Santal Pao Rosa

This is a really cool fragrance - something out of the ordinary. It has several stages in the journey which is quite unusual these days. Most fragrances are very linear or have a quite boring and predictable journey. This one is quite different. The opening is beautiful - rose, cardamom, some oud (light version, not barnyardish at all) and all underlined by woodsy notes. Pretty quickly it transforms into kind of a abrasive australian santal. Not the mysore kind but the one used in Santal 33. It's like a prettier, more rounded up version of santal 33 mixed with rose and cardamom. The dill aspect of it is there. If you know you are sensitive to this kind of saw dusty, dill-ish smell then this might put you off. I personally don't like fragrances that are only pretty. I want them to be more, to add something that sticks out. And this works well here. After an hour or two it turns into santal royal, or might I say - what santal royal should have been. Much more well blended and harmonious. And now about 6-7 hours in the figs are really coming out. All in all - this is not for everyone. It's not your average scent by any means and definitely not by Guerlain standards. (Guerlain is usually more of the creamy Samsara sandalwood and less dirty). For me this is one of the most interesting perfumes to leave Guerlain i recent years. Most of the new stuff is IMO pretty boring. All of my favorites are in the past. With that being said - I'm happy I bought it and will cherish it!

Review #2... almost a year later... revisiting. What a beautiful, comforting scent. If anything could fall under relaxing aromatherapy — Santal Pao Rosa would definitely qualify. It's a (not so much) understated regal, mature calmness. Sandal wood is very different from Guerlain's Santal Royal. You could get both and have completely different frags. I do get that "pickle brine" vibe - which I embrace and love, because it somehow connects me to my grandparents' old house where they used to cook and make preserves (yes, pickles, too) with lots of fragrant savory herbs. I guess it is this savory nature of SPR that keeps the sweetness in check, subdued, but somehow very present - as a potential that never truly realizes. There is that tension that I find most exciting about this scent, its vehicle if you wish. I am also getting patchouli, which doesn't seem to be among the notes. In the Chanel M-lle Coco direction, that is. I really like how, as the scent develops on my skin, the saltiness fades out a little and yields to sandalwood, oud and some creamier notes never crossing into the openly sweet territory. I first got a 2ml sample as a compliment from Guerlain and then got myself a 10 ml splash-on bottle for a reasonable price (which is, 1/10th of the 100ml bottle),I will be on the outlook for a FB if I luck out to find one for less than the Guerlain's exorbitant price. Bottom line: definitely worth trying if you're into mature sandal-creamy-salty-savory

Ok, I'll start by saying I fell in love with this fragrance the second I sprayed some on me at Neiman-Marcus. It's just fabulous, dazzling even. Understated, at least for me; I usually go for the heavily asserted stuff. This isn't, at least not for me; most of the other reviewers who were put off by the oud must seldom wear oud. To my nose anyway, it's all about the sandalwood and to a lesser degree the cardamon. The oud that is there isn't the Middle Eastern influence oud/oudh I'm used to. The big problem for me is the price. This stuff retails out at $385 a bottle, and even rosequeen isn't rich enough or reckless enough to drop that kind of money on a perfume. And I'm fairly certain most people aren't either, even here. I managed to get a 10ml bottle apparently made by Guerlain (same bottle design, label, etc.). Not a spray though, and it really smells better sprayed than dabbed on. At least the little 10ml mini has a screw top, which is fortunate since it was pricey enough too. There were enough negative reviews of this here that you'll really want to test this a couple of times before you take the plunge. But I find it delightful. It lasts about 5 hours on my skin when dabbed on, and maybe 6 or 7 hours when sprayed. I don't think the sillage is very strong. If you love it, you may not mind if a roomful of people can't smell it.

This one took me by surprise - especially because it says Oud. Guerlain typically has gotten quite bold with the way they use Oud but this one sits different. This feels like if you took either Papyrus Oud 71 from Parle Moi De Parfum or Comme Des Garcons' 2 Man and added a creamy sandalwood to it. All three have a very similar vibe to them. The oud is more wood than fecal and there's very little by way of sweetness. I will say it's quite masculine. But it's Guerlain - so it is blended spectacularly with the best ingredients and that's very apparent. This feels like an evolution for Guerlain with Delphine Jelk. Considering the big shoes she has to fill, she's doing a spectacular job. This collection has always been "pretty" to me, if a little safe. I'm now excited again because if this, Tobacco Honey and Cherry Oud are any indication, this collection is finding some bondage gear in the closet. 9/10

OMG !! This is wonderful to me. The opening of myrrh, figs and sandalwood is spectacular on my skin. Today it is colder here and windy, this fragrance is so beautiful on my skin. I don't detect anything from Oud, which makes me really happy. If you are a fan of the Oud, it is not here. On my skin it is a mixture of sandalwood, fig and dark roses, which give an almost gourmet background, (as @fragancias has said, it is a raspberry vibe) but nothing overpowering. Really for me it is an exquisite fragrance, more on the feminine side, but in a man I think it would be super too. The sensation of a woman wrapped in pink satin on the bed, would be the image of this fragrance for me, I find it really sensual. It has spectacular duration, 24 hours on the inside of the elbow. I cannot stop recommending this, for me it has become my favorite perfume at the moment.