Santalum Slivers

Santalum Slivers is one of the most straightforward and, shall I say, “easiest” perfumes on offer from the brand in my comprehensive experience so far. Don’t take simplicity and “inoffensiveness” to mean boring or lacking the artistry we’ve come to expect from John Pegg. As a sandalwood centric perfume, it is one of my favorites I’ve smelled for quite a while. If I want a sandalwood forward perfume to wear, the first three to enter my mind are this, a Serge Lutens (one of his small handful of good sandalwood perfumes), and Chanel’s Bois Des Iles. Yep, I put Santalum Slivers up there. The opening is quite hesperidic, significantly focusing on oily and zesty orange skins with flecks of sour citrus juice. However, this accord immediately locks hand-in-hand with an aged wood. The sandalwood is already in action, but neither the hesperidics nor the wood are trying outdo each other. This hand holding is tight and truly loving; they are inseparable. The hesperidics do eventually dry down to leave the sandalwood to its own devices, and it’s gorgeous. White woody, creamy, peppery, musky, slightly sweet, and given the texture of silk. Pegg is obviously using a sandalwood material, but he’s combined it with beautiful hay and cedar materials to impart sweet woody florals and gently peppery notes to help the sandalwood feel much more complete. A touch of lactones for creaminess and some clean musks give the sandalwood a beautiful texture. For a bit of levity and lift, vetiver is also present in its green woody state; the touch of youthful vibrancy is welcome. Anti-Pegg. Anti-Kerosene. I may have been able to guess this was Pegg if smelling it blind since there are a couple stylistic traits in here: air, space, and haze. But, I bet I would’ve gotten it wrong a few times before finally getting it right. Creating something very simple but very beautiful is much harder than creating something complex and beautiful; in simplicity there is nowhere to hide or anything to conceal possibly poor decisions. Pegg didn’t make a single misstep here.

After sampling and wear testing, I knew I needed to upgrade to a full size of Santalum Slivers. This is one of the few fragrances that made me emotional upon first wear. It brings memories of my late-mother, a woman who loved nature, herbs, and apothecary plant medicine. Maybe it’s the prominent grapefruit citrus notes evoking memories of her essential oil blends in the diffuser or her homemade natural bug repellant spray. This fragrance feels like a deep hug from her, with comforting bergamot and soft vetiver. Whenever I wear it I can’t help by continuing to smell my skin deeply. The cedar base feels like walking through the shaded coniferous woods, following behind her while we forage for ephemeral trout lily shoots and mushrooms. It’s a comforting citrus-forward, aromatic scent that leaves a lasting scent trail and resonates on a deeply personal level for me❤️

I have just received my order of samples from Kerosene , and I want to review each one as I try them . Santalum Slivers is the first I reached for . This is a great artisinal fragrance . In the opening, I get a nice citrus blast of grapefruit , orange and bergamot .This citrus infusion sticks around for a good while, and I feel this would be great for spring days . On the dry down , I get a peppered cedar , with just a hint of that initial citrus bast remaining. I think this fragrance is quite good . This is for someone who truly sees fragrance as art , and wants something quite different than the traditional offerings . With the samples , I don't feel it fair to speak to sillage or longevity as a spray application has a different end result than a dab on , but with that being said, I am quite satisfied with its performance in dab on application.

I finally got a bottle of this! The opening is a super citrus blast orange then turns into grapefruit. Really every part of the orange you can smell. The juice the rind pith all of it. I really dig it. I can clearly smell the cucumber in here and it gives it a fresh kinda aquatic quality. I can def smell the hay accord it’s more of a herbal green note imo. Dries down to a bit of sandalwood too. Just overall fresh clean and something different than most of the freshies I’ve encountered. My wife absolutely loves it. She smelled it on me and I could see her eyes light up. Definitely gonna be a spring / summer banger for me! Happy I got this definitely something ultra different but yet super fresh clean and delicious all in one. This and pacific chill are gonna be my new warm weather rotation.

Well, bust my buttons, I found a citrus scent that lasts for more than an hour! I keep inhaling my clothes and smelling sugar-coated grapefruit everywhere I walk. Sugar is not a note listed here, but my God, I smell it in the best way. I'm getting almost nothing but candied citrus, and I'm so ridiculously happy about it. I love just about every genre of fragrance, but I always come back to citrus being my favorite, which is a heartbreak because rarely do I find any that are long-lasting. I've been wearing this one for 6 hours, and it's still going strong. I would like to smell the cedar, rose, and cucumber, but I don't miss it. I'm just tickled pink I'm STILL smelling grapefruit. This is exactly why you test before purchasing.