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True Sandalwood.

I have tried the following Sandalwood products.

AOS Soap
AOS Cream
Crabtree and Evelyn Soap
Trumpers Soap.
Trufitt & Hill Cream
Trumpers GFT EDT

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting India and I purchased a string of Sandalwood beads. I also purchased some real Sandalwood essential oil.
I know the oil is real, because it smells the same as the beads which are the genuine article.

The killer is that not one of the above products smells like the real thing. They all have pleasant smells but they are not close.

Can anyone explain why this is the case even when manufacturers state they use real essential oils and not synthetics?
 
Can anyone explain why this is the case even when manufacturers state they use real essential oils and not synthetics?

First off, never believe anything you hear as marketers will feed you any BS they can to convince you to buy their product.

From what I gather Indian Sandalwood is being over harvested and are considered somewhat of an "endangered species":

"The conservation status of sandalwood in India is not good. Overharvesting and deforestation have led to a serious decline in wild populations. The plants are in danger of extinction and there still seems to be little control over illegal logging and the government is not providing enough support for the establishment of plantations."

For more info (and to see where this quote was taken from) checkout this link: http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/sandalwood_production__trade_conservation.html

PS Let me know if you'd like to sell your sandalwood beads and/or oil as I'd certainly like to smell them both as I adore all things sandalwood! :laugh:
 
I have the same issue with this as you. Sandalwood itself smells WONDERFUL and, really, doesn't need to be cluttered up with other notes.

If a manufacturer says they use sandalwood EO, maybe they do/maybe they don't. I don't know. But it's pretty clear that almost all of them blend the sandal scent with other notes to make something unique to their company. Maybe they just think that men will find the normal sandal perfume "boring," who knows?

And if a company balks at the current price of sandal EO, there are some pretty good synthetic sandal fragrance oils that smell close to the real thing. But these aren't very popular in mainstream perfumery either (and if they are, again, most of the time other notes in the scent obscure the sandal).
 
Which of the above colognes is closest?

I know there are different types of Sandalwood besides Indian. Australian, etc. Perhaps the EO referenced by some cologne manufacturers are talking about those EOs?
 
Honestly? I haven't smelled T&H cream, but I've smelled all of the rest and none of them are close, or even "closest."
 
To my nose, TOBS Sandalwood SC is close to the real thing.
My son's immediate reaction (without knowing what it was) was "it smells like incense."

:smile:
 
To my nose, TOBS Sandalwood SC is close to the real thing.
My son's immediate reaction (without knowing what it was) was "it smells like incense."

:smile:
TOBS has more of a recognizable sandal scent than most, with a heavy dose of "Englishness" -- probably the powdery note. I like it. Vintage Blades sandalwood cream uses a synthetic FO that smells like the real thing, but it's also got a sort of "chemical" background.
 
I know a lot of them use fragrance oils instead of the real thing, but to make it even more confusing, a lot of products will mention sandalwood knowing the consumer is thinking of santalum album (the Mysore kind) when they're actually using Australian sandalwood or West Indian Sandalwood, which I think is actually in the balsam family. They smell pretty different.

I think AOS uses the real thing, but the evergreen/eucalyptus notes put a definite spin on it.
 
I think Montale's Santal de Mysore is supposed to be as close to the pure sandalwood as you can get for a fragrance, it's basically an EO. It's rather expensive and fairly difficult to get though
 
I think Montale's Santal de Mysore is supposed to be as close to the pure sandalwood as you can get for a fragrance, it's basically an EO. It's rather expensive and fairly difficult to get though

I think you mean Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore, which to my nose is a very creamy sandalwood which is almost edible! Not sure how much pure Mysore oil it contains though, if in fact any at all.
 
I think you mean Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore, which to my nose is a very creamy sandalwood which is almost edible! Not sure how much pure Mysore oil it contains though, if in fact any at all.

No, Montale makes one as well, it's part of their private collection. It's not on their website, but it would be under "parfum." It's like $500 for 100mL and you basically have to order directly from Montale.
 
I think Montale's Santal de Mysore is supposed to be as close to the pure sandalwood as you can get for a fragrance, it's basically an EO. It's rather expensive and fairly difficult to get though

No, Montale makes one as well, it's part of their private collection. It's not on their website, but it would be under "parfum." It's like $500 for 100mL and you basically have to order directly from Montale.

Very interesting. I've just sent Montale an email asking if I can find somewhere here in town (NYC) to sample this scent or if they can mail me a small sample. We'll see what they say.

Thanks for the tip!
 
Very interesting. I've just sent Montale an email asking if I can find somewhere here in town (NYC) to sample this scent or if they can mail me a small sample. We'll see what they say.

Thanks for the tip!

The Perfumed Court has it sometimes, but IIRC it sells out very quickly.
 
Actually you have no idea if the oil is real or 100% pure just by smelling it. It could still be adulterated with something else. There is a common chemical, I forget the name right now, that is widely used in places like India and the Middle East to "water down" expensive oils like sandalwood and agarwood/oud. It sort of like MSG in a way, but for scents.
 
Actually you have no idea if the oil is real or 100% pure just by smelling it. It could still be adulterated with something else. There is a common chemical, I forget the name right now, that is widely used in places like India and the Middle East to "water down" expensive oils like sandalwood and agarwood/oud. It sort of like MSG in a way, but for scents.

I agree.

I honestly would have no idea if it had been watered down. I do know that it is a very powerful scent and it's far too strong to use as it is.

I actually purchased three oils. Some rose, some musk and some sandalwood. The price I paid is only 10% of the norm and so it is not from a legal source. I got it for fun to try and mix in a shaving cream base, but it is really powerfull stuff. In think it needs to be diluted in a carrier oil first. The sandalwood is woody and then sweet a very powerful scent in the purity I have. One drop will last on your skin for a couple of days. The musk is similar in some ways but a heavy heavy scent. The Rose is perfumy and not something I would ever use. The guy who sold the scents to us said that the musk is very hard to get hold of and a couple of drops on your pillow is supposed to relax your sleep. It might be true but the scent is overpowering and a couple of drops scents your pillow for llfe.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to do with the stuff now that I've got it, but it is a
pleasant scent. I think if I put a drop of musk in the garden, I will have some deer come to visit.
 
I know. They wait for the roses to bud before they eat the lot. I put up 8 foot fencing and they jumped over it. They wink at you if you watch their eyes.

They cost me a small fortune. Can I sell you some musk?
 
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