Santal Dan Sha

Must admit I adore this - it is a sublime, meditative woody sandalwood that is fairly linear and if only its longevity were better it could even be my signature scent. This is the first fragrance I have owned that includes Dreamwood, the 100% natural proprietary Firmenich sandalwood molecule (made from sugarcane if I remember rightly) produced via "white biotechnology", thus a biodegradable and eco-friendly alternative to Mysore Sandalwood. I believe Santal Dan Sha contains some real Indian Sandalwood in addition to Dreamwood. On application it has a cooling effect on the skin, and conjures in my mind the image of an ancient temple whose wooden pillars and altar exude the subtle aroma left by centuries of sandalwood incense. Top notes vanish quickly, and for most of its lifespan Santal Dan Sha presents as a rich, woody Sandalwood. Although this is a truly magnificent sandalwood, longevity is crap as it devolves into a skin scent after the first hour. Longevity improves somewhat in Winter and in low humidity. This could easily be worn by anyone regardless of gender, but I would advise trying before buying unless you're a sandalwood obsessive like me.

This is so good. A bright, slightly spicy and creamy sandalwood with notes of bergamot, cardamom, resins, musk, sandalwood and cedar. Despite the supporting notes this is undeniably a sandalwood forward fragrance. Absolutely unisex and I expect quite versatile year round; except maybe in high heat. For me, this evokes a pleasant feeling of browsing around an antique store. It conjures up memories of painted and polished Chinese wood carvings, but with added freshness from the citrus and creaminess from the musk. It sounds ‘heavy’, but on skin it’s very well balanced and not the least bit cloying. I suspect that the eau de toilette concentration (as opposed to an eau de Parfum) is the reason. If you are a fan of sandalwood scents and you have an opportunity, I would recommend that you test this latest Armani Prive release.

I think this is beautiful. It is not at all my selection of notes, but despite that I will purchase a FB, it is that good. Someone said it leans slightly masculine, and I must agree that in some moments it does, but it is still unisex enough for me to wear it (I usually go for super-feminine perfumes). For me it is the spot-on balance of freshness and woodiness. Woods are usually more heavy and dry, more wintery. Here, the bergamot, I guess (but it is not lemony or zesty, just simply fresh, airy and light) makes the whole thing balanced, and I won't name other notes because I can't say I can separate them. It is just in total a very attractive, sexy, date night, all-seasons perfume that lifts feelings and selfesteem. Update: now that I am a happy owner, I love it even more each day. What a gem!

Im in love with Santal Dan Sha. Have to be honest when I test it in shop I wasn’t blown away and had to come and try it multiple time. Thankfully weather cool down and I just went for it and have to tell you only regrets I have is not buying 100ml. When I opened the fresh new bottle and sprayed, it gave me much more nicer smell than the testers in shops. I can smell the bergamot with cardamom in opening in perfect balance with my skin 🥰 and also my one of the most favourite notes is sandalwood so the creaminess what’s coming out of it is gorgeous 🤎 the musk is soft, touch of woods but it’s deliciously creamy and soft on my skin🤎 It’s completely unisex to me but I do believe it has to work well with your body chemistry to truly enjoy this creamy beauty.

This to me is very similar to Van Cleef's Santal Blanc, which I loved. It has the same freshness, the coconuty/figgy scent that reminds me of summer. It lasts around 8 hours, but stays close to skin after the first hour. The bergamot (thankfully for me) doesn't last more than half an hour, it's all about creaminess and cocooning afterwards. A great morning scent for sunny mornings.

Love at first sniff. This is the best Armani Prive imho. Smoother and fresher version of Le Labo’s Santal 33. I love that the citruses persist towards and in the drydown. Sillage and longevity is 9/10. Like in many other fragrances, people will only appreciate it when someone famous endorse it or if product becomes viral. Glad to have my bottle as it is very limited in Asia.

Creamy dreamy sandalwood...Love it! The more I wear it the more I become obsessed. One of my favorites for sure. I don't find it too masculine which is what I was afraid of. It's beautiful. I wear it anytime anywhere. I am in a woody phase in fragrances right now & this just checks all of the boxes for me. Thank you Fabrice Pellegrin & Armani for this gift of a scent. 💋

Nice straight forward in your face sandalwood scent. For some reason this is what I imagine Australia smells like. Not sure what the association is.. anyways I love it.

The perfect perfume for a beach night cocktail or wine. Very zen, it starts fresh, almost minty then drifts to a very enjoyable woody tone and stays there for 7-8 hours

I wish I could get Santal kardamom by Lancome but it's gone... This is my next best and it's very good also, little fresher.

