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Neroli Sauvage Creed 2003

8.1 / 10 53 Ratings

A popular perfume by Creed for women and men, released in 2003. The scent is resinous-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Resinous

Spicy

Smoky

Oriental

Sweet

Fragrance Notes

Labdanum

Somalian frankincense Tobacco

Tobacco

Indian tuberose

Tonka bean

Damask rose

Calibrated Lint

Perfumer & Creative Guidance

Dominique Dubrana a.k.a. AbdesSalaam Attar Perfume maker

Ratings

Scent

8.153 Ratings

Longevity

7.845 Ratings

Sillage

6.943 Ratings

Bottle

7.842 Ratings

Value for money

7.712 Ratings

Submitted by Freiherr · last update on 08/11/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Sweet Volcano

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/17/2022

ArkangeL
157 Reviews

ArkangeL

2

Holy Mecca

This is a warm, balmy and spicy composition. If I had to choose 2 words to describe what I feel when I put this on, I'd say cozy and pleasant. Mecca Balsam is inspired by a trip to the Holy Mecca where it is 100 degrees almost daily, but this is a warm hug on a cold day; in front of an embery fire. The presence of incense is known upon application. This blend is rich and divine with just the right amount of tobacco. You’ll find that these notes are more perceptible in cooler weather. Mecca Balsam is very full, dense fragrance that softens satisfyingly. My favorite part of this scent story, is the dry-down. This will likely be my Winter choice of 2022.

07/09/2023

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Nabeste
21 Reviews

Nabeste

1

Spirituality

WoW... quite captivating...

One thing's for sure about this fragrance: the quality is there. A new, well-executed artisanal fragrance in a resinous, spicy and smoky genre.

The combination of labdanum with tobacco and incense plays up the fragrance's smoky, spicy aspect very well. Benzoin adds to the mix, making it quite resinous and slightly sweet without being too sweet.

It's an exceptional fragrance, I love it! It's off the beaten track and stands out for its originality. I typically imagine this kind of scent in Middle Eastern places of worship, with their undeniable spirituality.

It lasts well, with a medium sillage, and is a perfume you wear to soothe yourself, a diplomacy in itself.

9/10 !

08/11/2025

ClaireV
969 Reviews

ClaireV

1

A quiet place of worship, more human in scale than you'd assume

Balsamo della Mecca is a veritable monolith of ancient resins, balsams, smoke, and incense, swallowing up any trace of delicate florals (tuberose) or vanilla in its composition. Despite the devotional connotations attached to this perfume (both professed and implied), it is not a straight-ahead, literal rendition of worship. This perfume possesses a human warmth that transcends cultural, religious, and language barriers.

The opening of the perfume, with its hoarse roar of smoky, dirty/tarry labdanum and hot, woody cinnamon or cloves, represents the overwhelming swell of noise and humanity in the Haj procession. Once the initial onslaught dies down, frankincense and precious woods come to the fore. Abundantly spiced, it is warm, woody, and inviting. The frankincense presents a different face here than it usually does - there are no lemony, astringent, or herbal qualities at all, instead it is the pleasantly stale, sourish air of a place where frankincense is burned all the time, just not right now. Joining this is a dry, smoky smell of oud wood chips, ancient books, resins kept in ornate little tins, and the pipe tobacco in a leather pouch. It is austere, dry, and smoky, but at the same time, filled with warmth (tonka, amber, resins) simmering just underneath the surface.

07/12/2023

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Chizza
362 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Chizza

Top Review 22

Mechanical Fragrance Impressions

The owner and perfumer of La Via Del Profumo is - a look at the background stories of his fragrances reveals it - obviously connected to the Middle East and the prevailing spiritual direction there. Mecca Balsam is the olfactory processing of his journey to Mecca, presumably for the Hajj. He describes the ingredients contained here as perceptible there, especially the individual (smoked) resins seem to have captivated him. Generally, I am inclined towards fragrances with real, profound ideas as well as their individual elaboration. So it is here as well.

