Sandalwood Scents

[euterpe414]

For me, ultimate sandalwood scent is definetely Velvet! Actually, at first it smells quite chocolatey and then it is just pure, yummy sandalwood. Mmm Mmm.

[sookster]

oh yes...velvet and underpants...without a doubt the most divine sandalwoods ever created

[valentina]

My diva friend sookster has already mentioned Underpants, but I think the combo of saffron and vanilla and sandalwood is brilliant. I also love Khujurajo, because the sandalwood actually permits me to wear the florals that are included in that blend. It's just a gorgeous, exotic, incensey scent.

[fiddledragon]

I'll second Tushnamatay, Cathedral, Aureus, and Jezebel :-) Anne Bonny and Velvet are also very sandalwood on the drydown, but on me turn scary and harsh, so I can't review them fairly. I'll also add Midnight Mass, which on me is wonderful warm resiny sandalwood.

[opheliaslily]

Been a while since this post has had new blood.

 

Ode on Melancholy is gloriously sandalwood on me. White musk and white sandalwood with a little high citrus floral kick. A new favorite for me.

 

I'm ever so glad that I ordered an imp of this in my last order then.

 

I think that Snake Oil has a sandalwood scent but if it's old enough, it's mellowed by the lovely vanilla into something dreamy. In fact, I go straight to the vanilla sandalwood any time that's one of the scent choices now.

 

It's so warm and sweet and...strengthening somehow. I am woman hear me roar or something. I get something lovely and sweet and spicy from Grand Guignol as it dries down as well.

[Miss Lynx]

I know several people have mentioned it already, but I'll agree that Tushnamatay is the best sandalwood BPAL ever. Fenris Wolf is also quite sandalwoody on me, after it settles in for a while.

 

I like Sin, Aureus, Cathedral and some of the others mentioned, but they don't smell terribly sandalwoody on me. But everyone's skin chemistry is different.

[judas_kiss]

Fallen is glorious sandalwood, amber and light floral on me. It is so much better aged, though. I'll second, third, whatever the Velvet rec b/c it's all dry cocoa and sandalwood on me. It's delicious!

Edited May 25, 2006 by judas_kiss

[joseybird]

Bagdad! =D

[snowfox090]

Dragon's Claw! It is utterly perfect, and recieves -so- many compliments when I wear it. Kathmandu is also gorgeous.

[joseybird]

Underpants is imho the ultimate sandalwood scent for beginners. It isn't "OMGZWOODY!!!" being softened considerably by the vanilla and saffron. It's a wonderful "grounding" note in this blend

[Beatrice33]

I agree on Underpants as a wonderful sandalwood. It's mostly sandalwood on the drydown, on me anyway, with a wonderful hint of sweetness.

[UploadedLobster]

I think Snowfox might be my nose-twin.

 

Seconding her votes for Dragon's Claw and Kathmandu! D'sC in particular is almost pure sandalwood on me, dry and faintly sweet and gorgeous. Most people get more dragon's blood from it but for whatever reason I don't. Give it a whirl!

Edited September 26, 2006 by Uploaded Lobster

[Trish]

Another vote for Dragon's Claw here. On me the dragon's blood is quite prominant at first, but it dries down to a wonderful smooth sandalwood with just a touch of dragon's blood underneath.

 

Being a sandalwood freak quite a percentage of my first order contained it. Off the top of my head the other ones that struck me as very sandalwood are:

 

Morroco - wonderful creamy golden sandalwood and spices. I love this above all others.

Velvet - dries down very sandalwood on me, although the cocoa note sticks around which puts me off because I'm not fan of chocolately scents. If I was I would love this.

Tushnamatay - it's very light and soft, and to me seems to have cloves or maybe carnation in it as well. Beautiful but very light.

 

Cathedral was all cedar on me, and I get far more patchouli and cinnamon from Sin than sandalwood.

[lookingglass]

Morroco, for sure, is my fave. Nice and creamy wood. Sandalwood is usually pencils on me.

