Trumper's Sandalwood

Price: CAN$70.00 for 50ml? Pricey for what you get. May be worth half, if that.
Quality: Impressed with the longevity, but not with the overall feel of the scent.
Packaging: C'mon Trumpers, I realize you want to retain a classic feel but the packaging needs a make over to bring it up to speed with competition.
Scent: May smell nice on some of the older gentlemen out there, but not a scent for me. It's linear, boring, hollow, and just cold really. There's no warmth here folks!
Complexity: Again, a very linear scent, serves it purpose I suppose.
Staying Power: Very impressed this stuff lasts all day, and longer!
Quality of Atomizer: N/A Tested a sample.

Yet another weird, overpriced fragrance from Trumpers.

I don't even know why they call this sandalwood. It's not even in the same zipcode as sandalwood. There's SOME sort of wood detectable under the massive amounts of cinnamon(?) and sweet herbal(?) notes that dominate this fragrance. After the initial 5 minutes it starts to smell like an apple pie crust...y'know, the butter (yes, I said butter) and cinnamon smell. And it's quite strong. I couldn't take this all day if it stuck around.

And it doesn't. Lasts about 2 hours and then fades into the generic background barbershop smell that all Trumpers scents become.

Scents like this just make me angry. If something is called Sandalwood I expect to smell the sandalwood. Why not call this fragrance Sweet Spice? It would be more accurate.

I have changed my opinion of this since I posted my first review. I'm still a sandalwood purist, but I now appreciate this for what it is -- a damn good oriental that sparkles with touches of the exotic. Very complex with a ton of things going on, but applied judiciously this stuff is classy (but over-apply and get ready to board the Cloying Express).

It's a gentleman's version of sandalwood. I understand that now. And for what it is, it's a winner.

I woke up this morning and decided that it would be a sandalwood day. Shaved with AoS Sandalwood soap, splashed on a little SCS Sandalwood aftershave. Downstairs for toast and a cup of Joe and then got ready for work. Before I left, I reached for that new bottle of Trumper Sandalwood Cologne that I brought back from Cambridge Chemists. Anticipating the perfect finish, I sprayed it on.

All of your expectations of a sandalwood will change with this one. Forget the austere fragrance of Tam Dao. Get ready for a whirlwind of scents. A rush of lavender and bergamot, a furious riot of notes. I'm briefly reminded of the opening of Bois du Portugal, then I'm out the door. As the day goes by, it changes, shaping itself again and again into something new. Now it's evening and it's still with me. It's settled down to a sweet, musky Barbershop scent, challenging me to find the sandalwood beneath.

Think about what it is you want in a sandalwood. Tam Dao is a monk sitting beneath a tree in the heart of the forest, playing a melancholy tune on his wooden flute. Trumper Sandalwood is a carnival, a symphony. If that's what you're looking for, you won't be disappointed. Strong and long lasting--you'll feel that your money was well spent. A quality fragrance at a good value.

I am going to have to try and find this stuff, Is it like AOS's Sandlawood scent?

I just got a bottle from Trumper's (along with Spanish Leather) and I must say that of all the samples I have tried this past year, these two are my favourites.

I am wearing it now - applied at 7amand its now 1:30 pm and still going...not as strong, but still there. I like the slightly sweet complex scent it brings.

A winner.

This is a nice sandalwood scent but I agree about it being a bit feminine. Just a little too feminine for me.

The scent last all day for me but it has more of a sweet smell. I'll continue to wear it but will not likely buy another bottle.

As Paddy says, Trumpers Sandalwood is a lot like Chanel Egoiste. I don't care for either one. To me it's a tangy sweet floral (maybe it's the clary sage Steerpike mentions). It might smell better to somebody sitting next to the person wearing it, but I wouldn't want it right under my nose. The drier sandalwoods like Taylors of Old Bond St or Brooks Brothers 1818 are a better fit for me.

I agree with Hobbes' division B comment. I recently sampled some Trumpers fragrances at an apothecary that also had Floris, Acqua di Parma, L'Occitane, and a few others. To my nose most of the Trumpers didn't have the refinement of the other brands.

Pretty much the only Trumpers fragrance besides Eurcris that (for me) will last the whole day. It does smell a tad 'grandpa-ish' but in a very good way. As others have observed it can get a bit too sickly-sweet if you put too much on, but overall it is a wonderful scent. Smells alot like Chanel pour Monsieur to my nose. Seems to me to be a nice cold-weather scent (I see a log house, wood stove burning, snow outside, eggnog being served....) It would probably be quite cloying in hot, humid weather.

