Original Santal

If sweater Weather had a personality... I absolutely love this fragrance. It's the definition of cozy; interestingly enough, it can be dressed up in a suit. Original Santal by Creed fits beautifully into cooler seasons and upscale settings. It is bold enough for a formal night out or a holiday party where you want to stand out from the crowd. However, its clean, fabric-softener-like freshness allows it to transition easily into a casual evening out, paired with a stylish leather jacket or a sharp sweater. The scent evokes the timeless image of an effortlessly indulgent traveler surrounded by the royal, majestic architecture of a historic palace. Ultimately, this vibrant, spicy blend makes a magnificent, statement-making addition to any perfume collection.

Clone of Montblanc Individuel. Individuel was better and more refined.

Good fragrance, bad price, I bought it because this as actually underrated ASF, and it really is, all season niche, but the mid notes can smell like a forest fire. Yes a fire

Ordered a sample and thank god I didnt buy more. Smells like a female soap and not even a good one

It's like they took Joop Homme and made it not abysmal dogshit.

Tried the current iteration of this recently in John Lewis and found it to be possibly the most overpriced fragrance I've ever tested. It's highly synthetic and linear in nature which also made it cloying and I ended up with a headache after just a couple of hours with no more than 3 sprays. Perhaps reformulation has been at play here, I don't know but the main thing I took away is that this doesn't smell anything like a fragrance costing £300/$400+. I can absolutely see the comparison with Individuel but would say this isn't so sweet off the top. I'm sure I read someone comment below that this is almost like spraying Individuel at mid note point and that is exactly how I sensed it. The problem with Original Santal is that it doesn't develop and this is reason I found it to be headache inducing. Glad I tried it? Yes. Would it I buy it? Absolutely not. 2/10 and I'm being kind.

This is quintessential Creed. This is what you would imagine a millionaire would smell like. Original Santal is so refined and classy. Probably one of my most favorite Creed. In fact, everything that the master Pierre Bourdon created is something to own. The son and father Creed had nothing to do with it even though they're credited in all his perfumes. I don't know what the newer bottle smells like but the original classic is where it's at. This deserves a much higher rating but I imagine most people are confusing the newer bottle with the older one.

Creed #9 - So, what is Sandalwood? I’ve set out a personal task for Original Santal and i might have been unfair. What i wanted from this perfume was...lets call it “illumination” on a note that my nose is not clearly attuned to yet, the note of Sandalwood. Countless times i’ve read the definition or main characteristics of Sandalwood, of its milky and creamy, soft facets and altho i could see the hints, i could never pinpoint the note and have a proper “gotcha” moment. I wondered if my nose is at fault but i know my nose well enough to recognise when it blanks out to certain sides of perfumery and sandalwood perfumes were never “mute” to me. Thats when i realised that sandalwood to me doesn’t come across as a note but rather like a combination of notes or an accord. Whenever i think of a woody scent, im thinking of dryness and a degree of heft and solidness. Sandalwood to my nose has nothing of the sort hence why, other then the name, there’s nothing “woody” about it. Instead, its a “composite” note. Its sort of ambery, but not thick and rich as true amber is. In other parts its sweet and soft in an almost floral way, only it replaces the actual florals aspects such as natural greenness and textures, with the aforementioned creamy and sometimes syrupy facets. To put it simply, sandalwood to me smells like a synthetic interpretation of a diluted amber with added unnatural, syrupy floral sweetness. I feel like i cannot properly explain what im smelling with sandalwood and that is what i hoped for Original Santal to teach or clear up for me. Original Santal showcases the aspects i’ve mentioned above and for what its worth, it helped me ATTEMPT to decipher sandalwood so im thankful for that. Still, in the back of my mind, im unsatisfied and continue to be uncertain over my conclusions for the note. Technically, Original Santal is a very nice scent. Its not a go-getter energetic scentprofile for fastpaced daily activities. Nor is it hefty or opulent, fit for formal ocassions. Heck, its not sensual, carnal or alluring eighter. So what is it? Its simply a great perfume for when you don’t have a particular brief. Its for those days when you want to deconnect from the patterns of life and spend some time without an A to B line constantly put in front of you. Its a high-end casual fragrance built with the typical quality and smoothness of Creed. Genderwise its unisex with a small lean towards masculine. Off the bat it felt extremely familiar and the fact that i couldn’t identify the familiarity irritated me but then it hit me. Its Joop Homme EDT, and Fragrantica confirmed it in big bold letters. Joop Homme is an androginous masculine perfume and thats how Original Santal strikes me aswell. Obviously its alot better quality then Joop. More uptown, refined and well mannered, but it made me crave for Joop since it was the second perfume i’ve ever bought, one that ended up in my father’s wardrobe.

