Santal Nabataea

Very, very, very special juice indeed. Got a tiny sniff of this on my skin from a pre-order tester at Les Senteurs in London - after being tipped off about it by an insanely alluring update email from the Mona di Orio list. It did not disappoint at all. The concept /marketing blurb is an outrageous froth of exotic-historic flim-flam about the ancient Nabataean spice traders of the Arabian Peninsula, complete with gorgeous high-res photography of the fabled carved city of Petra and so on, complete with references to archaic mysteries and precious, hard-to-source, ancient ingredients and all that jazz. Full retail price is absolutely terrifying, making you wonder if every drop of this had to be distilled from museum-grade antiquities hand-carted to you by camel from the desert. The hype implied a spicier, darker sort of blend than this is ... but I have to admit, grudgingly, that this is TRULY a luxury product and might even be worth it. Exceptionally individual and distinctive - absolutely NOT 'just another sandalwood but more luxury added', more like 'a whole different class, or many classes, above and beyond what you're used to when you hear the word sandalwood'. Very sweet, almost powdery, subtle and harmonious spicing, with the pepper and leaf and coffee adding juuuuuuust enough bitterness to make it bewitching, without ever shouting their names out loud. So for once, the orientalist-antiquarian blabber actually does have something to do with the scent; like Papillon's Anubis (an utterly different smell), this one really does conjure an impression of something archaic, historic, resurrected from centuries (or millennia) long past. Oh my ancient gods it's good.

This is a dance between an ultra-dry, spicy sandalwood and a glorious non-sweet myrrh, that will be finalized to perfection with the support of a dry, hay-ish, brown vetiver, and a hint of coffee. The whole blend will be rounded by a lingering, soft osmanthus note ('apricot'), but it's just for the balance: indeed, it is not sweet, nor fruity. Vetiver, sandalwood and anything related to incense are right up my alley, so I can unsurpsingly state that this sandalwood fragrance skyrocketed in my top 3 favourites of the genre - if not my absolute favourite. This manages to combines the spicy dryness of Profumum Santalum, the hint of 'myshroom' like in MPG Santla Noble and Le Galion 222, as well as a hint of roundness, like in M&B Indian Study. This is linear, and despite that, extraordinary. Really. A big 'wow' for me.

A beautiful fragrance with my favorite elements inside, like milky sweet sandal wood, precious resins, revitalizing and mysterious coffee accord, topped with heady powdery florals like oleander and incredibly juicy and lush apricot (smells like freshly chopped in here), I truly adore this sublime gourmand balsamic floral concoction, which reminds me of equally serene Garuda by Jul and Mad, also to the apricot ambery Immortelle Corse by Parfum d'Empire.

This is an almost bitter, peppery sandalwood with a coffee bean crunch. New dimensions reveal themselves if you spend more time with it; mysterious and elusive, I know of nothing that smells like Santal Nabataea. It has a peculiar kind of elegance that makes it a bit difficult to pull off for me; it's not formal necessarily, but seems to require a well-tailored outfit. Very much worth just giving a sniff for the interesting olfactory experience.

Best Sandalwood I ever came across. It is blended to perfection with these supporting notes. At first it feels a bit light but soon you will notice it lingers forever. Gently coming and going in quite a linear way for the Sandalwood. The supporting notes are dancing, swirling up and down from the Sandalwood as if to the tune of a comforting song. When I close my eyes I am in a state of calmness and composure.

Ok I was not vibing with this at all at first. Initial thought was that it’s musty. But I like to give things a chance some of my top fragrances threw me curveballs at first korrigan for example. So I let it sit on my wrist. Good thing I did bc this is actually quite the elegant aroma. This is grown woman perfume. Tall androgynous scientific and aloof. I like her

Interesting how so many people read this differently. I get a lot of the Oleander, which for me gives a classy feminine vibe. However I still find it beautiful to wear myself. The coffee comes in later in the dry down, but just adds a touch of depth to the outstanding sandalwood. By no means is this a gourmand. It just wears like excellent old style perfumery.

Beautiful sandalwood scent! Full bottle worthy! I was choosing between this and Santalum from PR. Ended up with the later and still don’t know if it was the wrong choice... I would love to have them both!

I love this scent, coffee captures me really a lot. What a pity it is too weak for me in particular in term of longevity

- Mysore?! Most likely not, but still... I don’t know the way a perfumer might choose to reconstruct the fragrance of Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), with its thick, nutty, rooty "peanut shell" scent, combined with unctuous coconut hue, and, very rarely, a deep "Greek yogurt"-like creaminess reminiscent of Mysore. Yet, this perfume does give me that impression. While I'm not familiar with sandalwood oil enough to call this is real deal, it certainly presents the scent profile of Indian sandalwood, authentic or not. And far more than just an Indian sandalwood soliflore, Santal Nabataea is an exquisitely crafted composition. The opening features an indescribable cool-toned sour fruits , seamlessly blended with a delicate, coconut-ish, paper-pulp -like synthetic sandalwood (Javanol, maybe?), and a touch of black pepper. The synthetic sandalwood later abandons its fruity companion, performing a solo dance that showcases its slender, paper-thin body. A lean bitterness slides in—if this is the coffee note, it's undoubtedly black coffee, devoid of creaminess. Another slightly charred, salty-peppery tinged balsamic note joins, unsure if this is the scent of opoponax mixed with black pepper. The true star, a thicker, richer "peanut shell"-like Indian Sandalwood, makes its entrance and continues to hold center stage. This is the moment when it most closely resembles Mysore sandal oil, with black pepper making a cameo appearance. Later, the Indian sandalwood shares the stage with that subtly charred balsamic note, which exudes a very restrained sweetness (opoponax, you again?). I might, just might, catch whiffs of an elusive preserved prune note ("话梅糖"), which can be found in Tom Ford's Santal Blush. This ghostly accord has appeared in several other creations, leading me to wonder if it's a specialty base. In the end, the dense sandalwood becomes thinner , adopting a cool-toned coconut-ish edge , as if the perfume coming around a full circle and back to its beginning. My guess is that synthetic ingredients usually last the longest, so as everything else fades, we meet the Javanol(?) once again.

