smell the difference in opening. Wile SNTL opens bright and sharp then settles down. INDVL is heavy and rounded deep dirty sandalwood. After 2 hours INDVL becomes powdery to my nose. Loses projection but still can smell it on you after 5-7 hours. In other hand SNTL is radiating that cinnamon and ginger while you pick up lavender and sandalwood in the mid and base. 4 hour mark I get a caramel smell coming off me for some reason, but feel that need to last a bit longer. Overall 8.1

p.s not as unique to my nose. (house factor)

The proposal to present a high level sandalwood was fulfilled here with the mastery and creativity that only Creed could achieve. A supporting star here is the fluted vanilla that aromatically simulates a comfortable raspberry, similar to that of Montblanc Individuel, but way refined, pleasant and less artificial. Before anyone asks, it is also far away from Tuscan Leather's candy-like raspberry, here it is better worked, perfumed, a little creamy and quite silky: smell of intact raspberry skin, bathed in some kind of purified cologne conveying harmony. It's a bit spicy due to coriander, very subtle. This doesn't have enough wood volume to be called "woody", but the sandalwood here is nonetheless present and beautiful, so pure and white wood. Another curiously underestimated creed work of art. Average to above-av performance.

Original Santal has a quite lousy performance on my skin. Also I find this to be very generic scent. A safe fragrance for sure, but not an interesting one and most definitely not worth the hefty price tag.

@Armando

Jazz was introduced in 1988, so no.

Is this the smell that the original formulation of jazz was based upon? Similar but not so in your face. The woman in boots backs in the 90's used to say about jazz "the ladies really like this one sir" which of course kept me interested as a stripling. Anyway, it smells good, but I can't help thinking I've smelt it a dozen times before in a stronger and more artificial form. Perhaps the original inspiration for a dozen drug store clones. A smell that has been overdone and spoiled by imitators. Shame, it smells good, if safe.

In short, a beautiful creation but a little dull. A warm, mild sandalwood fragrance that's really nothing to write home about. I would happily wear this in the chilly months, but at this price point, it's a no for me. At this level of perfumery, I would expect something more unique, distinctive or even just more interesting. Sorry, Creed.

Beautiful. A delicious, refreshing Fall or Winter fragrance.
Opening has a strong blast of juniper and cinnamon, and it opens up as it dries down, bringing in wonderful notes of vanilla and lavender.
This is masterfully blended, and deceptively simple. Once it opens up, you will catch hints of different scents as the life of the fragrance progresses.
I would caution against over-spraying this one, because it can get cloying.
One of my favorites so far, for sure.

I have batch A4118K01
100ml
First I sprayed mont blanc individuel in my hand and in the other hand, Creed Original Santal,oh my God, they are pretty similar 95% in first 10 minutes (because high quality of juniper berries in MBI )after that
Now the notes of the heart begin to appear OS is more spicey cinamon and much creamier than MBI
At the base i smell musk, ( unlisted ) mixed with vanilla and touch of tonka It gives a nice scent to the cold autumn and winter
Perfomance
Projection First 1-1.15 hours 5 feet and then become skin scent
Longevity 7 hours
📝 Note 📝

(((OS is nice but just not as good as other Creeds)))

As many others have mentioned, it is reminiscent of Joop, but much more refined and a lot less loud. Not one of my favorites from this house.

Definitely one of my favorite Creed scents- as a woman I sometimes wear it, but my brother and father both love it and have their own bottles. My dad gets so many compliments from women when he wears it. Everyone in my family is obsessed with it. Personally I like it even more than Aventus.

A very manly, but still refined scent. Fresh spicy all the way.

The opening is quite nose piercing where Ginger slaps you in the face, but once you get past that it fades quickly down to a pleasant scent where the noticeable notes are sandalwood, Cinnamon, Lavender and a hint of Juniper Berry.

Quite boring, but ok i guess.

Not a bad scent but it's gone after 1h (reminds me of my 2017 Aventus batch). Would not buy for this kind of performance.

Definitely not so good as other Creeds, almost the sam as Mont Blanc Individuel at much better price. Pass

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!!!

So far the only Creed I would wear. Mainly because it's the only one that gives some kind of performance as opposed to being like scented water (Aventus, MI, SMW).

Smells fresh and clean with a smooth creamy vibe. Slightly sweet and very versatile. I get the sandlewood, juniper berries, vanilla, tonka, lavender, but not the cinnamon.

Haven't smelt Mont Blanc Individeul yet but I'll give that a try too. Depending how that is I'd either get that instead or just a decant of this - it's good but not worth a full bottle IMO.

