AoS Sandalwood Balm scent, but not AoS Sandalwood?

Hi Everyone! Just got back from a fabulous extended Christmas break (hope yours was great too!) and have this conundrum. I really like Sandalwood. A while back I asked for some Sandalwood aftershave suggestions and a lot of you suggested DH Harris Sandalwood splash so I went out and got it. I like it, but differently than for the reasons that I usually like Sandalwood. The DH splash has a much more "perfumey" (sp?) scent with notes of Sandalwood, than the AoS balm, which to me smells much less "perfumey" and more "Sandalwoody".

Sooo....to the question at hand. I understand everyone's olfactory senses are different and body chemistry matters as well, but could you suggest some more Sandalwood aftershaves (balms or splashes) that smell more distinctly "Sandalwoody"? Or I guess that smell similar to the AoS balm?

Thanks for your help!

Dorian

The AOS sandalwood (a) is essential oil, (b) does not show much, or any, citrus, and (c ) seems to have some strong woodsy base notes. Most other sandalwoods tend to have some citrus opening notes. My 2c.

Well if Proraso ever makes an aftershave balm to compliment their (Red) sandalwood shaving cream you'd have a real winner. If they ever do and it smells like their Sandalwood shave cream I'll sure buy it for life. To me both AoS Sandalwood shave cream and AS balm and Proraso Red Sandalwood shave cream are really two of the few shaving products out there that actually smell like true genuine Sandalwood essential oil, at least the real essential oil I remember my parents buying at a small local organic healthfood grocery store back when I was a kid. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are exact, but they are both the most true interpretation of a real sandalwood scent compared to all other Sandalwoods out there. DR Harris Sandalwood is more camphor, anise, with notes of Sea Breeze/Noxima smelling and has little in common with anything I'd call sandalwood. Personally I think the AoS Sandalwood aftershave balm and shave cream is some of the best scent out there, ever. I think I was one of the very first to buy their Sandalwood EdT when they first released it back in Sept of 2004. I used to use their Sandalwood AS balm and shave cream daily for a number of years, back before I had other financial obligations. Funny how life changes as you get older.

Sarimento,

Interesting points. I, a complete neophyte as far as scents and colognes go (or at least the analysis thereof), can sense a much more light (citrusy?, floral?) opening to the DH Harris which fades to a subtle Sandalwood scent, whereas the AoS Balm starts more woodsy, (maybe also earthy?, oriental?....I'm making this all up as I go btw, no idea if those are real things), and stays a strong Sandalwood scent....or what I've always thought of as a strong Sandalwood scent. I guess I don't REALLY know.

So if this is the case, what good AS's have less citrus/floral and more Sandalwood/oriental?

dducker3 said:

Sarimento,

Interesting points. I, a complete neophyte as far as scents and colognes go (or at least the analysis thereof), can sense a much more light (citrusy?, floral?) opening to the DH Harris which fades to a subtle Sandalwood scent, whereas the AoS Balm starts more woodsy, (maybe also earthy?, oriental?....I'm making this all up as I go btw, no idea if those are real things), and stays a strong Sandalwood scent....or what I've always thought of as a strong Sandalwood scent. I guess I don't REALLY know.

So if this is the case, what good AS's have less citrus/floral and more Sandalwood/oriental?

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Suggest you try Crabtree & Evelyn Mysor Sandalwood. Haven't use it in 11 years but recall it being what I'd call an Oriental type Sandalwood, given it's mild spice notes, heavy wood notes, with a very powdery dry down, almost talcum like. Pretty good stuff, inline and same category with AoS Sandalwood scent, but a different scent all together.

sarimento1 said:

The AOS sandalwood (a) is essential oil...

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Sarimento, I've got to call you out on this one. I addressed this same assertion you made in another thread, but you didn't respond. The ingredients lists for AOS sandalwood products show no essential oils, only "fragrance/parfum." AOS's own promotional video for the sandalwood collection describes the scent as "a unique poprietary blend" based on sandalwood "notes." Aside from the front label, which says the scent is "sandalwood essential oil," what is your basis for saying AOS sandalwood products contain sandalwood essential oil?

Dang it....someone point me in the right direction! Maybe it's not Sandalwood I'm after after all, but whatever AoS Sandalwood smells like!

Help!

Jerry-built Hustler said:

Sarimento, I've got to call you out on this one. I addressed this same assertion you made in another thread, but you didn't respond. The ingredients lists for AOS sandalwood products show no essential oils, only "fragrance/parfum." AOS's own promotional video for the sandalwood collection describes the scent as "a unique poprietary blend" based on sandalwood "notes." Aside from the front label, which says the scent is "sandalwood essential oil," what is your basis for saying AOS sandalwood products contain sandalwood essential oil?

