Santal Musc

Got this, slightly damaged packaging, for much cheaper. But the box was still intact, so I think that someone sent it back because they just didn't like it. And what a box! Usually, the boxes that go with Narciso Rodriguez's fragrances are very simple, so I don't necessarely keep them. But this! A chunky gold bar, sort of - just as beautiful as the very bottle! Of course I'll keep it! On display, for sure. First impression: a beautiful true oriental. I could have done without so much cardamom, and rather have more of the ylang-ylang instead. I have some ylang-ylang aroma oil, that I use with my aroma lamp. I do like that voluptous, heady and a bit indolic smell. Now I feel that this seems almost like an oud fragrance, and I think that is due to the cardamom, actually! But it is still loveable for me. It reminds me a bit of Mancera Oud Vanille, which I have and like, but it is very strong and lasts forever. Santal Musc is a lot softer, so that makes it very wearable. Suitable for all times of the year, night and day, I think. It just has to fit the occasion, and your mood. And your clothes, and your surroundings..! ☺ Lovely on it's own, but I also like to layer it with NR For Her edp (gorgeous roses, and extra musc) or Pure Musc For Her. So my conclusion is: love it!! ☺ P.S. This is also very lovely to layer with Chanel no 5 edt, which I think is too weak on its own! They enhance eachother in a really nice way - maybe especially the ylang-ylang? And the powdery feeling... Sprayed this combo on myself quite liberally after shower and clean bedsheets. Went to the bathroom to wash my footcream off of my hands. And when I opened the door to my bedroom again - oh heavenly bliss!! I will sleep so good tonight, I think... PS; a year later: I read my own review again. And I had totally forgot about the lovely combination of Chanel No 5 and this! Must try again, tomorrow, when I don't have any other perfume on. Since last, I have even got a Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere as a gift, so I might even try if that will be as good - or else I will find my No 5 edt again!

As a devoted woods fan, this was a nice find for me. It's very distinctly woody, and very natural smelling, unlike many blatantly synthetic sandalwood fragrances out there these days. Dry woods dominate for the first few hours, then it turns a bit more sweet and, probably, musky too (I can't claim to have much experience with musks, but I'm definitely not getting any of that recognizable cheap musk that a lot of fragrances turn into in later stages, which for me is super important). Season: any, but can act weird on hot days, depending on the wearer, I think. Gender: slightly on the feminine side for me, although definitely works as a unisex scent. Temperament: phlegmatic. Occasion: whenever you're looking to be taken seriously. Work appropriate, has a lot of character while not coming off as showy or attention-seeking at all. I expect many will find it a bit boring to be a going out fragrance; like I said, it's serious rather than exciting in terms of the mood it communicates. Performance: very decent. Doesn't project far, more like a fragrant cocoon around the wearer, but lasts easily 7-8 hours with 2-3 sprays, I can even smell it a bit when I wake up the next day. Sometimes feels like an ever so slight aftertaste of Kenzo's Jungle L'Elephant at this point. A "like" for me, totally deserving of the "love" shelf for sure, but I guess it lacks a certain playful/sexy factor just a bit for my taste.

This baby is CREAMY. I adore this fragrance so much, it’s such an underrated gem. To me it's a perfectly comforting sandalwood. If Santal 33 has the screechy pickle note, this is the complete opposite. When I compare it to S33 I don't mean to say it's a similar in any way, not at all. But what S33 has done is use a very sour and dry type of sandalwood note and amp up that greenness. I do appreciate S33 but I don't enjoy it or that interpretation of sandalwood. People may also bring up This is her by Z&V as a 'creamy' sandalwood. Sorry but not for me! This is her is very peppery and sweet to my nose and kind of cloying. Instead, Santal Musc is smooth (well blended), a little spicy and very classically oriental/middle eastern in many ways. The sandalwood is very real and sophisticated, and the musk almost elongates and creamifies the the wood in perfect harmony. Also, with the popularity of oud the last few years, sandalwood has been forgotten a little bit in the oriental domain. But it’s a wonderful, luxurious base that isn’t celebrated enough. This fragrance does a great job in righting that wrong. It's not for everyone in that some people may not subjectively enjoy these notes and the spicy elements in this frag, firmly Middle Eastern and North African, but personally I love it! So happy to add this to my collection.

Today: Followed a guy around a store, besotted by his scent. I asked him what he was wearing and he told me. An hour later, I was purchasing this intense juice for myself. And for me, it’s decidedly unisex: I loved it on this (male) stranger and I love it on me. When I smelt it on him, it reminded me of Le Labo’s Santal 33 very much—and I don’t mind in the least. I’ve been wearing SJP’s woodsy, cedar mix Stash and NR falls into that camp too. I’m curious to see if anyone else feels that the notes in Le Labo’s Santal 33 are similar to NR—or is it just my nose? Sillage is quite amazing: I was literally walking in the scent stream of this dude. I wasn’t right behind him—that would be weird—I was a good 4 feet away. But NR persisted, and I was hooked. So: let’s see what tomorrow brings. I feel like this is Day 1 of an epic, sexy love affair, the kind that makes you roll into work looking pale, but happy, with bruised lips and that halo of love fatigue all over. Bring it.

Finally got around to giving this frag a full day's wear before it gets too hot. Its pretty strong in the beginning for a NR Musc, but I guess that was the purpose of the Oriental Collection. I cant even fathom the health crisis I would suffer wearing this heavy Musky Woody scent in the heat. By woody, I mean lumberjack wielding a chainsaw battling a mighty sequoia. Thats not a bad thing. I love it, just not for warm weather. In the cooler months, (its still cool on the East Coast USA) Its a warm musky, woody hug, and dries down to a musky, powdery ylang breeze with a cardamom chaser. I heard this collection is limited/ discontinued, But was pretty easy to find on the grey market ( Mercari, Poshmark, etc.)

