Sandalo

In my search for the perfect sandalwood, I have accumulated some wonderful examples. Top of the heap for me would be the Lutensian masterpieces Santal Majuscule & Mysore, followed by the likes of Santal Noble by MPeG, Blue Santal by CdG and Tam Dao by Diptyque, What I have discovered is that when it comes to sandalwood, there really is no 'perfect' incarnation. All the above examples are gorgeous in their own right and suit wearing on different occasions, at different times of the year, amongst different company or indeed, just to suit your particular mood. Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo is yet another altogether different take which yet again, illustrates this theory. Despite owning a lot of sandalwood scents, I have nothing quite like this one. It is a stunning, dry, linear sandalwood, supported by a lovely rose note and hints of patchouli. It opens with a touch of lavender (not a favourite note of mine, but well wrought in this) and some delicate spices, but the sandalwood and vetiver quickly assume centre stage and stay there. It has wonderful staying power and it's projection is actually kind of curious. It feels so subtle and personal, that I feel as if it has dried to a skin scent almost immediately, but then I find myself sniffing at these divine wafts in the air and realise it's actually me that I'm smelling! The odd random compliment is also a sign that this scent projects well too I guess! This is a really beautiful scent, well constructed and worth every penny. With only a few drops, you'll wind up thanking complete strangers for the compliments all night long! Sandalwood lovers, please don't miss this!

The most meditative fragrance I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Perhaps as close to a holy grail as I will ever come, and this quite literally: warm, comforting, tempering, fortifying, Sandalo is virtually a pocket-size religion. The spiritual dimension and ritualistic importance of several key ingredients support this bold claim. I find the sandalwood to be an immediate presence here and the oils grouped around it serve to emphasize its calmly uplifting woody sweetness rather than the harsher, pungent aspects equally latent in this mysterious Mysore wonder. You will find very different sandalwoods, but none better than Villoresi's intellectual and emotional masterpiece.

Thought I reviewed this ages ago! How could I not have expressed my utter infatuation with this unbelievably creamy sandalwood? Not sweet at all, just woods that are somehow oily and creamy. I don't really notice all the other notes. It must be well-blended because nothing distracts from the intensely creamy wood. I was expecting something a bit more cologne-like because of the lavender, but this is a heavy-hitting creamy sandalwood, kind of like sandalwood oil mixed with Nivea lotion or something like that. A breathtaking, totally addicting wood fragrance!

This smells very close to some of the creamier Mysore sandalwood incense sticks I have from Japan. It is what I hoped for from Tam Dao, but without any hint of the scratchy cedar note I get from Tam Dao. Pretty linear, with Lorenzo Villoresi's 'signature' powdery note developing later on. When I was younger I might have considered it too masculine to wear, but now I think it's just lovely.

Maybe because Lorenzo Villoresi has a background in philosophy and anthropology, there's a kind of profundity -- not just beauty -- in his perfumes. Sandalo is an example of that: It's lovely, gentle and calming, but it also brings to mind a feeling of rituals situated just outside of memory. It's as much a state of mind as a fragrance, and I love it.

My favourite scent of all time. Smells beautiful and relaxing to me. Incredibly enjoyable and soothing. To me it smells like a place. Almost church like perhaps. I really just wear it for me because it's so calming and peaceful. A masterpiece!

Sandalo is a bold, balsamic amber-woody scent. Initially sweet and heavy, like overripe fruit, its dry, woody base takes centre-stage as it progresses. A creamy floral undertone smooths things out somewhat, but it is not the most cohesive scent despite its best efforts. It is an example of a sweet masculine scent due to its lavender top note and boozy woods. Sandalo has a strong, boozy opening, its balsamic amber accord evident from initial spray and remaining until final fade. It is rounded out by ripe fruitiness, and a strong, aromatic lavender note holds court for a little while, but doesn't quite meld well with the balsamic opening. The woodiness is subtle here, but develops alongside the scent as a whole. As it develops, it settles, and the dry woodiness comes to the fore. The rosewood is initially the most dominant woody note, but the dry sandalwood slowly takes precedence. It is not the beautiful Mysore sandalwood of vintage perfumes, but is instead the harsher Australian variety. Still, some powdery rose adds some smoothness to it here, complementing it beautifully. As it dries down, the amber accord becomes leathery and musky, marrying nicely with the dry woods. The patchouli adds some earthiness, and it fades to a dry musky, woody skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate - it fades surprisingly quickly after its opening blast of balsamic booziness. It is masculine-leaning in my opinion, and is best worn in cold weather. A balsamic-woody scent with some points of interest, I'm not wholly convinced by Sandalo, but it is a reasonably decent masculine based around an Australian sandalwood note that shows some creativity on the part of its perfumer. 3/5.