Notes to my nose are Cinnamon, Sandalwood, Coriander, Juniper Berries, Rosemary, Lavender and Tonka Bean. A very classy and clean scent but to my nose it's very light. Definitely high quality ingredients are used. Cinnamon in the opening is dominant with velvety undertones of Sandalwood with hint of coriander. Near the dry down Tonka Bean becomes more prominent. A very pleasant scent to wear.

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.

Inspired by the royal and spiritual splendour of India, Original Santal celebrates the aroma of the most exotic sandalwood in the whole world, the “Mysore Sandalwood”. It’s a fiery fragrance full of exotic spices, sandalwood and hints of sweetness. Identifiable lavender and a minty heart tames the fire in it to some extent. It busks in the glory of superiority with a flair.
In the upper echelon of sandalwood fragrances; ladies and gentlemen this is Original Santal for you.

P.S. I can understand the comparison between Mont Blanc Individuel or Joop Homme but Original Santal is far more superior to either in terms of quality, blending and ingredients. Joop is a synthetic cloying mess and Individuel is a definite upgrade to Joop but it’s still a far cry from Original Santal.

When I first sampled this fragrance, my main concern was about the sillage. It just didn't seem to project. However, I loved the scent itself so much that I decided to buy a 75 mL bottle anyway.

After wearing it a couple of times, I'm happy to report that I was wrong about the projection. I think the scent projects just fine and is fortunately much longer lasting than many other Creed scents. Longevity is usually my #1 complaint when it comes to that house.

It's suitable for cool or cool-ish days and nights. I would definitely never wear it in super hot weather, but I think you could get away with it in warm weather as well. The scent itself is very warm and rich while remaining extremely inoffensive. If sandalwood cookies were a thing, they would smell like this fragrance as soon as you pulled them out of the oven.

Yup. Another nice fragrance from Creed. It has a "special" scent; one of simple royalty (For supreme royalty, try Creed's Royal Mayfair. Amazing.) If you're like me, every time you get a whiff of Santal on you it will make you say to yourself, "Hmm. I like that." Not crazy amazing; just very pleasant. I have a 5 ml sample and am seriously considering buying a full bottle. Many have suggested to me that Montblanc's Individuel is a less expensive substitute, so I have a sample of that on the way to try as well. I'll let you know...
UPDATE: Montblanc's Individuel is NOT a good substitute for this fragrance. They have some similar notes but the best blend is clearly Creed's Original Santal.

Amazing cool weather fragrance! Deep, rich, warm and also smells expensive, which i can not say about Individuel - synthetic. Performance on my skin is also above average. I think it is quite versatile, excluding summer period. I don't think it leans feminine, maybe a little bit more masculine, but it is superior. Compliment factor - high. Niche quality on a good price.
Overall: 9.5/10

I like this almost as much as Aventus. It smells really good and better on the skin than in the air.

Too my nose this only smells like Joop in the drydown or base only, not on the intial spray.

I get a Fruity, Sandalwood and Spice scent that is very smooth, not cloying like all the mentioned similar s.

I found and bought the 2.5 oz for a $100 at Marshalls and authentic as I checked with Neiman Marcus. A steal

Beautiful, masculine scent. Long-lasting.

This is a "hot" fragrance. It feels like being set on fire in the best way possible. Intoxicated by Kilian WISHES it was as intoxicating as this. It leaves you confused. "Wait what is happening? why do I feel so warm?"

I imagine this being the younger brother of Royal Oud. Both are billionaires who instantly become the most powerful man in any place as soon as they step into it. But if Royal Oud is the quiet, sophisticated gentleman drinking scotch on his leather armchair, Original Santal is the champagne popping, wild brother who is not afraid to ask for what he wants and usually gets it.

Blast of cinnamon, sandalwood and juniper berries at the open which then settles down to let the lavender, tonka shine through. There is an aromatic freshness to this, which resembles Green Irish Tweed, as odd as that may sound. I wouldn't have expected that from the composition. This one didn't blow my socks off, but it's a very pleasant, versatile scent that I have grown to like the more I have worn it.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2 out of 5. (if the lavender wasn't so prominent towards the dry down, it would have been a 4)

Weird that people put this down as a fall scent. Who am i to disagree i guess.

But i always get a beach vibe from this scent.

It's something i feel I'd wear at the hot city beaches of developed countries of cities. Like california miami japan, to go with the rolling waves and sea air.

Great scent, just so fun and informal for me.

Just too fun to wear in a suit. This is a relaxation scent for me.

i left an unhelpful review on this one long ago - so i'm coming back in an attempt to right my wrong!

my first impression of this was that it smells like Joop! - and to be clear, it does. However - through the life of this fragrance, it changes. Where joop is full volume sweetness, this calms down into a dryer sheet - like scent. the best way to explain it is "calming". I've worn this to bed on more than one occasion. Long story short, yeah, it smells like joop at first spray - and yeah, it came out long after - but to me, this has a spot on the shelf.

