Taylor of Old Bond Street's Sandalwood

I've been eying sandlewoods for some time. I picked up Ogallala bay rum and sandalwood first, then arden sandalwood, just to test the waters since the prices were really good there.

Then, I was reading basenotes and reviews here going crazy about which sandalwood to upgrade to. Based on price, I just didn't want to get crazy into spending what some of them run, so I just wanted to find a good representation of the scent, but not kick myself for spending something outrageous.

After reading review after review of all the sandalwoods I could find I kind of narrowed it down to TOBS sandalwood and Crabtree and evelyn sandalwood.

Honestly, anyone who researches this stuff as much as I did will find that the reviews can be all over the place for all sandalwoods, even the Tom Dao's and Serge Luten or whatever, but these two both seemed to have way more positive's then negatives.....and the positives for the TOBS were really positive....so after sniffing the C&E and TOBS I was ecstatic that it was actually priced less.

I'd say that if anyone out there is looking to step up their sandalwood game and wants some traditional awesomeness that makes you feel like you just walked out of an English grooming shop, this is your stuff.

It's hard for me to describe this sandalwood, but it definitely is there to my nose more than other sandalwoods....but it also has some hints of something that I would just describe as elegant.

I like the gentlemenly type colognes. Stuff that says clean and classy.
It doesn't get any better than this guys.:

My second TOBS scent, and y'know what? I've begun to admire them.

Taylor's Sandalwood is a straightforward, old-fashioned take on the idea. As other reviewers state, it's very clean and soapy. Sort of a just-out-of-the-shower smell, and very masculine. I'd imagine that this is what the first English interpretations of sandalwood were like -- the barrels of oil would come off the East India Company ships and the barbers would combine it with a soap to create a fine gentlemanly aroma.

It's very well-blended. The dry, sweet woody heart is recognizable instantly. Taylor's adds a dash of rosemary and lavender for an herbal edge and then some jasmine and rose for a subtle floral quality. But the florals don't overwhelm the effect; rather, they're more responsible for the soapy, powdery background.

The whole blend results in probably the cleanest, classiest sandalwood I've ever encountered. It's very different from a true sandalwood but demands respect for what it is, a scent of maturity and confidence.

Personally, I like this scent- it smells good, and not overly heavy or fruity. However, my wife laughs at me when I wear it- apparently it smells very powdery and much like some sort of powder that old ladies wear. She even goes so far as to call me "Granny" when I wear it.

It lasts pretty well, and isn't a funky scent- it's clean smelling and decent.

I like the non-spray bottle; it lets me put on as much or as little as I want, which is something that is missing from the spray-top bottles that are predominant today.