Seeking Affordable Sandalwood

[NyquistRate]

Hello, I'm in a sandalwood scented soap 3017 and find my fragrance collection lacking a matched scent. Can you suggest some sandalwood scent fragrances that won't break the bank? I've found "Santal Noble" by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier highly recommended but it's pricey for my tastes. I don't like the smell of TOBS Sandalwood cream. It comes off as soapy and artificial. Any other sandalwood that I've tried works for me: AoS (Valobra), Haslinger, Proraso, GFT skin food, AoS after shave, etc. I'm not stuck on a pure sandalwood, just one in that family. What's your favorite sandalwood less than $100? Is $50 or $30 achievable?

 

[ScottChapin]

Haslinger from Shavemac has always been reasonable.


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[NyquistRate]

Haslinger from Shavemac has always been reasonable.


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I'm enjoying it for my current 3017. What fragrance do you wear after it?

 

[AlphaFrank75]

When I shave with Proraso Sandalwood and use the matching aftershave I find that Penhaligon's Sartorial is a great followup.

 

[ScottChapin]

I'm enjoying it for my current 3017. What fragrance do you wear after it?

Ah, I misinterpreted your comment. I generally don’t worry about matching, because most soaps don’t have a scent strong enough to conflict with any fragrance in my experience.

Of all my soaps, Proraso Green and RazoRock are the only ones I can even smell when I’m shaving. I’ll admit that my olfactory senses are not keen.

I also use Tabac, but it has no fragrance unless I stick my nose right in it.

I do smell aftershaves and colognes though.


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[NyquistRate]

When I shave with Proraso Sandalwood and use the matching aftershave I find that Penhaligon's Sartorial is a great followup.

Thank you. I see references to fougere. How would you describe the scent?

 

[NyquistRate]

I also use Tabac, but it has no fragrance unless I stick my nose right in it.

Scott, That's some serious scent strength. Tabac is stronger than anything else I own. I participated in the Nuavia passaround and that was the only soap to compete on strength.

 

[Red One]

You mention AOS. Have you tried their Sandalwood? I have it and like it very much. Runs right around $100 if I recall correctly.

 

[ScottChapin]

Scott, That's some serious scent strength. Tabac is stronger than anything else I own. I participated in the Nuavia passaround and that was the only soap to compete on strength.

Try RazoRock it is gorgeous. I’ll have to ask my wife if she can smell the Tabac when I’m shaving.

I have no problem with Castle Forbes Lime balm or post shaving products, as far as smelling them. The AS products almost fade immediately for me. They last maybe 2 hours at most.

That’s why I ask my wife whether she can still detect any scent when I get home. I’m afraid of applying too much.

Generally, I believe soap scents are too week to overpower post shave products, but maybe not???


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[NyquistRate]

You mention AOS. Have you tried their Sandalwood? I have it and like it very much. Runs right around $100 if I recall correctly.

Thank you. I was wondering if any of the soap vendors had nice EDTs or if I needed to go to dedicated fragrance houses.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Thank you. I see references to fougere. How would you describe the scent?

To say I'm terrible at describing fragrances would be the ultimate understatement. It has a light spiciness, that for me is just right. If you have smelled Pinaud Clubman it's in the same neighborhood. I don't plan to ever be without a bottle of Sartorial, that's how much I like the scent.

 

[NyquistRate]

You mention AOS. Have you tried their Sandalwood? I have it and like it very much. Runs right around $100 if I recall correctly.

Is it the "SANDALWOOD AND CYPRESS" found @ Sandalwood and Cypress Cologne 100 ml | The Art of Shaving

 

[The Knize]

I was going to suggest AOS, too. AOS used to have, but discontinued, a very nice, pure sandalwood, that might be available somewhere on-line. perhaps at a reasonable price. I have sampled the Sandalwood and Cypress, but I do not remember what it was like or how intensely sandalwood it is. As I recall, when AOS came out with its new line of scents it bumped up prices quite a bit.

I never tried it, I do not think, but Elizabeth Arden Sandalwood, long discontinued, but in the past available for pretty cheap on-line, was supposed to be very good. The eBay prices I see now seem sky high, though.

St. Charles Shaving used to have very nice, relatively simple, sandalwoods for relatively few dollars. I do not see any listed on-line now. but you might write Wendy and see if she has any lying around.

Tam Dao is not going to be in your price range. I like it well enough. Luca Turin thought it smelled like furniture polish and was less sandalwood than some other wood.

I personally love MPG Santal Noble. It is not inexpensive, I agree.

 

[sarimento1]

Is it the "SANDALWOOD AND CYPRESS" found @ Sandalwood and Cypress Cologne 100 ml | The Art of Shaving

i think the new AOS sandalwood and cypress juice is a little brighter than their original sandalwood; you might actually like the new version since you did not like TOBS sandalwood, which is fairly 'deep' (and actually close to real sandalwood, IMO).
if you stop into an AOS shop, you can test it anyway.
the original AOS sandalwood shows up from time to time online auctions.
the original scent is dead on match to the current AOS sandalwood shave cream, so you can get an idea of old vs new when you're in the shop.

 

[Red One]

Yes, Sandalwood and Cypress. I really like the combo. A bit lighter and brighter than just Sandalwood.

 

[Rhody]

Check out wsp. Samples. Affordable and quick shipping. I have a (large) sample of sandalwood as. Its quite nice.

 

[john parker]

I always thought the Caswell-Massey Sandalwood edt was pretty authentic. It is not sweet nor spicy. There is no matching aftershave splash, if that makes a difference to you. And I think it runs around $30-$40. I have not tried AOS cologne, so can't comment there. But think it would go well with the old AOS sandalwood soap.

 

[The Knize]

By the way, you should be aware that there is sandalwood and there is sandalwood. I think Luca Turin opines that the "real" Indian Mysore sw of the past--I can almost think of the scientific name, santal then something that starts with an "a," I think--creamy, rich, spiritual, and not virtually nonexistent due to Indians, Easter Island-like having virtually wiped out the species--is nothing like the now common "Australian" sw, which more crisp, where the scent has any natural ingredients at all. I would have thought that Tam Dao is a good example of the latter. MPG preserves a sense of Mysore, I am sure without using any actual Mysore sw. The vintage MPG is a wholly different scent that is pure Mysore to my nose. The long discontinued Floris SW, as opposed to the Santal, is very much a Mysore sw, too.

Another sw I would recommend--and this one is very inexpensive in the eBay clone versions--is Molecule 04 by Escentrics (sp?), which is solely a dilution of the synthetic perfumer molecule Javanol. Very much a sw like scent with complexities. Very pleasant. One can always layer it over something else if one is looking for more complexity. Great value in the clone versions as far as I am concerned. For that matter Molecule 01 and its clones are similar in smell to sw. Also highly recommended and the clones are cheap.

Lots of scents, of course, claim sw in the base. I am talking about sw dominant fragrances in in my entries in this thread.

 

[NyquistRate]

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions. I'll check all the leads. The brand that I've never heard of before is Molecule. What are the clones to it that @The Knize references?

 

[The Knize]

The brand is "Escentric." The names of the individual scents by that company that are sw-like are "Molecule 01" and "Molecule 04." Search for one of those in eBay and the results should bring up both the "real thing" Escentric version and the knock offs/clones. I have not actually tried the Escentric versions.

Should not make a huge difference as all really should be just the particular synthetic scent molecule and perfumers alcohol. Indeed, I think the "clones" are a higher concentration, at a much cheaper price.