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.

One of the best Creed fragrances ever always loved this beautiful fragrance doesn't get enough love all you hear about are GIT and Aventus.

Very nice perfume but nothing special really. It's very heavy on the berry, lavender, rosemary, vanilla, but I can't smell sandalwood !
It smells like may other perfumes , but it's very appealing overall.

Where is the santal? This perfume is boring modern fougere! Wrong lebel.

This is an edible combination of cinnamon, sandalwood, and vanilla.

Not worth the $$$ when compared to Mont Blanc Individuel especially considering that Mont Blanc came out about 2 years BEFORE Original Santal...Put that in your pipe and smoke it..

Fragrance -Original Santal Creed
Bottle from - 2015

Original Santal is a sophisticated,clean yet warm and a bit spicy interpretation of sandalwood with an astonishing touch of cinnamon and lavender and with a wisper of ambergris,cedar and vanilla.
This is the scent of an optimistic and successful people.It has some similarities to Individuel by Montblanc.

Longevity - 8/10(8+ hours)
Silage/Projection - 8/10(moderate projection and silage for the first 2-3 hours,than sits closer to skin for the duration of the scent's evolution)
Weather -For more or less any time of year.I personally wouldn't wear this on a really hot summer days.
Age - 25+
Compliments - 7/10
Scent - 8,5/10

Main notes according to me - sandalwood,cinnamon,juniper berries,lavender,tonka,spices.

The drydown is woody,spicy and a bit smoky and I get some -tonka,ambergris,sandalwood,spices,cedar and vanilla.

Emotions -
sophisticated,clean yet warm,classy,elegant,enlightened.

Occasion -perfect for nights out and semi-formal events.

Try before you buy.

I've gone back and forth with Original Santal. The ambient temperature or season has to be just right, which for me is warm but not hot, something around 70-75F. If it's too hot or cold, Original Santal just doesn't work on me at all. I have the older version, from about 2010. I'm into ginger notes this year and have a new-found appreciation of Original Santal for its zingy ginger note that I find more prominent than the fragcomm ratings indicates above. I love the sandalwood and cinnamon notes as well, but am rarely fond of lavender. Overall, I get a desert vibe with OS. Due to the ginger, I'll be wearing Original Santal more this summer and into early autumn.

Gentle but somewhat boring... this Creed perfume doesn't really offer much: it has good quality ingredients but offers nothing immediately appreciable.

Virtually Identical to Mont Blanc Individuel but with higher quality ingredients.. if you went out and bought this because you loved the smell and didn’t know about the the Mont Blanc you’d kick yourself for wasting so much money.

Amazing scent.

I love this stuff. I'd tried it before I ever tried Mont Blanc Individuel (its close) or Joop! (entirely different, Joop is a synthetic sweet powder bomb that isn't worth the $15 it sells for), and was immediately impressed with it.

Again, very similar to Mont Blanc Individuel in that it has that fabric softener/powder type of scent to it, but what Santal has and MBI lacks is a warmer and spicier fragrance that doesn't come off quite as synthetic.

You can get by on MBI without paying for this, but this is better in my opinion.

8.5/10

Wear this one one frosty mornings and thank me later. Absolutely perfect for cold weather!
Imo it smells similar to Mont Blanc individual but better.

I only use mine on frosty mornings so it’s taking ages to use the bottle.

All the butt hurt comments lmao

Joop is toilet spray, who cares that it came out first. It’s $20 for a reason, it’s cheap and synthetic.

Individual is definitely a step up and is a better cheap alternative.

Santal smells more of quality ingredients, and much less in your face. It’s far more sophisticated. The woody undertones give it a nice mainly touch, and keeps the sweetness in check.

Is it worth the money? Only you can answer that. Get a sample and be the judge.

Scent: 7/10
Projection: 7/10
Longevity: 7/10

When it comes to creed frags, you only need 5. That being said this is one of those 5. This is a fresher and more vibrant take on Joop. This is to be worn on a brisk casual evening, where as Joop is more of a dirty fun time. The opening has sandlewood which I really despised until smelling this. Some how these guys knew how to blend it just right without it being stuffy and cloying. Great longevity and sillage, nothing shirt of Amazing. House of creed has a master in their home, whom blends superbly. This is my 2nd bottle by the way. As always! Try it for yourself, everyone has different DNA!!!

A interesting, smooth cozy smell that reminds me of a rose and orange tea.It is a little aromatic, so that it is not syrupy, but almost has that kind of feel.

