Santal 33
by Le Labo
sandalwood, papyrus, cedarwood, cardamom, iris, violet, ambrox, and leather accord
I hosted a split of this a year ago and I'm just finally getting around to wearing it. Funny thing is that when you make a bunch of decants from a split, you inevitably end up kinda wearing it for that night so I had a sense of what it smelled like but then my bottle was put away and shuffled around and eventually boxed up and out of sight/out of mind. So, this morning I rummaged around for it to finally give it a thorough wearing and I gotta say I'm not very impressed. There's a weird synthetic amber note intermingling with a woody (more cedar than sandalwood) note and there's not much else I'm picking up on. The cardamom is rather obvious but I didn't know what it was until I looked up the notes. Otherwise, my impression is that the violets and ambrox are creating a kind of rubbery note that is slightly turning. BUT, when I put my nose under my collar, I get a very nice modern-gentleman smell that I DO really like. There seems to be a difference perception in the airspace from the up-close experience. Not sure if I need to apply more or if I need to wear this on my arms instead of under my shirt but a second wearing is definitely in order. Still, nothing about this evokes "a man and his horse in front of the fire on a great plain under tall, blue evening skies," or anything of the sort. Instead, to me this evokes those old (feed & seed?) stores that used to spread oiled sawdust over the floors and sweep it up, which would both attract and clean up dust bunnies and other dirt particles while at the same time oil and condition the wood floors.
I'm also reminded of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle...but I won't go there.
by Le Labo
sandalwood, papyrus, cedarwood, cardamom, iris, violet, ambrox, and leather accord
I hosted a split of this a year ago and I'm just finally getting around to wearing it. Funny thing is that when you make a bunch of decants from a split, you inevitably end up kinda wearing it for that night so I had a sense of what it smelled like but then my bottle was put away and shuffled around and eventually boxed up and out of sight/out of mind. So, this morning I rummaged around for it to finally give it a thorough wearing and I gotta say I'm not very impressed. There's a weird synthetic amber note intermingling with a woody (more cedar than sandalwood) note and there's not much else I'm picking up on. The cardamom is rather obvious but I didn't know what it was until I looked up the notes. Otherwise, my impression is that the violets and ambrox are creating a kind of rubbery note that is slightly turning. BUT, when I put my nose under my collar, I get a very nice modern-gentleman smell that I DO really like. There seems to be a difference perception in the airspace from the up-close experience. Not sure if I need to apply more or if I need to wear this on my arms instead of under my shirt but a second wearing is definitely in order. Still, nothing about this evokes "a man and his horse in front of the fire on a great plain under tall, blue evening skies," or anything of the sort. Instead, to me this evokes those old (feed & seed?) stores that used to spread oiled sawdust over the floors and sweep it up, which would both attract and clean up dust bunnies and other dirt particles while at the same time oil and condition the wood floors.
I'm also reminded of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle...but I won't go there.
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