After a lot of looking a round and much sampling, I finally managed to pick up a bottle Villoresi's iconic Sandalo. And what a creation this one is!! Not your average drug store scent but neither is it your average niche scent - the whole concept of sandalwood, the rarest and most expensive Sandalwood from Mysore is captured in this juice. The accompaniments are by no means anything over the top but they are put together in absolute perfect harmony. Dry Vetiver, opoponax (sweet myrrh) and further up the pyramid rosewood, lavender (of course) and some rose all work together very smoothly to produce the final product. Quite like how a car is comprised of multiple components working together to turn the wheels, brake, change gears, etc. The sandalwood is indeed creamy yet light and subdued. On my skin at least it is quite faint - it doesn't knock with its fist on the front door so as to break it down; instead, it taps lightly and expects you to open. Carefully apply in small doses and the sandalwood is there in all its glory. Great bottle too Mr Villoresi. Now, if only they had this stuff in stock in all sizes...!!

Gorgeous and elegant sandalwood and flowers combination. Very versatile especially during spring and fall. A hint of sweetness makes it comforting and good for colder seasons, but its fresh and flowery notes make it very suitable for those days when the cold is gone but the heat isn't too strong. I've even used it on summer nights during my holidays and it was perfectly enjoyable. I've received great female reactions to this. I think Villoresi is a little bit underrated as they make wonderful fragrances. Their idea is that a fragrance shouldn't be related to a season, an occasion or gender, just on your mood and preferences and Sandalo does exactly that for me.

Looking for a sandalwood aroma today, this juice certainly gives me that with a herbal vib with oakmoss and a tint of lavender. After awhile a spicy/balsamic blast with a hint of citrusy blend settles making it a very unique juice. The sandalwood/woodsy blend with the peppery aroma is still going strong. Vetiver helps to balance the spicy/woodsy notes. Longevity and Silage is very high lasting well past 8hrs Overall, Definitely a fall /winter fragrance perfect during the evening and not to be taken as a low key fragrance. This juice certainly packs a punch. If that's what you want, this juice is for you!! 8.5/10 well made.

I like sandalwood and there are very few sandalwood based fragrances I dislike. SANDALO by Lorenzo Villoresi is a pretty, dry and mostly masculine sandalwood fragrance. Note-wise I got sandalwood of course and very dry woody notes, it was also a bit spicy, a bit warm and a bit old school. As someone already mentioned - this would work much better on a male skin as this have a very masculine vibe. For me SANDALO lacks that little "oomph" that would make me love this, it is a nice sandalwood scent, but it also feels that there is something missing. Longevity is good - 6 hours and a bit more, silage is rather low.

It starts out honest, vintage, a fat, stalactic wire. I have above all bitter lavender, citrus and spicy rosewood in the first place, soiled with vetiver and opoponax. Soap with rose and warmed by amber all the way. Never sweet sandal. At times harsh, dark, dense and sticky, on the skin with an Italian colonial trail. More suitable in cold seasons. Old school masculine but still, honest.

Very old school western take on sandalwood without any spiritual vibes that come with Mysore Sandalwood. Woody masculine and fresh scent profile. Overall an above average performer for a more mature audience. Safe for office wear but doubt will get compliments.

55)what a delightful surprise, the reincarnation of Rush Men by Gucci. Sandalwood + rose on a bed of amber and spice up by some citrus. The result is elegant and quite compelling.

