Santal Kardamon

I have found many of the Maison Lancome line odd but this one is the freakiest yet. It smells like hospital to me. Not sure I can describe it better. It's not like Dettol or cleaning products though. It's like everything about being in hospital. I've been in many, many times as a kid n as an adult. When I was little hospitals did mostly smell strongly of Dettol but then they started to privatise n outsource the cleaning n the smell changed.. then they got superbugs haha so they did not save money overall but practices didn't change back >:( Anyhow, so I don't mean straight Dettol. But it's.. it's the hospital linen cupboard, even more so it's the anaesthetic room.. it's the smell that hits just as they inject you with anaesthetic.. your arm goes cold n you start to fall backwards.. when you come round in those crispy cotton sheets that have been mass boil laundered.. tubes.. my arms are starting to feel funny just smelling this. My inner elbows are braced for impact haha this is so weird. I quite like it, purely because this is such a familiar smell n hospital to me hasn't been especially traumatic or anything, just a kind of regular holiday but with needles. There is no overt rubber here but I recall hospital masks with a nebuliser, salbutamol wafting. I have some straight sandalwood essential oil, I have cardamom in the kitchen cupboard. I know what leather smells like & vanilla... those things are not here. I just get Eau de Emergency Ward 10. I actually quite want to get a bottle now, because to me hospital is in some senses, home. Amazing stuff. I'm sure it's totally not what was intended n I'd be fascinated to know if anyone else has the same reactions but this is what it does for me. Strong like. Btw, if anyone is reading this n thinking OMG what the hell do you have there, it's official carded samples, def the genuine article :) Addendum: Husband thinks it smells of hospitals too, he says there is a note of surgical spirit in there.. but he really hates it n says hospitals are actually nicer haha. I still like this n will try n get some. This lasted five hours on my very dry skin. Not particularly impressive longevity for the price. Addendum: I have done as threatened n bought a bottle! I love this stuff! I don't know what they were aiming for or what others can smell but it's hilarious to me that this smells as it does n that I like it so much. Husband now says "It's all right" btw. After saying all that it should be obvs this is not a blind buy x

Punchy and charismatic and upmarket - femme at first, but always tough with it. On me, though detectable in the beginning, the cardamom and sandalwood are actually minor players here - it's overwhelmingly a no-messing leather scent with sharp, boozy, almost medicinal resin amping up the attack. Maybe it's the citrus which makes it a little sourer and less warm/rounded than I was expecting from the pyramid above ... that doesn't make it any less bold, but I almost yearned for a tiny bit more sweetness, which almost never happens. Grand and complex - though not changing much over time - and the performance is muscular, with a billowing cloud of sillage up to 3m at first, and though that grande-dame entrance quietens down within a couple of hours, it's still batting away bravely 9h later as a skin scent, with a tiny bit of gentler sandalwood and vanilla peeking out cautiously in the latter hours. More than respectable ... but I think Guerlain Santal Royal kind of fills this classy-lady-leather-sandalwood vacancy for me. And it's a bit expensive for what it is (though obviously made with care out of really good materials). Very much worth sampling and chasing for discounts, though.

Cyber Monday deals on Neiman Marcus website for perfumes caused me to blind buy a bunch of them on my wishlist. Lancome Santal Kardamon I haven’t seen any you tube reviews yet but I love the notes so I bought it. I love it! When Federal Express delivered my perfume early this morning I ripped open box and sprayed it on me assuming it will last only 4-5 hours...wrong! I showered 7 hours later and still could smell it as if I recently sprayed it on! I’m going on 9 hours with scent hardly fading! Sillage is still 6 feet with a nice scent trail with only 2 sprays early this morning. Notes showing up on me are not what I expected but I love it anyway! This is not a cardamom bomb like I hoped for originally. On me the pepper opens up then ten minutes later citrus sneaks in and stays for hours with amber, sandalwood, vanilla (not sweet), hint of clean patchouli. Cardamom was only in first couple hours lightly mixed with other notes. This was worth buying and I plan to wear it often this winter. I’m not sure how this perfume performs in heat.

