Original Santal (2005)
by Creed

Right, firstly, I know a lot of Creeds come under scrutiny for being like/being worse than a smell-a-like but I tried this on today and all I smelt for the majority of the day was Joop!. Not a smell like Joop! but a smell that is so similar to Joop! I couldn't tell the difference. Joop! is very loud and tenacious and you can smell sillage from miles away, similarly with this.

Longevity issues? Are you kidding? Currently at 10 hours and still going strong, now just smells like Joop! layered with the Creed house note of amber.

Other Creed smell-a-likes I have been able to pass because I consider the Creeds to be of a greater quality but I can't let Creed have this one.

I wish I had "longevity issues" with this but I don't.

I smell like a pre-pubescent teen at a school disco.

I thought I might like this "Original" Creed fragrance because I loved their Original Vetiver. This is just awful. It smells like synthetic sandalwood and Dentyne cinnamon gum.

This is plainly a nice smooth Sandalwood, but it's poor sillage and longevity are unfortunately a deal breaker for me. Try before you buy because if this one lasts for you, you've got a very nice scent.

I like sweet scents (esp vanilla/tonka) and love quality sandal wood so this is an easy thumbs up. I have been wearing samples for about a week and bought a 4oz bottle today. This was my first creed purchase (saks), because it doesn't smell anything like my Bond no 9's. This and riverside drive are my two current favs.

I have been wearing this for a week now and can safely say that this has to be one of the best Sandalwood scents. It is a choice contender in the list of "modern classics". very "warm scent indeed".

the opening i found surprisingly herbal (the corriander i assume), the light cinamon lending a not unpleasant twist to a fairly mature-feeling top accord. this settled, via some more herbal aromatic-ness (the lavender and rosemary i'm guessing, though neither seemed prominent to me) through a soft fruity middle, i suspected it was apricot but i believe this might be the impression given by the mandarin/orange wood/benzoin accord, the citrus softened and blurred by the baked vanilla note which i am assuming is the benzoin at work. the sandalwood is there to me (although it seems not to others), and it's warm and smooth and very well-blended feeling, with the vanilla character coming through more with time.

overall, fairly pleasant. not agressively gourmand, it doesn't shout and i think it could easily be worn in an office environment, although it's by equal measure quite casual and relaxed. however i found it a bit on the dull side, and at Creed prices i wouldn't accept dullness.