Santal Blond

Коли я тільки спробувала свої перші аромати від Atelier Materi, вони здавалися мені холодними, відчуженими, суворими. Але в міру того, як я вивчала парфуми цього бренду, робила нові відкриття, читала інтерв'ю засновниці Веронік Ле Біан і про її натхнення видами рідної Бретані, я відчувала, що ця «холодність» насправді відвертість, це почуття і думки, заховані у флакони. Я бачила перед собою пейзажі Бретані, вони здавалися суворими, але щирими. Скелі, що звисають над морем, виявилися твердою опорою. Темне, бурхливе море в своїй глибині віддавало спокоєм. Холодний вітер, що обдував обличчя, не намагався заморозити мене, він зробив мої думки ясними і наповнив груди свіжістю. А сонце на горизонті м'яко зігрівало мене і відкидало на м'які хвилі свої промені, які здавалися золотою тіарою на темному, шовковистому волоссі. Все це викликало в мені почуття душевного спокою, нарешті в голові перестав дзижчати рій думок і настала цілюща тиша. Santal Blond став моїм улюбленим ароматом Atelier Materi. Він діє на мене заспокійливо, медитативно. Всі ноти створюють гармонійну композицію, в якій немає нічого зайвого і яка огортає мене як м'яка, прохолодна вода. Перші хвилини я відчуваю пряність і пікантність кардамону і бергамоту, але вони не надто зелені і не надто яскраві. Вони звучать, як м'яка, ніжна, трохи волога зелень в похмурий день, яку колише вітер. Далі я чую м'яку, світлу деревину сандалу, ця нота викликає відразу подвійне відчуття: тверда, світла кора і м'яка, ароматна деревина. Я не відчуваю яскраво вираженого аромату жасмину, але можливо він підкреслює світлі відтінки сандалу і допомагає створити відчуття заземленості. Аромат залишається зі мною ще 3-4 години, але стає більш інтимним, як друга шкіра: сандал став ще м'якшим, більш вершковим, боби тонка дають легку, ледь помітну чуттєву солодкість. Ще я вловлюю щось бальзамічне і заспокійливе, можливо це хінокі? Я ношу цей аромат із задоволенням, він комфортний і затишний, як м'яка пухова ковдра, прохолодна зовні, але тепла всередині. Він дарує почуття спокою і безпеки, він щирий, чесний і сповнений любові.

I pick up all the listed notes, with the initial spray being bergamot and cardamom before into a sweet combination of a Hinoki, Jasmine and sandalwood scent. I can see slight similarity to Wonderwood and Samsara, but Santal Blond stays closer and feels more complex and modern in a good way. An interesting aspect I pick up with the mix of notes is that this feels slightly foodie. I’m thinking the tonka note and cardamom are tricking my nose into thinking I smelling some spice cake in a bakery. No one else is mentioning this so it could just be my chemistry. Immediately after sampling Santal Blond I ordered the Discovery Set direct from Atelier Materi. Of course, as a collector I wish that the company sold their creations in smaller sizes (30 or 50 ml) because it will need to knock my socks off for me to buy a 100 ml at retail price of $260, the only downside I can think of at the moment.

Clean, bright, luminescent sandalwood. I mean this as the greatest compliment when I say that it’s a basic sandalwood scent; as in the perfumers let the sandalwood shine in its natural glory and every other note supports it. The santal here isn’t pickled or dry, but it’s bright, lightly spiced and has a natural sweetness and creaminess. From start to finish, it feels very natural, nothing synthetic or overly powerful. That said, it does leave a delightful scent trail for the first few hours. It feels more Spring/Summer than Fall/Winter and being a cleaner type of wood, it’s a bit more versatile and office safe than others of this type.

I love this scent so much, it’s not about smell, it’s about the feeling I have wearing it. Put this on with your favourite suede jacket and high knee boots - you’ll feel sexy, rebellious, one of a kind

Beautiful sandalwood with a bright citrus opening. Dry and airy but doesn't project much or last very long. Perfect for times you just want to smell good but not make a splash.

Natural sandalwood, using pure natural fragrances... Nutty notes on me. Very happy to have bought this unique beauty. Not unique per se but very natural smelling.

This perfume is exquisite, an excellent sandalwood, but after 3 hours it’s gone... and it’s super expensive for how long it lasts.