It seems this one generates polarized responses. I, for one, have a lot of love for Santal Kardamon!!! It's creamy--milky, warm, spicy (you've gotta love cardamom, which I do), and seems to balance light and dark elements well: bright citrus with hints of liqueur, patchouli, and leather. To me, these latter elements are more of an abstraction, which indicate to me how well blended the fragrance is. I can’t believe no one has mentioned the similarity of this fragrance to Remember Me by Jovoy. These are about 90% the same, but SK has turned up the dial on sandalwood. However, I don't see any resemblance with Santal Noir by Dior, as was mentioned. I consider it a hidden gem of the Maison Lancome collection, which gets more attention for Oud Bouquet, Parfait de Roses, Jasmins Marzipane, all of which are indeed outstanding fragrances. This one is a little more avant-garde for ML, but still wearable--even in summer in South Florida, I have no problem rocking it! I should add sillage is moderately-strong, and longevity is excellent.

Santal Kardamon is all about the Cardamom & Sandalwood. It's spicy and fresh and a pinch of sweetness, but not overly sweet and very unisex. It feels and smells very balsalmic. So it's rich and dense due to the leather and birch. It's beautifully blended in and balances the fragrance. SK is bright while being resinous. This is very unique and pleasing if you love spices. This is also creamy because of the vanilla. It's so gorgeous that I would love a back-up of this. The sillage is beyond arms length at first and then calms down but still shows a nice normal presence that is just right and last's a long time especially on clothes. If you love Portrait of a Lady which is a very dark spicy fragrance then you will love this because this is a brighter spicy fragrance and you will find it a nice edition to your collection.

blast of cardamon that is almost camphorous with a smidge of bergamot to brighten it with lots of pink pepper that spices and tickles the nose, but yet gourmand and sweet, orange blossom and neroli are very present and lend the sweet honeyed feel to the fragrance then it starts to dry out and tons of leather rises with a little light smokey birch quality; the peppers should be way higher in the notes vote; and the sandalwood is there to make everything creamy and woody but I feel other notes are dominant. I was in love with this in the top and middle, but it honestly dries down to smell like the two rose frags in this line. Not unique enough. Same base.

Got this in the Athens duty-free when I was looking for another sandalwood--a niche frag--that they were out of. In a rush, it smelled good, so I grabbed it. On the plane, I discovered that while it starts sweet and spicy, it fades on me pretty quickly into something not sandalwood. But I discovered that when I layer it with Lutens Santal Majescule (which tends to be a little sharp on me alone), the combo is magnificent. Have had men tell me I smell delicious, women chasing me down the street for the name... I hate to disappoint them. Wear in cool-weather. I also layer it with Lancome's Jasmin Marzipan, which is otherwise a bit softer than preferred.

OMG Yes...so creamy and beautiful. That’s all! Edit; RIght from the nozzle it smells very green which makes sense as it says green cardamom on the bottle. After I spray I smell lots of peppery smoke (gentler than by the fire place smoke) and leather, oranges and creaminess. It’s unisex for sure in the first 10 to 20 mins...dry down is a little more feminine with the cashmeran mixed with vanilla coming out prominently. It settles to a white floral vanilla candy...and has turned into a completely different perfume at this point...It’s so unique to me, and I’m impressed. Try before you buy it.

What a sophisticated, warm, delicious, very well blended perfume. It reminds me of a strong, mature yet approachable woman. Longevity is very good, one spray lasted on my wrist 8 hours before it becomes a skin scent. Cardamom and vanilla caught me in this scent, it gives creamy vibe which i think combines very well with leather and cashmeran. Sandalwood also gives a sweet touch to this perfume. Overall i think this is a very good purchase for me, i know i will use this a lot. I have two other perfumes from this collection but Santal Kardamon is my fav.

