White Sandalwood

[Lady_Ell]

This smells like cedar on me. A very clean, woody scent. It's great. I feel very grounded and mature when I wear it. It reminds me of Loup Garou without the juniper.

 

I got this as an extra imp in my last order and gave it to my husband. He really really really likes it, has been wearing it nonstop since then, and describes it as such:

 

"this white sandalwood is really the shit, it smells like kyoto circa '81 (minus urine, japan always smells like urine)"

 

He's a big sandalwood fan, growing up in Japan and all, and going to a Japanese pre-school in a Buddhist monastery that always had sandalwood incense burning. Not sure what he means about the urine, but at least this doesn't smell like urine.

 

Four enthusiastic thumbs up.

[Theravada]

Wow, this is wonderful! I knew I loved sandalwood in my BPAL, but it's really amazing to have the note by itself.

 

White sandalwood is a very spicey, almost peppery wood smell. Very sharp, slightly "dry" smelling. Very complex scent for a single note. I wish I could compare it to the other sandalwoods.

 

ETA: I think I can understand why ladylatemar compared this to cedar, but I just wanted to say that this really doesn't smell of cedar. No hamster cage or pencil shavings here. But I guess it does smell like cedar in the sense that it's a light, dry white wood scent.

Edited January 27, 2005 by Theravada

[paperdoll]

This is a very dry white wood smell, like ladylatemar, I think that this smells very much like cedar. This is the sandalwood that goes dry and dusty on me in blends. Unfortunately, this one is not for me!

[yellowrose]

Sandalwood has long been a favorite component, but I've never really smelled it apart from a blend, which is why I decided to order sandalwood from Beth.

 

This is wonderfully earthy and alternates between soft and sharp.

 

Layering is fun. Other scents with vanilla and sandalwood-ish combinations (Dragon's Bone, Nadina's Cremes) led to experimentation with that combo. The yummy combo du jour is White Sandalwood and bergamot. Mmmmmmmmmm.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Aha. This is the sharp, woody sandalwood. It’s much more defined and crisp than the red Mysor variety, and smells much less like something I want to wear by itself. Paperdoll sent me imps of both in a swap, and it’s really interesting to sniff them side by side.

 

Wearing: Yup, this is definitely the sandalwood I smell in sandalwood incense… too close to cedar for me to wear.

[quikslvr]

Dry, dry sandalwood. Yes, it and Vanilla Bean make up Tombstone. I'm sure there are other notes, but those two are Tombstone to me. Sweet, slightly peppery, fragrant, and dry. It's strong but retains its softness (maybe as a function of how dry it is?). Beautiful.

[Monster]

This is a lot more citrusy than I expected it to be. It's like fresh sitrus and cedar. ..totally not what I was expecting

[Little Bird]

Mmm. White Sandalwood is truly swoon-worthy

 

I agree with other reviews that have said this is reminiscent of cedar. It doesn't smell as strong or smoky as BPAL's cedar usually does on me though. It has the warm spicy woods smell that you get from smelling an old cedar chest. It's very dry and comforting. I love it. I just wish that it lasted longer on me, after about a half hour I can't really smell anything at all. I'd still buy a bottle if it were ever available though.

[UltraViolet]

BPAL blends which use white sandalwood (vs. Red Mysor, Blackened) as one of it's ingredients:

Damnation, Dragon's Bone, Fallen, Hakkotsu, Kuang-Shi, Kyoto, Ode on Meloncholy, Nefertiti, Oneiroi, Seraphim, Shroud, Spectre, Stardust, Thanatos, The Black Tower, The Raven, Veil, Zephyr, Vicomt De Valmont, Utrennyaya.

 

In the bottle Here's what the bottle looks like, http://pic7.picturetrail.com/VOL202/154131...8/120520732.jpg

It's that lovely familiar smell. Sandalwood always reminds me of these lovely carved sandalwood fans that my uncle brought my mom while he was stationed in Japan when I was a girl. It's a woody and dry smell of course but there's that totally warm and addictive part about Sandalwood, that seductive presence it has. It's a serene smell and all that because of the connection with incense, meditation, temples that Sandalwood has, but it so sensual to me because of that musk-like twinge of scent which lies on top of the dry wood odor.