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Basis is only the front label, and assuming P&G is a stickler.
But, I could be wrong; would not be the first time!
And, I just saw your note about the ingredients list and comparison with the other AOS colognes; looks confusing.
Maybe there is a chemist or former AOS'er out there who can illuminate this burning question?!

sarimento1 said:

Basis is only the front label, and assuming P&G is a stickler.

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The front labels date back to the Malka days, long before P&G. Frankly, I'm surprised P&G keeps the "essential oil" designation around, since it seems they are quite careful in every other respect to avoid saying the sandalwood collection uses essential oils to scent. Indeed, the ingredients labels have been clarified since Malka's time. They are now quite specific, showing lavandula angustifolia oil used in the lavender products, citrus limon peel oil in the lemon products, and fragrance/parfum in the sandalwood products. The labels never used to be that explicit.

Something else to take into account: the price of Indian sandalwood oil has skyrocketed over the years, due to scarcity. Any product that uses such oil would reflect that scarcity in its own price. The price of the AOS sandalwood products has remained stable over the years, only recently increasing slightly in price, which was part of an across-the-board price hike in all lines. Also, the sandalwood line is priced the same as the lavender, lemon, sea kelp and unscented lines, which again is not reflective of the price of genuine sandalwood oil, relative to the oils in the other lines.

sarimento1 said:

Maybe there is a chemist or former AOS'er out there who can illuminate this burning question?!

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I'd be interested in more information, too. Barring that, though, and based on the evidence at hand, I feel pretty comfortable with the belief that the AOS sandalwood products are scented with a fragrance compound, and therefore really have no more claim on having an authentic sandalwood smell than any number of other sandalwood products on the market.

Sarimento1 and Jerry-built Hustler,
I'm willing to bet there might be actual Sandalwood essential oil in the AoS line, be it a very very tiny amount. I don't think that's where the sandalwood scent in their line comes from though. Parfums and fragrances are generally created by blending various components and other essential oils. I have no doubt that they simply had a fragrance blender or perfumer create their sandalwood scent from a blend of various ingerdients and different essential oils to mimick, replicate, or emulate the scent of actual Sandalwood Essential oil. I know that for a long time one of the scents or oils in their Sandalwood line that helps bring out its distinct fragrance is Eucalyptus oil, but it's blended with other oils to create the sandalwood scent. In fact that was one essential oil that was used in the creation of their original Sandalwood EdT.

My basis for claiming that AoS Sandalwood smells very close to nearly identical to the actual Sandalwood oil I remember as kid back in the late '70's or early/mid '80's, comes from my own memory. I also had a small bottle of genuine Indian Sandalwood essential oil that I bought back in the early/mid 1990's and as I recall the scent was very very close (almost identical) to the AoS Sandalwood scent I first experienced around 2000/2001. But again I'm talking about scent to the nose, not actual ingredients in AoS products.

Just think of various scents like tobacco, talc powder, or leather, even spices. Nobody puts actual tobacco, talc, or leather, in a solution to come up with the scent, nope, they would use a blend of various essential oils and other ingredients that when blended will emulate those notes described. I'm sure there are folks here that know more about perfume blending and making that I do, so I'll end here.

good comments, all.
especially about the eucalyptus oil, which now makes sense given the 'richness' of that juice.
and, perhaps true, that the percent essential oil is small.
again, true that sandalwood eo has skyrocketed in cost, but the total cost factor of the eo is probably pretty small in the final formula.
it's generally easier to do business when the overall line is level priced.
most manufacturers work the 'mix', since commodities often move in different directions.
yet, whatever they did, it's still an excellent sandalwood, to my nose.

CleanSweep said:

Just think of various scents like tobacco, talc powder, or leather, even spices. Nobody puts actual tobacco, talc, or leather, in a solution to come up with the scent, nope, they would use a blend of various essential oils and other ingredients that when blended will emulate those notes described.

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No doubt. But that's the art of fragrance blending, which is different from using botanical extracts for aromatherapy or other practical purposes. I think where the confusion lies with AOS is that AOS makes their products sound like they are aromatherapeutic in nature; as such, we have an expectation that they are using pure essential oils, an expectation abetted in no small part by the "essential oil" designation on the front label. The lavender and lemon lines are true to this billing. The sandalwood line seems as though it is not, at least not entirely.

sarimento1 said:

Whatever they did, it's still an excellent sandalwood, to my nose.