Reflection BY Lucian Freud 1985 +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Stevens ( Anthony Hopkins ) in The Remains of the Day by James Ivory

A very sober. gentlemanly fatherly sandalwood. Good stuff.

Interesting fragrance.... starts off very very loud, harsh on the dry woods... and on the vetiver. then a blast of Lavender, very fresh. Luckily it calms down rapidly to reveal some soft rose notes and, finally! a deep round note of sandalwood. I like its complexity and the fact that the notes develop gradually in a floating motion. I see it on a man, even if it is marketed as unisex. A refined Gentleman, that is. A very classy & refined fragrance, but I am not sure I could personally wear it.

It smells of old wood, slightly musty, with that soft, warm resinous side of sandalwood and the dry bite of aged cedar. It almost brings to mind antique furniture, freshly waxed, with a trace of cedar oil that feels warm, a little rancid, and grows more peppery as it dries. It’s that hot, slightly rancid edge I struggle with, not the wood itself, which I actually like.

my sample is from the vintage collection but it's not on fragrantica unfortunately. this starts with woods and something that smells like very realistic coconut. then i get a heavy dose of musk as it fades. i don't get any florals or citruses here...just sandalwood and coconut. interesting, not terrible, but not for me.

As much as I love Lorenzo Villoresi perfumes, especially Wild Lavender, Vetiver, Colonia, Dilmun and Atman Xaman, I really do not like this one. To me it smells like the fireworks you use for New Years; like old gun powder smoke. I also get animalic notes almost like urine. There is also a warmer boozy note, but it doesn't compensate for the sharp smoky burnt smell. If sandalwood is supposed to smell like this it is not for me.

NOt the best sandalwood, i can feel something like glue bitter in a bad way it remember me layer of parquet 6/10

The perfume is said, inspired by the Indian tradition, and I really perfume smells like an Indian incense, which you can buy at every step, of course, signed SandalWood.U very beginning with lavender and petit grain rose with neroli, and bring sweet bitterness, but not 'floral, with citrus course, who are not too intrusive and that perfectly flows into sandalwood, vetiver and moss which gives green trace, very woody-friendly, while the amber then immediately brought powdery gentle contours, which at times are just distracted with opoponaksom, which is still weak due to the continuous and constant influx of oriental sandalwood, which gives it a gentle contours and pepper, and maybe a little reminiscent of that in Piper Nigrum, and have a similar base, are very approximate, but this can be almost feel free to say, that this is his version of Fresh, fortunately without so much interference pepper, but I still have a feeling that there is.Somehow all the time feels cedar, but again very tame, even powdery, of course with the inevitable sandalwood, which is at times' vanilla's (miracle), while citrus there too, but of course does not dominate the page, and again to a stable wooden base, made note of oriental perfume again, above, aromatic sticks.frankly, I do not know whether we like perfume, I'd still wear it, also after sweet, and even sweet-gourmand perfumes, colognes with a wooden base, sc.wooden perfumes are my option number 2, even if they are slightly powdery-like oriental, my happiness is higher, but not cedar lately to stand in the 'woody fragrances, although he almost constant companion of the same, as for example in a sweet varieties, cedar is very much like me, say at Aigner Black for Men Etienne Aigner, but in this combination, however, we did not likable, maybe with that and I will not be realistic in the final comment on this perfume, but that's how it is. Now that Sillage little longer, I might have been the charm, the perfume itself, like from 1 to 5, what I know is a max 3, more pleasant feeling for oriental wood heat, not the actual state of the perfume, which is a repeat relatively 'weak and fine appealing.Ali though the name of its creator, and to some extent the price really does not justify this perfume, however, that' frankly not something, far from being bad, but also nothing special.

