Santal des Indes

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. As much as I adore Lubin Idole this stuff might just be even better. A boozy, incense and slightly leathered, sweet smell with a hint of creamy sandalwood smoothness in a long and drawn out drydown. Like some stumptuious cocktail expertly crafted by a fine mixologist to have the perfect balance of elements. I love it and I want a bottle. I wasn’t expecting that, but way to hit a home run from the first of this brand I sampled. Also, expensive stuff but actually pretty reasonable considering the quality and volume of perfume you get. It’s a low lying scent but that’s it’s nature, still lasts and projects well. Update: 10/07/24 So I’ve owned this perfume for a few years now and although it still enjoy it, I was somewhat fooled by the intensity of its composition as being ‘better’ than Idole, sentiments uttered in the review above. It’s really not. Idole is a much more nuanced version of this for two main reasons, lighter, less syrupy, boozy and fruity top notes. The sandalwood accord and dry, woody AC’s in the base are exposed for what they are in this and as such leave it lacking that extra bit of finesse.

This is great, after a few wears I started searching for other sandalwood and curry leaf fragrances. The two match so well without smelling sweaty or foody. This really shape shifts from a cool boozy sweet liquorish and incense combination, into a warm smooth wood and spice concoction. The curry leaf spices give the familiar spice and sandalwood a uniqueness and the liquor keeps the incense and wood from being churchy. I get about 8 hours most of which is very perceptible but it mostly wears close. The only thing I don’t really get are the florals, but I don’t miss them. This checks all the boxes as far as I can tell, quality ingredients, good performance, uniqueness and can be found for a very good price. A great fall and winter choice!

#834 in my "Tour de Fragrance" This decant is my first fragrance from this house and I'm thinking I should have given them a try early on. This is a great date night scent with great performance and sold at a fair price. It's leaning oriental, but not over-the-top oriental for western tastes, could be overpowering or offensive with more than a light application. You could wear it to work if there's someone there you're interested in, but again, go lightly, and if you car pool, forbear. Perfectly balanced incense, florals and woods. Kind of rawhide leather note. Probably a little to the right of unisex, but most of the women in my circles would wear it. Cold weather scent. I'm definitely in for a bottle!

This is what an expensive Oud fragrance should smell like. The combination of the Sandalwood and the Incense is so well blended along with the sparkling Absinth at the top, that it gives a royal aroma of burning expensive oud chips. It's a very up-class and elegant fragrance that you might wear on any season and any occasion. Performance is just superb in terms of both projection and longevity. Even though the 'Oud' note is not listed, but the incense used must be coming from the smoke of the burning Oud. Here is my score: Scent: 9/10 Projection: 9/10 Longevity: 9/10 Sillage: 7/10 Versatility: 9/10

I feel like I've smelled this before too, and I like it so much I'm guessing I must have bought it so I'll be double checking my collection to see if I find a similar one. Not my favorite from the line but pretty close. I just wish the bottles were somehow different from each other to add "flavor" visually to one's collection, in case one buys more than one. Eh... yes, bottle design matters to me (while I'm on the subject, Mugler should have let the professionals design the A*Men bottles, they are aweful, don't do justice to the juice inside).