It took a few wears for me to decide how I feel about this, but after I went through a sample I ended up getting a bottle and I swear it gets better every time I wear it! Sweet but spicy and just a little leathery. It’s so cozy and amazing I absolutely love it. It lasts forever and projects nicely but it doesn’t fill a room so you won’t overwhelm everyone. I know the bottle will last me forever since two sprays lasts me a whole day even in the coldest weather but I’m still fighting the urge to buy a backup since it’s discontinue and I want this forever

This one is lovely a rich and sweet woody goodness. I wear this (2-3 sprays) to backup or flesh out other scents. I really enjoy the toasted woody sweetness and depth it adds. Really lovely paired some of my existing scents: Lyric Woman or Dries van Noten par Frederic Malle or Blanche Bête. Lasts a long time and the boozy notes slowly drop away the caramelised wood notes soften to a silky warm lightly sweet powder base finish. For me the cardamom note isn’t the key player. It’s the almost “toffeed” sandalwood and liquor. Perfect for cooler weather.

My first foray into the house of lancome and I have to say - This is gorgeous. A wonderful sweet/woody gourmand, not too dissimilar to MAISON MARGIELA'S By The Fireplace as Eyviab pointed out below. I have not yet tested them side by side, but to the untrained nose, the similarities are undeniable as they share a similar scent profile. What sets this one apart is that on the drydown, this gets smoother, slightly smokier/woodier and altogether richer making this offering superior to the aforementioned By The Fireplace. An Instant Love

Pay no attention to the reviewer who says this is very very close to Dior's Santal Noir. It is literally nothing like Santal Noir. Not even a little bit. This is the best woody/spicy fragrance I have ever smelled. My absolute favorite woody/spicy scent. It's woody, spicy, sweet with an almost zesty? quality. Creates the most luxurious cloud around you and gives you a warm, cozy feeling. Like being wrapped in a blanket of sandalwood and cardamom. It's freaking gorgeous and totally unisex. Get yourself a sample already!

Bright bold spicy cardamom on creamy sandalwood- what’s not to like? I absolutely love this! It’s pretty linear but I don’t mind because the initial spray is so powerfully beautiful that I don’t want it to evolve. Although it could be a dense and heavy scent, there is a bit of sparkle (a bit of a booziness?) in the mix to lighten. Warm and spicy, this definitely a fall/winter fragrance. It lasts a long time. If I spray at bedtime I wake up in the morning with my wrists still smelling of beautiful sandalwood.

I just received this, it is without a doubt full bottle and signature scent worthy. The cardamom in my opinion is the black larger cardamom variety, not the green smaller pods used in Indian cuisine. The larger black one is used in Vietnamese cooking and has a much milder, more delicate aromatic fragrance. This is woody whilst at the same time being creamy, the sandalwood is superb and present throughout. 10/10, unlike Iris Dragees from the same range which provoked a serious “meh” reaction.

Beautiful fragrance which is warm, spicy but delicate. At first spray, one gets mostly the sweet spiceness of cardamon. After melting into your skin, you find a glowing and soft sandalwood. The image I associate with this perfume is a gold silk scarf drifting through a desert. It is a rich and gorgeous fragrance but is in no way offensive or domineering as so many of the santal types tend to be. Imminently wearable and while it stays close to the skin, lasts for hours.

Received a decant in a sandalwood sampler and fell over-my-heels in love! One of my all time favorites for sure. Just splurged on a full "vintage" bottle. Why was this discontinued??? Great longevity, perfect amount of sillage. Luxury and cozy, perfectly unisex. Very prominent sandalwood, some might find it masculine leaning due to this, nice hit of green cardamon. Beautiful! This totally fulfills my hunt for a more linear sandalwood-forward add to my collection.

What a delicious scent of spicy cardamom & sweet vanilla. Spicy & sweet with a fantastic deep richness created by sandalwood & amberwood. Gorgeous scent. This is a gourmand delight, indeed. It leans a little toward the feminine side with its sweetness but any man can wear this. Has a great performance, too! Too expensive, though. Another "private" collection marketing scheme that everybody seems to do. Such a shame.

