Santal Volcanique

I love this. It makes me feel like taking the day off and ordering cocktails outside somewhere and having FUN. It's alive and refreshing with the ginger and lime but also a little sweet and woody in the base with a sandalwood mixture that feels like an old barbershop scent, but twists it on it's head to be slightly more flamboyant. That's part of the charm to me- it's beguiling in a boyish way. It's a soft, spicy sweetness that isn't "dandy" nor extremely masculine, but still smells a bit like shaving foam. I'm finding it hard to review because everything I see here mentions a lack of typically sweet and creamy sandalwood (I'm not a sandalwood connoisseur...yet) but I sense those qualities coming from somewhere- probably the cardamom. I think I get such a nostalgia from it partly because it also reminds me of Burberry Touch. They're both sandalwood scents that share some aromatic themes and citrus nuances. I don't pick up a huge coffee note but I think it's there somewhere adding another bitter, earthy dimension that triggers thoughts of celebratory drinks- perhaps cocktails and winter latte specials all mixed into one feeling. People may get hung up on the name implying something more impactful and brimming with energy, but I think it fits within the Crivelli line well. Moreso it's one of the few fragrances where the sweetness and mass-appeal don't bother me at all. It feels luxurious, cozy, carefree, and comfortable in many situations from casual to classy. I really feel like I could wear this anywhere, anytime, and it would be hard to dislike. The profile may be famililar but it's very refined, and performance is decent (or at least not in the category of disappearing like I hear about other scents like this). The more I wear it the more I'm picking up an earthy, almost metallic edge (coffee once again) that I'd say is fairly unique and gives more credence to the theme of hot vs cold.

Okay so Immediately I said, ooooooh I like that!!!! Because this is a real blast from the past. My past the 90's my formative years immediately I proclaimed with a degree of certainty "Santal Volcanique smells like Gucci Envy!" I stick to that but as I think back with jaded and faded recollections of Envy, another fragrance (from the same era) looms into view and it's D&G By for Men.because they are both crudely, milky, luminescent sandalwood's from an era of hope, an everything's gonna be alright sort of time. These came after the aquatic, goldrush and have been touched on in niche and peripheral designer scents since, but never really had a full-on renaissance. This is fantastic and immediately transported me back to a trip to Scotland as a teenager, amazing what fragrance can do. I get lime (and perhaps the listed ginger??) in the top but it's not a caricature or even very prominent, and a kind of gentle spices I associate with Kenzo Jungle (also sort of of the period) on a majestic sandalwood, it's musky powdery but with a masculiity, creamy woods given masculine bite with cashmeran or something perhaps? The blending is superb and the fact it evokes two great fragrances in Gucci and D&G but this is even more refined I feel. Take Floris Santal for example a fragrance with similar attributes this seems to be much fuller and thicker. This one and the iris are both top spot from the house for me. Brilliant!

This is a really good Crivelli, I love the spicy aspects of the fragrance, it's really different on the blotter than on my skin though. On the blotter the sandalwood is really present, accompanied with a spicy touch of cardamom and ginger, it was familiar to my nose until I pointed out the ressemblance to D&G The One. The sandalwood-ginger combo is similar to it, it's less sweet-tropical though, a bit drier. 4 seasons scent. On skin it's really different though, I will definitely test it more, but on a warm spring day, it smelled fresher than I thought, the ginger is really present and I also smell something reminiscent of ambroxan ( maybe in the ingredients but not on the note list), it's fresh and invigorating, with a slight spicy-woody vibe in the background. This lasts a good amount of time but doesn't project a lot though. It's maybe my skin, or because I should test more, in other weather conditions etc. but as a first skin test impression this is kinda similar to Escentric 02, only less sharp and citrusy, with an added spicy-woody touch.

Although I can see where the frustration over the naming is coming from, disliking a fragrance solely because you think it's name doesn't represent the scent is absurd. Santal Volcanique is such a crisp and mineral smelling sandalwood. Santal Glacial would probably be a more accurate name for it. It's a barbershoppy clean creamy sandalwood but it gets its freshness from ginger and lime instead of lavender or bergamot, similar to how MFK Gentle Fluidity Silver did it with corriander and juniper. Performance is acceptable. It doesnt fill a room but you dont really want this kind of scent to do that. The dry down reminds me a LOT of Clive Christian Rock Rose and Xerjoff Golden Green. Maybe it's the way the coffee (or cacao) is blended with the musk and woods in the dry down. There's something beautiful in the base that's shared between all 3. Santal Volcanique is a crisp linen suit on a hot summer day. Rock Rose is a tweed jacket on a damp spring morning. Golden Green is a cashmere sweater on a cozy autumn evening.

I went 5 sprays now and i feel the perfume to be very weak. Feels like watered down? Not sure if im anosmic now but i still smell whiffs of sandalwood ginger and hints of ylang. But very weak for 5 sprays. Very nice fragrance and i hope this improves on the next wearings. Top notch presentation and bottle. Especially the cap feels high quality and the attention to detail is on point. But if the juice inside doesn't perform, i'd give any fragrance an easy NO. Will update after a few wears. Update: This sandalwood frag if safe for even people who doesn't like sandalwood because it turns "sour" on their skin. This on doesn't do that and is well balanced with ylang and ginger. Though the projection on this is definitely weak, it still leaves a trail of sillage by approx 2ft. A personal scent I'd say but pleasant and easily likeable. People need to get close to you to smell this one. Still full bottle worthy imo. Longevity around 8 to 10hours with the latter is barely detectable but still there if you dig your nose.