Very similar to the OG Mont Blanc Individuel (2003) but less synthetic and higher quality ingredients (for the price obviously). Was lucky to get my hands on a vintage (2016) 120 mL bottle for a good price - and this will stay in my collection.

Fresh.. kind of get the joop comparison, but I like this and hate that joop. Thankfully not a strong lavender either, the sandalwood & citrus notes are well blended. Leans slightly more masculine, could wear this one all year round tbh Decent

Creed Original Santal gives me a bit of an “old‑school” vibe with its sandalwood note, leaning more toward a classic, traditional style. Honestly, I didn’t like it much; it felt a bit too old-fashioned and showy for my taste. Its longevity and sillage are adequate, but overall it doesn’t suit my personal preference. Compared to the brand’s other fragrances, this one feels a bit behind in character and appeal. Since I love the brand’s other scents, I was a bit disappointed when I got this one.

I really enjoyed my first wear. It definitely has the original le male dna but much tamer and smoother.

DON'T BLIND BUY! Get a sample. It smells sweet and woody in a vintagy way. Smells like a 50yo+ elegant man. It’s sophisticated, unfortunately I fell for the hype and blind bought it and didn’t like it, not my thing. Very old fashioned. Very good performance in comparison with other creeds. 5.5/10

This is for the old bottle design, which I haven't smelled. If you're looking to review the new bottle design (released in 2024) there is another page for that. Some haters have tanked the reviews, so if you like it like I do and want to help out the community, then go to the other page. If the darker tint is more on the top of the bottle, you have the new bottle designm. If your tint is on the lower part of the bottle, you have an old bottle.

Opens smelling like the dry-down of Joop Homme but nothing too off-putting. Also smells like if you take out the raspberry note from Montblanc Individuel. Dry-down is nearly identical to Individuel's. I'm talking 95% similarity. I would say Original Santal's is just more pronounced. TL;DR: Smells like clean laundry.

Such an amazing, the best of the Creed scents.

Before I tried Original Santal, I had a bottle of Individeul. I thought it smelled OK, but it was very synthetic and borderline cheap smelling, so I gave it to someone else, knowing I'd eventually try and maybe buy Original Santal before closing the chapter on this fragrance profile. I expected Original Santal would be a similar or the exact same scent as they have been described, only much higher in quality and execution... (Which one came first doesn't matter for this review, it is simply a one to one comparison) Do they smell the same? Absolutely. On first sniff of Original Santal I thought "yup, that's Individuel!". But where I was let down was the quality. Santal does not smell remarkably higher quality, or significantly smoother than Individuel. Cheap and synthetic? No. Top tier? Nowhere near. If you only kinda like Individuel, you'll only kinda like Original Santal. If you hate one, you'll hate the other, love one, love the other etc. etc. But what you won't smell is a jump in quality or execution between the two. Sure, Original Santal does smell a *little* better, smoother etc., but only a little. In no way does that marginal difference in quality justify the price disparity, and in fact there's something a little more dated and mature in Original Santal than what I got from Individuel. Laundry, dryer sheet fresh, daily wear for a more mature (vibe, not age) guy? Yes. Everything about how it's described is accurate, but I was underwhelmed with Original Santal because I expected to get the "higher quality" version of a scent profile I like, and want to love, but it's not significantly better than its cheaper alternative. The hunt continues...

