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.

I instantly fell in love with this scent. If you like the idea of a rose-oud with an animalic tinge, you must get your nose on this. I'm NOT saying it's massively similar, but it reminds me of a darker take on Egoiste. 10/10.

Fragrantica editors are so messy and chaotic. These are exactly the same scents. Just a bottle change. They don’t add new listings when L'Homme Ideal or Habit Rouge change bottles, so why here? Just a mess...

Got this last week, reminds me of Sahara ton ford ( the gold bottle) even I like this kind of parfumes, this is like walking in a church ,, just for winter

Very sophisticated rose and sandalwood combo. I love this fragrance. Bit powdery so it is more unisex. Great for fall and winters or even summer nights.

love love love. i wish i smelled more of the rose but i'm not complaining at all, beautiful oud, smells expensive, can't wait to buy this for winter

Rich, rich rose and sandalwood, with just enough oud to make things even more luxurious. A classic Guerlain formulation.

This is one of my most complimented perfumes. People literally chase me down to ask me what it is.

It's quite similar to miracle of the rose by Prada, specially the smoky note, best for winter

Super comforting for oud and rose lovers ❤️

When you get into perfume, oud might be a point of interest for you. Personally, I was looking high and low for a lovely oud fragrance, and around ten or more bottles and roll ons later, I can say that oud is not very... me. I stopped looking for it, and shifted my attention to more subtle-but-still-interesting perfumes that transcended brand and label and emphasized quality, pathos, and ingredients. I bought L’heure Bleue recently, and a little bit of Santal Royal landed into my hands as a little treat. I thought, neat! Sandalwood, and from Guerlain, too; knowing them, they’d put it on the same pedestal they put Vetiver on. My god. That clearly wasn’t the case. I immediately got hit with the oud and rose combo I had given up on trying to make work for me and my ethos, and I caught myself fighting tooth and nail to get past it in search of the titular santal. Granted, it’s a lovely oud and rose, and at this point if you’re surprised or disappointed a fragrance of this price doesn’t contain the most genuine, fecal, straight-from-the-tree oud then I’m sorry but you should be either buying from the Arab houses that know what they’re doing or infecting those trees with mold yourself. Synthetic or not, it scratches that rose-oud itch... it’s just that... why? Why does it scratch the rose-oud itch? It’s called Santal Royal... Eventually, though, the sandalwood drapes itself over your nose, allowing the initial rosy oud fog to clear, revealing itself. Compare it to a gentler sandalwood like (and I mean gentler by a large degree when I say this) Tam Dao, and you’ll see that the familiar fragrant wood is sharpened here, darkened as well. I’d say Sandalwood in itself is quite a mature note to push to the forefront, but the Sandalwood in this bottle is almost more mature, and bolder at that. Think of it as sandalwood with a leather mask on. I wouldn’t suggest you buy this if you’re in the market for sandalwood. If you’re a true rose+oud snob, I doubt this would fill that void in your heart either. But if you want something sophisticated and mysterious, elegant and a little bit provocative, get this.

Guerlain is a house that I really appreciate, so when I came across a sample of this I had to try it out. Had no idea what to expect, and it just didn't seem like something I would be too interested in, but it's actually very nice. When I first smelled it, I was immediately turned off by it because the rose/oud combo reminded me of Bull's Blood by IA, a truly horrid fragrance, as it’s the only other fragrance with that kind of composition I’ve tried. But after letting it settle for a few minutes it became this luxurious, smooth, dark, and addictive scent that's blended to near perfection. The composition of rose, oud, and sandalwood is honestly very pretty and interesting. I'm not sure which version of this I have, as the sample card has a photo of the bottle with a ribbon. However, it doesn't seem to be the longest-lasting or most-projecting. This kind of scent profile isn't really anything new, but Guerlain's take on it is rather elegant and not divisive or offensive. Good fragrance, but not really something I'd ever wear.