This smells SO GOOD from start to finish. I would love to smell this perfume on a man! 😍

Wishing if it's an eau de parfum for more longetivity and sillage!

‘Santal Dan Sha’ was a blind buy for me when I was on the hunt for a perfect autumn sandalwood. (Spoiler, it was not this one). This perfume is heavy on the woody aspect, and the cardamom is also very prominent. In some ways is reminds me a bit of ‘Santal 33’ from Le Labo, but this one is way fresher, and softer in a way. Where ‘Santal 33’ is a wooly blanket, ‘Santal Dan Sha’ is a velvet one. The initial drydown on my skin brings out a lot of the citrus note, and the violet leaf is also easy to pick up on. It brings out a sorely needed contrast to the heavy sandalwood/cardamom mix. The citrus and violet leaf is also almost impossible to detect if you’re just sniffing the bottle, and I sometimes forget that this is what I like the most about this fragrance. The actual drydown around two/three hours in shows more of the ambermusks, and the contrasting citrus has disappeared. The fragrance tend to lean masculine even though it is advertised as a unisex one. The first hour or so could be classified as unisex, but the more it settles into the skin the more masculine it feels. This is an okay scent, better than a lot of other santal perfumes, but not the best santal perfume either (feel free to send me suggestions, I am still on the lookout). If I were to rate this from 1-10 as I normally don’t do, I would give this an 5,5 and I actually think that is pretty good if I’m being honest.

Ever since I've sniffed Le Labo's Santal 33, I've been on a search for sandalwood perfumes similar to that profile. I don't like Santal 33 btw. The dry down is harsh and smells like a hamster's cage. During my search I came across two that I really like, and that includes 7 Virtues, Santal Vanille and this one. Santal Vanille is better fitted for autumn and the cold weather because of the cozy vanilla and spices in it. Armani Prive's Santal Dan Sha, on the other hand, has bergamot, giving this perfume a lighter, fresher (almost zingier) take on the sandalwood profile. Santal Dan Sha is a very lovely perfume. It is well balanced and mixes well with other scents. I am loving this more and more with each wear. This one is better fitted for spring and summer imo because it is light and ozonic. This one lasts long too, even though it is an EDT. I have the small 7 oz. dabber. When that goes empty, I'm purchasing a full bottle for sure. So good. 8/10

I simply don’t know how this fragrance is specified as unisex. To my nose this is, without a doubt, very masculine... I was wondering maybe I’m the one exaggerating but my boyfriend literally gagged smelling this on me lol. Not because it is a bad fragrance but because we both didn’t expect such a masculine smell. In the end I gave it to him and it suits him soo well, I love to smell it on him! Also, I believe Santal Dan Sha can be worn all year round. I can also categorize it as mature and slightly serious, too.

Sampled: dry milky incensey cedar scent. I get all cedar and no sandalwood, but I really like cedar and sandalwood is iffy to me, so I’m biased... and this is nice stuff. I think the sandalwood (though I can’t smell it specifically) is what’s adding a milkiness to the scent in the way that sandalwood does, the scent is dry but milky!!! I really like that!!! It’s like what I hoped Glossier You Doux would smell like. This would be a great signature mmm. Sadly the longevity is poor.

You know how when you read the notes for a fragrance, you get an idea in your head for how it might smell, but the reality rarely matches? This completely matched what I hoped this would smell like. The mix of cardamom and sandalwood is truly dreamy. For me, Santal 33 is ruined by an underlayer of scratchy wood chips and musty hay. Santal Dan Sha stays silky and spicy the whole way through. This has easily become my favorite sandalwood fragrance!

Santal Dān Shā has quickly become one of my favourite wearable sandalwoods. It's quite fresh in the opening, incorporating lots of bergamot. Whereas, coming to dry down, you get that dry, pencil-shaving, and woody sandalwood. However, you also get nuances of that creamy sandalwood. So it's a duality between woody and creamy sandalwood. The longevity of this fragrance is also stellar!

A beautiful sandalwood perfume that hardly performs. With so many beautiful sandalwood perfumes available in the market nowadays, this is just a mediocre knockoff. If you like or love this, be sure to try the others like Santal 33, Sacred Wood, Sellier, Autumn Vibe and see for yourself what the market has to offer.

woody scent with an enigma... let's see... high end wealthy man, overdressed, in his 50's, comfortable with money; business he built is thriving; more of a book reader then a yacht boater, enjoys quiet evenings with whiskey, but wonders about having a second life with a 28yo - only because they all come to him.