Palo Santo

Well, that was unexpected (kind of.) Carner Sceptic Status: Cancelled. The omens were not good. I often love this house's ideas but find they're not formulated well enough for the interesting openings to last. Not here. And I often balk at over-sweet gourmands, anything milky, or too much tonka or vanilla. But not here either. And that's all because: this is a gorgeous scented con trick, and I write that with admiration. It is like a vegan cake more delicious than you ever thought such a thing could be, or a WW2-era British cook making something edible out of tiny skimpy rations. It's a triumph of substitution. I am crazy about guaiac wood (gaiac, gayac, palo santo, call it what you like, I LOVE the stuff) in anything. The amount of real, genuine woody palo santo in this is probably minuscule; yet the other ingredients are doing an amazing job of mimicking and stretching its beautiful, warm, welcoming, orange-ish natural accord. Sure, there are moments when this teeters along the line between seductive and sickly. Particularly in the middle few hours the milk bubbles up strong, and what's more it's that borderline-burnt, nearly caramelised note of hot milk ... yet it JUST swerves turning into sticky custard and ends up reminding you of beautiful guaiac wood again. Not a bad party trick at all. For extra thrills: this one also neatly dodges the other Carner pitfall of weak longevity, and as a bonus triple-point score manages to age gracefully. It doesn't just last 6 to 8 h on skin (so better than average than most Carners for me), it also tends to smell smoother and woodier and a little more unisex, rather than just sweeter and blander, in the later phases. It's still recognisably a Carner - that powdery-woody-light-spicy thing they do with a few conciliatory almost-floral notes up top - but this time around the formula really works. This one is not QUITE yet up there with m favourite palo santo scents in the whole world, but it has kinship with all of them. In sweet, almost gourmand character it approaches Micallef Gaiac (but without the cloves or spice, which is actually a shame) - almost Lutens Bois Vanille-like, which for my taste only, is not necessarily such a good thing; it has something of the heft of Visconti Bois de Gayac but not quite as much dignity; but still, despite all the sweet stuff it always hangs onto the deeper, smokier, woodier tang of something 100% genuine like Abdes Salaam Attar's pure Gaiac Wood. Still probably a little overpriced at full retail and it might get a little choking on a really hot humid day. All the same: it came, it lasted, it conquered (me). A respectful salute and an apology for not taking this one seriously before testing it, house Carner!

A very nearly an orgasmic opening for me. Palo santo is right up my street in oh so many ways, it smells like as if Alessandro Gaultieri made a gourmand. This is the acceptable and enjoyable side of the warm milk fragrance because it's a little smokey and woody unlike a jeux de peux for example. Boozy, tonka bean but with gourgeous guiac wood underneath, grounding it and adding a hint of spice and earth and most importantly curbing some of that sweetness. The only downside and this seems to be a theme of my reviews of niche perfumery at the moment, is the longevity. I never used to be someone who associated a high price or exclusivity with long lasting performance, not all fragrances need to last or have massive trails. However, I do feel a little short changed when they fade in a hour or two. This is usually exacerbated by the fact many of these niche scents open so strongly you think, wow I'm gonna be smelling of this for a week and when you can barely smell it an hour later, it just kinda sucks. Anyway Palo Santo looses some of it's complexity in the drydown and gets a bit sweeter and creamier, more vanilla like basically but very close to the skin. Only a minor complaint because this is an amazing fragrance with lots to enjoy. Update: The second time wearing PS and it's lasted much better although it's primary on clothes but that's still fine. Also I noticed in the opening it was a little reminscent for a second of Rochas Man but hugely high end and much better, thicker and more complex mind. Then the deep drydown like 6-8 hours + smelled a lot like Givenchy Play Intense, another fragrance I really like but didn't start out that way. All these comparisons are only slight and even if they weren't still positive because I own and like both, PS has a lot going for it.