Absolutely worth every single euro for the price! Almost niche quality, with a very uniquely blended sandalwood scent. Sandal is not so harsh and dry, but still prominent, musc is nicely there, and ylang-ylang adds up only a hint of creamy sweetness. Gorgeous, elegant, radiant, suitable for one's signature scent. As the time passes, it gets softer, deeper, sexier, but not in a sweet or nauseating way at all. I got a lot of compliments when I wore this beautiful creation. Sillage is good, and it's still on my clothes after a few days. Totally a 10/10 hit!

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this perfume, which opens with a sweet, spicy cardamom cracked straight out of the pod that smells so pure you could mistake it for a single note composition. As it dries, Santal Musc is as arid on the skin as the Middle Eastern region that it pays tribute to, so dry that it can stick a bit in the throat. With every movement though you are surrounded by a fragrance that is warm, indulgent and understatedly sexy plus lasts all day into the evening.

Santal Musc is truly unisex, very long lasting (I can smell it on my shirt even after 48hrs). It is a wonderful creation from Narciso Rodriguez, very different from other line of perfumes launched from this house. It's classy, intriguing and stand out. Though exorbitantly priced, this is worth it. On my skin it stays linear and I get sandalwood from the opening till day 2. This will remain as one of the best & ideal sandalwood fragrance, for years to come.

This is very very nice. I can make out the sandalwood, ylang and cardamom. A gorgeous slightly spicy, creamy musky sandalwood. I can't say I see a great similarity with Santal Blush. This is more spicy. For me this appeals more. A pretty simple scent that doesn't seem to evolve at all. I get less than average sillage but it has reasonable longevity I can't honestly see why it costs so much. It is lovely but even so.

This one is so incredibly beautiful!! I use to spray one or two spritzes in the air above our beds, when we have clean sheets. And it is equally lovely on my skin, as it is on my husband, if he wants to use it. Oriental in the most gorgeous way. It is quite expensive, but for a fragrance like this, it is actually worth it! Back up bottle worthy, even... 😊

Effortless elegance. I read this as more woody than musky, with cardamom providing a soft and spicy kick in the top. Not loud but persistent and creates a beautiful cloud around the wearer. Easily genderless. It just smells great. Too bad this stuff is so hard to come by - and likely discontinued - I’d stock up if I could.

Beautiful ! In the opening there's a hint of cardamom that soons evaporates and let the perfume involve into a very creamy sandalwood. Quite heavy, would not recommend for spring/summer.

Aaaaah, why is this limited edition? If someone is selling theirs in the EU, please message me! The creaminess, the sandalwood... if I could take a bath in this, I would. :D

Well.. the fact that a perfume made me cry tears of literal joy is a statement not to be taken lightly. I bought this on the spot!

Despite it is marketed for women, men should wear it too. I love it.

This one is so fun! I think it's the prettiest santal I've tried

I got this because I was expecting a narciso musk and creamy sandalwood, but that is not what this is. The opening is very spicy, it's not only cardamom, I would say a lot of other drier spices take place, maybe clove and a touch of cinnamon. Then it dries down as a sweet, woody and dry sandalwood, so sweet on my skin that I would say it has a touch of vainilla. This is the best part as the spices dissipate. This is my favourite cold weather scent, because it feels so warm that in the hot it would be clogging, it's also quite strong, so I spray it lightly. I also layer this with khair felicity (a decent dupe of kayali the wedding silk santal, which for me is mainly sandalwood and vanilla) and brings forwards the sweetness of the sandalwood of santal musc, I recommend this for extra cozzines for rainy days. Also, this is super unisex, I would to smell this on a man.

Hmmmmmm- really very good, but not the ethereal ecstasy I hoped for. It is another classy, discreetly sexy Narciso, just different enough to stand out just a little from the field, as it should for the price, with warm powdery sandalwood without a trace of bitterness or sweatiness; I didn't click that the gentle spice was cardamom- which shows some great control cos cardamom is so often a real bully. This is a beast on longevity too- on me it seemed to die back to a skin scent only after a couple of hours but surged back in force a couple of hours later, then lasted for up to 11h overall. But somehow it just didn't slay me like I'd hoped to be slayed, or to justify niche pricing for a pretty conventional scent with a lot of smell-alikes. Somehow, I dunno,unambitious? Worth a go if you're trying to triangulate your ideal sandalwood though.

this one stands out from other narcisos and that is not a bad thing either. i think narciso rodriguez line is amazingly true to its musky DNA and has a very recognizable identity which has contributed a lot to today's perfume scene. however, this one is very strong, spicy and dominant perfume. usually when you look for sandalwood perfumes, they are either powdery or soft, but i have to say that this one is neither of those. not powdery, not subtle, in fact, it is very in-your-face-spice blast, strong, unisex, daring fragrance which definitely delivers. the drydown becomes softer, of course, still, sandalwood does not become powdery but a bit more warm and rounded. the only thing is that, in my opinion, the name is misleading, for someone who loves sandalwood scents, this one is actually somewhere between spicy and ambery scents.

This is actually quite beautiful even if it is not my thing. Extremely smooth blended fragrance. I don't get as much spice as others have noted. It starts as a nice creamy sandalwood with a mellow musk. Dries down to a very nice, but sweet, musk with vanilla with very little sandalwood remaining. Musk is never one of my main notes, nor is vanilla but both are not objectionable, in fact pleasant. This one did go a bit sweet on me, as happens often to me based on my chemistry. Sillage decreases fairly quickly. Longevity is great, although at the skin scent level.