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I think it's a great smelling product line, one with evidently enduring popularity. As long as people know what they're getting when they buy it: a great smelling "take" on sandalwood, not necessarily a botanically pure sandalwood.

This is a good discussion - reminds me of the courtroom oath about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. With regards to the AoS sandalwood scent, I would like to think we got the 1st and 3rd part down...we're trying the nail the 2nd part about the whole truth

A very compelling conversation indeed, and I'm glad we all got this somewhat ironed out. Would someone be so kind as to suggest other aftershaves, be they balm or splash, that resemble the AoS Sandlewood (or their take on it)?

Please?

dducker3 said:

A very compelling conversation indeed, and I'm glad we all got this somewhat ironed out. Would someone be so kind as to suggest other aftershaves, be they balm or splash, that resemble the AoS Sandlewood (or their take on it)?

Please?

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Sorry to jack your thread. There isn't a whole lot out there that smells like AOS sandalwood. As mentioned, AOS sandalwood is a proprietary blend, which means it's going to be hard to approximate in other products. So, if you want a balm that smells like the AOS sandalwood, you're probably better off just using the AOS sandalwood balm. As for splashes, I'm personally not aware of any that are very much like AOS. That doesn't mean there aren't any - it just means I'm not aware of them.

Besides the AOS and DRH, what other sandalwood scents have you smelled, and which did you like/dislike? That might help us point you in the right direction.

Jerry-built Hustler said:

Sorry to jack your thread. There isn't a whole lot out there that smells like AOS sandalwood. As mentioned, AOS sandalwood is a proprietary blend, which means it's going to be hard to approximate in other products. So, if you want a balm that smells like the AOS sandalwood, you're probably better off just using the AOS sandalwood balm. As for splashes, I'm personally not aware of any that are very much like AOS. That doesn't mean there aren't any - it just means I'm not aware of them.

Besides the AOS and DRH, what other sandalwood scents have you smelled, and which did you like/dislike? That might help us point you in the right direction.

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As I said earlier...if Proraso made a Sandalwood aftershave that smelled like their "red label" Sandalwood shave cream, you'd have another alternative, likely a far less expensive one, to AoS Sandalwood aftershave balm. As of yet they offer no "red label" aftershave balm in the Proraso line. Really check out Crabtree and Evelyn Mysore Sandalwood. It's a pretty good take on Sandalwood, a bit different, powdery on the dry down. I think C&E still offers the balm.

dducker3 said:

Dang it....someone point me in the right direction! Maybe it's not Sandalwood I'm after after all, but whatever AoS Sandalwood smells like!

Help!

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AoS Sandalwood scent is very very close to the scent of a certain type of genuine Indian sandalwood oil. Believe me, it's sandalwood that you are after. The scent you're after tends to be woodsy, but musky, with some Earthy notes.

I've also handled a number of items made out of the sandalwood wood itself that carry that scent many decades later long after the wood has cured. I also had owned at one time a small wood carving done from the wood of a sandalwood tree that always lingered with a hint of that distinctive wonderful fragrance.

Note that there are various types of botanical sandalwood trees out there. The Indian Mysore version being the most desirable and right now the least available. The Australians also have a domestic type as well as do some other countries. Each has it's own woodsy scent, all common, but with enough differences.

CleanSweep said:

I think C&E still offers the balm.

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They do: http://www.crabtree-evelyn.com/collections-sandalwood/collections-sandalwood,default,sc.html.

Jerry-built Hustler said:

Sorry to jack your thread. There isn't a whole lot out there that smells like AOS sandalwood. As mentioned, AOS sandalwood is a proprietary blend, which means it's going to be hard to approximate in other products. So, if you want a balm that smells like the AOS sandalwood, you're probably better off just using the AOS sandalwood balm. As for splashes, I'm personally not aware of any that are very much like AOS. That doesn't mean there aren't any - it just means I'm not aware of them.

Besides the AOS and DRH, what other sandalwood scents have you smelled, and which did you like/dislike? That might help us point you in the right direction.

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Good question....I don't really know. I do use Proraso Red and really like it. I also like Fahrenheit cologne, which I think has some Sandalwood after the initial smell wears down. Wish I had more experience with it do give you a better answer.

@ Cleansweep Thanks for the C&E suggestion, I'll give it a try for sure. I've seen some other posts where it seems you love Sandalwood as well. What are some of your favorites?

I too, love the AOS sandalwood,another one I like, though nothing like the AOS is TOBS sandalwood. Hard to describe, but very nice.I wish AOS made a splash, that;s why I tried the TOBS.