Arabia Khashab

#1818 in my “Tour de Fragrance” I first experienced “Santal 33” at the Le Labo shop on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, California when shopping with a girlfriend I was spending the week with on one of my rare visits to Los Angeles for an annual charity event. I was ready to get a bottle of every scent they had for the lovely and talented woman I was with, who usually disdains fragrance, as she was loving the smells in the shop. But the store employees, clearly hired for their looks and nothing else, couldn't be bothered to stop texting and chatting with one another. That was irritating enough. But what really annoyed me is when I finally got one’s attention she knew absolutely nothing about the products, couldn’t tell me which were air fresheners you’d spray around the bedroom, which were scents to be worn, let alone knowing anything about the scent composition. In response to my inquiry, had to ask another clerk where they kept the "Santal 33", to which that clerk replied, “I’m not sure if we have that”, as she was standing in front of a shelf full of Santal 33 bottles. I don’t blame the clerks for their indifference and incompetence. I blame management. If their manager, head of sales and marketing, corporate president worked for me, they wouldn’t work for me. To this day, though I’ve sampled most of the Le Labo products, I’ve never purchased one on principle. But I love "Santal 33”, so I was ever so pleased to find this absolutely lovely clone by Le Chameau/Emper, which to my nose is indistinguishable. Good quality. Date wear not business wear. The iris and papyrus are dead center in my sweet spot, and just $19. Absolutely safe blind buy, and even better, Le Labo did not get my $300+. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

This has such a strong leather that you cannot make out the Cardamom or iris. It's not at all what I was expecting. I've smelled leather fragrances far far better. I will give it a short time to mature and come back if anything changes