THIS! It smells like luxury. To me it is soft and can be worn during the day. I love scents like this. It lasts all day as well.

santal 33 with the pickle patched out

Perfectly likeable sandalwood in that happy medium spot on the spectrum from greener, masculine, more-herbal 'white' kinds (SL Santal Blanc, Tam Dao, even Santal 33 etc) at one end to sweeter, creamier, coconut-adjacent, more-femme blends (Santal Basmati etc) at the other. OK yes fine. Smells lovely - as you would expect, or indeed demand, from the generally really impressive Atelier Materi and its stiff pricing. BUT - it does lack originality, has no spicing, and very little distinctive about it. Gentle and creamy texture, for sure; powdery sweet softness, check; overwhelming beauty, perhaps not so much. Somehow I feel bad to demur from its friendly, cuddly aura, it's like being mean to a pretty-but-dumb labrador puppy but ... I had hoped for more. Definitely superfluous if you've walked many miles on the platonic-sandalwood hunt already. Made me think of Crivelli's Santal Volcanique a little - induces the same strange mix of real enjoyment combined with a bit of FOMO ("?where's the rest of it and when's it going to show up?") and disappointment with how a very witty, sophisticated brand doesn't quite live up to the hype or fill the bill. Really nice, but not spectacular. Amiable, soothing company, but it lacks real character.

I found this a likable sandalwood, a happy middleground piece between all out, Santal 33 trendy fuckery and sweet, creamy, musky, synth sandalwood goodness. It's basically a very pleasant, lightly spiced sandalwood open, reminiscent of the niche game becoming what the designer was 25 years ago. There's even some masculine trope from that period about it in the opening, bergamot and cardamom and such? It must be a thing with sandalwood accords and bases where they invoke that papyrus or nutty quality, this just about gets away with it. I like the brand, this is ok, I'm not overly keen, but it's okay. I put 'like' because I kinda do. Update 01/12/23 I wore this yesterday and feel my original apprasial still holds water, I sort of like the fact it has that offness of modern hipster Sandalwood (minus the horrors) because otherwise it might be giving me a bit too much of what I want. However, it's still oddly cloying and the sandalwood accord has lashings of what I perceieve as Javanol, a material I often praise but in reality is very tenacious and fatigues me massively. Still not a bad wear though and inkeeping with what is all in all a quality brand, not exactly setting the world alight creatively but still decent.

ok, the initial blast is full on cardamom + sandalwood. i'm writing this as i'm wearing the fragrance, and my initial thought was that this is a hybrid of gris charnel x akro awake x xerjoff zefiro. i think cardamom can be done VERY DIFFERENTLY in each fragrance, but overall there are certain types of cardamom seen in perfumery. this one resembles the likes of gris charnel up top but after a short period, that green cardamom blast fades into a creamy, masculine-leaning, kind of blue sandalwood (idk why but it kinda reminds me of shaving cream). when the sandalwood overtakes, it's like i can't anymore distinctly pick out the spice to be cardamom, it's rather like a well-rounded combo of warm spices that go sweet. It's not sharp, i don't wanna overuse the word "well-blended" but the individual elements of this are so perfectly bound, i can't think of a better word. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys ineke jaipur, bdk gris charnel, akro awake, and xerjoff zefiro, though it may be too redundant imo. it's not mind-blowing un, but it's quite good.

I bought a sample set from Atelier Materi and chose to include this fragrance in my set. I agree with most of the reviews here. This is perfectly inoffensive but it lacks a certain vitality, despite the cardamom. I think this is the lack of a real base note grounding the fragrance. This is crying out for something deep and round. The hinoki is pretty shy here, not robust enough for that job. I've never smelled the "pickle juice" note in sandalwood before, but I certainly do not get that at all here. The sandalwood is rather powdery and light - someone said it's like sawdust, and I agree it's like the air in a woodshop. It's about half as creamy as I would like; perhaps a vetiver or musk note would have helped fill it out a bit. It does indeed lean quite soapy, almost a little chemical-like, like a hint of varnish long since aired out of the woodworking studio. No bergamot in sight. I was hoping this scent would be a good use of my 10% coupon with Atelier Materi for a travel size, but I think I will pick another fragrance for that. 7/10.

This is extremely smooth, warm, and creamy. It very much reminds me of a Dunhill designer fragrance. For the first hour or two, it has a thick, honey-like quality. This combines with the sandalwood and a white floral note (I took it to be iris at first) to create a very safe, pleasant fragrance. It sits very firmly in the unisex category as it is neither masculine nor particularly feminine. There's nothing too complex about it either. This has great projection for about two hours, but then it quickly recedes into a skin scent. After about four hours, it's basically gone. This is a good fragrance albeit slightly generic.

