Essence No. 8 Santal

Wonderful fragrance. I love not only the sandalwood note but the vetiver as well, the very slight mustiness of the vetiver really underlines and brings out the "clean" facet of the sandalwood, gives it dimension. Longevity is great, the morning after first trying it I could still smell it faintly on my skin and very clearly on clothing. Funny thing: Usually when I (a woman) like a men's fragrance I can almost guarantee that my brother will like it too (I can blind buy him fragrances). The only difference seem to be vetiver scents. Encre Noir and this Saab Essence are heavy on vetiver and as much as I like them, my brother finds them almost offensive. In any case, this is a really great scent and I am looking forward to using it frequently.

+ Another stunner from Elie Saab created by MFK. The top opens with a fresh blast of vetiver. The real magic happens when the fragrance has dried and becomes blended with skin. It's divine. Powdery, dry sandalwood with a touch of apricot/osmanthus to bring a bit of sweetness and interest to this scent. This is an excellent perfume if you're into sandalwood and I certainly am! I'm impressed and enamoured by this essences line. I'm so happy the price has become more affordable because I wouldn't have bothered at the original asking price. Beware this line is for people who enjoy modest scents. Sillage and longevity are both low to moderate. EDIT: I love this perfume the more I wear it. It's one of my favorites in my collection. 🤗

Just beautiful in my opinion... Like the other fragrances of this line, it's not groundbreaking, but tailored to perfection. Apricot and Osmanthus are perfect original twists to the sandalwood. The drydown shares some similarities with Oud n.4 of the same line, but it's tamer, and the burnt wood is replaced by a very strong earthy/nutty vetiver (similar to Givenchy's) and a subtle balsamic wood note (cedar/osmanthus). The only downside is its modest projection, but that makes it a luxurious fragrance for closed environment. Exceptional longevity as a skin scent. Very soothing/relaxing drydown. Again, an excellent creation signed Francis Kurkdjian, perfect for colder days or milder evenings.

On my skin this just lasts and lasts. The apricot, sandalwood and vetiver I detect right away and last the entire life of the spray. I recommend going very light with initial sprays until you get a feel for it. It is very strong to my nose. It smells really high quality and you might even say "niche" If possible I would say sample first as it is very strong. My first and only Elie Saab but based on this experience I have ordered Essence No. 3 Ambre A great fragrance, a great bottle and presentation. Fragrance 9/10 Longevity 10/10 Bottle Design 10/10 If I were to nitpick anything, maybe the vetiver could be a little less prominent but that's really just being picky ;)

I love sandalwood fragrances in general and this is definitely a high quality, well blended fragrance. I think its Mysore Sandalwood that has been used. Not surprisingly it dominates this fragrance. You get the delicate osmanthus and apricot in the opening but this wains quickly. After half an hour its all about the sandalwood, vetiver and cardamom. Its more masculine at this point. The sandalwood lasts for many hours be it largely as a skin scent. Ive got to say I dont think I would pay for a fb even if I had the spare cash. SLs Santal Majascule and Santal de Mysore are still my faves.

The sandalwood is multifaceted, sometimes it comes of as dry, I can feel the wood chips. Sometimes it comes of as very creamy rounded and very aromatic. The apricot is sweet, tart, ripe, so delectable. These 2 notes fits together like two blocks of lego : this is masterfully blended. Note : the cedar and the vetiver are here only to support the sandalwood and the osmanthus completes the apricot. In itself, the vetiver, cedar and osmanthus are not very distinct (for me). Wonderful

Santal is something of shape shifter as far as sandalwood fragrances in my collection go but I am getting ahead of myself. My nose picks up a smokey slightly bitter cardamom - similar to the what I smell in Lune feline and a soft suede which dominates in the opening but is very quickly followed by sandalwood and vanilla. Now this is composition is quite dry but I do pick up a very slight sweetness in shadows from the vanilla or maybe the apricot which, disappointingly I cant really pick out as a note here. The cedar kicks in at the base and really grounds this composition and the sandalwood here is smooth but not overtly creamy. I really enjoy the dry down of Santal when it slowly becomes the tiniest bit sweeter and when the smokey cardamom and leather slip into the background. This reminds me of two other sandalwood fragrances from my collection. This is somewhat similar to Santal Kardamon in the opening because of the shared smokey cardamom and leather notes and in how dry it is initially but while Santal Kardamon stays dry on me, ES Santal gets slightly sweeter and woodier, reminding me of the sweet, creamy Santal Carmin from Atelier Cologne, which I think is safe to say is my favorite out of the three. Performance is good 6-7hrs longevity, moderate sillage and low-moderate projection. Another stellar offering from this line but one of the harder ones to find.

This is one of those fragrances that develops in stages. First you get a blast of sandalwood, cedar and harsh vetiver. Nothing sweet here, nor spicy. Then the osmanthus comes in which is an herbal/green bitter floral element - non intrusive. Then the cedar takes over giving the composition a masculine aroma before intertwining with the osmanthus. Soon after, the Apricot shows up, but its never sweet, instead feels green as if it were unripe. The late dry down is just glorious. Creamy, soft, milky, elegant sandalwood. Absolutely delicious. Just a step below Sacred Wood at this point. The entire scent is rather intoxicating.

A smoky and very leathery sandalwood. Lots of ash. The leather - biitter from the vetiver, lush from the osmanthus with its both leathery and peachy facets. Dry and smooth. Too smooth, in fact. That's the Kurkdjian trademark IMO: everything blended so seamlessly, nothing sharp, nothing stands out, sometimes you can hardly even recognize a single note. Instead, all the parts come with equal power, like a whole small orchestra playing a single note... Maybe an auditory illusion. I enjoy this approach in so many of his creations, budget or luxury. Yet here, I miss the accidental blue note which would be slightly out of tune: some juiciness, some cheap facet, some skank, whatever. It's a nice plain accord staying in the middle frequency spectrum, no statement. This said, of all the players, sandalwood is the first one to fade out. Then the peachy leather. Lastly, vetiver closes the door alone.

I’m not sure what happened to the batch i’m trying right now but unfortunately it smells like 0% sandalwood and 100% of a leathery, almost oudy accord. i put Byredos Accord Oud (not the current formula, but the 2010-2012 one) on the other arm, and they’re extremely similar! there has to be some ingredients that overlap between them. and i’m honestly shocked no one has voted for it as a similar fragrance.

Amazing blend. Light-weight in projection...but I forgive this due to the scent being very very good !! Reminds me of a bunch of fragrances out there in this vein,but this one does have quality...IMHO. Fruity-ish opening...then I get osmanthus vibe...then the woodsy side takes over. Love at first sniff !!!!

This smells exactly as Comme des Garsons Wonderwood. I mean sandalwood is not strong here, more cedar + vetiver + sandalwood combination. However, Elie Saab is more milky, fresher than Wonderwood. The longevity is wonderful.

Looking for a bottle of anyone is unhappy with theirs!