Santal 33

Santal 33 by Le Labo I hate that everyone found out about this scent. Some things are not meant for the streets. This used to feel like a signature you had to earn. This is a true daily wear. Any season, any environment, any occasion. I wore it every day for three to four months straight and never questioned it. It just works. The opening comes in dry and slightly spicy with cardamom, backed by a soft leather edge. There is a crispness that keeps it from getting heavy. As it develops, the sandalwood and cedar take over, smooth, structured, and a little rugged. The violet adds a clean, almost papery lift that keeps everything balanced. The drydown is where it settles into its identity. Warm woods, soft musk, and a faint smoky sweetness that stays close but never disappears. Notes include sandalwood, cedarwood, cardamom, violet, iris, leather, and musk. It leans unisex, which ended up being its only downside for me. When my fiancée started staying over, she found my bottle and made it her routine to spray it every time she left. At first it was cool, then it wasn’t. Eventually I lost the desire to wear it. There is something off about smelling like your girl. That’s how one of my favorites got retired. While I’m throwing shade, she did the same thing to Bond Greenwich and Maison Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood. Hide your unisex scents. This is still a compliment magnet. It pulls reactions without trying. People notice it in passing and turn back, whether they mean to or not. Performance is strong. It projects early, then settles into a steady presence that lasts all day on skin and even longer on clothes. Grade: A+ Projection: A+ Longevity: A+ Compliments: A+ $: ~$300

Story time: Got a sample more or less a year ago, tried it on myself and on my wife. I liked it but she said it smells like potatoes and dill. Decided not to buy in the end as it's quite expensive and she wouldn't use it. Fast forward until 2 weeks ago. I'm getting off the train on my way to work and suddenly I smell something really nice. It's some random dude walking in front of me. Smells familiar but not sure what that is so I decide to follow him for a few minutes just to smell the air behind him instead of just asking what he's wearing. (Because that's what normal people do, right?). Finally, it comes back to me - it's santal 33. I switch off the stalker mode, head to the office, find an online 20% off deal in my local department store and order 100ml. It arrives 2 days later, I show it to my wife but I don't remind her about her opinion from a year ago. She uses it for work the next day, comes back excited, says she got complimented on it and it's her favorite fragrance now. Two of my work colleagues also tell me it's my best fragrance so far, even better than the crowd pleasing PDM Layton. But I did ask them to sniff my neck and tell me what they think 🙃 Funny thing is that wearing this fragrance puts me in a calm, nostalgic mood. Reminds me of having a Sunday dinner in the summer with my family when I was a kid...maybe there is something about that potato and dill note in the end... What's the moral of the story? Ignore the hype and ignore the haters, I guess. Trust your nose and just buy what you like :)

Okay I can see why Santal 33 is such a polarizing perfume. To be completely honest, this fragrance was so hyped that I felt like I needed to order a sample to see how it went, and I did. It was an instant scrubber for me. The dill + scrap metal combo from the start was so repulsive and revolting that I didn't give it enough time to shine.. The second use however, was heaven on earth! The opening was still harsh indeed, but somehow more bearable, no more scrap metal, just dill and something very dry and green...(papyrus I think ?) Santal 33 then developed into this slightly green floral-woody combo on my skin although the woodiness was amplified on clothes which got creamier and creamier throughout the day but still managed to retain the dryness and airiness from the beginning and that's when I knew I had to order a FB. Absolutely stunning! P/s: To all the ones who show prejudice towards Santal 33, if you hate this because of the smell then I totally get it, but if you do so due to the fact that it's so popular and a little hyped up then you're pathetic. I do agree that their offerings are a bit too pricey but the juice quality DOES justify the price tag, so far I've tried this one, Rose 31, Iris 39, The Noir 29 and they're all unique in their own terms ( although the performance on Rose 31 is a bit of a joke ). Also, don't judge people for their choices of scents, let's not make this community toxic folks! :-)

I am so sorry to see that so many of you pick up a smell like dill pickles! I can understand why that turns you off to the fragrance, and perhaps in some situations, if you are able to sit through it, you may discover how wonderful this fragrance is!! It could also be impacted by the weather, and skin chemistry, of course, but fortunately for me, I get nothing like what you've described. What I get is a gorgeous sandalwood that captures the creaminess of fine Mysore sandalwood. There is an element that smells somewhat fresh and minty underneath the dominate sandalwood, which takes this from strictly male territory into completely unisex. I think the combo of cardamom and perhaps papyrus gives off that accord. I do not get anything leather or animalic from this creation. The violet soon makes an appearance, obvious if you sniff closely, but adding a touch of floral sweetness from afar. I have trouble sussing out the other notes, which is fine with me, as it just makes this juice more cohesive. I just love it, though as far as trends go, I am very late to the party. To some influencers, it may be passed, but I am too old to care. I have a small, trial sized bottle Like everything else, the price of perfume has skyrocketed, and LeLabo is no exception. I would like to own a full bottle some day, but in the meantime, I think I am going to purchase a 9ml decant. Obviously, this isn't a safe blind buy!

One of the best niche fragrances ever. An absolute masterpiece from Frank Voelkl! Anyone who says Santal 33 smells like “Dill pickle” has snorted too much substance in their smeller. (haha kidding but not really) I get a fresh Cucumber smell within this fragrance but that is nowhere even close to the smell of a vinegary dill pickle. People are crazy. My breakdown Fresh cucumber with cardamom and a little hint of mint in the opening. Then the fragrance changes towards a strong cedar note with the mint lingering and the fresh cucumber dying down. Then the magic happens at about the 2-3 hour mark of wearing this perfume it turns into the most beautiful Cedar, iris, musk, and vanilla dry down. The vanilla just keeps the fragrance from being to sharp and it never really “shows itself” but my oh my the dry down is just to die for. A true masterpiece and it’s far more unheard of than the niche community would like you to believe. In my experience nobody who has asked me about my fragrance, has even heard of Santal 33 or Le Labo and I wore it everyday for nearly a year and received many, many compliments. I will never not love this fragrance I own so many fragrances now that it gets less wear time these days, but I’ll never forget the fragrance that started my niche journey and I very well could have ended with and that is Santal 33