You get a sense of amber, cinnamon, and tamed violet leaf.This may sound manly and some men pull this off, but this is a unisex fragrance that leans feminine and I cannot wear it.

This could be sexy in a steam house or in a humid environment on a women, so this is a specific or special fragrance.

Another creed that for me misses the mark and not worth the money IMO.

Sweet and spicy cleanliness. This fragrance definitely has a berry accord with some woods, spices, and muskiness. Performance is solid and the compliments are great! I definitely get a dryer sheet or detergent feel, but not in a bad way. Its very clean and easy to wear.

All that being said. Save your money and buy Mont Blanc Individuel. I wanted to believe that Original Santal is better, but my goodness they are so similar that it would without a doubt be more worth your hard earned cash to go with MBI. Performance is also just as good. I will say that OS has a bit more development, but when I smell them side by side on paper I can't tell the difference.

Still great though!

I love the way OS smells on paper, but when I sprayed OS on my skin, and gave OS an honest days wearing. The fragrance caused my nose to react as though I was exposed to tons of pollen / dust! lol

Nonetheless, OS is a lovely, sweet and spicy gentlemen's scent that's clearly well formulated, and perhaps worth the buy for those who can actually afford to pay Creed prices, for a cologne that has extremely cheaper alternatives.

If you're guy that earns a modest wage, just buy a bottle of Joop, as OS is 99% similar to Joop.

Overall: 7/10

I wore this one last night. I do like this one, but I do not love it. Very clean and spicy. Kind of a warm touch you get with the cinnamon. A great fragrance that is certainly pleasing. This one unfortunately lacks a wow factor that would be a prime reason as to why I would not buy a bottle of this. As some mentioned, Original Santal is quite linear, and kind of plain. But by no means is it a generic smell. Smells fantastic, but as I said, there is nothing in this that says "wow!" A sample of this is more than enough for me.

A great office scent for sure. Longevity is not too bad. I can't smell it after the first hour or so on me, but others kind of could.

Overall, a 7/10

If your looking for something a little more spicier, opt for Creed Viking!

Much better version of Montblanc. Not synthetic or cheap smelling like Montblanc. Girlfriend likes it. My only problem is it smells kinda plain. Maybe a safe office fragrance or grocery shopping fragrance. Nothing special. That and the opening dies very fast and I can't smell it anymore after that. She still was able to smell it but if you like smelling yourself, skip it.

Like that blandly handsome guy with the MBA and the trust fund and the "good family" and the good job that your mama thinks you should like, but whom you find so dull that no sparks fly, so there's no real future in it.

Not noticeably sandalwoody, just a generic (and slightly overbearing) "men's woody spicy cologne" mix, with absolutely nothing individual or luxurious about it to justify the astronomical price point. All of the listed notes sound fantastic, and they probably are in there, they've just been buffed and blended with so little imagination that you can't detect any of them individually.

I am a young(ish) and female wearer so perhaps this was never meant for me anyway, but to my nose the problem here wasn't that it was too butch or too masculine, but rather that it just had so little character of any kind. I could understand it, even if it was unwearable on me, if this was somehow unique or pungent or lush in some unexpected way - but it isn't. The only remarkable thing about it was its amazingly short life - apparently my lowly mere girl-skin managed to kill it stone dead in less than 3.5 hours!

So why so much prestige, let alone so many $$$? It's not objectionable, but boy am I glad to have bought a sample of this rather than gambled on a FB, hoping for something in my dream area of "Tam Dao / Santal 33 but more muscular" - because this particular scent for the 10% is certainly nothing of that kind.

Not impressed. Too girly and sweet. Overpriced. No prominent santal. Staying power is low (sample from Nordstrom).

Creed Original Santal may very well be the best clone I've ever tried. In fact this Creed may even eclipse Montblanc Individuel in depth of character, longevity and projection! I'm not sure it's worth 10 times the cost of Montblanc but it definitely portrays a slightly higher quality than its original and that is high praise for any clone!

Mmmm, smells virtually identical to Mont Blanc Individuel and even Joop! - insecure over spenders and elitist Creed fanboys notwithstanding. Except this one costs more like $200 vs $20... but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Let's see now...

"Original" Santal was introduced in 2005.
Joop! was introduced in 1989.
Indivuduel was introduced in 2003.

Now tell me again, which is the clone and which is the "original?"

The scent character of this feels like freshly washed clothes hung out to dry in the warm autumn sunshine. Extremely pleasant! I definitely get a dryer sheet vibe and feel this would be very inoffensive and pleasing to those around you. I do think it has the same vibe as Individuel but think that you could possibly own both. Need to give the sample a good wearing first to see if having both would be redundant or not. Quality fragrance though.

