Sandalia

The best sandalwood I've ever smelled, hands down. I have a decant of the green Sandalia and don't find it at all diluted or weak. In fact, I've gotten TWO complements today, which almost never happens, owing to the way my dehydrated skin absorbs many fragrances. Not so here! As to the scent, some will think this masculine, others unisex. It's Woody, Earthy, Spicy, a little green/smoky, slightly powdery, and VERY addictive! Ultimately a woody spice mixture that could hardly be better if they tried. I can think of a hundred things to layer with it but would almost rather wear it alone to enjoy the perfection. Because that's what this is, versatile perfection.

The red bottle is the one I've been using for a long time. It's the absolute best Sandalwood oil I've ever tried. It lasts for days on skin and clothes and it's amazing for layering. It's really comforting and soothing and makes you feel like Silk. I love even mixing this with sensuous, I mix a few drops of the sandalwood oil with the sensuous perfume and then spray on my skin and it's divine. This is pure real Sandalwood oil. It's expensive but worth it if you find the one in the Redbox not the green.

There are a number of middle eastern fragrances called “Sandaliya” and they’re all fairly similar so I wonder if “Sandalia” is one of those traditional middle eastern fragrances like Kalemat/Kalimat, Firdous/Firdaus that seem to be a formula rather than the intellectual property of a single company. I first encountered Sandaliya while exploring oud and middle eastern perfumery. Like all the other fragrances called “Sandaliya” or "Sandalia", the Swiss Arabian version is a pleasant single note CPO which is remiscent of sandalwood but unlike the fragrance profile of an essential oil - it’s more like an idealised sandalwood with sweet, nutty aspects. Swiss Arabian Sandalia is one of the better ones, comparable in quality to the Sandaliyas by Abdul Samad al Qurashi and Ajmal and infinitely superior to the Al Haramain CPO of the same name. There is also a (very) inexpensive attar called "Sandalia", very popular in India, that smells like sandalwood but has a weird petroleum aspect to it. Thankfully this smells nothing like that. Longevity of this CPO is decent - averages about six hours on my skin, and longer in Winter. Longevity can also be improved by applying it over a base/carrier oil like fractionated coconut, jojoba etc. Swiss Arabian Sandalia smells great - a bit like an idealised version or an interpretation of “Mysore Sandalwood” - a pleasant interpretation of sandalwood and it is definitely not cheap - nor does it smell cheap. It is a single note synthetic (or maybe semi-synthetic) sandalwood perfume oil that smells really good and envelopes it’s wearer in an aura of warm, sweet, sandalwood that at times smells more "sandalwoody" than real sandalwood. It can be both cheerful and meditative. Since Sandalwood is a note most people like and recognise, Sandaliya does elicit compliments. It can be worn by anyone regardless of the configuration of their crotch, and is pleasant and inoffensive enough to be worn at work as an office or gym fragrance. The performance is roughly equivalent to an EDP. It’s well worth having if you like sandalwood. Being a straightforward, single note it’s a useful addition to one’s fragrance palette as it can easily be layered with other fragrances, especially Geza Schoen’s Molecule Series. Seems to be fairly widely available in most countries and can always be ordered online. Not sure what the colour of the label means but the red label is usually less expensive than the green label. Some vendors say the green label is “ultra concentrated”. Although fairly expensive, a bottle of CPO lasts longer than an EDP since you use less for each application that you would with an alcohol based fragrance, which might justify the investment. Edit: August 6 2021: still enjoy this, works especially well layered with Escentric Molecule 1 or Molecule 4. A few years back I started collecting upmarket Indian attars eg Indra Sugandh and this often reminds me of a sandalwood attar. If you're looking for an inexpensive sandalwood fragrance Ahsan makes a 30ml perfume that is remarkable in its scent profile and amazing value for money.

there are 2 ersions of this one is a more concentraded sandalwood oil base for layering and mixing which costs about 50 us $ and a cheaper one that cost about 25 us $ for a 100 ml viscous heavy oily almost onioment type of sandalwood carrier oil that people use for blending and making their own perfumes..many people use those as fixatives or use them on their own they are amazing sandalwood bases for those who love sandalwood the real Mysore sandalwood which comes from an area called Mysore in India is way more expensive it can go up to 300 us dollars per 100 ml or grams so this is a great alternative and they claim that it is the real sandalwood but i am sure the carrier oils in in it are a much more diluted than in the real ones as for the perfume profile it is a creamy woody opulent sandalwood that sticks to your skin and clothes for days it is clean smelling with oriental woodsy pure sandalwood y notes i recommend this for everyone who has isues with longevity and silage if they add a couple of drops of this magic potion it will make their perfumes stick around for much longer i also recommend it for those who like to layer and blend and make their own creations its an amazing mixed media that can be used in so many ways..i also recommend it for those who simply love the aroma of sandalwood and whnt to smell it on them they can even use it as a home fragrance oil with a burner it can also be used to perfume or soak resins to burn as incense or bakhour the uses of this are endless many people use it as an emollient or skin oil after showers just adding a couple of drops to wet skin or to your daily moisturizing rituals some use it in cotton balls and keep it in drawers or in their brassieres ! which ever way you use it it will deifenetly not let you down