Interesting so last year during a trip to Japan I sprayed Bois D'Ambrette and Santal Blond each on my arms. One was brighter and reminds me of Concrete by CDG, and the other one was dry and woodier. Based on desriptions I did expect the latter to be Santal Blond. So now, I got me some samples and guess what, the brighter scents was actually Santal Blond?? I wouldn't call this blond as in white/pale/light to be honest. It's bright and colorful of a scent. It's dusty, and far from a lot of sandalwoods I've smelled. Warm, cheerful, and a tad sweet/fruity somewhere!

Splendid peppery opening, energizing tonic with imperial bergamot and cardamom. Then it calms down in a relaxing and meditative sandalwood blended harmoniously with hinoki and jasmine. On my skin it accentuates the citrus side. I don't get any kind of sweetness from this. Bright, dry, tonic, morning, elegant and of quality. Recommended for an adult audience. Male trend? Likely. Forward I get a pinstripe shade that I don't mind at all, quite the contrary .. . ..I love it. Well done!

I LOVE the smell of this straight out of my sample and for about the first 5 minutes on my skin - it's perfect. (The cardamom is amaaaazing!) Unfortunately, the sandalwood dries down and gives off that dreaded slight dill smell and eventually melds in with the base notes, giving me a basic bar soap scent. Super upsetting that it doesn't seem to mesh with my skin because I am in love with the opening! If this works with your chemistry, consider me jealous. :)

This is a good, but not outstanding, sandalwood scent. It’s done in more of a soft/floral style, compared to the screechy/spicy style, which I like. The citrus and jasmine blend nicely so it’s quite unisex and wearable. I see this is as best for the office or a lunch date. But with so many sandalwood scents of the market at the moment, this one just doesn’t excite me. The longevity also isn’t brilliant.

The lightest and friendliest woody fragrance ever. Powdery, fruity, floral. The notes say jasmine but I smell something purple, heliotrope maybe? I like this but it doesn’t really *pop* for me. However, I could see this being one of those stealth fragrances that ends up being worn a lot from someone’s collection because it will work in so many scenarios. Decent sillage and longevity of about 6 hours.

I tried this on at a perfume shop and my goodness, it was love at first sniff. I felt like I was sniffing a really delicious chai at first with the cardamom, and the dry down was really lovely and a sandalwood I could only get by buying sandalwood soap in India. I think about the initial spray at least twice a day and it is still lingering on my jacket sleeve over a month later.

Excellent sandalwood. And it's a slow burner, it persists until the end. It's the type of 'dry' sandalwood, very similar to Villoresi Sandalo. You definitely get the bergamot at the beginning, and the jasmine afterwards. I even get the lemony aspect of hinoki wood, which is a great note and blends well with the sandalwood. Average performance but a really nice composition.

Sweet delicate, tobacco blossoms.. Now this one is amusing with it's floral sweet tobacco notes. It has sandawood, tonka, hints of cloves, some cardamom, & hints of jasmines while all are under the umbrella of tobacco blossoms. The whiffs between tobacco blossoms, and the sweet woody notes are amusing and very charming indeed. Beautiful.

Initial blast of cardamom with touch of bergamot, then on my skin, a green and light almost garden like feel shows up what seems like the hinoki note blended with jasmine. Supporting notes of sandalwood makes this a bit creamy. Pleasant and bit feminine but still wearable by men. Initial impression on Performance seems to be on the low.

The opening is the only point where I get hinoki, which I adore. After that it is just soapy sandalwood. Nice, but no edge.

Warmth rises up and follows me. My mind drifts to warm smiles, warm hugs. Wearing this fragrance is calm comfort.

+ I smell the cardamom immediately. Bergamot, jasmine and soft woody notes float around the cardamom.

santal mixed wit sprite. dry down is too citrusy imo.

