Original Santal Creed 2005

Trying not to be judgemental here, but Original Santal by Creed is really a depressing fragrance given the price and the pretenses it has. I can accept the fact there is no (I mean: no!) sandalwood here, and obviously no “original” sandalwood therefore, but even putting that aside, it smells really, clearly and desperately mediocre. Don’t expect any luxury out of this, it is basically a really generic herbal juniper-lavender blend with a lot of spices on the smooth-sweet side, mostly cinnamon and tonka, and that’s it. Pleasantly outdated if you want, but that’s a really miserable cold comfort to pay that money to feel like a wealthy distinguished connoisseur while actually smelling like a lower-class accountant from the early 1990s. Not saying Original Santal stinks; it is decent, in the least enthusiastic meaning ever, something which I would consider acceptable for a 15/20 EUR fragrance. “Drugstore/chainstore-decent” as any Montblanc and similar fragrances would be. Sadly I am given to understand Creed fans are most of the time so devotedly stubborn that my review will just appear as some snobbish grumpy opposer bashing the brand for the sake of it... well I am not. I admit this would be fine with a way lower price, so I do see some margin of acceptability with this fragrance, but as-is (over 2 EUR/ml?) it’s objectively preposterous - this being in the same broad price range of, say, Hermès Cuir d’Ange? Insulting.

4,5-5/10

Reading the pseudo-reviews of those who pretend to be experts and spout random numbers and percentages makes me laugh...
people who maybe can't even afford the perfume and exaggerate about composition, raw materials, and performance...
Well, that said...
Beautiful perfume, aromatic, dry, very well-balanced, and quite sharp, I'd say, with the sandalwood clearly perceptible but not the main focus. Masculine to my nose, the aromatic notes of lavender, juniper, and (I think) violet leaves are very noticeable, even if they aren't listed in the pyramid. Superior performance compared to many other Creeds.

The price is, obviously, exorbitant, but...if you like it, then there's no point in arguing about the price, since, in my opinion, a good 90% of "niche" perfumes are absolutely outrageously expensive.

EDIT September 2025
I also bought Montblanc Individuelle to compare them, and I must confirm that the similarities are there. The mood and vibes are similar, but the Montblanc is significantly sweeter, with a fruity note completely absent from the Creed. Even on the drydown, the Montblanc has a sweet base, while the Creed remains dry and aromatic. The Montblanc also feels more like a shower gel, while the Creed does not.
So, are they similar? Yes, but also no... are they redundant? No... I prefer the Creed, but I also enjoy wearing the Montblanc.
EDIT
I tested the two half-siblings, Original Santal and Individuelle, in a 1-on-1 comparison on skin. Strange as it may seem, I must say that OS performs significantly better than Individuelle; in fact, the latter fades tremendously after half an hour, while OS remains quite strong and continues to be noticeable and consistent for the first two or three hours. In terms of longevity, the Creed is also superior. I confirm the differences in terms of olfactory profile, similar opening aside, the aromas take different directions from the heart onwards.

Creed engender devotees as often as they do conspiracy theorists.  People either seem to fall for the story or they mistrust it.  Other than Irisia, which I am partial to, I haven't found a Creed that I enjoy.  Though Creed's marketing schtick is particularly ludicrous and pretentious, is it really any worse than, say, Chanel or Taylor Swift?  If you accept that all marketing is lies told for the sole purpose of luring you in, then style and story really make no difference.   
But Creed's marketing and mythology are such an easy read that it becomes fun.  When the life of leisure and affluence is sold to you over and over with each perfume, you come to realize that they're not even trying to sell you the image of a particular lifestyle, but the very notion of aspiration.  As for Original Santal itself, a century late in the game Creed want to sell you not just a perfume but an empire.  

Reading between the lines of the name tells you a bit about this this perfume up front.  The name and the date of release tell you the same thing twice--there won't be much real mysore sandalwood to it.  "Santal":  commercial sandalwood harvesting has been banned in India since the late 1990s and the dwindling supply available is too expensive for largescale commercial perfume use.  As for "Original" I defer to the logic of Creed's Original Vetiver, which, not being a vetiver perfume, implies that Original Santal will not be a sandalwood fragrance.

There are a few possibilities for Creed making a sandalwood fragrance today.  1) The Creeds have hoarded pre-ban sandalwood in the wine cellars of their ancestral castle.  2) They rely on synthetic sandalwood chemicals.  3) They recreate a sandalwood scent using other elements such as cedar, woody ambers, rosewood, lactones, etc..  4) They make a fragrance that has no particular relationship to the scent of sandalwood.  5)  When thay say Mysore, they mean Australia sandalwood.  My money is on # 4, but 2, 3 and 5 have a ring of truth to them.    

Sandalwood oil has a number of olfactory qualities, all of which can be sensed in harmony but are clear enough to be singled out.  Woodiness, sweetness, creaminess, tartness.  Richness, really.  OS takes the slightly wrong angle of each quality and mixes them into a murky, lingering perfume.  It smells a bit like rum sick to me, but to read the reviews at rating sites like Basenotes and Fragrantica, a lot of people enjoy it.

I know I spend more time writing about Creed's talk than their perfume.  And while I do believe that all marketing is equal, the differences being stylistic, Creed want to sell you a particular fiction phrased as history before they even start to sell you a perfume.  Their implication of authenticity in a bottle should be questioned as closely as their perfume.  

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.

I know that my reviews are copy paste for this scent and the Montblanc, but the arguments apply one to one for both so how can I make them different ?

Please see the summary below:
I have a CREED original Santal sample at home, and like many others I was wondering what is the point to pay premium €€ when you can get the cheaper Individuel, right? Well .. it´s not that simple.

I got myself a sample before buying a bottle of Montblanc to check with my own nose if it is really so similar like people want you to believe. And when you spray it at first, they seem to have the similar sweet sandalwood direction, like JOOP Homme but less cloying.

After about 5 minutes, the CREED becomes very understated, in the same way Green Irish Tweed is to Cool Water .. with a certain class and it´s less in your face, if I can say so.

The Individuel comes close to the skin very fast and it becomes this generic sweet, "not sure what I sprayed" sandalwood similar to JOOP smell.

Don´t get me wrong, if you are someone who could not care less about scents and perfume houses and notes and so on, you will find Montblanc a top choice and use it and spray it and enjoy the nice skin scent.

But if you are someone with a decent collection and a trained nose to sense the little things, you will understand what I mean.

They are similar, thanks to the influence of the great Pierre Burdon in both scent DNAs .. but in the Creed one I think Olivier´s influence can be seen, he also had a word into how it smells and what will come out from the sketch board.

Conclusion:
I would regret buying a full bottle of Montblanc and probably never use it and will just stay in the drawer, on the other hand the Creed is not so modern to make me use daily but I would like a bottle, maybe a 50ml one into my collection.

With the right price, maybe even used from the Souk - the Creed "wins" this versus.