[shellyshells]

Yup, Morocco for me too.

Edited September 27, 2006 by shellyshells

[Chrysantza]

Thirding Morocco. Also, suprisingly, Loralei. On me, at least, the florals dry down to a very nice sandalwood.

[kraken]

Velvet is my old fave. It smells like antique silk velvet on me.

Jezebel is my new sweet'n'sophisticated fave. It fades to a nice honey sandalwood scent that's unlike anything else.

[portalkat]

I love anything with wood and I love all of the BPAL wood blends, but Anne Bonney and Tushnamatay are two of my favorites for sandalwood

[forspecial_plate]

Bumping this topic because I've been in the mood for a nice sandalwood lately. I did a search on the Lab's site and it brought up 146 results! It's in so many blends that I often sort of skip over it when I read the descriptions. For example, I forgot that The Black Tower and Dr. John Seward both have sandalwood.

 

Anyway, I've been digging Carceri d'Invenzione a lot. I think I like red sandalwood better than the white variety.

[Dark Alice]

You should really try The Ifrit!!!! It's very good.

[ivyandpeony]

Wow, it IS in 146 blends Thinking about that, sandalwood does strike me as one of those notes that is extremely versatile, especially since there are a couple of varieties. I probably own more white sandalwood blends (at least, where a variety is specified) because that seems to be the one that works well with more delicate florals, white musk, citrus and those sorts of notes - I'm thinking of stuff like Zephyr, The Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, Hunger Moon, Cytherea.

 

But I don't think I necessarily have a preference for white sandalwood! Red sandalwood can smell a little cedar-y to me on occasion although I think that could be a function of what else is in the blend as well as possible batch variations.

 

From our years(!) together on the forum I know that my scent preferences are way more girlie than yours, ForSpecialPlate, so I probably don't have a ton of gender-neutral recs that will tempt you - but I find the sandalwood does stand up to the other components in Sin (notes are amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon); I absolutely adore And There Was a Great Cry In Egypt (dark myrrh, white sandalwood, amber, hyssop, frankincense, honey, cypress, red musk, cardamom and saffron).

 

How does Morocco work on you (or, have you ever tried it)? I would guess that carnation would be the if factor for most men - but I think that the red sandalwood adds some of the spice in Morocco that I love so much.

[forspecial_plate]

Thanks, ivyandpeony!

 

I guess a lot of times sandalwood is a subtle backing note. I did try Sin today, and I do like it! For some reason it reminds me of red musk single note, though. I guess the sandalwood there is more spicy and or woody. I do like Great Cry In Egypt a lot, and just got another decant of it. When it comes down to a larger bottle purchase I would choose Carceri d'Invenzione, just because I can smell the honey in Great Cry....although it's one of the few honey blends I actually enjoy!

 

I like Tamamo-No-Mae a lot....might be more on the feminine side, but I love the soft sandalwood aspect. I guess what I'm really drooling over is the sandalwood essential oil on naturesgift.com, but at $70 for 5ml, it's a little steep.....maybe some day I'll splurge and treat myself to that, and hopefully that would last a long time. I have a small sniffie of it and really like it, and I think it would be great to layer with some bpal scents to emphasize the sandalwood a little more.

 

I like Monsterbait Underpants, even though it's a little on the sweet side. I totally forgot that Zephyr and The Ifrit had sandalwood, I've been wanting to try the latter for a while, and I might have an imp of Zephyr hanging around somewhere....I'll look for it when I get home!

[Mamacat]

The last time I sniffed Death on a Pale Horse it was super sandalwoody. I need to find an imp of my own for testing. I really like Autumn, too, from the retail only salons. Autumn and Velvet are my favorite sandalwood scents.

[ifinena]

I love The Ifrit, but I didn't remember there was sandalwood in there. I love it mostly for the musk.

The best bpal sandalwood that I have tested so far, is Svaddhinaopatika.

[biz4brent]

Wolf Moon '07 has an amazing sandalwood finish!