Santal Kardamon is very, very beautiful, yet one of the most overlooked in the Maison Lancome line. The opening is very much candied orange peel and cardamom with some fizzy sandalwood. As time goes on some ambery undertones begin to emerge, soon to be overtaken by a boatload of benzoin. Very cozy and wintry, versatile for day to night, and quite unisex with the citrus and spicy-woodiness.

Best gourmand, cozy, buttery sandalwood scent ever made. So sumptuous and never experienced anything else like it. It does last over night, but it smells best in the first 6 hours or so. I always start to think maybe I don't need it (when the days are hot), but as soon as there is a chill in the air again, I remember why I need it and always think maybe I should get a backup bottle.

Serious question, why is this perfume discontinued lancome?? This is the most luxurious warm spicy, yummy sweet woody leathery scent in my collection. The more it sits on the shelf and macerates, the more richer and stronger it gets, I just love it and my bottle is half way done! Please bring it back cause I would love to buy another bottle.

Wow, wow, wow! This completely surprised me. A blind buy gone spectacularly well. Beautifully woody, peppery, and spicy in the opening with a gorgeous dry down. The floral notes aren't readily apparent on my skin, but I do notice a hint of a slightly soapy orange blossom in the dry down. I'll be wearing this a lot this winter.

I wanted to try it for quite a long time and it did not disappoint me! It’s a stunning sort of “full-bodied” sandalwood. Very milky and full of warming spices and gooey balsamic notes with a deep and rich sweetness in the base. Straight up to the wishlist! ig: scent.guide

Agreed! Such an underrated fragrance. Beautiful leather fragrance with a ton of cardamom. The sandalwood is there the whole time. It just takes you to a warm cozy place. I love it. It you like leather, spicy fragrances, I would recommend it if you can find it.

This is amazing it is like a cousin to MMR By the Fireplace and it's so yummy warm intoxicating! It's woody and sweet very soothing it gets 5 stars on my book!

Has anyone’s 1 year old full size fragrance went bad? Or it’s just mine? Mine has been stored in cool dry place (closet).

Omg! In winter it’s not as great as when weather gets warm!!! Such gourmand fragrance!!

More people need to smell this. It's ridiculously good. That is all.

Beautiful fragrance. Leans feminine for sure but I don't care.

A bit feminine but who cares when it smell's good? :)

A richer version of Starlight. I’m obsessed.

The first time I smelled Santal Kardamon, I was taken aback because, this is not what I associate with a pleasant smelling perfume (which is not to say it was unpleasant but it was certainly very unique, to me anyway) but at the same time there was something vaguely familiar and comforting about this scent. I went on a journey with this one. Of the notes listed here, I get a slightly smoky cardamom (imagine dry roasting cardamom and taking it right to the edge of burning it), something, I imagine the liqueur note, that smells alcholic and definitely a prominent clean leather note. Sandalwood can smell very dry and leathery which is how it is used here and quite different from the creamy slightly sweet, sandalwood paste that is commonly used in the Indian culture, that I am used to and like. In this composition it works in conjunction with the leather note, complementing and maybe, even accentuating it. All the other notes here are too well blended for my nose to tell apart and the overall scent, tugged at a scent memory I couldn't quite put my finger for a long time but kept drawing me back, until one of the reviews below mentioned a hospital smell and it all clicked into place. It reminds me of the way my mother, who was a nurse, smelled when she came home after her shift, the lingering aseptic, astringent smell of the hospital, mixed in with smells of leather from her car and a very faded scent of her perfume. I really do like the dry down of this but the opening was initially a little off putting for me but I got used to it. I did finally get a bottle for nostalgic reasons since it reminds me of my mother. Performance on this, longevity, projection and sillage, is on par with most from the line and very good. This is a very, very dry scent and definitely veers more masculine imo. To me, this smells familiar and comforting but if it were not, I think I would given this one a miss as I initially planned to.

