Allegra Magnifying Sandalwood

I smelled this at Saks today and OMG-this one, so, so good. I had no idea straight sandalwood could smell so good. Obviously Bulgari is getting some high end sandalwood oil because this smelled nothing like some of the screechy, hay like sandalwood I've smelled in the past. This one was so smooth and creamy. I thought it might have some vanilla in it because it was also slightly sweet. This is definitely FB worthy for me. Probably my favorite thing I smelled today and I smelled TF, PDM, MFK, Guerlain, and Jo Malone today. This must be some expensive sandalwood oil because the bottle was pretty small (40 mL) and it was $190. Cute bottle, it looked like a big, wrapped hard candy and it was solid white. Very simple bottle, very simple fragrance, but still divine. This would be fantastic for layering if you wanted to add the creamiest woody note to other fragrances. Saks had a deal today that if you spent $250 you got a $50 GC. Not a bad deal if I needed to re-up on my PDM, then I could have gotten this for $140 and that would have been worth it then. It's just not worth $200 in my book, though. I mean, $180 per oz. is VERY expensive for straight sandalwood. Then again, this kind of sandalwood is pretty much an endangered specie. BTW, Sandalwood from Urban Outfitters does NOT smell like this. I tried it and was super disappointed.

Another good sandalwood scent. Similar to Santal33 only so much as the fact that they both smell of sandalwood. This is not pickle-like. (ie. not sourish) This is creamy yet extremely airy. Comparing lightness of scent, this is stronger than Another13, but will still probably be overpowered by normal everyday ambient scents. The main usage of this is to accentuate sandalwood in other sandalwood perfumes, or to add sandalwood to other non-sandalwood perfumes. Also you can use this solo if you’re going into a secluded area and want sandalwood scent for relaxation or meditation purposes. Let me edit this a bit. On clothing, after 24 hrs, this got an even stronger projection power as compared to when first sprayed and, drum roll..., it got even closer to Santal 33.

Found a good deal and added it to my collection! So happy to have this little known gem in my perfumes. Sandalwood of this type is a rare endangered specie and the newest type of sandalwood is a bit screechy and more like a cedar than a smooth, almost balsamic woody note. It really is so creamy, slightly sweet and beautiful-reminiscent of a lovely smooth vanilla. Not at all like the cedar-like Santal 33. IDK what others are talking about-this has EXCELLENT longevity of me. I can smell this 7-8 hours later on me. It's not a huge projector but it projects enough to where others can smell you and its appropriate to wear to work, school. This works as a great layering fragrance to add a woody boost to anything.

Smells like Sunny Side Up, Milky Musk, and Parisian Musc. This is just more woody with slight cedar nuances. Parisian Musc by Matiere Premier and Milky Musk smell very similar to me and this is in that same category, just this has stronger woody aspects and is not a skin scent. It's Almost 1:1 for Parisian Musc. Not sure which one is a better deal, I got lucky and got this brand new on Mercari for $60. I think this retails for $190 for 40mL. If it's the woody note you're after than this is the one to go for as this one performs much better for me.

Creamiest and smoothest sandalwood around. It reminds me Santal Royal Guerlain but more natural, pure and rounded. I was thinking to buy something else from this collection Allegra (that I love) but ended up with this one this time.Highly recommended.