Santal Majuscule

أعدت شراء العطر مؤخراً (أعتقد أنه تم إيقاف إنتاجه) كمحب لعطور الصندل أجد هذا العطر هو الأجمل بين عطور الصندل الصريحة مع العلم بأنني أمتلك كل من: أمواج Meander هذا العطر أكثر دسامة و كثافة بمراحل Tam Dao لا تصح المقارنة فإذا كان تام داو مثال جيد للصندل الحليبي، فهذا العطر يمثل سمنة خشب الصندل الرائحة لا تشبه السمن البلدي لكنها تشترك معها في إحساس الدفئ Santal Eli Saab و إن كان سانتال إيلي صعب يناسب الذائقة العامة أكثر لاحتوائه على رائحة خشبية جافة بجانب الصندل الكريمي، إلا أن هذا العطر مُغرق في الكريمية و الحسية Santal Neroli - Bohoboco يشبه الصندل الموجود في هذا العطر لكنه أكثر دسامة و نعومة جربت استعماله مع عطور تحتوي على neroli صريح سحر!! أوردت هذه الأمثلة لتقريب الرائحة و ليس للمقارنة، هذا العطر يحتاج إلى أجواء باردة نوعا ما، لا يناسب الأماكن المغلقة الصغيرة، يبرز جماله مع الحركة البسيطة أخيراً... هذا العطر يقدّم الصندل بطريقة محددة جداً دسمة، ملطخة بمربى الورد، قوامه بودري بشكل بسيط، و كلما كانت الرائحة محددة أكثر كلما زاد اختلاف الناس عليها ... لذلك لا أنصح بالشراء العمياني إلا للمخضرمين في عطور الصندل أو من يريد أن ينغمس في الجانب الدسم من خشب الصندل ______________ I recently repurchased this fragrance (I believe it’s been discontinued). As a sandalwood lover, I find this to be one of the most beautiful straightforward sandalwood fragrances. For context, I also own: Amouage Meander This one is far richer and denser, with a comparable quality. Diptyque Tam Dao Not really a fair comparison; if Tam Dao is the perfect example of milky sandalwood, then Santal Majuscule represents sandalwood with “brown butter” nature. The scent doesn’t literally smell like butter, but it shares that same warm, enveloping feeling. Elie Saab Santal This leans more toward mass appeal, thanks to its dry woody character blended with creamy sandalwood. Santal Majuscule, on the other hand, is all about lush creaminess and sensuality. Bohoboco Santal Neroli The sandalwood feels quite similar here, though Santal Majuscule comes across smoother and more indulgent. I’ve also layered it with fragrances that feature a prominent neroli note: pure magic! To be clear, I’m not drawing direct comparisons here, but giving reference points for the style. This fragrance really shines in cooler weather and it comes alive with subtle movement. It might be too much in enclosed spaces. In the end, Santal Majuscule delivers sandalwood in a very specific way: dense, creamy, smothered with rose jam, and lightly powdery. The more defined a scent is, the more polarizing it tends to be. So I wouldn’t recommend blind-buying unless you’re already a seasoned sandalwood lover, or you want to explore its rich and decadent side.

My goodness, I go nuts for this fragrance! While I love roses and their smell, I don’t prefer rose in perfume, unless it’s jammy. And surprise!—the rose here IS jammy— sweet, velvety and so beautifully blended. For the first couple of minutes, Santal Majuscule smells a bit like the inside of an old hardwood spice cabinet: nice and homey, but also witchy and kind of a mess. You start to think you’ve made a mistake here. But then, the sweet rose and cacao blend begins to unfold and it starts to evolve (resolve?) into something wonderfully exotic and...dare I say, erotic? Yes. Both, actually. At this point, Santal Majuscule reminds me a little of Encrin de Fumee, but not as smoky. It’s a little smoky (incense, not woodsmoke) with a dark chocolate sweetness from cacao. I don’t know how the rose works so well with the cacao...it just fits. But ohhhh my🤤— that dreamy sandalwood, she is the undisputed star of the composition. This is my favorite type of sandalwood— creamy and rich, it smells almost edible to me. As is the usual way of Lutens frags, we see only a few scant notes, yet there is way too much going on here for a scent with only three notes. Solidly unisex. There’s a definite warmth from some herb and/or spice in the background, maybe even a little leather? It’s for sure I don’t exactly know, but even my untrained nose can tell there’s more to Santal Majuscule than the 3 given notes! If Arabie is the warm, spiced air winding through a bazaar in medieval Persia, then Santal Majuscule is this: Golden palaces with minaret towers. Mysterious women wearing long robes with dark, kohl-lined eyes flashing above their veiled faces. Tiny silver bells that chime gently on delicate wrists and ankles. Camels and multi-colored colored caravans traveling the Silk Road over searing desert sands. Stories told every night for 1001 nights to a cruel Sultan by a courageous young woman to soften his brittle heart. Exotic? Erotic? You better believe it!👍🏼 Oh!— and very, very romantic. Performance: Lasts on me a good 7-8 hours, with a fairly long “throw” in the first 60-75 minutes. After that, it creates a nice arm’s length scent bubble until becoming a soft skin scent the last hour or so.