High quality and pleasant although not on my top 5 favorite creeds.

Mont blanc individuel vibe is there but this is thousands miles more sophisticated and it outperforms it at all categories.

Original Santal is a very classy and sexy smelling fragrance, classified as a Woody Oriental, but has some lighter notes that really brighten it up. While you know there is some sandalwood in there, it is not overly assertive, which is good in my opinion. Cinnamon brings some spice, and the drydown with tonka bean, benzoin sandalwood and ambergris is simply fantastic.

Wake and longevity are excellent. This superb blend is my absolute favorite by Creed (and one of the top overall) with Green Irish Tweed and Royal Water rounding out the top three.

I need to echo everyone that mentioned Joop!. This is very similar but much less "obnoxious" IMO. My ex's brother would wear Joop! constantly and I could smell it across the house. This has a more reasonable sillage and less of a harsh stab you in the sinus quality. If you want a toned down version of Joop!, this is it.

Ive lost count on how many times ive tried this over the years now, and maybe my nose is just in a bad mood every time ive smelled it, but man, the first portion of this fragrance I just do not get. Not only do I not get it, at times it actually smells bad to me period. Like there are times when its actually deceptively even unpleasant to my nose considering its a creed at the top.


For what its worth though as it transitions it only gets better and better, and once you get to the dry down off hand id say this and reflection man are possibly the top 2 sweet dryer sheet/laundry detergent/fabric softer whatever kinda genre of scents you want to call them that ive smelled that off hand.

Roll with me here, visually speaking(the dry down at least), its almost like imagine taking this dryer sheet out, and you know how they are sorta see through, well imagine the dryer sheet is almost like a prism as well and just like that when you hold it up to the light and turn it different way you see different little powdery specs of color. And the color in this are shades of pink, orange, and maybe some light blue, giving it a sweet almost sprinkled on candy or sugar. And the spice/woods/herbal elements give it warmth making it smell like it was just tumbling around with all your blankets freshly dry ready to snuggle with.



But again sadly its a hassle to get there, and its a expensive hassle at that.. maybe one day ill get it but till then a pass for me.


For what its worth compliment wise, it is a fragrance that I find that girls who are actually into fragrances do know by name as something they like. But its not something I really care to wear because of the first duration of it. Definitely a deceptive fragrance that is not linear imo so be careful.

Spicy and Sophisticated...

I've actually waited a long time to wear this one, as I've been wearing Creed fragrances for a while now. I have also become a fan of sandalwood fragrances recently and am always happy to try out new fragrances. With Creed - Original Santal I get a very high quality opening which impresses me, except for the fact that I've smelled this before, namely in Individuel by Mont Blanc. I feel like this is the "elephant in the room" when it comes to Original Santal, because it's hard to justify a purchase for this one when you know that Individuel is available and is at least 70% or 80% similar. I could say that the Creed is somewhat more mature and spicy (and I have no doubt that they use quality ingredients), yet the similarities I feel are too great to ignore.

Having said that, I love the presentation that Creed offers, I love the made-up backstory and history etc (we love to be lied to really..) and I almost "buy in" to all of that. But ultimately, as with all fragrances from this house, it's worth it if money is of no issue to you. I do personally like this one, as I love the combination of spices and soft musk and the hints of sandalwood etc. which is a really great combination, however there are better sandalwood fragrances out there, better cinnamon fragrances out there, and better musk-like fragrances out there. I feel that there is nothing wrong at all with Original Santal as a standalone fragrance, but the fact that Individuel came out first and almost does what this does makes it hard to justify buying at full price. I will keep and use my decant but I'm not convinced to pay the full price for this (despite the fact that it is well blended etc.), and in this case, it's more of a "like" than a "love" for me.

شروعش با حس بوی گلی گیاهی خیلی خوشایندی آغاز میشه. بعد از 10 دقیقه رزماری؛ باعث ایجاد حس گیاهی نسبتا تند مربوط به خود گیاه رزماری میشه. در نت پایه لاواندر به بوهای قبلی افزوده میشه و همینجوری میمونه. تغییرات نت زیادی نداره

It starts with a very pleasant herbal floral smell. After 10 minutes rosemary; It creates a relatively sharp herbal sensation related to the rosemary plant itself. In the lavender base note, it is added to the previous scents and stays like this. There are not many note changes

JOOP, that's what it was!! The drydown smells like JOOP, and I've always thought that was kind of a girly smelling cologne, no offense to the fanboys. ..

I smell a mix of sandalwood and tonka beans. The fragrance is fresh and most suited to warmer days.

Yep. Doesn't smell like sandalwood or very Indian. The name and the bottle are lovely. Shame it's for the wrong scent. If I want to smell a like this - Individuel. This doesn't take me back.

