Al Sandal

OK, my bottle from Areej came in. First impressions: The coumarin and saffron are the highest quality. They play an important part in highlighting the Sandalwood, which is the star of the show. I always liked woody fragrances since I started collecting heavily 10 years ago. Sandalwood is in many basenotes of fragrances. But often poor quality. This fragrance is linier and may be a bit boring for some. But I got what I wanted and expected, a great Sandalwood fragrance. It's quite smoky in a burning wood way, not like ashen incense, East Indian Sandalwood has that smoky quality. The saffron and coumarin give it spicy, nutty, leathery, earthy tones. This reminds me of LeLabo's "Tonka". It's a great smell of Tonka, but also very linier. 3 Purely woody fragrances I like more, Tam Dao by Diptyque, Benjoin Boheme by Diptyque, and Bois du Portugal by Creed. The next morning I was still smelling the Sandalwood alone in the late dry down. So very good longevity. I was glad to finally smell the Sandalwood alone, as the saffron and coumarin faded. Rating: 8.25/10 Merry Christmas, Emanuel 🎄

This is a strange one! Simple composition, and each ingredient really shines through. I get a healthy amount of saffron and, well, sandalwood! No sweeping transitions, fairly linear. The wood is somehow a paradox. Dusty, but.. wet. The color of the juice actually does a great job conveying the smell. Smell is reminiscent of a clay pot collecting rainwater. I can't say I've smelled anything like this, but I'm not certain if I love it. Smells wonderful, just maybe not my style. We'll see if I open up more to it (or vice versa)

Al Sandal ? More like Al Soothing, Al Sumptuous, Al Splendid, Al Serenity, Al Seamless, Al Silken. That's what this really is.

I really enjoy it. Was surprised how much this reminds me of maple syrup. My date said I smelled like honey 🤷🏻

The most wearable/least animalic & harmonious of the 3 & my personal favorite ! Starts off really sharp & spicy with the authentic saffron. But not only the saffron, the sandalwood which dominates the scent starts really spicy as well ! It’s spiciness ranges from marzipan & cinnamon to even curry. A light gourmandish facet, with a sweet & buttery creaminess, possibly the santalol compound found in sandalwoods, starts to lay itself on top of everything, resembling the experience of smelling pure mysore woods. Some woodiness as well in the background. I can‘t detect any clear hints of synthetics used in here. Not only me, but Frederic, artisanal perfumer from Nebiru Parvms as well. He even went out of his way to smell Jinx mentioned “Cashmeran & Sylvamber“ side by side with Al Sandal. According to him, they have nothing in common with the perfume, for me neither. All in all it’s a really well done natural sandalwood perfume that shows the different facets of the wood for a much more reasonable price than the competition (Ensar, Jinx) ! 7/10. If I could criticize anything, it would be the strong focus on indian spices ! Cinnamon is fine, but curry I only want in my food, even if it isn‘t really dominant here ! It prevented me from giving a 7.5. Had the same curry problem with Ensars Santal Sultan 2024. Sadly this collection, like almost always with ALD, wasn’t really mine. Other houses styles & qualities suit me more. But what I will say is, it was very well done, meaning it portrayed the theme & notes authentically.