Archaic tobacco notes, initially mild yet unrefined woods open an olfactory sequence, challenging for Western noses according to the perfumer as they represent a reminiscence of an important pillar of the Islamic world and its scent cosmos. Gentle desert winds carry the composition - now enriched with resins in all facets - through the alleys, laying an olfactory bell over the stream of pilgrims.

Intense Somali incense, fine yet clear and dominating. Tobacco notes, now more differentiated, from honeyed nuances to aromatic, warm impressions, much is revealed, never too much, always balanced. Labdanum, wild but tamed here. Balsamic, almost sweet, evoking woody notes. It is no more than that. No more is needed to let oneself be carried away in the crowd, intoxicated like a Pythia, inspired.

Mecca Balsam is not a creation full of twists. There are not felt myriads of ingredients used that one can now paraphrase in a comment as supposedly detectable. Less seems more. Do rose and tuberose play a role here as they are listed as fragrance notes? Not for me, but both make sense in the context of the story of Mecca Balsam. It may be that both have a refining effect, contributing to the hypnotic quality. Overall, I find Mecca Balsam relaxing, olfactorily transcendent, a well-measured composition of resins and tobacco.

09/03/2012

7Scent 5Longevity 2.5Sillage

Apicius
1328 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Apicius

Top Review 12

Arabic without Oud?

Despite the proven superiority of digital and transistor technology, there will likely always be music enthusiasts who swear by vinyl, connecting their heavy turntables with antiquated tube amplifiers and massive horn speakers - and they pay fantastical prices for the whole setup. In the art of perfumery, this esotericism finds its counterpart in so-called natural perfumery, which relies on pure oils and eschews synthetic fixatives. When a perfumer inclined towards this philosophy also takes inspiration from Arabic traditions, the peak is reached - it doesn't get more niche than this!

One must therefore be open-minded towards the works of AbdesSalam Attar, alias Dominique Dubrana; it is a world unto itself, within which this highly interesting perfumer has found his place.

Balsamo della Mecca is said to draw its inspiration from a journey to that very place - it is the scent of the masses of devout pilgrims, whose diverse aromas this perfume aims to reflect. In essence, however, it revolves around just one note: labdanum. This is accompanied by incense, which gives it a wonderful depth, as well as tobacco and smoky amber. Rose and tuberose are only vaguely perceptible: I find they create in this context less of a floral impression and more of a slightly fruity nuance, a hint of dried fruits.

Arabic without Oud? Yes! The Arabic aspect of Balsamo della Mecca is its rather uniform impression: there is no scent journey through top, heart, and base notes, which is probably a more Western concept. However, Balsamo della Mecca is not without development, though this unfortunately results in a slight loss of complexity.

Balsamo della Mecca is beautiful right after application and in the first half hour. Not directly on the skin, but from a distance, it offers a wonderful resinous-mild scent that makes the heart beat faster! It is best perceived when one wafts the scent from the sprayed area. Unfortunately, Balsamo della Mecca quickly retreats to the skin and then does too little for me. As a Western perfume novice, Balsamo della Mecca seems a bit unfinished to me, like a somewhat bare Chypre base. But hand on heart - in many Chypres, the citrusy top and floral or herbal heart notes seem grafted on and dispensable.

Good natural perfumes made from valuable raw materials do not come cheap, and Mr. Dubrana knows what he can charge. Balsamo della Mecca is available in small sizes - but one must apply it generously! 32 ml costs around €100 with delivery to the EU, which stings a bit. For 10 ml of Attar, which hopefully is not as diluted as the perfume, one must shell out around €400. The fact that the special must also come with a special price is part of the appreciation many customers have for a luxury product, and only a few connoisseurs would eagerly grab it if they found it at a flea market. Balsamo della Mecca is a beautiful scent, but in the light version, which only seemingly stays within a reasonable price range, it does not satisfy me.

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