Original Santal is not true to its' name. Sandalwood is not the main note I get here, in fact there is nothing woody about this scent at all. I simply smell a mix of juniper, ginger, vanilla, and tonka. This scent is spicy and fruity, with just a hint of wood (and it is truly faint). It feels very synthetic at times. I get an almost plastic, or wax like element from this scent. I think OS by Creed was a sentimental purchase for me. Something that harkened back to a simpler time. So, for me OS smells like an old box of scented candles that you find at your grandma's house when you were a kid. That being said this scent feels generic, but its sweet and comforting. I own it, I thought I would love it, but it's usually in the back row and gets visited rarely.

Hi
I can smell some kind of plastic note after 3 minutes on my skin. Anybody knows what note that could be ?
Thanks

Very close to Bourdon's Individuel (which precedes this by 2 years), OS doesn't smell that much of sandalwood as the word Santal in its name claims. As far as original...
What it is, is a rather synthetic sweet oriental with some aromatic juniper added and some other spice along the classic Creed ambergris base. The latter here is enriched by some tonka-vanilla combo.
Original Santal smells soapy and somehow fresh-fruity. It also smells very much "departmentstore-like".
Its initial phase (and if you don't overdo it) smells congenial. However, in a short time it starts verging to cloying before drying out in a completely dull epilogue.
For the money it sells and the fanfare surrounding it, I can say I am really disappointed.

Sadly Original Santal managed to leave me completely unimpressed. Perhaps the ingredients are top-notch as so many claim. It might contain real ambergris or even fairy dust for all I care but the result is a mediocre, inoffensive and mildly pleasant fragrance. There is nothing striking or memorable about it, no edginess or softness, no luxurious feel. An overall metallic impression is all I can recall. The performance is not outstanding and even the packaging is nothing that would make the product stand out on a shelf.
With all the sandalwood interpretations in the market Creed completely missed the mark, especially if you take the price into consideration. With that price tag I was expecting to feel shivers of pleasure travelling down my spine. Nothing of the sort happened...

Overall it feels like a completely redundant addition to the Creed line and the fragrance market in general.

Very neutral fragrance. This is what I wear in winter or fall. Performance is very good.

Scent 9/10
Projection 6/10
Longevity 7/10
Value 7/10
Overall 6/10
I was noticed, It garners comliments.

I definitely get the comparison with Joop in the opening but for me that is where it ends. This is really nice and versatile frag that turns heads and has an excellent dry down.

EDIT: After wearing this a few times the longevity is not up to scratch considering the price and has reduced the overall score to a 6

My go to gun for nights out and clubbing. Longevity and projection and sexy freshness. I see a similarity with Individeuel. But this is way better and a stronger performer.

5/10

I love this stuff. It smells fresh, sexy and I get a lot of compliments when I wear it. Often I hear the following:

1. Montblanc Individuel is the same. I used to own Indviduel. It's not. It's close, and I'm aware that Individuel came first. Original Santal just has a fresher vibe to it.

2. It's too expensive. This is one Creed that you can get heavily discounted online. You can get a 2.5 oz bottle online for as low as $160. Yes that's expensive, but I'd rather wear this than Bleu de Chanel or Spicebomb (more higher-priced designers)

3. It smells more synthetic than other Creeds. It smells great to my nose!

this smells like a fucking urinal cake

Original Santal by Creed is an Aromatic perfume with Woody and Spicy notes. The main notes are Cinnamon and Sandalwood. It bis a good perfume for Fall and Winter with good Longevity and projection.

Woodsy aromatic spicey. Original Santal is a case study in the sum of all parts being more desireable then the individual pieces.

This has a lot of notes I love, cinnamon, juniper berries, sandalwood, pettigrain, and tonka but unless I try very hard, it's tough to pick the individual notes out-and you don't-and shouldn't.

It starts off with an almost fougere vegetal vibe that quickly transitions into woods and spices. It's a dry and light sort of woody scent though, almost more balsa wood then sandalwood but the supporting players in the notes keep it fresh and maybe even a bit smokey in a good way. This is a scent I want to wear to a tiki bar.

Last on my skin for a good 5-6 hours with most of that being a skin scent-which like all creeds is a disservice and I wish they had triple the oomph.

It does not smell like anything else I have to my nose and I have some of the fragrances I have heard this compared to.

Scent 7/10-original santal is an original scent and very pleasant but not over the top.
Projection 5/10 for the first hour, max, then 2-3/10 only as very close range is it detectable.
Sillage 7/10 for the first 20-30 minites ar best then drops sharply to a 3/10.
Longevity 6/10 it does last a bit longer on my skin then some other Creed offerings but not nearly long enough.