sweet. a little powdery. soft, milky sandalwood

What you see is what you get. What you see is Cardamom, Bergamot, Sandalwood, Jasmine and Tonka. And that is pretty much what you get here. Jasmine along with woody notes is something I've never been too over the moon about trying. Even though I love the flower, it just never seems to do well in the company of woods to me (or maybe I haven't tried enough things, in which case, do enlighten me with some examples). Here, the dosage is just right so as to not be too indolic or heady and somehow is able to accentuate the Sandalwood (Javanol most likely) accord. The result is a smooth, woody, sawdust-y Sandalwood scent that opens with spiced sweetness from Cardamom, projects mostly as an elegant Jasmine backed Sandalwood, and settles as a woody Coumarin on skin. The good thing about Santal Blond is the good thing about most Sandalwood (even the variations & recreations of Sandalwood) - it is immediately singular, has a unique woody sweetness which is smooth (often lactonic but not in this case) and has almost a physiologically transfixing effect on anyone who smells it. With how beautiful the ingredient is, as a perfumer, you'd have to really bungle up to ruin a composition that features Sandalwood as a Main note. If you could bring just some clarity to the perfume, so as to let the Sandalwood express itself unadulterated, you already have a decent perfume on your hands. Which is where most modern niche sandalwood perfumes such as the Blond lie. A perfectly decent perfume. To be great, with the variety of Australian Sandalwood (and other synthetics) available at hand, clarity isn't enough. There needs to be creativity, imagination, strength in performance as well as a strength to the underlying chemistry, and above all, be emotionally engaging. Most modern niche sandalwood perfumes simply don't make the cut, and it has little to do with whether they had access to Mysore Sandalwood (which most likely none of them do at this point). They are, more often than not, perfectly decent. And there's nothing wrong with that. In the times of Sauvage and Eros, perfectly decent is something as good as perfect.

Santal Blond is one of the more well-known fragrances from Atelier Materi, but in all honesty I think it’s overhyped (usually by shills who have been gifted the fragrance through PR). It’s a pleasant enough sandalwood scent, but there’s no real presence of life or passion behind it. It starts off innocent enough with the revitalising combination of zingy bergamot and clean jasmine, before the sandalwood kicks in. The sandalwood here as a subtle air of that pickled sourness similar to Santal 33, but far more gentle and much creamier. The soft sweetness of tonka and cardamom rounds things out nicely too. Overall it’s a nice scent as I said, there’s just nothing special about it. If you like Santal Complet, I feel this does the same scent profile but better - however it’s still not anything I’d rush out to buy in all honesty.

I get some essence of coconut with tropical fruit mixed with some amber and mineral-like musk in the opening. A little later more soft wood notes, dry and almost like limestone. From an arms length away it conjures up images of some kind of floral concrete. After a while I get a somewhat genetic (but still clearly high quality) soft wood and floral with a mineral-like air. At this point I'm thinking there might be jasmine or white florals. Looking at the name and notes now, there are no surprises, just would suggest keeping in mind the fragrance is not as warm and cozy as the notes suggest. It seemed to reduce down to a skin scent after the first two hours, maintaining a lighter version of itself through most of the day. An interesting fragrance that in my experience reflected different parts of its personality.

Nice. Light, airy, a whisper. Like a candle in the wind. Gone in no time. On me, it didn't last 3 hours. Not a bad scent. But like many others, criminal for the cost to performance ratio. If you want to spend that amount, go for something else like Halfeti or maybe Gris Charnel (never tried it). If you want to save a ton, go with Liam from Lattafa. That develops with a bit more character and lasts longer. I would wear that any day over this. If you are a serious collector, the bottle is a plus and longevity may not be a concern. But I rarely am willing to fork out that much for something that will not make it to lunch.

Straight to the point, I like this fragrance. But... For the first hour, I smell nothing but blood orange. Blood orange? Well...that's what I get. After about an hour, that calms down--but in order to get any woody note of substance I have to dig my nose into my skin. Every note I smell is good, but I think (as some others have mentioned) that this could benefit from a little more depth in the base. A bit more strength in the base--more wood...maybe musk...something to make this a little more of substance. That all said, I do like the fragrance--I just don't love it or see the need to wear it often.

Yes, it’s very close to the skin and went sour on me really fast and stayed that way. It was disappointing because it says it has hinoki and Tonka in the dry down which are two of my favorites. I don’t wanna say pickle but close. It’s definitely not a projector so very easy to take off if that tells you anything.

This fragrance closely aligns with a unique character and style. The presence of Santal remains consistent, offering a continuous scent experience from start to finish... It's not boring...

I loved this on paper but somehow on skin, there's a note that's kinda fecal. Does anyone know which note that would be?

An easy to like straight ahead sandalwood. Runs soapy in the drydown. Also I find it intimate, lasts about 4 hours.

I can't be the only one who thinks this smells a bit fecal. Maybe it's the Tonka bean + jasmine combo

A huge flashback for me to Comme des Garçons “Wonderwood”. I think the tonka and jasmine make a sticky/dirty combination here. Heavy in cardamom which is giving hints of burned rubber. Where Wonderwood leans masculine, Santal Blond is, although thicker, more feminine.

