Santal Galore

The perfume opens with a blast of fresh fruit (durian), smoky incense and woody notes. The heart is a wonderful, fresh and moist (I know people hate that word, lol) or dewy jasmine/rose floral. This makes the perfume feel fresh and liberated from the heavy smoke and wood. In the heart and drydown I get sandalwood creaminess. It is also a bit musky with a chypre base of oakmoss and perhaps labdanum or other resins. Two things: 1) This perfume will improve over time and the sandalwood will bring things together. Perhaps in 6 months to a year, the perfume will have a denser, more sandalwood-forward quality; and 2) perhaps this isn't the sandalwood monster everyone was hoping for, but when has anyone experienced a sandalwood overload in a perfume? Sandalwood is a supporting note, a fixative, a soft, woody base to support other notes. My favorite way to wear this is to swipe some sandalwood essential oil on my wrists and neck (I also put sandalwood oil in my hair) and then spray this perfume on. This is a great perfume, perhaps not the greatest ever, but time will prove this to be well-worth coveting. I certainly do not regret purchasing the complete pre-order.

I wish he'd make something like this again without the ultra exclusivity (Don't get me started on China Oud)... It is the most "interesting" fragrance in the collection, and the scent profile is mostly "yellow." Sampling this fragrance is like watching a late night show hosted by sandalwood—never supposed to take center stage, but the presence is always there; sometimes it's like a bad host trying to hog the screen but never truly succeed. A variety of guests come and go for the interviews while some just sit there waiting to have a word. The durian is like the headline where it gets touched on briefly but isn't really the focus. The stage is always shared, so if you're looking for a one-note entertainment look elsewhere! Once it ends, oakmoss comes on with sightly more vigor, which makes it a more exciting affair imo.

I wish I have never tried this because it is so expensive to buy decants these days. You won’t even find a full bottle unless you are very lucky (less than 300 bottles made). Spraying this on a cold evening is not comparable to anything I have ever smelled before. There is this fruity and tropical note of durian soaked in sandalwood that feels so addicting that you can’t stop smelling your wrist the whole day. There is nothing comparable to this. Russian Adam needs to release Santal Galore II. I know that there were issues with crytalization on sprayers because it is so concentrated, but this perfume is too good to disappear. I have tried 12+ Areej perfumes and this one still ranks as #1 for me.

A Smokey, tangy, sandalwood- Chypre genre-bending masterpiece. This perfume took a while to grow on me. I first sampled it in the heat, and the durian note dominated. However, in the cold, this perfume blossoms into its full self. The Smokey sandalwood shows its true face, and completely balances the perfume. The opening is tropical durian, combined with whispy sandalwood incense. In the heart, I get minor florals, but still, that Mysore goodness. Finally in the base I’m treated to an oakmoss, musk, and sandalwood drydown like no other. If I could wear this every day, and never run out, I would; however, I can’t...so I have to reserve this for special winter nights.

This is such a multi-faceted perfume! There's a crisp, cream tutti-frutti green banana-esque top note from durian that pervades throughout, on top of dense vintage florals and hot spicy sandalwood. I get a vintage Opium vibe as there are shared ingredients between the two but Santal is far more hip and elegant like sitting on a wood deck sipping crisp champagne watching the sunset on an exotic holiday. Santal does not have the cloying heat of Opium, there is a freshness to it (the oakmoss?) which makes this more of a summer perfume for me - but I love oriental notes in the warm weather.