Would I buy this again? Yes. But begrudgingly (as with all Creeds) since the price is so high and the performance is frankly substandard in that stratosphere of cost. If this had the performance of A-men or even 1-million then I would have no problem shelling out Creed prices.

I love it too much long lasting even some side it's close to montblank and joop but still there is some differences 4 months ago I bought my third bottle but I think they reformlated it because it's different than previous bottles but still I love it.

After owning 4 creed scents I am really happy I got to try this creed out it blew me away, I like the fact that this has the sandalwood and cinnamon and a little bit of the spiciness it totally takes the scent to whole new level its really well combined, and this one lasts I get near enough 6,7 hours original santal can be versatile in my opinion, this also does have great projection enough to get you noticed and stand out from the crowd and yes I also got some compliments with this more than the virgin island water, royal water, however this scent has now taken the number one spot in my collection now

scent 10
projection 10
silage 9
versatility 10

overall I'm giving this a solid (((10)))

It's 80% Mont Blanc Individuel and 20% Joop.

Love it, doesn't smell like Joop...the Mont Blanc is very similar but the Creed smell nicer, there's something about it that just separates, and I'm not someone who cares about niche or designer, nor am I a creed fanboy, in fact I dislike many of their scents, but this one for me just has something special.

I will say it seems to be more suitable for being outdoors as opposed to being in an office environment

Air freshener for toilette

این عطر باید توی فضای مناسبش استفاده بشه که قدرش رو دونست
از اون عطرایی نیست که انتظار داشت هر لحظه و هرجایی جواب بده
یه صبح زمستانی با آفتاب ملایم ، لباس کاملا رسمی
چیزی که کاملش میکنه همین عطره
با اون شروعش که رگه های گیاه داره و بعد به سمت دارچین و چوب میره
یه سمپل از این عطر داشتم و تمومش نکردم تا دوباره شرایط استفاده ش فراهم شه
از این ها گذشته این یه عطر آزار دهنده هم نیست که بخوایم بهش حمله کنیم -و باید دقت کرد که کسی این رو وسط تابستون و هوای گرم استفاده نمیکنه
حتی پخش بوشم متوسطه و شدت نداره و به حریم کسی تجاوز نمیکنه
در مورد قیمت نقد های وارده رو درست میدونم ، اما چیزیه که هست و سایر عطرهایی که قیمتای گزاف دارن رو هم باید در نظر گرفت ، آیا اونها هم واقعا به اون قیمت میارزن یا کامنت گذار محترم اونایی رو که دوست داشته باشه رو دیگه راجع به قیمتشون حرف نمیزنه ؟
و درمورد یک چیز دیگه که در کامنت ها بهش برخوردیم باید گفت که قدرت تخیل خوبه! اما تا حدودی مشخص و کنترل شده. وقتی بیشتر از اون بشه دیدگاه جدیت خودش رو از دست میده

Houstonx
Than you really should try Montblanc Individuel.
In Fall and Winter I use that for work when I visit clients.
After 600 km's in a car and I arrive home, before I take a shower is still there on me, as if it just has been an hour or two. By than it's almost 10 clock and I have been wearing it for 14 hours.
My wife claims it's still on me the next morning, 24 hours later and the shower.

By the way, for me the only resemblance I get with Joop Homme is the longevity and the Sillage. Maybe some people have the wrong Montblanc. Or nose.

I see a lot of comments about Original Santal missing sandalwood, and I would agree that it is in the distant background, mellowed significantly by the creamy vanilla. Like all Creeds, it's well blended, although this has a very spicy accord, notably the cinnamon, that remains strong throughout. This is a very unusual Creed.

The vanilla/tonka is deftly added, so if you're not a big fan of these, don't worry. It is a touch sweet, perhaps the sweetest of the Creeds I've owned or tried, but not cloying. The dry down is very pleasant and clean smelling in a spicy, not citrusy way. Some compare it to dryer sheets, but I don't get that. It is definitely fresh, but not detergent-like.

Santal is good for all but the warmest days, and I think it is more for a date/evening scent than suitable for the office. It is long-lasting and projects well, one of the most potent of all the Creeds I've tried -- almost as strong as Bois du Portugal. The opening is a bit strident, but it settles down quickly into a fresh, spicy accord.

The dominant cinnamon note is not as dry and natural as it is in Clive Christian's X for Men. As a whole, it is in the same vein as Spicebomb, but with better blending and ingredients. Whether that is a good thing or not you can decide. 7/10.

Why are people saying they can't detect sandalwood in this? I grew up in Asia where sandalwood incense is used extensively. It is definitely here.