With Sandalo, Villoresi achieved with near perfection a true sandalwood without too much to detract from its truest qualities. Be that as it may, I do want to point out that his mastery of aromatics to lift a base note is quite impressive, and his usage of lavender, rosewood, neroli and citrus in the opening here takes what could be a very bass-heavy composition and diffuses the sandalwood itself quite remarkably. Fascinatingly enough, there is a dry woodiness that also somehow feels creamy and balmy, especially as Sandalo dries into its heart. No matter what sandalwood materials were used, whether Mysore, Australian or others, a multitude of synth bases or accords, it somehow all feels honest and real (if that really makes sense). I think many folks have this idea of how sandalwood should smell or "feel" and may be a bit taken aback by this representation. I've smelled the wood itself along with the oils. This is one of the closest representations I've smelled. Is that important? Well, that depends on the person, but I do quite favor some realism now and then, and it's delivered here with aplomb. The dry down is accompanied with resinous elements, extending the heart of sandalwood into the base beautifully, with the feeling over time being meditative and the more unctuous elements alighting into a warm powdery "your skin but better" scent. Overall, it's a wonderful development for sure. Villoresi is extraordinarily talented in my humble opinion, deserving of much more respect.

Thanks to some very savvy and generous European perfumistas (wink wink Rebella) I've had a chance to become familiar with this house. I now realize that Villoresi has his own signature, and honestly I think I could pick one of his creations out from a line up. The man likes his lavender. I know htis is listed as an Oriental Woody but to me it is an woody aromatic, which all of his scents tend to smell like to me. Sandalwood is one of my favorite bases, and you'd have to bend over backwards to ruin this for me. Sandalo takes an interesting twist with the citrus and rosewood opening. Four hours after applying I'm left with a sweeter opponax and labdanum accord (i.e., hte heaver oakmoss and patchouli arne't stickign out), with a very citrusy sweet dry down Is Villoresi's flair my thing? Not really. While it doesn't turn me off and I certainly can't say anything bad about it, I like darker and more complex finishes. Villoresi, in my opinion, is a man's perfumer. His scents on my female chemistry don't sparkle, but i suspect that they might on a man.

"Sandalo" is extremely creamy, although it contains a harsh and transparent tone. With rich and dominant notes of sandalwood of Mysore, Bulgarian Rose, opoponax (sweet myrrh), Guaiacwood and oakmoss, this scent starts as an explosion of incense on the skin, taking me to the places in the East, among ornate skins, women wearing burqas, sandy terrain and those crowded popular markets with many spices. Its evolution on my skin was minimal, resulting in a light smoothing of the initial notes and showing its floral facet, with a slight touch of rose (which is only noticed when we aspire the scent with closed eyes and feel the rose’s nuance) and a dense and darker base, in which the Sandalwood is not the “special guest” of the night, but the host, the master of ceremonies. This is not a complex scent. This is just very well constructed, with high quality ingredients that result in a rich, warm and extremely long lasting scent. In my opinion, it has not been done for women. It is, definitely, a masculine fragrance.

When it comes to Villoresi, I can't count myself among the biggest fan of him and that is probably why I thoroughly enjoyed his controversial/polarizing Sandalo. With the exception of Piper Nigrum and, up to a certain point, Incensi, I find most of his fragrances to be too heavy and a bit cacophonic (not only during their openings). Sandalo is none of that. Don't get me wrong, this nothing subtle or restrained but it's incredibly addicting. Lavender and rosewood get the party started together with the usual herbal quality of most of the Villoresi's compositions. The fragrance immediately shows a dry character by introducing the main element of the whole composition: Sandalwood. Vetiver chime in to support the main note and together with rosewood gives birth to a nutty, sort of comforting/meditative drydown. Probably a tad too linear yet incredibly satisfying. Dry and smooth. Fantastic lasting power, good projection. A big winner. Rating: 8.5/10

Yes Sandalwood is one of the most mysterious and famous and ancient scents besides incense. A good sandal perfume is not easy to make. And like the previous reviewer points out correctly, is the fact that all sandalwood-perfumes are interpretations of how one wants to set up the sandalwood note in a perfume. In my opinion the sandalwood in this perfume is very dry and balmy. Vetiver combines this dry scent. and it stays long and gets bitter to end turning in a earthy-powdery scent. In the end it turns even into a sweet-floral scent with a woody note. For the sandalwood note its a very good note but I still prefer the sandalwood in Serge Lutens Santal majuscle. In the end it gets a bit less bitter and more sweet.This is like all perfumes of this house a good elaborated and sophisticated one. When to wear? I guess in the colder seasons and in formal situation where you need to be distinctive but not too prominent.

