Orange X Santal

On Essential parfums: Every now and again a brand comes along that really hits on every level. Essential parfums is one those brands. Superb perfumes, nothing superfluous or irrelevant in the lineup, a nice number of releases, Frederic Malle style focus on perfumers (all of which are fantastic master perfumers) with their name (and picture) pride of place on the bottle and marketing materials. A commitment to sustainability, in terms of perfume materials and packaging, transparency about natural naturals used and their source, and the really important thing to most consumers an pledge to keep prices affordably low without sacrificing quality. So a brand that truly adds value and brings a lot to the table. I have huge admiration and respect for them and they should be applauded for the whole concept of the brand. The comparisons here on Fragrantica are literally crazy!!! Bigarade,? okay, the Candida I'm not familiar with, blood oranges I have and like but NO!!! & Clinique happy??? are you off your rocker??? I sort of love that fragrance but it's an insult to compare it to this quite frankly! Sure when I got the samples and heard the name I thought, I bet I know what that will smell like and it largely delivers it a orange top over creamy sandalwood, does exactly what it says on the tin!!!! and yet it's so much more. For sheer enjoyment factor it's much nicer than a Happy or a Blood oranges, I own both and I'm telling you now this is a totally different experience. For starters the orange accord in here is wonderful. Bitter pith and sweet orange oil conspire to give a realistic but not too real orange, it's still a perfume orange. All the while this is being propped up and exalted by a great sandalwood accord which is not nutty, or weird as they can somtimes be and it's not too heavily reliant on one synthetic sandalwood (like Javanol for example) contains sandalwood from Australia to give it that je ne sais quoi. Wear it though and you'll discover a lovely, lasting, orange on top of a soft skin scent of pleasant santal. The smell still hasn't surprised me but how much I like it certainly has. UPDATE 17/05/21: Okay so I think my nose was on the blink when I first sniffed this or I didn't wear it (in fact I know I didn't and perhaps that's why you should before reviewing) properly just tried on a strip and my arm. Because it's basically a spicy sandalwood, with a brushy, modern incense feel and doesn't smell dissimilar to santal 33 only with a markedly more mild papyrus note. However, it's there and despite the true loveliness of the orange note in the opening, it's still a trendy Le labo crossed with some 90's sandalwood designers like D&G or Gucci. The thing is I don't hate santal 33 but I really don't care for it either, it gets on my nerves for about 80% of the wear time (clearly too much) and this has similar tenacity and timbre. So it's a no. I don't think it's a deliberate attempt to make a copy or anything but there's a finite amount of sandalwood materials and ways to bring them together and there's inevitably going to be intersections. The orange is a nice touch though and actually really compliments the fragrance.

Mi experiencia con orange santal ha sido muy grata, la conocí en la boutique de MyScentJourney en CDMX y quedé perdidamente enamorado salida jugosa a naranja dulce, al comprarla pensé "Estoy es lo que siempre estuve buscando", una fragancia cítrica gustosa que para nada es turbo masculina o picante. Su aroma me da una especie de calma, cuando me la pongo me siento muy bien conmigo mismo a un punto de casi hacerme feliz instantaneamente; Eduardo, el dueño de la boutique y reconocido reseñador, me comentó que esta fragancia junto con Bois imperial son las que más duran de toda la marca de Essentials parfum, por desgracia en mi piel siento que no dura tanto, pero si he logrado percibir por varios días su estela en la ropa o en otros artículos que han llegado a tener contacto con la fragancia, no me malentiendan, para ser una fragancia fresca dura bastante bien, pero sigo buscando una con estás mismas características que me aguante prácticamente todo el día, cosa que en mi piel o para mi nariz este no es el caso. Los invito a probarla, conseguir un decant o directamente comprar la botella ya que no está a un precio elevado. Lo que más me gusta de este perfume es su salida, mismo perfil que se planta hasta las notas de corazón, pero que paulativamente desaparece en el secado para dar paso a las notas de sándalo y a un nota más jabonosa/limpia que cítrica. Creo que no está hecho para ambientes cerrados o con aire acondicionado debido a su poca proyección, pero viene muy bien para ambientes un poco más al aire libre o hasta para hacer ejercicios como pádel o tenis. Me han dado algunos cumplidos si eso es lo que les importa, pero para mí esta es una fragancia para disfrute personal y para sentirse bien. Aroma: 9/10 (Me gustaría que no fuera tan lineal) Duración: 7/10 (Esto es en mi piel, y aunque yo perciba que no dura mucho lo cierto es que para ser una fragancia fresca dura lo suficiente) Estela: 7/10 (Va de la mano con la duración y sorpresivamente algunas personas me han dicho que deja una estela rica, pero únicamente me lo han dicho luego de prácticas deporte)