*swoon*

On

This White Sandalwood single note blend is lightly cedar-ish when initially wet on my skin, then after about 5 seconds the cedar quality fades and the dry scent of sandalwood takes over luckily and I smell that sort of nutty qualioty too now after a few seconds. That is what I like about white sandalwood that subtle nutty quality that doesn't turn too rubbery smelling.

One of the most precious things I own is a sandalwood pencil given to me by a forum member once. Apparently all the smell cannot be sniffed out with freakishly repetitive sniffing, but maybe now I can give the pencil a break.

30 minutes

It just gets better in that it gets drier and mellower smelling. The strength of scent is diminshed more than I'd like in a single note dangit but that's the unfortunate thing with most single note sandalwood in general on my skin, not just bpal.

Throw:

average

Scent category:

Woody/Incense

Summary

Subtle, serene yet sensual. An dry, airy, nutty, wood scent. I have to compare once again but I think I like the white sandalwood more than the red Mysor sandalwood.

Purchase again?

Yes.

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sandalwood

 

On Skin: So beautiful… once you smell this as a single note, you can smell it other blends so easily. It’s a nice, light woody note. Dry and slightly powdery… not sappy at all. I get a bit of a masculine feel from this but that’s usually how I feel about woody notes. It has a very light throw, you really have to inhale to get a good impression of it. It’ sweeter than other woods like pine and cedar. Smelling this now, makes it appear an obvious note in Stardust, Thanatos an Vicomnt de Valmont… just to name a few. After about 20 minutes… I notice something not so good. It kind of smells like… pee… yeah… urine. But only slightly… if I concentrate too much. Then it goes back to being a powdery wood. Hmmm… that is a little odd but that’s what I got from it.

[edenssixthday]

White Sandalwood - What a fascinating and complex single note. This is definitely the dry, arid scent of sandalwood, but it's not nearly as woody as I expected -- it's got a citrus-like quality that I'm thoroughly fascinated by since my favorite white sandalwood scents are those that contain citrus, as well. Over that light citrus aspect of this note, there is a facet of something that I can only describe as the scent of rocks. I don't pick up on the "pepper" note that other reviews note. I don't believe this makes a good scent on my skin by itself, but I still love it in citrus blends like Shadow. As with all sandalwoods, it lasts forever and a day on my skin, but the throw of the white sandalwood is fairly light.

[supremegoddessofall]

A beautifully mellow sandalwood which is absolutely lovely on my skin.

[zankoku_zen]

Creamy cedar smell, almost peppery wood. Light citrus swirl. This is a very nice sandalwood/incensey smell.

 

ETA:

From the bottle, definitely a much more cedary sandalwood. On wet, I get a citrus/lemony. Smooth.

Edited May 29, 2015 by zankoku_zen

[cfrancesca]

This is very different than I'd imagined, I usually seek out scents with White Sandalwood (because I love creamy sandalwood), but I'm not sure I like this SN. White Sandalwood starts of as creamy and soft nag champa, a little bit of sandalwood, and some cedar, which is making it have a lemony-like edge.

 

It settles into a softly incensey, complex and slightly creamy sandalwood/cedar.

[saralaughs]

A peppery and slightly lemony wood note. Not as dry or brittle smelling as I expected. I kinda like it for it's almost incensey quality.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant bought off eBay

 

Initial Thoughts: Sandalwood at times has seemed to be similar to the musk family when it comes to my skin chemistry: the darker it is, the more strongly it amps on me and swallows other notes. I usually avoid blends that list sandalwood next to something like musk, myrrh, incense, and amber. So, the chance to try sandalwood all on its own will help me have a better idea of when a sandalwood scent might work.

 

In the Vial: A bright woodsy scent. While I don't smell any actual lemon in it, I understand the citrusy impression. It's lighter than an evergreen scent, very golden.

 

Wet: Now it smells more like wood. Much more like cedar, it loses that golden impression. It's still nice and sweet, but not quite as sparkly-warm.

 

Drydown: Interesting! As it dries it's developed something of a floral quality on me. Something very sweet and subtle has really softened the edge, creating a gentle scent that hovers between spring and summer outdoors.

 

Verdict: I will add this to my precious little store of single notes and I will be more likely to try blends with sandalwood when it's not paired with any of my usual death notes.