Santal Majuscule... a rose by any other name! Rose is not a note I typically seek out in a fragrance, but occasionally, if it’s not too sweet, and not too jammy, it can work for me. Here, then, a contradiction arises: as although I do not find Santal Majuscule overly sweet, it is undeniably jammy ... yet still I am seduced by it. This is a fragrance that is all about rose for me: a bright, vivid rose in full bloom, the sort that fills the air. It is a rose at the height of its potency, one that, as fellow reviewer Rylai beautifully described it, borders on decay. As the initial blast of the rose note settles, after fifteen minutes or so, powdery cacao and smoky sandalwood come forward. Together these notes tame the jamminess and sweetness of the rose with something altogether warmer and more subtle. At half an hour on my skin, the fragrance blends exquisitely and, in my opinion, is at its best. Now, a gentle, airy rose note wafts above deep, sultry sandalwood, providng an almost perfect balance. From then on, the fragrance stays consistent for another 8-10 hours before fading away. Like most fragrances these days, Santal Majuscule is listed as unisex, and in this case it truly is. In the first fifteen minutes after application, I feel it leans just a bit too feminine for my taste, but afterwards it sits right on the cusp between masculine and feminine. Santal Majuscule is one of those rare fragrances that puts me in a quandary: I love it, but I struggle to imagine a situation in which I’d wear it. The best I can picture is a warm summer evening in the garden, just as the sun dips below the horizon. UPDATE: Initially, I thought of this as a summer evening scent, but I've been wearing it in colder weather and it is equally as good, perhaps even more so. Tested: 1ml sample Seasons / Occasions: Late summer or early autumn evenings (and winter) Key thoughts: Jammy rose opening, tamed later with cacao and warm, smoky sandalwood Overall rating: 9.5/10 Buy full bottle again: Possibly (UPDATE: I did buy a full bottle and it's glorious. Rating updated from 8.5 to 9.5)

One of my Mum's favorite perfumes of all time. I together with my Dad and Sister gifted her this for her birthday, right before Christmas Eve. She has always dreamt about this fragrance. She always loves to hear my enthusiastic descriptions of perfumes and always says that I made her nose more trained, haha. We both appreciate classic French perfumery, so we have quite a common taste. I will always associate Santal Majuscule with my Mother. This is a homage to classic oriental French perfumery. It is very sophisticated, smooth and rich. Not overly complex in terms of notes, but it's so smoothly constructed, with multiple textures, Sandalwood-Rose formulation. Very thick, dense, sweet and creamy. It owns definitely a gourmand quality, a powdery one as well. It smells eloquent and natural. I think it is a Musk heavy formula, with perfectly selected naturals, especially Patchouli. It seems to be built upon Patchouli EO, Sandalore, Ebanol, Musks like Ambrettolide or Galaxolide. It seems to have nice Sandalwood EO with high concentration of beta-Santalol combined with lovely aroma-chemicals. I detect some powdery texture here, maybe some right concentrations of Ionones (alfa- and beta-) were nicely handled by perfumer. It is so smoothly blended and very well executed with Rose accord. I believe that some Rose naturals as a support play with PEA-Geraniol-Rose Oxide-Citronellol combination. I think, that it has nothing to do with modern perfumery. It is not old-school or dated, it is timeless. Very elegant, sophisticated, leaning more in feminine direction, French piece of art. Do I like it? Yes. It's particularly gorgeous, in my opinion. I strongly recommend it for Sandalwood lovers. I guarantee, you will appreciate it. It is very delicious, feminine and sensual perfumery. You can find it on discounts for great price, even 130$ for 50 mL. A fair price for such quality. I imagine a very sophisticated lady, in a beautiful velvet evening dress and black long elbow gloves observing a spectacle in Opera wearing this perfume. Enjoy.