It starts with a freshly squeezed orange and a hint of fresh air. Very sunny, cheerful and uplifting opening drying down to a more muted and classy sandalwood-cypress scent that's smooth and slightly sweet in an orange tictac kind of way. One of my top 3 from Essential Parfums alongside Mon Vetiver and Bois Imperial. Good for everyday wear, work appropriate. It's by no means a "very masculine" fragrance. I would say freshly squeezed oranges and sandalwood make for a very unisex blend. I guess combination of citrus freshness and woody base is something that would be more commonly marketed towards men but the scent itself is perfectly wearable for pretty much everyone. Longevity and projection-wise it sits in the middle of Essential Parfums lineup. Both sillage and projection are just alright, not beastmode, not fleeting. If what you're fearing is another version of Hermes Eau d'Orange Verte or Replica's Never Ending Summer you can rest easy - Orange x Santal is definitely stronger and more long-lasting, while still offering a similar, cheerful, fresh orange vibe. EP's Nice Bergamote and Fig Infusion are definitely much weaker. On the other hand it cannot compete with Bois Imperial or even Rose Magnetic (Rose Magnetic might not project much but it lives forever on your clothes). I would say the power is comparable to Mon Vetiver. Still, it's a predominantly citrus fragrance so I am rationally expecting it to last a bit shorter than perfumes with vanillic, resinous or spicy scent profiles. I think the price is very fair to begin with and you can catch it even cheaper during sales so I personally don't have an issue with reapplying a little bit after 4-5 hours. As a fan of Eau d'Orange Verte I purchased the full size of Orange x Santal within a month of smelling the discovery set. Of course I would still say Eau d'Orange Verte is more complex and more beautiful, but unfortunately it's gone from my skin after 20 minutes or so. If you enjoyed EdOV you might wanna check out Orange x Santal as an alternative for next summer.

Took me a couple of tries to warm up to this one. On paper I got a very convincing orange that goes from slightly bitter peel to a somewhat sweeter fresh orange juice scent, and on the other hand a strong woody, mossy base that absolutely does give it a bit of a vintage barbershop vibe as someone else suggested below. One way to read the name would be 'Orange times Santal' and it's only on my skin that it really earns that multiplication sign: the orange is further enhanced, the wood a little bit tamed, and there's a real accord there. It turns from something I might hesitate to wear because of the somewhat old-fashioned vibe on paper into something way more usable, with an almost youthful vibe sometimes, as someone else put it. Orange X Santal unites a lot of the qualities that can be found throughout the Essential line-up. Performance is great with real sillage, I can pick up the trail when returning to a room I was in earlier. Perhaps it's just one of those scents that I'm immune to nose blindness for, but I'm puzzled by reviews suggesting a lack of strength or longevity. The orange fruit is crazy lifelike (see also, Nathalie Lorson's Fig Infusion), and the wood remarkable (as is the case, almost to the point of caricature, in Quentin Bisch's Bois Impérial). I would recommend anyone to have a sniff around the Essential Parfums line-up. I found their perfumes interesting and often even impressive, whether I liked them or not. This particular one convinced me enough to buy the full bottle.

Orange X Santal opens with a natural, almost tactile impression of orange peel. The perfume is zesty, slightly bitter, and refreshingly unpolished. It avoids the sugary brightness that often defines citrus fragrances, instead leaning into something more grounded and quietly sophisticated. As it settles, the composition shifts seamlessly into a deeper base where sandalwood and soft herbal nuances take over. The transition feels effortless: the citrus doesn’t disappear so much as it melts into the wood, leaving behind a warm, gently textured scent with a calm, sun-warmed character. There’s an ease to this fragrance that makes it particularly suited to summer; those unstructured, carefree days that drift into warm evenings. It also feels at home in tropical settings, where heat amplifies its soft radiance without ever becoming overwhelming. Think an evening on a patio in your linen suit looking out into the bay of Malay. Performance is deliberately restrained. With low sillage and a skin-close presence, this is not a fragrance that announces itself. Instead, it invites proximity, something discovered rather than projected. Overall, Orange X Santal is less about impact and more about atmosphere: understated, warm, and quietly confident. It’s a perfume I often find myself returning to. Well worth the money.