This scent seems pretty special to me. I love the black pepper in the opening, and it really seamlessly blends with the sandalwood, which is quite well done. I don't know if it is real sandalwood but it definitely smells more natural than some of the sandalwood-based scents I have smelled that I know are synthetic. I had to look up nerium oleander but luckily Fragrantica has a little commentary on it in the "notes" section, which reads, "a talcum-like floral note, with hints of pollen sweetness." And I totally get that. I can exactly picture that, and it is pretty prominent, again blending well with the sandalwood. I'm not getting much resin here, more of a dry, slightly powdery, complex woody scent with that sprinkling of pepper and I do get a hint of green from that blackcurrant leaf. I detect no apricot. Overall I am impressed and I think it's a lovely composition as an art piece. It is not something I would really wear as it is a bit out of my comfort zone and I don't *love* it, but I do really like and appreciate it, if that makes sense. Sillage seems to be moderate when dabbed from a 1 mL vial.

Choco pepper, & sandalwood. An impressive blend that whiffs between chocolate, cool breeze, hint of pepper, & sandalwood. it has opoponax, and green leaves. The background is coffee. There is something cooling in here and i wonder what! it just makes my nose goes numb and kind of freeze! This blend is interesting, and it's been a real long time since i sniffed a good blend from this house. I just wish the top note remains the same all the way. Very good.

I don't really get all the fruity aspects myself, perhaps a a bit at the start but it dries down to one of the best sandalwood fragrances out there. It's not super creamy just a bit so don't expect it to be a milky one or anything but think along the lines of a Tam Dao or Sacred Wood but more natural dry (spicy) woody feel.

This starts out really buttery for the first 10 minutes or so, but, once it dries, the sandalwood retreats to the background and it becomes a lot more peppery. Not bad, definitely on the more unique end of the sandalwood fragrance spectrum, but if you don't like pepper as a note (like me) then this might not be for you.

The tone and concept of this scent is beautiful and I feel unique enough to stand apart from other sandalwood scents. Good blending although perhaps lacking the chiaroscuro effect Mona was famous for. The fatal flaw for this scent is its limited usable longevity. It turns to a skin scent almost after 15 minutes and becomes an up close skin scent half an hour onwards. I'm not able to detect any wafts. Depending on how you expect perfume serve you, this may become an issue. I bought a bottle and tried working with it for a year and gave up after realizing it just won't sing off my skin.

This is mainly opoponax, pepper, a little sandalwood and apricots under the deck. The bitter coffee beans contrast the perennial sweetness. This does too many somersaults. Fun, well made, which take you for a walk but which also distract from a sandal that is not the protagonist. It doesn't project far even if it lasts long enough and you have to wait a while to enjoy the sandal. Definitely powdery and very sweet, it is more suitable for the cold season. More feminine than masculine with the misleading name. "Opoponax Nabataea" would be more suitable.

I'm not quite sure what all the fuss (and expense) is about. At first wearing I have no 'Wow' reaction. There is a pleasant, warm, woody note which sits very lightly on my skin. And fades fast. Maybe this subtle whiff of sandalwood is as good as it gets. Maybe it has lost some of its impact in the decant. Maybe I am losing my sense of smell after sampling too many perfumes. Maybe I am deluded when I believe all I read in these reviews!

Arid, to the point where it feels like sandpaper in your throat. I'm not getting much else in the sillage other than a strong dry peppery sandalwood. Meh.

I don’t know why this doesn’t get more traction when folks are comparing sandalwood scents (aside from the price, which isn’t that far off from other niche and designer prive lines). I’ll admit I was a little skeptical of this scent on first application, but it very quickly turned into a love and I bought a bottle within days of sampling. Full disclosure I have never smelled true Mysore oil, so I will have to take others word for it that this is an accurate rendition. It opens a bit sour, with an earthy, nutty and woody accord that quickly takes center stage bolstered by a light floral quality and just a touch of sweetness. I can’t really describe this scent as it doesn’t really smell like anything else I’ve ever sampled, with the exception of 24 Rue De L’Universitè, which seems to share a similar sandalwood presentation albeit with a very different supporting cast. Longevity is good, 6-8 hours for me, but projection is an arms length or less. Really beautiful, smooth and unique composition that I have no regrets about purchasing.

An interesting sandalwood, with heaps of pencil-shaving goodness thrown in. I was adamant that there was chocolate or cocoa in this, but it is likely the coffee elements that are playing around with my nose. The black pepper is ever-present, but so are other spices -- I get traces of cumin/caraway, as well as possibly saffron. It functions quite well, and as a unified scent, but I don't know, it doesn't move me. It's good, but not DAMN good, if you will. Probably the pick of the MdO lot I recently got, but nothing really spoke out to me...