I took a gamble on this "gently used" perfume because the notes sounded intriguing and the price was just right. Now, I should warn you: this isn’t your typical safe blind buy. I personally happened to fall in love with it instantly, but if you’re not into deep, rich, woody scents, you might want to sample it first—and even if you think you are. This fragrance is like a sophisticated cousin of "By the Fireplace," minus that 'I-just-went-camping and fell in the ashes' vibe. The top notes? They’re a bit peculiar but they only stick around for about 3 minutes. When you first spray it, it’s like sniffing the back of an old antique furniture whilst sipping a hot rum. Seriously, it smells like wood, warmth, and a touch of sweetness. And booze. It’s soothing, familiar, and just a bit mysterious. Then, in true niche fragrance fashion, it evolves. After a few minutes, the sweetness emerges. I get creamy vanilla, milk, tonka bean, and a comforting, almost lactic vibe. The rum dissapears for me. There’s also a sweet, musky note that transitions beautifully to the final act. The real magic happens in the dry down. The sweet musk gives way to slight woodsmoke and sandalwood. On me, the finish is woody, like a DISTANT winter bonfire with a creamy vanilla milky backdrop. There's also something unfamiliar and mysterious that might be the devana note, which supposedly smells like tea. The longevity is fantastic—it lasts all day on my skin. And that’s a relief because there’s nothing worse than a fabulous scent that vanishes by midday, especially when you’ve paid a small fortune for it.

After years of waiting for an Australian release, Brisbane’s Calexico and the online Sydney/Melbourne store Saison finally stocks it. And with the notes as described, Carner Barcelona’s Palo Santo smells exactly as I imagined and I couldn’t be happier for it. Anyone here have a nostalgic memory of White Rabbit candies? If you still like them, you’re definitely in luck— like said candies, Palo Santo has a lovely-lovely melty milk fragrance but unlike the one-note simplicity of candy, with it’s savoury guaiac smoked wood salt, and some sophisticated fermented rum breeze (much like the whiff one catches of the drink once taken as it trails from inside one’s breath) Palo Santo is good for grown-ups. You’ll be pleased to know it has that edible rice paper smell of the White Rabbits thanks to the faint vetiver and the hyperreal sandalwood. Bonus for the wood salt, boozy after-ambience, and sandalwood anchoring this scent back into wearability than, say, a perfume I had (for example) which just smelled of frosted wheaty doughnut and unlike Palo Santo, this example perfume never develops fried yeasty warmth (or even its promised tangy apricot!) so it basically was just air-thickening sugar frosting. Thank god for Palo Santo’s smoky-savoury, rummy savinness. (I also smell something here which lends it some austerity... benzoin? but, like, crossed with fire-roasted hazelnut and some leaf herb which i suppose is the artesmia.) Blind buy worthy. *note: Brisbane’s Calexico is in-store only. For online orders, head to Saison.

It's been two years and this is the creamiest, buttery milk perfume I've ever tried and I LOVE the smell of cookies and cream. Used to be sold at Fortitude Valley in 2019 but has since quickly sold out. Can be found at Saison's e-store for $165AUD which is a pleasant price drop from its previous $219 price. This satiates my sweet tooth. Cookies and warm milk made of holy myrrh-y water in a warmly fragrant sacred palo santo wood bowl? I've got to have this again, and by the time I do I still confirm this as one of my favourite, if not THE favourite niche gourmand perfume of mine (anything else gourmand, simply buy from Solstice Scents.) Consider Unique-E's Chocolate Makes Me Happy for the dark melty cocoa counterpart to Palo Santo! 2023 Edit: This is not as gourmand as I made it sound to be in 2021, it's more like a Bailey's Cocktail than ice cream. Also the milkiness is off-set by warm powdery balsam and ambers which adds to its strange opening but it's definitely rum-like for better or worse. Having heated real palo santo, it lacks the beautiful lemony-ness that comes with the air purifying holy wood but the dry down is reminiscent nonetheless. If you want gourmand, buy Casamorati's Lira you won't regret it (I own a bottle myself.) FINAL EDIT: Palo Santo as a layering perfume, crossed with any tobacco perfume is delicious. Also personally layered with Dolce Almafi and 902 Bon Parfumeur: Cognac, Tobacco for that full fruit-tobacco-rum effect <3