A very quick review, a definite warm to hot weather fragrance, fresh .sharp and juicy, if that makes any sense. My Mrs loves 9t on me so that is over half ther battle won. I lobe this and i wear fragrance for me, only really pick sspecific fragrance for special occasions and certain dress code. Really good quality ingredients and it shows, in the smell giebnm off. Only one small moan and that ismthismismamcitrusm fragrance and, i have yet to find one that really lasts so i have a 3 ml atomiser that i carry with me, to top up. Sadly, i have a vasculitis that has truly messed with my nose and so i reply on my Mrs to tell me how much to use. When younger i was accused of,, of over spraying fragrances. I could still be guilty of this so please use how you see fit Ok, i do remember one citrus and its Penhalligons Quercus, an EDT with mighty power. I always have this, the cologne in my summers rotation. Anyway, sorry to digress, lovely fragrance, fantastic smell, garners compliments and a good price point too What’s not to like ? I would even say a safe blind purchase. I would buy unwanted bottles, if anyone feels they do not want it.

The opening orange is amazing but lasts a few minutes The drydown is a a soft, gentle pleasant combination of sandalwood, orange muskiness It’s the transition between them that is strange. I get an odd, mild halitosis- like smell, a funky human body scent. I’m can’t tell what is causing it based on the listed notes. It doesn’t stay around forever and it’s not terrible really, just odd. Part of the “ artistic niche charm” perhaps? The opportunity cost you pay for in your social life for all those “natural” ingredients? I still like it though. Sillage is low and it’s basically a skin scent from the first spray, as it should be for this kind of fragrance. It wouldn’t work as a loud scent. The genius is in the subtleties here. I find this the best offering from this house. I know Bois Imperiale gets all the love, but that one is a linear synthetic chemical screamer. Orange X Santal is more like fragrance art with exposition, development (however funky) and resolution.

Orange X Santal smells fantastic, natural, and realistic. But it's never been particularly wearable for me, and I finally just sold my bottle. I simply never reached for it. When I craved some citrus freshness, the sandalwood seemed to weigh it down. When I wanted the cozy sandalwood, the bright orange seemed to get in the way. I was duped by the sample set. The smell is awesome, truly, but it's so linear that it just didn't compel me to wear it once I finally had a full bottle in my collection. If this one developed at all, it would be such a great fragrance. At its best smelling moments, Orange X Santal smells as good as nearly any scent in my collection. But once you've smelled it a few times, you just know exactly what you're in for, for the next 6-7 hours. There just seemed to always be a more interesting alternative on my shelf, any time I might have thought of reaching for this one.

Fragrances sometimes remind us of very specific moments and places, and this one strongly evokes for me the spirit of January mornings near the sea in Mexico, walking along streets of wet cobblestone, and smelling the zesty tang of fresh orange juice being squeezed by sidewalk vendors. In the background the sparkling green basil and cypress are like the sparkling, cool mountain jungle slopes, and as the hot sun begins to dry out the morning dew, the warm spice of sandalwood emerges and the juicy orange fades to a deeply fragrant rind. It evolves from a cool freshness to a subtle earthy warmth that makes me want to jump in the ocean and then reapply it. It's true that this is a somewhat linear and simple scent, but I love how natural and uplifting it is, both energizing and calming at the same time.

The first time I wore this, the initial burst of tangy orange felt nice and lively, but disappeared within few minutes, leaving a bland, generic mild inoffensive scent for a while while stayed for hours. The second time I wore it, that's today, the orange blast stayed a touch longer, but that generic mid-base from yesterday is replaced by a smooth, creamy drydown of sandalwood, not as woody as I expect of sandalwood but I'm more familiar with Indian/Mysore sandalwood, and this fragrance uses Australian sandalwood, which I hadn't smelled before. I still get some orange scent 3 hours in. This is one lovely scent, look forward to a full bottle buy sometime (I have like 50 now, so gotta practise some self-control).

