Santal

This was a blind buy prompted by my fondness for Santal Wood from the W series. At first I wasn't crazy about this but over the last few months it has become a favourite. Ajmal is rightly famous for oud as well as the superlative quality of its higher-end offerings. This is niche quality, and that quality is self-evident. Perhaps it's my imagination but it really feels as if the composition has mellowed, rough edges smoothed, over the past few months. My initial impression of the oud note was sharp but now it seems to have become a rich, smooth Assam (Aquilaria Agallocha) which complements the sandalwood beautifully. However it is this oud, rather than the sandalwood that dominates throughout. Longevity is around three hours, so this doesn't perform as well as Santal Wood, yet it is a rich, captivating blend of high quality natural ingredients that is a pleasure to wear.

Oh yeah. Animalic oudy sandalwood!! This starts off with a pungent oud and musky sandalwood. Of course this doesn't last too long and it gives way to a creamy and rich oud and sandalwood bomb. There is an almost leather like backdrop from the cedar which makes it all the more rich and creamy. As the skank converts into a floral sweetness I find myself addicted to it's nutmeg and cinnamon like base. As the drydown continues the ginger comes out making this a very balanced sandalwood bomb.... Creamy woody animalic oudy spicy sandalwood. This is an absolute masterpiece from Ajmal. Purely Oriental and purely phenomenal. This isn't for everyone of course. This is for true lovers of sandalwood and cedar wood. (And Skankadelic barnyard oud). It lasts forever and the sillage is more than arms length. It's really intoxicating and very addictive. Bravo Ajmal!

Animalic, musky, and slightly sweet in a spicy and woody non-gourmand way at the opening which fades away in around an hour to reveal an exceptionally beautiful, well-rounded, creamy, and smooth sandalwood with a resinous malty touch, likely from the oud, balsam, and amber. Super cozy and comforting whilst also remaining classy. This perfume makes me think of classical perfumery for fur coats with elegant, strong woods and animalic notes reminiscent of those unfiltered creations from the 20's-30's. This is much better than a majority of designer scents on the market today and is definitely niche in terms of quality and uniqueness.

Warm, creamy santal wood. Similar to kilian sacred wood. Opening is mostly oud, animalic, dirty oud like from epic or laudano nero. Good lasting, strong silage. Can feel good quality ingredients. Very oriental compositon as the name suggest.

Sandalwood heaven. Perfect sandalwood for sandalwood fans. I'm not sure where people are getting animatic qualities. Even in the heat, I just get a good, creamy sandal.

I think this is a noticeably Arabic composition reminiscent of the Middle East however I disagree with the votes *Gurjun Balsam is the 1st and main note from beginning to end *Accompanied by an animalic Oud in 2nd place *Held together by creamy sweet vanillic sandalwood and spices. The opening is strong and animalic but dissipates quickly into a very wearable close-to-skin oud gourmand with hardly much sillage. It leans masculine but being a gourmand, some women can pull this off. Not much longevity though I'm frugal in spraying in order to enjoy the notes than suffer olfactory fatigue from the strong opening. If you wanted a beast, you could spray more and onto clothes as well. An Interesting composition nonetheless and overall a creamy gourmand with woody resinous and oudy undertones.

Very similar to Purely Orient Tonka which is superior, no reason to own it if you can get tonka. That being said its good and probably a banger if you are a sandalwood fan, one of the best from the line but redundant to own alongside tonka. Out of the line I have not tried saffron, cuir (who has?) and vetiver. Those that I have tried are all good fragrances and offer steady value for money, the outliner being Tonka which can compete with oud fragrances way above its price point.

Ajmal santal caters to the middle east market. I cannot deny the quality of the fragrance. But even in cold weather it has screaming oud and animal notes. These notes are too strong for my olfactory taste.

I have six of this line, and by far my favourites are Incense, Santal and Tonka. Given that they're still available for way under retail price (I paid between 45 and 60 euros for them except Tonka which was harder to find), the quality is staggering, honestly. The Ajmal DNA is recognisable, as is their distinctive, barnyard oud (real oud). The sandalwood is gorgeous in this perfume, I really don't know how they do it, even for the original retail price. If you love natural oud and sandalwood, and you don't mind the opulent style of Ajmal perfumes (or old Amouage, if you're not familiar with Ajmal) don't hesitate to get your schnozz on this. That's easier said than done, but it's worth it. It's reminding me of Silver Oud, very very similar for the first hour or so, minus the ambrarome, which is the thing I don't quite like in SOud, and this one cost me almost ten times cheaper than the Amouage would at retail! Shove that up your arse Renaud Salmon!

Just to piggyback slightly off of the last reviewer - Tshahb - I think the quality is phenomenal here and I would actually say it is superior to Amouage Silver Oud, while I do not think Ajmal Santal is as similar as some find it. You get the fermented fruits and cheeses, Assam oud vibe but with a slight fresh spiced prickle from nutmeg and balsams. The sandalwood is not a super smooth, milky and overtly lactonic sandalwood but it does smell great. This is actually what Amouage should be doing now - bombastic, lively and unapologetically middle eastern. My one gripe is that I find the performance a little quiet. You spray it, it lingers, it develops, but it definitely does not shout loud. Maybe not alot of screechy aroma chemicals in there? I dunno. I love it. And for £35 I got it for, alongside Patchouli and Tonka!

The similarities between santal and the tonka is just in the beginning. Because they have the same oud and that oud is pretty dominant in the first half hour. After the oud calms down you have this lovely, woody, creamy, mellow, soft as a cashmere sandalwood in the center of "Santal" , slightly nutty, sweet but not syrupy, very realistic tonka and some other back up players in "Tonka". Both incredible, both high quality. My favorite from the couple is "Santal" but "Tonka" is amazing as well.

This smells very similar to amir one minus the complexity and amped up sandalwood. It’s nice but redundant if you have amir one in my opinion. Performance is good up to 10 hours and sillage is great for the first 4 hours then it becomes a lingering smell that carries with you.

As the notes denote. Oud forward, takes about an hour for that to fade and expose the sweetish sandalwood. So far By Kilian sacred wood is the standard for sandalwood perfumes.

Alone? Probably not. Layered with Alien? Oh yes, please. :D