Santal Wood

Señorlancetti’s review below is spot on - Santal Wood is "seriously kick ass" An opulent, lush, luxurious fragrance built around a magnificent Indian Sandalwood in the style of traditional Middle Eastern perfumery. Niche perfumery whose high quality is self-evident and reminiscent of the legendary Ensar Oud (although a lot more affordable). I have a few of Ajmal’s top shelf products, mostly ouds, and the quality is superlative. Santal Wood is a rich, multifaceted olfactory symphony of bewitching beauty. Santal Wood's presentation is magnificent - impressive, stylish and redolent of luxury: the black box has a textured finish that feels like leather, a gold plaque, and a gold metal edge running about 2cm from the bottom separates the upper part of the box from its base. Inside, enthroned on the lower part of the box, the chunky black glass bottle bears a gold plaque similar to the one on the box. My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings ... This certainly isn’t cheap tatty packaging: it is a declaration that this something very special. Opening the box feels like opening the sarcophagus of a Pharoah. Or like Howard Carter opening Tutankhamun's tomb. Carnarvon: Can you see anything? Carter: Yes. Wonderful things Santal Wood is indeed a fragrance worthy of a Pharoah. An intoxicating blend of the finest, most luxurious ingredients, that smells niche, expensive and luxurious - with a sublime dry down. This is a beautiful fragrance that is like a fusion of Middle Eastern and European perfumery and combines the best of both worlds. Being an Ajmal product there is a very high probability that it contains real oud (Ajmal's speciality) rather than an accord or the kind of synthetic oud that has become such a cliché nowadays. The oud in Santal Wood is rich and beautiful, resinous and smoky - I’m not certain but I suspect it’s Assam - Oud from aquilaria agallocha . Unfamiliar with the others in the W series, but to judge by the names (Incense Wood, Amber Wood, Hatkora Wood, Rose Wood, etc) there seems to be a recurring theme. Santal Wood is, as the name implies, a woody fragrance built around sandalwood. For anyone familiar with, and fond of, Middle Eastern style fragrances this would be a very safe blind buy. Everything about Santal Wood is of the highest quality, and it smells luxuriously wonderful. Even though it contains fewer unfamiliar notes than many Middle Eastern fragrances it might prove somewhat challenging to an uninitiated Western nose at first. The sandalwood however is truly sublime and persists throughout the many hours of its lifespan. Sandalwood connoisseurs will appreciate this beauty. Very important: After opening SHAKE thoroughly before applying - Santal Wood is unmistakably niche, insofar as its components are natural and of superlative quality - the heavier constituents of this fragrance seem to settle during transport or long periods of storage so you need give it a really good shake before applying. Although I generally give fragrances a thorough shake, I failed to do so after the unboxing yesterday. So this morning I reapplied Santal Wood after giving the bottle a vigorous shake - as if making James Bond a vodka martini - and it was like a different fragrance: the sandalwood was fuller, richer and much more noticeable and in light of the fact that Ajmal built its reputation on top quality, natural ingredients, the beauty of the now-more-intense sandalwood note leads me to suspect that the high percentage of essential oils in Santal Wood may have separated and, thanks to gravity, settled - therefore it was only after a thorough shake that the full, radiant beauty of this fragrance can be experienced. Supremely elegant, Santal Wood is a sophisticated, elegant Middle Eastern style Oriental starring a full-bodied Indian Sandalwood à la Mysore and a resinous oud in a symphony of exotic notes with remarkable longevity and is magnificent dry down. This is the scent of a sybarite connoisseur, a gentleman of style and substance who appreciates the finer things in life. The image of a sheikh or an emir comes to mind, or an Ottoman Pasha sipping mint tea in a blue-and-white tiled courtyard by a bubbling fountain. Update: As well as a Pasha, Emir or Sultan, this could just as easily be worn by a princess or a queen. A lady friend loves Santal Wood and reminded me that historically all fragrances were unisex - the tradition of florals for girls and woods for boys is like pink and blue, an arbitrary, man-made conceit. The beauty of this heavenly fragrance transcends such pedestrian conventions. Santal Wood is majestic - supremely majestic - and evokes a sense of majesty with a rich, complex beauty that accentuates the dignitas of anyone who wears it, man or woman. Update May 2022 Santal Wood is easily in my top ten all-time favourites, so regal and intoxicating it has become my favourite sandalwood. Every time I wear this I love it even more. In summary, Sandalwood is the star of the show here and persists through the dry down as the dominant theme. Santal Wood is not exactly a "soliflore" - it's more like a symphony that features an accompaniment of spices and florals, oud and patchouli - so beautifully blended that the impression I have is of a sensory mosaic comprising those facets of its constituents that compliment and enhance the sandalwood theme without each individual constituent being detectable. Ajmal is my favourite label in Middle Eastern perfumery and Santal Wood is so amazingly good that anyone who enjoys sandalwood will grow to love this treasure.