چوبی ادویه ای ها معمولا عطرهای قوی و با شخصیتی هستند ولی این یکی خیلی ضعیفه با قیمتی که اصلا برازنده اش نیست

this smells like a nail salon lol

To begin with, I'm quite a fan of the whole Atelier Materi collection. Santal blonde is one of the, at least, top three favourites. The opening is just beautiful. Everything is done right. A rich quality impression, as in high quality raw materials. Very coherent. I have some trouble deconstructing it, which from my point of view is what signifies a good composition. A sweet, masculine sandalwood with that something else in the background that really elevates it. Is it the hinoki? Or is the bergamott? I think it's the hinoki that makes this one a winner. With the very sweet and intense beautiful sandalwood as the main note. Masculine-leaning. Cosy rather than sexy. Perfect for fall. Wear it everyday. It's not loud (but not quiet either). It doesn't overpower. Really a perfect everyday perfume. I only wish it lasted a bit longer. Performance is really fine, but not exceptional. So have that in mind.

It's nice, but not anything amazing. It's a very soapy sandalwood, and the woodiness feels very clean and fresh (likely the addition of hinoki wood contributing to this). Sits very close to the skin, and after it dries down you get some slight sweet powdery notes from the cardamom and tonka. A bit different from the sandalwoods I gravitate to, which are a bit creamier, spicier, and woodier. Maybe you'll like this if you want a fresh, clean, unisex, woody scent. I've heard this could be an alternative scent for Tom Ford Santal Blush (not a dupe to be clear, just something that'll give you the same vibes), but not sure I agree with that. TF Santal Blush is much spicier and headier. Do not get this if you want something that smells similar. I feel like this smells more like sandalwood bar soap than anything else - gives me fresh out of the shower vibes.

Sandalwood is supposed to evoke a sense of divinity and calm within a person, thereby de-stressing and relaxing him. This one does that beautifully! This is a lovely, airy sandalwood with traces of cardamom and some floral nuances. For people who like their sandalwoods heavy and extra-woody this probably wouldn’t appeal that much. But for those that like perfumes in the likes of sacred wood and tam dao this one would surely tick all the boxes. I certainly rate it higher than those two. Only lacuna being the projection of the scent, as it is with most fragrances of this genre. My first trial from this house and it has impressed me. Have you tried out this perfume or house yet?

Soft cardamom and woods first on. Wears the same; softly woody, a hint of eraser, a hint of some scream, but oh so faintly. Dries to about the same, a soft wood blend, but very faint. A nice soft wood scent without offense, but as others in this line, I find it fades so very fast to about nothing. I'm not demanding in my scent: I don't want to clear a room or leave behind my fragrance ten minutes after I've left, or bring down small birds. I am an undersprayer so I don't invade others' territory with my scent, but even so, this is WAY too fleeting for the price. Pretty bottles though.

A kind of diet version of Santal de Mysore or Santal Blush--has that milky sandalwood-meets-cumin-meets-sweets feel but without the interesting edges and nuances of those scents. Its transparency is perhaps its selling point--when the Lutens or TF feels a bit too much, this is a great alternative. Otherwise, it doesn't have much to recommend itself. Besides feeling "less concentrated," I'm sure it's lightened with some ozonic and fresh notes. Meh.

Santal Blond is what it says, it does smell like white wood. The sandalwood here feels realistic and raw, although it has the vibe of ‘dusty cupboard’ like the one in JhAG Sunny Side Up. Only here, it’s more complex and interesting. Tonka bean and cardamom adds the warmth and brings out the character of sandalwood even more. The addition of jasmine gives a bit of a twist as it adds the indolic scent to the juice. Complex and lovely this one.

If all you want is sandalwood, sandalwood is all you will get in Santal Blond. Woody and powdery - a rich, creamy, true to form sandalwood. With a citrus like brightness at the top, this is very similar to the sandalwood oils I was raised with from the Middle East/North Africa. Sits close to the skin. It’s an intimate fragrance - mimicking sandalwood’s personality. I like it a lot.

lovely scent but not for the price of $260 USD. the only sandalwood fragrance i’ve purchased and completely used up is Tam Dao which is a bit drier than this one. the price for that one (especially on discount sites) is fair and i couldn’t spend the retail for Santal Blond. nice to have but not must have and there are much more affordable sandalwood based fragrances on the market.

Very strong resemblance to Santal blanc Serge Lutens, only that here we have more body, more depth and character coming from the caradmom. Also this is definitely more lasting than Serge Lutens which is cleaner, lighter and more fleeting skin-type scent. Santal Blanc Atelier Materi is beautiful but I still can't justify the price tag for how simple and unoriginal it is.