Starts with a very pretty red rose with accent of cardamom, reminscent but not identical to the rose in Roses Berberanza. A dark red spicy raspy leather and sandalwood combo peeks through. There is a gourmand caramel honey accord that binds the two. Has a bit of vintage Oud Bouquet there. As it develops it's a shape shifter back and forth between the raspy leather accord and the sweet tones. Eventually the two merge with a soft but very present projection. I like it and I don't usually like these kinds of leather accords but it's well done. The clothes retain none of the cardamom and all of the raspy ambery leather. Not usually my cup of tea but there's something compelling about this one. EDIT: The more often I wear it the more addictive the spicy leather is, I've come to appreciate how multifaceted it is. As it dries down it really has a lot of caramel and vanilla tones where its got a strong gourmand facet. It's got two faces that almost never go together, it's marvelously composed, I understand why it has a lot of fans. I would definitely say it leans more towards the masculine...

I am a bit disappointed. It is not that boozy and cardamom heavy as I hoped. I find it boring and old school. I detect some cardamom, because I know it is one of the notes and the name suggests. But otherwise, I would never guess. So, it definitely doesn’t smell like Xerjoff Starlight, which is amazing and full of cardamom. To me it is slightly spicy, creamy and sweet sandal. But I think the real problem is that I don’t like sandal that much. Not the note, but the sandal focused ones. I find them boring, except Guerlain Santal Royal. So, if you are into sandal, you probably would like it. It doesn’t smell similar, but I consider this in the same category with TF Santal Blush which I like it better. That one is spicier and more masculine, this leans feminine.

Warm, elegant, sensual. Sandalwood and kardamon done well. Their sensuality and spiciness is obvious. Start to the end you can feel the scent dominated by the duo. However, they are ehanced by other ingredients in such a great supportive way that the composition is plush and mysteriously multifaceted. It's delectable and great, but you won't truly know just how the magic works. It is also sweet, and a bit powdery. Genderless at that - just a great scent. Elegant sillage and 24 hours longevity. Today, 24 hours in, I can feel the amberwood, vanilla, aged in wooden barrel alcohol, pepper facets much better. Still, the main heroes are detectable. So far, the best of the Maison Lancome line I was wearing, unexpectedly.

The Maison Lancome line continues to impress me, Santal Kardamon doesn't smell like a typical designer, it veers into niche category and that's a good thing. I'm wearing this today and it's 90 degrees outside. It was completely inappropriate but I needed some spice, even in full-heat summer, and this fit the bill perfectly. I got spice, a lot of spice. I don't smell distinct cardamon, but more cardamon mixed with other spices and leather and liquor. The leather and liquor are strong, so this fragrance isn't anything like "pumpkin spice". It leans more masculine. And there's an absence of sweetness, so I wouldn't consider this a "people-pleaser" scent at all. It's more the anti-people-pleaser. And I'm ok with that.

This is somewhat medicinal on me - warm woody scent with an aromatic approach and amber-pepper-vanillac powder base. I feel immaculately dressed, clean, confident and calm (all at the same time). This fragrance leaves behind Incredible sillage- it smells amazing and fills the room. BUT do NOT blind buy. This fragrance is like quiche to me - I like it on occasion only and I have to be in the mood for it and sometimes I flat out hate it.

In the beginning the scent is strong, very 'vintage perfume', even bad. Maybe it's the leather notes pushing through? But the dry down is surprisingly sweet, warm, and likable. It's definitely more female on me. Sprayed in the evening and could easily smell this still in the morning on my wrist. I usually wear more easy and crowd-pleasing perfumes, but I think I will grow to like this one.

Delicious, creamy, milky cardamom sandalwood - not too heavy on cardamom, and soft leathers and vanillas whisper beneath. Yumm! Drydown a touch dry and birchy. Agree on the mild shalimar comparison below! Don't know how but it has the vibe. Probably the leathery slightly screechy vanilic aspects.