Not sure what to make of this one. It definitely smells of quality, but the note listing is deceiving because I barely smell anything resembling natural essential oils in this. I’m not really sure what I’m smelling to be honest. A lot of high quality aroma chems? It’s big, warm, fresh and synthetically sweet like laundry detergent and dryer sheets. I hesitate to say it’s spicy because I can’t pinpoint a spice. Maybe cinnamon? A distant touch of lavender? Cinnamon baby powder? The foam soap at a high-end car wash? Do you see how I’m struggling to describe this? As a grown man I’m not sure when I would wear this. It seems sort of juvenile - the kind of fragrance you might be drawn to in junior high school to impress the girls. Performance is really good for a Creed. So, does Original Santal smell good? Yes, it really does. Will you get any of the eponymous sandalwood? No. Would I buy a full bottle once my decant is done? No.

This blooms on my skin. Not a huge fan of Creed's DNA, and I found the opening to be very Aventus-adjacent, which is a snooze to me. But then it just transforms on my skin. It goes from a sickly citrus to a complex sandalwood-tonka concoction that I am obsessed with. I feel as though I can smell each and every grain of the sandalwood in this perfume. It smells lux, it smells grown, and it smells so good. Brava, Creed. I'm finally a fan.

I hated this fragrance at first. But then it honestly grew on me, smells very old school and vintage. Definitely a more mature scent I can’t see anyone young rocking this. It has a spicy barbershop smell to it that has a fresh drydown. Personally I don’t think it’s worth the price, but overall not a bad fragrance by Creed.

I own an F batch and the scent is beyond gorgeous, very clean 🧼 and elegant. I get a solid 7+ hours of performance. I think a lot of the fragrance bros are either going noseblind or are just making false reviews because their TikTok influencer group said it doesn’t last long. Original Santal is one of the best smells from the house of Creed. If you can’t afford it, then get Mont Blanc individuel EDT and bring a travel atomizer with you to reapply after 3 hours because it doesn’t last like Creed.

Managed to get a really great deal on a rare 2016, 120 mL bottle and I took it - and boy am I glad. Yes, Mont Blanc Individuel does most of the job (95% same, in the air) but there’s just that slight uptick in quality on the skin where the Original Santal takes podium. And that’s why I don’t regret the purchase and will treasure this bottle for life! Sparingly used…!

I'm newer to Creed but this one is in the same vein as Green Irish Tweed and Virgin Island Water in that they are mature freshies. But Original Santal is the best of the three. It's slightly sweet and slightly effervescent, as if you were drinking a fruity club soda. This may not be a love, but it's most definitely a strong like. I'll definitely put this in my summertime rotation. Edit. I'm surprised to see this heavily ranked as a winter fragrance. This does not seem like a winter frag at all. It's almost like a barbershop freshie if anything. This fragrance is white t-shirt in the spring and summer to me.

For the price it's not worth it, just over-hyped , indeed very non-synthetic in smell, well blended , but for the price have better options in the same area , for sure cannot be worn in summer , best temperature to last more then 6-7 hours is autumn,spring and a little in winter (not made to fight with -°C ), if you are younger then 30 YO this is only for young ppl with goals in life. Notes: 3/5 Silage 3.5/5 Longevity 4/5 Versatility (Smart casual clothes or suit will fit better , safe office and date) I own this classic bottle not the new brown one (maybe that one is better , do not know still have 75% left from this one).

Sampled this at Neiman Marcus so I doubt this was a fake... The first thought I had after letting this sit on my skin was: Scented trash bag. I know that's brutal but that's really what I thought. Projection is pretty much nothing. To me this is nothing that would even come close to $500 retail. I mean there are so many cheaper, sweet scents you can get for $100 - $200 that would fit the occasion and smell way better. I went in to sample this really hoping I would like it, but I'm just being honest, guys. This is really nothing I would spend my money on. This one is slept on for a reason.

A pleasant enough, sweet aromatic scent but one of the weakest and least memorable of the Creed house along with Royal Oud. Non-existant projection. Never rises above a skin scent. This is a total snoozer. Original Santal is a major disappointment and a complete skip in every way.

oH MY! THIS JUST SCREAMS CLASSY, REFINED AND CLASSY WOW, Top 5 Creed easily

a tasteful sandalwood with lavender and citrus. breezy, powdery, unisex

This is a joop dupe......

Rich Man's Joop