Centuries Sandalwood

The greatest sandalwood ever. Period.

I recently bought this fragrance online, because I’m looking for a replacement for my beloved Pacifica Sandalwood. It mostly the spicy sandalwood that I smell after spraying it on. While it doesn’t last as long as I would like, it’s very nice, even if some of the reviews aren’t positive.

Thought this was discontinued, but looking closely at their site, they've just rebottled and reshuffled their line. And tripled the price. Basically, it's a strong synthetic, creamy sandalwood.

This is too strong for me. Initially it's a blast of intense chemicals. It dries to a powerful, soapy, synthetic mysore sandalwood reconstruction with a sort of grassy, herbal undercurrent. If you can test it and you enjoy strong, soapy sandalwood fragrances, go for it. I've heard that old school "barbershop" fragrances have a following on here. I don't know how well this fits into that category... but Caswell-Massey claim to be one of those "heritage" grooming brands (I haven't found any evidence of this brand existing prior to the 1970s), but that's the aesthetic they're going for.

This fragrance is HEAVY on the sandalwood. And since mysore sandalwood is non-sustainable and expensive, you can bet it has no resemblance to real mysore. There is a way to use sandalwood, even if it's synthetic. This fragrance made me realize that perhaps sandalwood is better as a base note and in the background, not as a heart and central note. I wore it out today and it was a bit overpowering and alienating. It's overly masculine and not in a soft and subtle way. The sandalwood has that heavy, soapy synthetic aspect. I'll keep looking for something that really expresses the qualities of mysore sandalwood.