Oud & Santal

Beautiful, blissful sweet lullaby that's much much more nuanced and appetising than just sandalwood and oud. The woods are certainly both there, in authentic but toned-down, well-controlled form; the oud's one of the cleaner-yet-mellower versions, more like gentle spice than stinky barnyard, while the sandalwood's a little shy at first, but blooms later on, with a lovely sweet whisper on the skin that hangs on up to 6h. But there's so much more. I smell vanilla, a whisper of lightly-caramelised sugar and cinnamon, and loads of cardamom too at first, and I wonder whether might be little dabs of some sweeter resin in there as well to keep it all pumping for longer. It's gorgeously smooth, unctuous, luxurious - a definitely really creamy texture. While not smelling of anything foodie (no eggs or milk) it seemed to keep whispering into my ear, through my nose: "Custard. Cuuuuuustarrrd. Don't you want to slurp down some custard? Or what about some creme anglaise? Or swim in a great big bowl of .... custard!... you know you waaaaaant it." I hate sickly gourmands, and this scent is a world away from the kitchen or pantry - but it still makes my mouth water, through its aromatic magic. Unisex perhaps tending slightly femme, classy enough to satisfy the nichiest sandalwood aficionado, with respectable if not amazing longevity (up to 8h on skin) though its lip-smacking opening aura won't project beyond arm's length after a couple of hours. Scary price. Still undeniably DELICIOUS.

Lets start with the drydown. After 10 hrs from applying this perfume, the scent became very common to me. The drydown smells like my grandmother’s head. Old arab ladies especially ladies from the middle of Arabian Peninsula, use something powdered on their hair called “ Rashoosh “ to help strengthen the hair and give it a good smell. The ingredients of the “Rashoosh” are little different within each tribes of arabia. Mainly a mix of dried seamróg، myrtaceae, prunus mahaleb or dried seamróg، myrtaceae and sandalwood. They add ingredients like basil, rose hip, benzoin, christ's thorn jujube, musk and saffron, depending on what was available in the past around the tribe territory. The ladies still keep traditions and uses the same ingredients generation after generation . They also use it to remember passed mothers and grandmothers, kind of honor their legacy. My grandmothers definitely used the sandalwood type of Rashoosh mixed with other herbs so do the Cartier Oud & Santal. The opening is about high quality of Oud. From my experience I can tell that excellent and naturally crafted Oud oil doesn’t last long and doesn’t cause headache when you wear it. If the supplier of the Oud oil or the perfumer wants to make it long lasting he will add chemicals and that what give you headache and sinusitis. I wore this perfume couple of times and everything is perfect, I didn’t feel headache nor sinusitis at all. Thank you for reading this long comment.

I just got my 10 ml decant of this frag. I like the opening, it's nice and the oud accord is not fecal or animalic but well blended with the notes in there. This has a perfect pair of oud and sandalwood as protagonists notes. First minute after opening, it reminds me of a certain fragrance but I still have to remember. Some folks are comparing this to Pasha de Cartier Parfum, one of my current favorites in my collection (of which I also have a back up bottle) but I am not picking a close similarity. If ever, its too minute to my nose but the DNA is there. I also thought initially that this leans more to the feminine side but as I wore it, I realized its not. As this dries down it reveals its beauty. As it continues to grow on me, I would say that this is elegance and sophistication in a bottle. It has a character and personality of its own and its a long lasting fragrance with decent performance and projection. Let me give this nice juice a 9/10 “Let us spread the scents of peace and kindness. The two most beautiful fragrance in the world that will cost you nothing and will get you a totally different kind of compliments” 🙏

I am quite taken with Cartier's《 Les Heures Voyageuses 》, simple yet high-quality compositions featuring mild oud, palatable for Western tastes, complemented by another well-chosen note. Oud & Santal is one of the best. A buttery-smooth, woody creation, the oud here is not too skanky or animalic - instead it is richly woody with a nice musky-amber undertone. Sandalwood, one of my favourite notes, is an inspired addition here, marrying beautifully with the oud. O&S opens with top-notch, natural-smelling dry oud, woody and musky. It is unmistakably oud, but a moderate and muted, not too pungent. Plum is evident from the early stages, adding sweetness that complements the woody-amber base. Creamy sandalwood follows, smooth and rich, complementing the oud to perfection. It becomes powdery as it progresses, but remains pretty consistent. It fades to a powdery, musky sandalwood skin scent, delicious until final fade. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. The overall effect is of an elegant, high-quality woody scent, beautiful in its simplicity. Perfectly unisex, this is best worn in autumn/winter. Excellent. 4.5/5.

Very exited to try on a sample I ordered, based on all the rave reviews. While it's not what I expected, I am not disappointed. Oud & Santal checks all the boxes for a mysterious, gothic fragrance, and I am here for it. ❤ My husband said I smell like an Etruscan tomb, or maybe one of those ancient abandoned road-side chapels in southern France, and tbh, he's not wrong. It smells like warm stone, dry earth, old wood, and incense -- but it's also extremely rich. (On my skin, I'm getting absolutely nothing of the dried fruits, nor anything sweet that others mention in their reviews.) This is a fragrance fit for swanky events, smoldering dresses, and hot dates -- but in these Pandemic Times, I'll also be wearing it around the house, loving my own skin.