This is probably my favorite scent so far. I asked this for my birthday a few years ago and it's WELL worth the money.

Everyone who samples the scent on my figure loves it. Whenever I let my wife pick out what scent I should wear she picks out this one.

Throughout the day I keep getting little whifs of it.

For a while I thought it might be about equal to the OPUS that I have from penhaligon's. But Now my mind is made up. This is my favorite so far.

This is a good scent. It's strange how some see this as being too feminine - I think this is a masculine scent. It smells clean, a little creamy and smokey. It lasts a long while on me. The top notes are a little sweet - but the dry down is where this really shines for me. It is fantastic.

Sandalwood... again, perhaps this is my imagination, but it feels (like many of the other Trumpers' scents) a touch "Division B". It lacks complexity and, while refreshing, doesn't satisfy my desire for a multi-layered, interesting, alluring scent.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

I thought it time to add my own review of this outstanding product. My introduction to Trumper Sandalwood came a few years ago via a tester vial included with a number of other scents and shave creams samples. I liked it immediately. I simply balked at paying $58-60 for a 50ml bottle. So I just put it off. I finally got this on sale at Knox Cigar for less than $40 and this made it complete bargain in my mind. Even at its normal price it is not overpriced if you like it.

This is a modern scent yet somehow hearkens back to an earlier time. I don't know. It may be that quality is simply timeless and this scent is quality. As has been noted by other reviewers, this is no straight sandalwood scent. And that is what makes it so good. I do not get the vanilla notes as other s do but instead, I get a blast of sweet-ish orange along with other things in the top notes. After a long dry down, The orange mutes a bit and mingles with the emerging base notes. It settles down into a powerful, rich base that has a bit of sweetness. What I really like is that there are still other scent notes that come to the fore occasionally that keep you sniffing at your collar. I wonder if this is the clary sage mentioned by one of the other reviewers? Whatever it is, I like and like it a lot. Staying power is about as good as anything I have ever used. I just flat out like this scent and it gets great compliments from my wife as well. To me, this scent easily bridges the gap between "mature" fragrances and those geared toward the 25 year old man. It can be worn with quite dressy clothing yet does not seem out of place during the day when you are wearing a polo shirt. I think that this is one of Trumper's BEST scents and well worth trying.

This scent doesn't remind me of any kind of sandalwood in any way, but it's a good fragrance regardless. It's a bit sweet for my tastes, and as others have stated it can become somewhat feminine as it wears. It does have some decent lasting power.

This is definately a Trumpers cologne that lasts most of the day. However, I find that as the day goes on it tends to smell far too feminine for my liking.

The sandalwood scent in it is also not very much like sandalwood. I don't recommend sandalwood fans to buy this one without smelling it first as it may disappoint.

this is very similar to chanel egoiste, but not quite as sweet and not as linear. still plenty sweet and with lots of vanilla, but definitely masculine at the same time. has received plenty of compliments (from both sexes). it's longevity is second to none - very, very long lasting. i find though towards the end of the drydown (after about 8 hrs or so) it gets a bit too sweet for my nose, but is still quite nice. definitely worth an extended try.

paddy

This is my favorite cologne, ever. The scent reminds me of honey and it lasts and lasts. Whenever I wear it, I feel good. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.

Tim

I like this scent, but it is very strong, and dare I say it, somewhat feminine? It's got a lot of Clary Sage in it, and smells rather floral, for me Clary Sage is a very feminine smell (I like it a LOT though!). The aroma lasts, but I prefer to wear a drier, more woody Sandalwood, with a more prominent Sandalwood aroma. In fact, my wife now wears this fragrance! And it smells very nice on her.

I have been eyeing Sandalwood colognes for the past month or so and continually found myself at Macy's on State Street / Chicago to sample AOS' Sandalwood. At a cost of $70 for 100ml, I decided it was more than I wanted to pay. This past weekend I had to go to the mall to buy something unrelated and wandered into an apothecary / beauty shop and saw a complete selection of Trumper products. I immediately zeroed in on the Sandalwood and sprayed myself. The scent is fantastic and my wife at my side agreed. While it was $60 for 50ml, it was an impulse buy and I could care less if it is not the cheapest on the block. It is damn good, lasts for several hours and I already received a compliment from one of my fellow train riders this morning on my way to Chicago. The packaging and quality are nice, one spray will do you fine and I cannot recommend this one enough.