Rosewood aromatic rose sandalwood oakmoss Immediately from the get go, vintage Egoiste. The way the linalool, lavender coriander note and rose raw materials interact with each other, ‘painted’ in a creamy yet dry sandalwood oakmoss varnish, screams pre-formulation Egoiste, without the fruity tobacco facets though, but with a very similar rosewood accord (the real thing is endangered). Particularly prominent in Sandalo is the powdery sweet rose accord which is a fantastic match with the Australian variety of Sandalwood used here and the underlying vetiver finish. There is also a good amount of spice in here too, perhaps even some dusty nutmeg. Very baroque and grand, unapologetically vintage, but undoubtedly beautiful. The Australian sandalwood definitely modernises it a bit since it lacks the silky quality of the Indian varieties. Regardless, probably my favorite from the house.

As much as Santal 33 is about fast-paced urban anxiety and Santal Carmin about posh soirées, LV Sandalo is about getting away from the big city and all its vanity It's not even pretty, but it's reassuring that things can be simple. To call it niche would be a misplacement, as would be selling it amongst Byredos, Amouages and Marlys. Its charm is local. The sepia image of sun-drenched, stone-paved old Italian streets has been reinforced by the powdery incense notes of opoponax, patchouli and 60s ambers. I don't smell any flowers except that shaving soap lavender from the same period, but do we call it a flower? Paired with vetiver, it's a flashback from better times of slow living, which I currently perceive only as a tourist fantasy or through the travel/culinary TV channels.

A lovely and different take on Sandalwood. Sandalo starts off with the signature Villoresi DNA - which is a herbal, floral, spicy concatenation blast. Soon after the lavender kicks in with Rosewood and light florals headlining the show. Towards the late dry down, it gets similar to Santal Noble - however, I enjoy this one better as it does not have the stinky plastic castoreum note. Although I feel Rosewood is the more prominent note for the majority of the fragrance the final sandalwood dry down is smooth, creamy and delicious. There's a vintage element here, a slight dusty aroma that not many will be fond of. So definitely test first. Overall, I find Sandalo to be quite excellent just not sure I need a bottle of it. Best suited for mature individuals.

Sandalo is a fragrance that, despite its complexity, didn’t stir any strong emotions in me. It feels like it lacks a bit of character. However, one of its strengths is its dynamic nature. With the sandalwood note being more subdued and not overpowering the composition, Villoresi's creation is enriched with other nuances, which some may find more intriguing. Still, it didn’t fully win me over. There’s a certain delicacy to it that gives it a slightly feminine edge. That said, for sandalwood enthusiasts, it’s definitely worth trying. My rating: Worth getting to know. (5/7)

This is one of the most vile sandalwood scents i've ever sensed. Actually the name seems very wrong, i cant detect any sandalwood( at least made in a recognisable manner).It starts with a very unnatractive orange citrus note but i never judge a scent by it's top notes.Then the citrus part became more floral, like neroli and propably rock rose. The worst part though is the drydown an intense bourbon whiskey like ambery burnt dessert with a hideous bitter incense layer. I don't know if it's my skin or my imagination or there's something very wrong with this one!

It took me forever to find a blue bottle version but I'm glad I did, this stuff is so nice, the Sandalwood in it is beautiful, and it performs majestically off my skin, I get loud projection and 8hrs longevity easily. I had been looking for my perfect Sandalwood fragrance and this is probably as close as I will ever get to that perfect scent 10/10

Boy, am I glad I didn't blind buy a full bottle of this one. I saw this recommended for Tam Dao EDP fans. Whereas Tam Dao is very unisex, this one definitely leans masculine. Sharp, dry woods, with something that reminds me of dried dates and a wooden cabinet smell. Yuck.

Wow I fall in love with this cologne. It is the best woody fragrance that I smelled that I think fix Opoponax and Labdanum in this cologne that made this cologne Woody-Balsamic. It's scent is so nice,bitter,luxury,depth and very masculine. I love it. 8.5/10