I enjoy the analogy of walking through a bazaar in India or Bangladesh with the aroma of natural body oils. You feel that you're on this mystical trip of unknown. I must admit, I had never heard of Santal Wood by Ajma. The fragrance is definitely foreign to North America. I was intrigued and delighted to see a company take the time to present this fragrance in a bottle that is so unique and beautiful. Now, the fragrance, when I first sprayed this juice on my skin I definitely picked up the warmth of sandalwood and oud with a definite floral base of rose. It's interesting, sometimes I'll pickup this spicy/balsamic vib which is coming from the cucin...the good thing it doesn't last too long. I absolutely love the aroma of sandalwood, it's at the same level of quality as some of these niche fragrance at a fraction of the price. I believe that North American and European companies needs to realize that people are no longer sticking to brands they know. Like food, you want to try something different. People including myself are looking at other companies that are producing these exotic aroma and are willing to be adventurous. This juice does not disappoint if you want to try something that has a decent range of wood notes mixed with rose vib. What I enjoy the most is that sandalwood stays for awhile instead of fading away. Longevity and Sillage is excellent- very high...well past 6hrs. This is perfect for the fall-winter month's. It's more for evening wear and not something you would wear when you get up and go to work. If you weren't impressed the first time you tried it, after awhile go back you'll likely feel different. 8.5/10

Dare I say the finest sandalwood based scent ever created? This is a superb masculine Oriental scent with the most natural sandalwood accord I have seen in modern perfumery having actually been in possession of a few ml of directly sourced Mysore sandalwood. The perfume opens with notes of caraway, marigold and cardamom before proceeding to a heart comprised of jasmine, rose, ginger and cedar and finally settling into a dense base of really nice sandalwood with hints of patchouli and oud. Beautifully blended with pronounced projection and sillage and very long lasting, this is one of the best kept secrets in modern perfumery. Track it down if you can, this is swoon worthy sandalwood. Enjoy!

This is what I have been looking for. To me it is as close to perfection as may be possible. I wore it for the first time on date night and noticed a lot of people were turning around to look. No compliments but a lot of looks. To me when you put this on you go straight into Alpha mode. This may not be the best choice for everyday wear or clubbing but it is a great choice for a person above 35 who impresses. For the top notes I get floral cinnamon and maybe mace. For the middle notes I get smoke, ginseng and floral. The base notes are sandalwood and oud. I will be getting another bottle of this while I can. To me this is way better than the really high-end offerings.

I was looking for a sandalwood fragrance to compliment my NY Bond No 9 Sandalwood. Where as Bond is like the city after which it was names, bold, brash and in your face, Ajmal Santal is in a class all by itself. I immediately detected both sandalwood and oud, with a hint of patchouli to lessen the sweetness of some of the floral notes. This is a boardroom executive fragrance, aloof, yet present, understated and classy and anything but in your face. A perfectly balanced statement is made with Sandalwood coming to the forefront. A wise, smart and safe buy, an investment, and something to which no one will object, but everyone will make note of it.