Santal Royal

This is your typical rose-oud fragrance, but with a unique twist. I’ve tried quite a few rose-oud scents before like Armani Privé Rose d’Arabie, Montale Black Aoud, Tiziana Terenzi Gold Rose Oudh, Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud, and other similar DNA from Montale or Mancera that tend to lean more synthetic and medicinal. But this one stands out the most. Despite the name Santal Royal, you might expect a sandalwood-dominant scent, but that’s not really the case here. The three most prominent notes to my nose are rose, oud, and leather and they are beautifully balanced without one overpowering the others. The oud here leans more Western style, clean and not skanky at all. If there’s any slight animalic nuance, it comes from the leather facet not from an oud that smells barnyard or overly raw. So overall, it feels refined and well composed. In the drydown, there’s a soft touch of sandalwood that adds a slightly creamy feel, but it never goes into sweet territory. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite rose-oud fragrances if not the best. The Absolus Allegoria line in general feels quite underrated (i have never compared this to the Les Absolus d'Orient version) It suits formal settings perfectly, giving off a very royal, luxurious aura. Performance and longevity are also solid. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a rose-oud scent that doesn’t smell generic and synthetic,this one has that leathery twist and smooth sandalwood base that lasts all the way through the dry down. 10/10 one of the best rose-oud scent ive ever smelled 👌

I love this potion. I can smell some familiar Guerlain scents in here. The notes stand out and I feel it all supports the sandalwood. I'd like to think i know a thing or two about Sandalwood as it was one of my first loves. I've seen big changes in the marketplace for a casual enthusiasts like myself. It's very likey the traditional 20% sandalwood oil. Whatever that means* This stuff at discounters is a wonderful value. The beautiful ambergris churchy rosewater in balmy sweet spicy fortified sandalwood with a kick of oud. It's hard to judge for me as it's such a timeless combo that I've already stumbled upon many of. The market and my collection is saturated in this similar DNA. This one has the best texture. It transcends boundaries as it works through layers of contrast; fluffy and sparking to flat and stale, creamy balmy to dry powdery. If only I had gotten this one first. This just replaced more than one in my rotation. It performs very well with good projection for hours with 5 sprays. After 8 hours the texture is still there as the scents fade in and out with activity and environment.

Addicted to it since day 1. The days I don't wear it, I feel like something extremely important is missing and all I want is to reach out for it. Be cautious with this because a overly excited friend completely over sprayed this and when we boarded the bus a teenage boy almost fainted. The poor lad got up and tried to get as far from us as possible. He kept looking at us in disbelief. People have been asking me what it is that I am wearing but only one person, explicitly said they asked because they found it appealing. I suppose this scent can be overbearing and will probably drive some people away. Growing up there would always be a person that would wear a perfume that I quite frankly found repulsive and I would always wonder how they could actually spray themselves with such disgusting scent and then go out in public smelling like some nursing home filled with rotting flowers...I guess I am becoming that person to some now. Try this with the risk of getting addicted to a scent that will scare teenagers away and feeling absolutely god-like. 10/10

I own both d'Orient (the latest batch with semi transparent bottle) and Allegoria, and tested it side by side. To anyone who wonders about the performance on this Absolus Allegoria version, it performs better than the latest batch of d'Orient version. When my bottle just arrived, i did 1 spray to my hand, and the scent was easily noticeable for 3h without bringing my nose to my skin, beyond that it took a movement to catch the whiff. It lasted around idk maybe 7/8h on my skin before it turned to skin scent. While d'Orient version was so watered down, i couldnt detect the scent anymore after 1h, had to bring my nose to my skin to catch the scent. FYI, this has a classic French perfumery characteristic, so dont expect a beastly level projection, but its strong enough to get noticed by people around u without being overwhelming, a classy performance may i say. The longevity on this is amazing too, when i went full wear with this, i sprayed this on 8am, and at 5pm i could still catch a whiff.

My review is for the Absolus Allegoria reformulation (? - I found conflicting information). I did not know the previous scent. I got this as a free sample with my purchase of Patchouli Ardent. Wow, what a wonderful fragrance! I really loved it. In my opinion, sandalwood is a supporting note in the main choreography of which the rose is the star dancer. It opens softly but surely, revealing a flowery sweet jasmine and rose, although I did not find the peach. Its smooth as hell - finding the notes is not blaringly obvious like in other ones. The dry down is your wood and leather combo that transitions well from the flowers of before. I also agree that it is more feminine leaning. I was taken aback by the scent as expected something more aggressive. In my opinion, it is somewhat similar to Rose Amira from the same line. If i had to get a second bottle from this line, I would go for Santal Royal over the others. Especially over Cuir Intense and Epices Exquisees.

Santal Royal opens as a dark and mysterious woody fragrance that is sandalwood-forward with a strong, smoky oud as well as smooth and dry leather. It's slightly spicy, warm and intriguing. There's a depth to it that makes you want to keep sniffing your own wrist to explore each note and aspect of it. Every once in a while a slightly fruity accord will make an appearance, only to recede back again. After 30-40 minutes it settles down into a less smoky drydown that lets the florals shine against the leathery backdrop. The first hour offers strong sillage, afterwards it's much more subdued. I absolutely loved the first smoky and spicy hour of Santal Royal, a 10/10 on all fronts. The later drydown was nice but just... didn't live up to how it started off.