Hey poeple, my experience with SM goes to show that skin chemistry is not a myth. I live near Paris, so I could smell and try on skin a lot of Lutens. Some of the strongest ones on paper just died or went dull on my skin. I wanted to love Ambre Sultan but on me it's just weak, plus I already have Ambré lumière from Molinard that gives AS a run for the money. Of all the fragrances I've tried at Lutens, Santal majuscule was the only one that was magical on my skin. Perfect balance of wood and liquor like rose, almost like a sweet wine quality, think Tokaj, dry cocoa in the background. The vibe is at the same time classy, warm but calm. Putting this fragrance on gives me a sense of composure. Very linear for 2-3 hours, then on me it becomes more woody/spicy, with a lovely hint of dirtiness. I think it's one of my top 3 perfumes, and I have been wearing perfumes for 30 years. A last word : some say that with this fragrance, Lutens rehashed old ideas and stopped being creative. I would rather say that he created one of his masterpieces, better than Santal blanc, Santal de Mysoore and Jeux de peau together. But again, on some skins it may feel completely different. I am sure there are more notes than rose, sandalwood and cocoa, but I am no good at analyzing the notes. For me perfume is an emotion and SM is a comforting classy calmly sensual fragrance, good for any time and occasion, just spray accordingly or even just dab. Impossible to layer with anything, except By the fireplace which gives it a nice smokiness. If you have both, try that combo!

Santal Majuscule is NOT primarily sandalwood. It's a dark and boozy, almost wine-like sour rose fragrance, with a mildly sweet, woody incense-cocoa base. Take a huge pile of big red rose heads that are wilted and beginning to ferment into a heap of rose compost; a tart pungent and somewhat bitter smell. THEN, take a fist-full of slightly sweet sandalwood-inspired incense and macerate the roses together with the incense. There is a distinct friction in this scent, and I think that it is the thing that made me need to test it like 100 times before reviewing it. I think it happens because of the cocoa (which does NOT register as cocoa per se, just as the sandalwood does not come across as straight sandalwood). I also believe it is related to the slippery almost slimy texture of the fermented rose petals against the course sawdust-like feeling of the incense. "A scent for a lady vampire" as my friend Vie Cafe once suggested. Not a glamorous and impeccable movie vampire. A real one. The sour roses are big and in front at the opening, but in the dry down they fade behind the woody incense. This happens fairly quickly because the longevity is poor though I don't really mind that about it. It is sweet and sour, cool and warm. It is bracing and addictive and very weird. Only Lutens could take the three notes listed and create something so somber and tragic. Those two adjectives spring to mind every time. I love it.

Luxurious rose accord mixed with some raw natural cocoa seed (if you expect this to be "chocolatey" look elsewhere). The sandalwood creaminess does not present itself till the drydown where the rose while still prominent, is much less pungent. When designer brands claim their scents have 3 notes, they are doing it to appear mysterious and artistic, while hiding the other 30 aroma chemicals that are actually in there. When true niche house like Serge Lutens puts 3 notes, you better believe it, because they are all there is in the scent and while still powerful, it is a bit more linear in its development. As a result Santal Majuscule may come as a bit too simplistic to the fans of the house and it does not strike me as Christopher Sheldrake's usual style of creating complex bucket of aromas. This is the kind of scent that i buy not necessarily to wear in public, but more to enjoy the artistic perfumery that goes into the scent itself. And i have to say, i am yet to be disappointed by Serge Lutens in that regard.

I haven't read reviews of this here yet, but I expect I'm going to be chiming in with a chorus when I say this is a very uncomplicated fragrance, much more so than many offerings from Lutens. It opens stridently with the house rose, so distinct you could pick it out of a lineup of roses when you've smelled it often enough. To no one's surprise, sandalwood is detected immediately as well, but that rose is loudest up top and softens as it dries to let the sandalwood take center stage. Rose is quiet, but persistent for the duration of wear. I did not start to notice anything I'd describe as cocoa until a few hours in, and then only in phantom whiffs, when I put my nose very close to my wrist. The sandalwood is buttery and realistic, in a way that reminded me immediately of this carved sandalwood figurine I had (years and years ago) from India. Fantastic! I don't agree with anything in the "reminds me of" section, except JdP and Fille de Berlin, but the latter is only because of that famous Lutens rose.