I was hoping for more, but all I really get is sandalwood and cardamom and vanilla. Too sweet with enough complexity to keep my interest. Awfully expensive for something that smells so linear to me, despite all the notes listed. Plus, there is an odd, powdery, kind of plastic scent lingering.

Very warm and very very very woody. Smells like the best darkwood furniture mixed with sandal and something boozy sweet and sour. Totally unisex and very sexy. Again, I wish it didn't cost almost 200 euros

give me similar vib to oud for Greatness maybe the leather though they didn't mention it in OFG though the opening is amazing the drydown is patchouli patchouli patchouli 🤦♀️

Great perfume , great balance, amazing longevity, it oozes class and sophistication!!

Well, I've owned Hipnose in the past and this maintains the same transparency, sweetness, lightness in the style of the house. All juices with a low specific gravity ... but only apparently. The notes are all there and stand out well.Harmonious, polite, warm,on the brink of unisex. It is brilliant and conveys... serenity. Therefore bought it. To fill the gap.

This is too leathery for me and I don't identify with it, but it's nevertheless a beautiful scent.

Received a sample in a recent perfume order. To me this has a sickly sweet opening. I get mostly cardamom, vanilla, and leather throughout. Since reading some reviews on here, I completely agree with cupcake28 - the dry down smells like band-aids! Good longevity on me, though. Sprayed on in the evening and I can still smell it on my skin after waking up the next morning. Thank gosh for samples - definitely not suitable as a safe blind buy, in my opinion.

Band-aids, latex, insulin, and maybe a pudding cup. It gives me PTSD flashbacks to time spent in hospital. I can almost taste the blood in my mouth as I'm smelling it. It might be nice if you've never had the trauma of going through the ED, but for those around you ho may have, you're sure to induce light-headedness and nausea. I'm going to need to take a shower.

I’ve waited so long to try this fragrance. I finally did today, without abandon, sprayed it directly on skin just knowing it was going to be a masterpiece. This fragrance immediately shot in to my number one slot for WORSE FRAGRANCE I HAVE EVER SMELLED. After reading through all the reviews, I’m so confused. Anyone here watch Bob’s Burgers? The episode in particular with the older couple, “You smell like ointment and pee.” This smells like medicated urine. I get nothing no one else says they are smelling in this. The initial spray, fresh diaper pee, the middle, diaper pee that’s been sitting for an hour, the dry down, vitamin water, pee, and some kind of white ointment that I can’t put my mind on the name of right now because I cannot get passed how badly this smells and worse, I CANNOT GET IT OFF. So this is great news for those who love smelling like this or actually smell what the reviews are saying instead of this monstrosity that has assaulted my nose. It’s loud, it’s strong, and it absolutely will not come off.

I blind-bought a sample of this as I love unisex spicy fragrances, especially cardamom. Unfortunately this is horrible on me! All I can smell is a very pungent pink pepper and sandalwood with a horrible soapy / talcy dry-down. I wouldn't say this is unisex at all - it's a very 'male' fragrance, and is one that would clear a room...Even my dog runs away from me when I spray it! One for the bin I'm afraid.

I’m so glad I was able to snatch a bottle of this fragrance while it was still available online. It is a magnificent, special-occasion powerhouse that smells like absolute luxury. Unlike many other offerings in the Maison Lancôme line, this one feels perfectly unisex, leaning neither too feminine nor too masculine. The core identity is a celebration of the "art of assemblage," blending two distinct types of sandalwood extractions and layering them with a very green, crisp cardamom, you experience the creamy richness of the sandalwood alongside its deeper, woody aspects as well. While the sandalwood and cardamom are the stars, the composition is supported with various different notes. It opens with a bright citrus spark before moving into a boozy heart balanced by a noticeable orange blossom and neroli duo. The dry down is also full of thhe heavy hitters —vanilla, leather, and patchouli—making it feel incredibly complex and opulent. Overall, this is not an everyday scent; it is loud, bold, and luxurious. The bottles in this collection are also stunning works of art. My only regret is not grabbing Patchouli Aromatique as well before the line disappeared.