Love this take on oud/rose combo we are all familiar with. I got good performance from it but if you are expecting monster projection like many rose/oud fragrances you will be disappointed. Personally for me it's not the type of profile you want blasting a room, here you get around a foot projection with a nice sillage. I would consider it unisex, maybe slight lean masculine due to the wonderful leather note that pops out more around the 2 hour mark. If you like alexandria II but don't like the powder notes and want to trade it instead for a smooth leather note, you will enjoy this. I think it's great value for the price for it's quality and a winner in my book.

The bottle looked more intricate and better in real life than in photos. Longevity is through the roof! Lasted beyond 24 hours on my wrist, where it was clearly still detectable, with its vertical profile still very intact. Projection is good too. After performance complaints about its previous version in translucid bottles, this latest reformulation seems to be much stronger, like the batches in opaque bottles before 2021. Smells gorgeous: the rose, sandalwood, and oud seems equally strong; with noticeable leather and jasmin. I think it is missing the cinnamon and peach; otherwise, it will be exactly like the version before 2021.

Tried recently and fell right in love. Unable to wear as it gags my wife but carried the sample and sniffed the card all day longs. This is a beauty, really elegant for as rustic and earthy as it is. Feels really pulled together. I am not a huge rose fan but looking for a rose that I could wear, this doesn’t come off rosey to me. Adds a touch of elegance to the intensely earthy oud/ leather and (to my nose) tobacco, but never would I call this rosey. Anyway, a real love. And a more polished in the neighborhood of tf ombré leather or maybe Burberry hero intense but without the roughness or the thick amber base. Classy.

Santal Royal is a touch bit misleading name, it definitely has a round, smooth and complex backbone of sandalwood, but it is much more than that. It starts off as a fruity oud combining and beautifully blending peach and oud (similar to oud maracujà, but much more smooth and way way less screechy). As it starts to drydown it becomes more and more floral, rose dominant with jasmine adding complexity and that floral smell lasts far into late drydown. Projection is decent, if you overspray it can get stronger, perfect for this type of fragrance and longevity is above 7h so it is good.

So does this new bottle contain a reformulated newest version of Santal Royal? Edit: it smells like a more put together, cleaner (and calmer), and more gender neutral western curated version of pre-covid Santal Royal (that was closer to a middle eastern beast mode fragrance experience). This was smoothen down—the syrupy sweetness and spiciness reduced and the smokiness and animalics significantly dialed back. It's definitely trying to claw back popularity among its clientele lost by its more patriarchal older version. It's bottled fuck the Patriarchy.

@Estacey3 I literally have both. The Absolue D'Orient bottle is gorgeous but I find myself gravitating towards the new edition more. Since the first sniff i have become absolutely obsessed and addicted. As someone that claims to have smelled both...Saying that the new version doesn't reassemble the Absolue d'Orient is a lie plain and simple. There is no other way of putting it that would accurately describe your claim. If you have the original one, you have probably noticed that the new bottle also lasts longer, right?

Santal Royal is my go-to favorite fragrance nowadays. It's a gentle embrace of rich rose, sandalwood and oud that keeps me warm and ignited. This scent lasts incredibly long and has a strong sillage: it lingers in my bedroom well into the afternoon even though I apply it in the mornings. The fragrance has mystery and a touch of darkness. It's beautifully complex and I'd say almost a niche scent. It's for those who have a grand attitude since Santal Royal certainly has a strong character of its own.

I'm a recent fragrance hobbyist. This is a beautiful fragrance that evolves and unfolds slowly and sensuously, beginning as a spicy woody fragrance that dries down to a comforting rose and jasmine floral. Santal Royal lasts all day with room-filling sillage, and has gotten me the most compliments in my entire (albeit small) collection. She's mature, sophisticated, and dignified. Beautiful for oriental lovers who prefer woody, deep, dark and spicy florals.

Now, this really is beautiful...a feminine leather is not something you often come across. Rich, contrasting, evocative - like drenching yourself in a luxurious rose oil bath, before walking out into the night to sit by a campfire, harsh smoke mixing into your still wet hair...it's beguiling in an alien way, a combination of scents you'd practically never find together organically, that nonetheless work so well. In a word: mysterious!

I love Guerlain fragrances, I own few of them and his highness Santal Royal is expected to join us with all pleasure. It’s a Love from first sniff. The doses of sandalwood, agarwood and roses are elegently balanced. These types of oriental notes are popular in my home country ( but more intense of course, like in Samsara from Guerlain), that’s why I feel enchanted and very nostalgic. Deffinately will get me a bottle.

Anyone who says this is “just another rose oud” has 100% judged this within seconds. I know because I did this the first time. But what rose oud has peach in it? What rose oud has Chanel Egoiste-like sandalwood and cinnamon? This isn’t “another rose oud.” It’s the best one, in my opinion, simply because of the wonderful peach and excellent Guerlain rose. Toss your other rose ouds.

I have an older bottle and one from 5 yrs ago . This fragrance is a masterpiece. Soooo good . I started giving away small samples to my customers who buy perfume from me. But no more . I don’t want to run out, the newer reformulated versions are not as good. Mine lasts all day and night. This is a must have. But try to find a vintage bottle. At any cost it’s worth it.

This is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve tested it in store five diff times and every single time I love it. Defo buying a full size at some point. Rich, full fragrance. The rose isn’t too cloying and in combo with the jasmine it almost adds a brightness to it. Probably not for the summertime but would definitely be hard to stop myself from reaching for it even then

What can I say? I have to have her too. It's Rose Amira's older, wiser and even more sophisticated sister. What dignity. Like a mysterious elixir, it could have been worn by a high priestess or a priest in ancient Thebes or Athens. Great and timeless stuff.