Smelling a sample of this from SL brought me directly and immediately back 25 years to the Corsican maquis; it was uncanny. I visited Corsica quite often for a few years, and had gathered many flowers and greens from the maquis- I had a handful in a small glass bowl in a dresser drawer for simply ages; the scent was very potent, still very distinct even 5+ years later...and course it was ingrained in my olfactive memory as a result. In Santal Majuscule I sense immortelle flower...and certainly the hoary rockrose (its leaves smell of....rose and sandalwood :)) There is no mention of immortelle or hoary rockrose at all in the notes, and I've never heard someone review it as such, but that's what I get. I don't get cocoa- or perhaps just an earthiness of it, or that damp underpinning that dark cocoa smell sometimes has, but nothing chocolatey at all. In any event, it's an intriguing perfume for me because of the maquis notes; intense, potent and heady in a lovely way.

Serge Lutens' Santal Majuscule challenges the modern trend of minimalist fragrance compositions by embracing a trio of distinct notes with unwavering transparency. In an era where designer brands often tout simplicity with three-note fragrances, masking a plethora of aroma chemicals, Lutens' approach is refreshingly authentic. With just sandalwood, damask rose, and bitter cacao, Santal Majuscule delivers precisely what it promises. The journey begins with a luxurious blend of cacao-dusted rose, evoking opulence and sophistication. As it evolves, the rose gracefully recedes, yielding to the warm embrace of sandalwood in the drydown. This simplicity is the essence of Santal Majuscule's brilliance—a plain and simple masterpiece that brings joy with every spritz. It's a testament to Lutens' dedication to authenticity and quality, reminding us of the age-old axiom: "It's very simple to be happy, but it's very difficult to be simple."

This is the coldest sandalwood fragrance I've ever smelled. It comes across spicy and minty on my skin, like an aftershave. It's very curious and I can't stop smelling it but I'm not sure if it's because of the novelty or because I like it. Rose is always a tricky note for me - too sweet and it's juvenile, too powdery and it's too mature. Serge Lutens' aesthetic tends to the latter end of this spectrum, and this one keeps shifting between ok and too powdery for me. I think I'll keep my sample around to see if warm weather melts the elements a little more cohesively. For now this is a solid ok. Edit: This definitely shines in warmer weather. The rose stays sweeter rather than powdery, and the camphor quality of the sandalwood feels cool and refreshing. It keeps dancing on the edge of almost too sweet and powdery, but every time I wear this I can't stop smelling my wrist. I think I may need a full bottle.

Santal Majuscule is a terrific triptych of rose, cacao and sandalwood which is a firm favourite of mine. I find this SL offering to be an easily wearable one and reach for it quite often. The dry down is where the magic occurs with this perfume. You end up getting a beautifully realistic rose, jammy and fully blooming in all of it's splendour. The cacao is a realistic one, not artifical or sweet at all for the note. Instead it's dark, dry, a little bit bitter and dusty even; a realistic cacao, basically. The sandalwood smooths things out even more, blending the edges of things together into something gentle and flowing. It keeps this a soft rose centered scent that feels like silken petals against the skin. Overall, the fragrence wears as very natural smelling, simple, but never boring. I'd say it leans feminine and it performs well in either cold or warm weather, in my experience.

This is a really well-made woody fragrance. Initial spray was more masculine than I expected but it is softer in the drydown. Very cozy. Reminds me a bit of Guerlain's Santal Royal but much softer and smoother because of the lack of oud. The rose and chocolate notes are subtle. I was expecting it to be a bit more gourmand because of the chocolate, but to me this is much more woody than gourmand. This probably a bit too masculine for my personal taste, but it is still quite lovely and is suitable for anyone who likes woody scents. Edit: Perhaps I reviewed this too soon. An hour after posting my review, the scent evolved even more and became a bit sweeter, more chocolatey, and less woody. Like steeping wood chips and rose petals in hot cocoa, minus the milk. It has officially won me over. I also just tried layering Alexandria Fragrances Cacao Dreams on top and I am swooning!!