Santal Royal by Guerlain is a woody, floral, and spicy fragrance. The scent of this fragrance is based on sandalwood, accompanied by floral rose notes and a smoky, incense-like aroma of oud wood. The scent doesn't change much as it develops; it smells almost the same from beginning to end. The sandalwood accord is very well executed, although in this fragrance it's drier than in other fragrances, probably due to the accompanying smoky woody notes, but it remains just as pleasant. This is a fragrance for personal enjoyment, for nights out, more for special occasions than for everyday wear, although some may want to wear it daily, preferably during the cooler months of autumn and winter. Its longevity on me was good, lasting more than 8 hours with above-average sillage for the first hour and a half, after which it becomes a subtle, close-to-the-wear aura. Santal Royal is completely unisex, and I could imagine both men and women using it, so I recommend you go and try it and form your own opinion.

Santal Royal is a wonderful oud and rose fragrance that deserves more attention. Despite this combination being extremely popular and by now almost everyone being familiar with it, Santal Royal does things a tad bit more intriguingly. First of all, the oud here is pristine and not of the barnyard animalic type; it smells luxurious. Then the rose here is unique in a way that it's sweet and almost fruity, despite not being in the pyramid. I sincerely thought that there was a raspberry in this fragrance, but nope—it's a masterful play on accords by the perfumer that manages to create the illusion of a fruit out of a rose floral. Lastly, there is a creamy santal that adds softness to the whole composition and makes it feel luxurious. I believe jasmine and leather are supportive notes that add a quiet nuance to the aforementioned accords. Yes, it is simple, but at the same time it is wonderfully done.

This fragrance has so many layers and complexities. When it first opens, it has a bitter rose similar to the Aerin Ross de Grasse candle mixed with spice. I wasn’t sure I liked it so much, but then a couple hours in, I was loving it. The sandalwood and leather really picked up and it was lovely. 12 hours later and I still smell it like a sweet jasmine scent now. Incredible fragrance. I still love Shalimar more, but I will certainly rebuy this when I’m done with the bottle. A very solid purchase.

Please bear in mind this review based on my love to old black bottle with a ribbon. So enigmatic and vibrant, rich and captivating. This one was disappointment, not bad at all but watered down quite a bit. Maybe I shouldn’t compare the two as they live their separate lives. The new perfume is fine if you are into this version. Knowing what santal royal smells like with previous addition I can’t justify this as a FB. Thankfully decant will be the only size I’ll enjoy.

Ok... obviously this is nothing like the original still a very pleasant scent. It's that type of perfume that creates a smoothe bubble around you. And by the way, I think it shines even better during high heat. There's a reason why middle Easterns wear oudh and spices a lot... And since we're at it, I also love wearing fresh scents during cold weather... it makes more sense to me

Am i the only one that gets some similarities with Tony Iommi Monkey Special? Anyway, this is such a gorgeous fragrance. Despite the fact that it has leather and oud, it's still airy. However it's just a bit too unisex for my liking

Really nice rose/woody fragrance. Elegant. Nicely composed. Doesn't jump out at me and I think there are many other superior options with this vibe. Overall it is nice and in true Guerlain fashion, the bottle is a plus.

At first I kinda hated it because the opening is really strong. But the drydown is pretty good and really interesting. 100% unisex. Not that easy to wear though. And yes, definitely has honey notes.

This is not your creamy sandalwood, this is 'Bad boy sandalwood', dry, woody and slightly medicinal but it's soooooo good. 8/10 Deffo a winter baddie and not blind buy safe.

Definitely not a hot weather smell, very good blend just like almost any other guerlain smell, perfect for chilly cold evenings and nights

even tho it s tamed, the rose oud combo makes it kinda too sweet for my personal taste. but i do admit it s a gorgeous, elegant perfume.

