Best Sandalwood fragrances

[isaac d.]

I've never tried a true sandalwood fragrance but I LOVE the smell of Proraso Red. Which sandalwood frag smells the most similar to this?

 

[.soap.]

I've never tried a true sandalwood fragrance but I LOVE the smell of Proraso Red. Which sandalwood frag smells the most similar to this?

Isaac - stop by a local AOS store and try their Sandalwood edt.

It's wonderful and is pretty close in scent to my untrained sniffer.

 

[The Chandos]

I've never tried a true sandalwood fragrance but I LOVE the smell of Proraso Red. Which sandalwood frag smells the most similar to this?

Ideally, you should try some raw sandalwood oil, preferably mysore, and work your backwards from there. There is an Australian variety that is good, too, but doesn't have the same richness of Mysore. I think once you've smelled the real deal you won't mistake it. That doesn't mean you won't find some sandalwood fragrances that lack it or use small doses to your liking. You very well might and there's nothing wrong with that. But to know what a "true sandalwood fragrance" smells like this is the perfect place to start. From there it's easy to know why something like Santal Noble "trumps" something like Santal Blanc to sandalwood aficionados. That said, I think Santal Blanc outsells Santal Noble.

 

[m139]

I never knew such scent aficionados existed till I joined B&B and that's really refreshing (no pun intended). I have never smelled true Mysore Sandalwood EO but I did order a 5ml bottle for $40 from Amazon and I'm awaiting its arrival. I do love the scent of the AOS Sandalwood. I also have Proraso Red and TOBS but to me the AOS smells the best... maybe it's a bit sweeter or more floral but I love it and so does SWMBO so that's what matters I guess.

In fact, I ordered the EO in hopes of creating an A/S splash that has a combination of unscented WH, aloe, rum and sandalwood and my goal is to duplicate the AOS sandalwood scent. Do you guys think I'm way off? I think it cannot be that simple and I'm sure I'm missing something. Any thoughts?

I also ordered a few samplers (Creed Santal, Creed Vetiver, XJ Richwood, Profumum Santalum, Montale Dark Aoud, Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule, 10 Corso Como, Tam Dao, and MPG Santal Noble). I'm hoping that one of these comes close to AOS and I can use the cologne with WH/Aloe as my A/S. I know it's crazy to use $150 bottle for A/S but honestly I don't wear cologne much so the A/S is my only scent.

 

[erickson]

I'll have to revisit my sample of Diptyque Tam Dao, but a bottle of Montale Dark Aoud is currently in my Top 20 rotation