Just got this decant in and I immediately purchased a 3.3 bottle on fragrancenet it was $134 with the discount code. I just got seventeen different decants in the mail and REALLY had ZERO intention of purchasing anymore full bottles in this lifetime. But. This scent is a dry down dream come true for me. Similar to vintage Chanel Cuir de Russe dry down. Which is obscenely unaffordable. I will layer this with Estée Lauder Azuree for the leather note. On my skin it is supremely sweet without being foody. This may replace Shalimar as my desert island scent. I haven’t smelled it in a long while but it also brings to mind the Kubla Khan musk? If anyone has both I’d love to hear any comments. Edit to add the initial phase is not awesome for me personally. I don’t hate it but it’s somewhat...Red Rosie.

she is beauty, she is grace, she is pure majestic wonder! One of my favorite woody scents... my mother had a wardrobe of Serge Lutens perfumes growing up and still wears them till this day, so any Serge is so nostalgic to me. I think of the most elegant, self-assured, understated yet bold-when-it-counts-most woman when I wear this. I love wearing this both on its own for a date, important meeting, or layering with lighter scents depending on the season, occasion, day and mood. White Whale is an unexpected but perfect combo I have been most recently obsessed with. Blind bought this on a whim and while some may not recognize it as particularly special, to me it is a smooth as silk sandalwood and so effortlessly chic. White t-shirt or black ball gown, I love her!!

I've been lusting after Jeux de Peau for a while but hate the inconvenient bell bottle, so I decided to give this one a try. And what a beautiful scent it is! Based on some reviews I was worried it would be too sharp, dry, bitter and masculine, and very different from Jeux de Peau, but luckily it is neither of those. It has a similar buttery texture to JdP which I love, although less foody and milky. It's also a bit linear but smells expensive nevertheless. The cacao creates a lovely powdery texture on top of the smooth sandalwood — rose jam -combo without being too bitter. The projection is also very good on my skin, and it lasts a decent amount of time. Unfortunately my partner thinks it smells a little burned, but as long as he doesn't hate it, I'm good! :D

Santal Majuscule from Serge Lutens - the masterpiece I can personally not wear. I have a full bottle, sleeping on my budoir since one year or so. I don't use it, but I have too much respect for it to let it go. It is a grandious perfume, it screams (not, it doesn't scream, it whispers down to your bones) autumn, smoky, woody, the most precious santal and an amazing drydown. Now for me, the initial phase is too much. I sprayed it once and then jumped into the car, don't do it. After 1-2 hours you can admire the masterpiece. I bought it based on the drydown, I sprayed it on a paper in shop and every time I walked by it I thought: you have to be mine. My advice is, give it a try, if you can wear it and if you are into those notes you will probably love it.

This is a beautiful fragrance however I don't see myself wearing it as I feel that it leans a little too feminine for me and this is coming from a guy who wears Black Orchid and other female marketed and unisex fragrances like Gucci oud and Gucci Guilty Oud so I'm not afraid of something feminine and flamboyant. However, this fragrance just screams sophisticated mature lady, so I gave it to my mother and she loved it which was a surprise because she is very picky with fragrances and she mostly wears fragrances like Baccarat Rouge 540, Narciso Rodriguez for her edt and By The Fireplace. My final verdict is that this is a lovely fragrance that exudes class but not for myself something more for a classy boss woman.

What a wonder ! I mainly smell a delicious scent of hazelnuts (is the pyramid complete or is it the cocoa that gives me this impression?) mixed with sandalwood. Zero smell of old bookstore for me, quite the contrary; I have a hard time not sniffing my sleeve that I sprayed before leaving the store. An addictive smell. Personally, I don't smell rose or licorice as some people write. And let things be very clear; this nutty smell is that of a freshly crushed hazelnut. No hazelnut spread at all here. If you like cocoa/hazelnut and sandalwood flavors, you will definitely like this one. And I will even tell you; I didn't think I would like it because of the cocoa and finally I'm won over. It is divine.

If you had an og and you buy the newer reform, don't panic. It will settle in a few months to a year, lol. I mean, if you buy a Luten you already know there is some panic in the first sprays. Kinda like an Amouage, it smells weird at first and then the beauty blooms. I have the newer one now and I get a lot more rose than I used to and a bit of something savory. The sandal isn't as creamy, more of the Australian variety but it all equals out, Oh, the cocoa is still there, maybe that's the savory - unsweet cocoa. Anyway, it's still lovely. But don't blind buy bc it's never going to smell like the notes make you think. And it's definitely unisex. No fem leaning here.