this oil is stunning on its own and for layering ithas such an emollient texture that it helps people with drier skin to retain their perfumes for much longer it adds incredible longevity and silage and can be used under a huge array of perfumes to clarify the confusion of the red and green bottle the red bottle is the pure sandalwood oil without any additions of other accords and is stunning n its own and for layering it's so creamy and round and opulent and its not bitter or nasty in any way its a soft close to the skin type of scent a little goes a long way so this will last you a long time years if i may say the green one is sandweed mixed with rose if you want something more floraly or sweeter then definitely go for that it's also beautiful and works well for layering i have suggested this in my layering topics and so many members bought it and swear by it it's been a staple in their layering wardrobes and helped many people retain their perfumes in different climates for much longer it also enhances the softness of the skin and melts with whatever you layer with it without creating harsh edges it becomes completely immersed in the new blend as if you have created a new perfume from scratch most of the swiss arabian perfumes are of great quality many of them come from their original source and they combine swiss technology and perfumery with arabian and indian oils and have extremely beautiful and reliable perfumes for layering on their own with incredible longevity and sillage

Nice. Very (very!) mild Sandalwood frag. I interpret is more as a CARRIER oil, adding a subtle yet persistent base of Sandalwood, vs. a "Concentrated Perfume Oil". Very soothing scent, intensifies w/ skin warmth during wear.

This is definitely a perfume oil, aka a Concentrated Perfume Oil. There could possibly be a small, single digit percentage of real sandalwood oil in the mix, but there is an overwhelmingly powerful presence of synthetic chemicals backing a majority of this perfume oil. Don’t get me wrong, I was REALLY REALLY excited to receive this in the mail (I believe I purchased it through eBay or Amazon). Even at first whiff I felt like I made a good purchase but within probably 30-60 minutes there remained a... smell. Not one I grew to love from both vintage or modern sandalwood... it was a much more synthetic smell that really seemed to stand defiantly on its own and barely mingled with my natural scent, as many essential oils, EDP/EDTs etc... For the price I paid (around $75 USD) I really don’t think it holds value at all. I have some Santal from Al Junaid Brothers and it smells WAY nicer than this and they admitted that the higher the price, the less perfume oil is present in their Sandalwood oil. Fair enough, because I was able to smell a few of their varieties and you could definitely smell less and less perfume oil. However, Swiss Arabian doesn’t call this essential oil, they honestly call it Perfume Oil. I’m still on the hunt for the real Sandalwood essential oil I remember as a kid 30+ years ago and know it exists out there somewhere, even if it were to cost me nearly a paycheck just to acquire 6-12ml I would do it. I know of one I shall try soon here, but my lips are sealed as to who sells it... Overall, my nose has been trained on the original Mysore Sandalwood. For what this is, it isn’t awful; it just isn’t for me. I imagine many out there will have their brains firing off happy chemicals left and right and I support that 100%! I just realize that as excited I was for this, the price didn’t match the quality and the ratio of synthetic to natural was WAY too high to justify paying that much for it. Perhaps I might try it in a bubble bath or something before giving up on it and putting it up on eBay as used. ;)

(Review of red bottle) There is sandalwood and then there is sandalia. Is this purported sandalwood CPO a decent offering of what is true? Perhaps. Is it synthetic smelling, as though it was barely the real extract in ratio to chemicals and solvents? Admittedly, yes. But is it lovely, perhaps not beautiful and rich, but simply lovely when applied on the skin? Yes, it is. Does it project? Yes it does. Is it long-lasting? Not really, 3-4 hours will do, but it's strong while it's still there. It does leave whiffs of scent on clothing. How best should you use it? In layering with other perfume oils or fragrances, it wears well with musk heavy fragrances. Don't expect a mountain from this CPO, you'll only be disappointed with a little heap. That's all.

Bitter and nasty; definitely for layering

I have the green bottle that was a present but now I see that it is about two times more expensive than the one in the red bottle. I'm very grateful to Suhaesa who wrote that this can be layered under many fragrances and make them rounder and longer lasting without changing their overall fragrance. Yes, it is beautiful on its own but if I layer something over it this one melts into that other scent as if it was part of its original basenotes, but makes almost everything, not only mid-eastern perfumes, even better. On its own it stays days on my clothes and hours on my skin.

I pair this (the one in the red bottle) with Tom Ford's Santal Blush and it amplifies the scent, especially with time, as my body warms the oil. It's great, and best for layering.