Strong smell and limited for formal occasions

I thought I'd try Santal Royal because it takes two notes that I don't care for (oud and leather) with three that I do (rose, jasmine and sandalwood) and I wanted to see if a little Guerlain magic in the blend and the precise choice of ingredients might come up with something I enjoy that I normally wouldn't. I think you have to try the occasional perfume that you think might not work when it comes from a House that you tend to get along with. Leather notes tend to give me a headache but there are quite a few Guerlains with leather that I enjoy and don't get a headache. What I found was a perfume that lasts somewhere between seven and eight hours so no complaints on the longevity front. I would describe the silage as mostly moderate so I'm getting a little less than the average feedback on here at the time of writing. I would say Santal Royal is unisex but it's not one for the girly girls. The opening gave me a nice rose with accompanying jasmine. The sandalwood emerges after a few minutes once the perfume has warmed up on the skin and it is a rather nice rounded, creamy sandalwood rather than a dusty one or a dry one. The effect is quite nice. Then the leather comes in. It adds another dimension and gives the perfume a dark elegance. Okay. And then the oud comes in. And I'm afraid I just don't like it. I tried to like oud but it just smells awful to me. Even Wasser at his best cannot mute the oud sufficiently to stop it from ruining the perfume. I think that if you got rid of the oud from this, you'd have something superb. If you do like oud and leather and florals then this should make a nice colder weather perfume for you.

This scent surprised me quite a bit. It wasn't what I was expecting. I have Aqua Allegoria Rosa Rossa, and it's one of my favourite scents. This almost felt like a darker version of that. Only I wasn't sure if I liked it. To me, the rose is the dominant note, but it's a light, fruity and even watery rose. The woods that come in aren't actually that dark or deep. And they don't really seem to go with the light fruity rose. Also - and I could totally be wrong on this - but there was something in there that struck me as possibly synthetic. Overall, I found this to be a feminine (not unisex) scent, but a bit of a strange one. I recently sampled "Matiere Noire" by Louis Vuitton which is a rose oud: it was way too strong for me, but it felt like a more confident and well-blended rendering of the same concept.

Santal Royal's opening is a beautiful creamy sandalwood doused in red wine. Yes, it's quite boozy at this point. Drying down this red wine note turns into a very mature rose, one that's just past its prime and it is met by the deep resonating oud. Both of these notes are why I feel like this isn't a female scent, not even a unisex one. In my opinion Santal Royal has an aftershavey quality. Nothing about it feels cheap - the blend is impeccable, refined, and intimate, sitting close to the skin rather than projecting loudly. This impression comes from testing a recent sample from Guerlain.

!یه عطر رزی در قالب ای میوه ای که در شروع کمی وایب میوه ای تازه داره و به مرور در رز حل میشه و تبدیل میشه به میوه رز میوه ای نسبتا ترش که حس آلو یا پوره ی آلو پخته شده داره فضای کاملا شرقی_عربی داره اما زننده نیست و به سلیقه من قابل قبول بود ولی گزینه خرید نیست عود هم فضای سنگین و عربی نداشت و بیشتر در راستای فضای پودری_چرمی حرکت می کرد.دودی و غلیظ هم نیست و شاید بشه گفت کمی رگه های بالزامیک داره در کل:بدک نیست -تست شده از نسخه 2019 - ****************** scent:6.5/10 longevity:9/10 sillage:8/10 purchase value:4/10 ******* overall:6.9/10

Ce parfum devrait s'appeler 'Rose Royal' , le santal n'y ai pas du tout dominant , il est meme totalement en retrait ... Sur ma peau se révèle un mélange subtil et plutot féminin de rose et de safran légèrement cuiré Avec un accord de oud synthétique biensur. C'est vraiment dommage que le santal ne soit pas mis à l'honneur , une déception pour moi , comme la totalité de la gamme absolue d'orient . Performances moyenne Next

More to male // So Strong // i was wondering why the honey note is not mentioned in the scent details while the perfuem is from the honey note line production from Guerlain // Winter// few spray can last for the whole day// Similar to tobacco Vanile by TF

Lovely sandalwood, rose, and leather. But, it's so weak, diluted even. Then, sandalwood, leather, and a slight oud base. It gains strength a bit as it becomes very oudy. Nice enough, but not that exciting and way too weak.