Sandal Ruby

Warm spicy heaven!!! This perfume is Cinnamon and Pepper all the way, with an amazingly aromatic Sandalwood envelope, and a very lovely Tuberose bottom which is ever so slightly fruity and sweet. By no means the tuberose makes it a floral fragrance, it just blends perfectly with the rest of the ingredients to create one, if not the most, luxurious and alluring warm spicy fragrance out there. Regarding similarities, it does have a certain shared DNA with Blessed Baraka and Psychedelic Love from Initio, although, the first one relies heavier on the musk, and the second one on the Ylang Ylang, while Sandal Ruby is more of a spicy fragrance from the cinnamon and the pepper. Sadly, what this perfume doesn’t share with the ones from Initio is performance, projection is on the lower side of moderate and longevity is only about 4 to 5 hours. Unfortunately, spicy fragrances are never good with performance, unless they include some form of synthetic molecule, which this one doesn’t seem to have. The scent is unisex slightly leaning towards women, in fact it starts a bit powdery and lipsticky, accords which fade in just a few minutes when the spiciness fully kicks in and the aroma becomes its amazing self. It’s preferably a cold or mild weather scent, and definitely wearable on a special occasion. Luxurious, intriguing, and alluring!!

Just received this today after searching for it for a while. Packaging is stunning. I usually don't keep boxes but I'm keeping this one. The red bottle is more beautiful in person. Ita definitely an attention getter. Same for the fragrance itself. At first spray this instantly reminds me of Mancera Instant Crush. But I like this A LOT better. Sandal Ruby has a smoother and not so jarring opening like Instant Crush. In the opening you can smell the spice. On my skin, I feel like I didn't smell the cinnamon too much. The dry down is beautiful. Its soft and kinda smoky without being offensive. It's like a creamy tuberose. Not a fan of patchouli but in here I don't really pick it up... this is very well blended. It definitely unisex but leans feminine. My husband really likes the way it smells on me but says although he likes it probably wouldn't wear it because it does smell more on the feminine side. Price wise - this retails for $265. However, I found it for about $130. So price for me is excellent. Although this was a blind buy for me, I don't think it is a safe blind buy. Which sucks because it is so hard to find in the US.

Another beauty from the CH confidential line. A spiced opening where cinnamon and smoky peppery notes lead the way followed by a creamy tuberose with slightly green nuances, possibly from the geranium. Then, comes the star of the show, a beautiful creamy/milky sandalwood that envelops and softens all the other notes but is grounded in subtle woodiness and a hint of vanillic sweetness in the background. Patchouli is listed as a note but I really can't pick it out. The overall impression is one of contrasts because in the opening you get that spicy hit but then the milky sandalwood and vanillic sweetness that just softens the composition making the whole fragrance just feel and smell just, comforting and cozy, like floating on a pillowy cloud. It showcases all the aspects of sandalwood and tuberose I really enjoy. It's really quite masterful and if I had to pick a fragrance that really surprised me, in the best way possible, and made me fall in love with it from this line it would be Sandal Ruby.

Really good, pretty inoffensive concoction of spices, white flowers and creaminess. It has spicy facets with the cinnamon being definitely noticeable and a slight green touch in the background (probably the geranium). Weirdly enough, the opening isn't the loudest part on my skin, it's sort of muffled for the first 20 minutes, it reveals its power after. Smells very expensive, it's a perfect work/school fragrance because as I mentionned it's rather inoffensive as long as you don't overspray. It's definitely potent, I really love it. Performance is above average, it lasts forever and is pretty strong for the first few hours before giving you a scent bubble for hours and hours. I blind bought this for a very low price (when compared to retail), and I could see this being very worth it at a discounter if you like it. Perfectly unisex.

This is a very sophisticated perfume. My friend had asked me if I wanted to use it while we were at a wedding, and once I tried it, I was extremely surprised. Carolina Herrera fragrances never disappoint, and this one went above and beyond my expectations. I strongly recommend this. I normally don’t like spicy perfumes, nor the notes in this one, but Sandal Ruby is formulated so exquisitely and magically to where it knocked me down to the ground begging for more. 10/10. Though, don’t overspray, even a single spray too much, it starts to smell a bit suffocating and scratchy, and fills your nose with a chemical smell, which is something I commonly find in perfumes with these notes.