This one is my favorite from the line. Maybe I'm the odd one here. But let me praise it. I love the warm orange peel scent, it lasted quite well on my skin. In combination of the smooth sandalwood, it's very cozy and comforting. I like wearing this in cold weather, tho I think it will even be better in warmer months. It's not a revolutionary scent as many have mentioned. But I like it, and the price for me is well priced for the quality. If this had been a fragrance over 100 I would not have purchased it. But it is not, and I now own a full bottle of it with slight discount. I'm glad to have it in my collection.

A truly uplifting, smile-inducing scent. On first spray, it's a photorealistic orange; later, thanks to the sandalwood, it rounds out into a soft, comforting fragrance. I haven’t figured out what it depends on—because sometimes it shows up immediately, other times only after a few hours—but the moment basil peeks through adds excitement and a playful sophistication to the lovely freshness, at least for me. Despite its summery, light character, it lasts on me for 7–8 hours. I'd say the projection and sillage are moderate—I didn’t think others could smell it on me, but I’ve gotten several compliments. :)

Don’t expect an overly unisex fragrance - to my nose it leans masculine as it reminds me of many aftershave balm like sandalwood ambroxan and citrus combos. Reminds me a lot of Creed Himalaya actually (which is colder and more sparkling though). Very natural smelling, slightly powdery, not really milky - more like actually mousse or aftershave balm silky quality. I bought as a dumb reach short performance when I go idk, for groceries or something, but I actually might use it more officially as it doesn’t really project after an hour, but ai can feel it everytime I move

This is not your typical citrus fragrance. It’s clean, a bit soapy aldehidic with clean musks. The orange appears right away but it isn’t a sweet orange. It’s slightly bitter, less effervescent, more skin than pulp. And then the sandalwood. Lovely, wild and dry. This is not a “soft city sandalwood”, this is a rough guy from the real world. The combination of both is perfect. To tie the two main notes, there’s basil and cypress, both play in the background as secondary actors. If you enjoy clean, out of the shower, unassuming perfumes, Orange X Santal is what you need.

Beautiful orange, probably my favourite out of all that I've tried - perhaps it is the basil note that really adds to it. It instantly became one of my favourite perfumes and I still love it with equal passion as I did half a year ago. It is perfect for fans or citrus, woody and overall green fragrances. I would say it is more deliciously sour than sweet but I wouldn't say it is masculine. I love to put it onot Verde d'Arancia which is a very reasonably priced perfume that creates for Orange x Santal a very good and sweet orange base and enhances its performance.

I usually understand when a fragrance is highly rated - this is one I don't get. My wife loves this on me and it is one of my favorite warm weather fragrances. What is unusual is my decant smells different than my full bottle. My decant reminded me of TDH on the dry-down while the full bottle reminds me of PDM's Sedley but with oranges. On both, the opening was an extremely realistic orange accord. I will report back after the bottle has matured some but this is one I will always want to have in my collection.

I love this! I can see how, in certain weather or circumstances, it could morph and some of those off notes might come out--cypress and juniper both have a kind of pissy, mildewy, skanky element at times, as does bitter orange. I definitely see the connection to Bigarade Concentree...to me it feels kind of like that scent was crossed with a Quentin Bisch thing...like it's halfway between Ganymede or B683 and the Malle scent. I like this better than Bisch's own EP scent, as it feels a bit more distinct.

Beautiful and classy. I sprayed this and it was a blast of orange. I was like... ok, just an orange smell. Fortunately i kept the stripe and after an hour or so, wow, what a beautiful creamy sandalwood, very elegant, soapy, milky! Went back and bought a 10ml travel. The similarity with Rosendo Mateu 1 in the drydown is very very high. Huge thumb up for this beautiful brand and is lovely prices too!

To me, this doesn’t smell like juicy orange even right after spraying—it smells like the oils in orange peel. Then as it dries down it becomes faintly sweet, but in a really natural, not gourmand or cloying way, with a bit of woodiness and a bit of herbaceousness. I bought it for my lover because they said they liked smelling their hands after peeling oranges and I love smelling it on them.

Fantastic smelling fragrance, incredibly realistic and fresh citrus, leading to a soothing sandalwood drydown. Sadly the citrus note really takes a hit after the first 5 minutes of the opening. You can still tell the citrus is there, just not as prominent as before. I wish they would make an extrait version of this one that would lengthen that opening orange, because it’s great!