I like this, but not really something I'd wear. I got a decant and while I enjoy the scent, it's not really up my alley. A spicy scent that seems to last awhile on me. It's classified as a "warm spicy" but I really don't find it to be warm. More fresh than warm I think.

And I also get a little of the "Aventus" vibe with this one. Not sure if anyone else does or not. But it reminds me slightly of it. Got a few more creed decants on order to try. So far Virgin Island Water is my favorite from this house. But I've only tried a few so far.

Although I bought it from a shop and hence tried it, I am very disappointed with this frag. I like spicy frags. And this one is fresh spicy. But the performance turned out so poor after I bought the bottle and really tried it. Max performance is 1-2 hours. I'd settle with this performance for this if I paid 30$, but you certainly expect more from a $150 frag. What a joke.
p.s. I have 3 Creed parfumes, and I don't think there will be a 4th one. Enough of this house's inconsistent batches.

This should have been called 'Warm Spicy Cologne', because that is what it is. This is not really a Sandalwood scent and it wasn't intended to be one so it is misleading to call it that. Warm spicy cinnamon on a base of sensual musky ambergris - that is all you get here, and in my opinion it is extremely well executed.

But to understand this fragrance and others from the house you have to understand something about Creed. The only thing you are guaranteed to find in a Creed perfume is ambergris - that illustrious and expensive ingredient, the by-product of sperm whale bile that gets washed into the sea, forming solid waxy blocks that can be worth a fortune for their ozonic, fresh, musky scent. In ancient times it was hailed as the greatest aphrodisiac known to man, used to infuse burning candles and incense for luxurious boudoirs where women could lose their senses in sexual abandon. It is subtle and magical and creates a chemical reaction in the brain of the receiver. A strong Sandalwood would overpower it, as would the pungency of Oud or Vetiver, so the variable compositions must remain soft. This is something you must understand when you approach a Creed fragrance, this is why they may initially disappoint, this is why they are so expensive and this is why you cannot compare such majestic creations to cheap synthetic alternatives like Cool Water or Joop! When I hear someone say OS smells like a cheap drugstore cologne, then I know they don't have a clue about what makes a Creed a Creed. Like it or dislike it, fine, but respect it... Those who are loyal to this brand are in it for the ambergris because that sublimely attractive and alluring ingredient is what you are paying for, just different variations on the same theme.

I heard someone say recently "I never get compliments from Cool Water but get tonnes of compliments every time I wear GIT. Why is that?" The answer is simple - high quality ingredients like ambergris will make an impression on people that no cheap copy will ever be able to make. That's what you get for your money, a product that is in a different class all together. Original Santal is some quality juice, women love the sweet musky drydown and it lasts a very long time on my skin and when you think it is gone, it is still there, quietly doing its thing...

I have had a 10 ml sample of this fragrance for awhile, but had not worn it in a long time. This was one of the first Creed fragrance decants I purchased several years ago when I first got into fragrances. I pulled it out today to see what I thought of it after building up a much larger collection.

SO opens withe a creamy, woody, clean and fresh vibe. Soft and a bit sweet. It is very linear. 10 hours in the scent is still exactly the same on my skin. Although cinnamon is listed as the note most people smell, I have to say that I do not get a strong cinnamon at all on my skin. Mostly Sandalwood and Juniper Berries with a touch of vanilla and lavender. But I do get good projection and great longevity out of SO.

Overall this is a very good scent with the classic Creed quality, but for the prices you are better off going with Individuel IMO.

While trying out Creed fragrances a few months back, I didn't find this one memorable; however, I ultimately decided to purchase it. I like cinnamon a lot, and that, juniper, and the vanilla-tonka combination are the notes that stand out the most here. The sandalwood note is discreet, and the fragrance seems to be more of an interpretation of the powdery, milky feel of sandalwood in the same way Royal Oud is an interpretation of the feel of oud without a heavy oud note. Original Santal projects well. If you don't like cinnamon, this one probably isn't for you.

It is very similar to Individuel, but it's more linear and smooth. There is a note in Individuel I find offputting, and it smells more synthetic than OS, so I like OS more, but I don't know if it's worth the price difference if you don't have the money to spend.

The opening is very chaotic, in a sort of enjoyable way, with lots of juniper lavendar ginger and citrus. The drydown is a cinnamon-vanilla combo with a little sandalwood in there. I think other gourmands like New Haarlem, Ambre Narguile and Tobacco Vanille do it much better, but this is not bad. High longevity at 10+ hours.

It's like a richer sweeter more detailed, but less wearable, version of Mont Blanc Individuel. Not necesarily better than MBI - just different.

If this fragrance were $50 (instead of $150-400), I'd give it a "Like". But I'm pressing Dislike because that's way too much to pay for a fragrance that I find to be just decent.