TOBS Sandalwood

I have a question - been wondering this for a while. I see on the forums a lot of people have a love for TOBS Sandalwood or Sandalwood scent in general, AOS, Proraso, etc.

I've never used Sandalwood anything before, and I want to see what all the fuss is about, but the other day at my local House of Knives store, I opened up the TOBS Sandalwood tub and really didn't care for the scent at all. Does it smell better/different once it is lathered up and shaved with, or is the tub smell the way its going to be?

I ask this because my tub of proraso white soft soap didn't/doesn't do much for me when I open it up or when I'm loading my brush, but i love the lather and shave/post shave smell.

Just curious to get some thoughts on Sandalwood. Thanks!

TOBS smells different then any other sandalwood. If you are talking about the cream, it smells a little different than soap. I have the soap, and once you lather it up in hot water, the smell does change a tad, more of the wood comes out and the spices subdue.

Proraso, AOS, C&E, Edwin Jagger, etc all the sandalwoods smell different. Personally I like Proraso sandalwood and TOBS the best, and if you have never used TOBS I recommend Jermyn street! Any TOBS lathers up amazing and is nice and slick. I also love my other Brands but I have VERY sensitive skin and prefer Proraso Green or red and TOBS. Just my opinion.

zed117 said:

TOBS smells different then any other sandalwood. If you are talking about the cream, it smells a little different than soap. I have the soap, and once you lather it up in hot water, the smell does change a tad, more of the wood comes out and the spices subdue.

Proraso, AOS, C&E, Edwin Jagger, etc all the sandalwoods smell different. Personally I like Proraso sandalwood and TOBS the best, and if you have never used TOBS I recommend Jermyn street! Any TOBS lathers up amazing and is nice and slick. I also love my other Brands but I have VERY sensitive skin and prefer Proraso Green or red and TOBS. Just my opinion.

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Thanks for the info - I thought that Sandalwood scents were different across the board, I thought I favored the Proraso Sandalwood myself based on just the smell, so maybe I'll give that a try first. I do own a TOBS Jermyn Street, it is amazing. I'd bathe in the stuff if I could, one of my favorites. I find the TOBS is a bit thirstier than some of my other creams.

I think I'll pick the Proraso Sandalwood to see if I like it, then go from there. Thanks for the info

eljedo said:

Thanks for the info - I thought that Sandalwood scents were different across the board, I thought I favored the Proraso Sandalwood myself based on just the smell, so maybe I'll give that a try first. I do own a TOBS Jermyn Street, it is amazing. I'd bathe in the stuff if I could, one of my favorites. I find the TOBS is a bit thirstier than some of my other creams.

I think I'll pick the Proraso Sandalwood to see if I like it, then go from there. Thanks for the info

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You aren't alone in not being a fan of TOBS sandalwood. For me, the patchouli is what ruins it but the cream smells pretty much the same when lathered.

Meanwhile, great choice going with Proraso; their sandalwood is fantastic and better than the TOBS for scent in my opinion. If you have an Art of Shaving retail store near you, check out their sandalwood too. It's also excellent, but pricey ($25 for 150mL compared to the Proraso). They'll let you demo it in the store with their brushes or maybe let you take a sample home to try. If nothing else you can throw on a spray of their EDT before leaving the store!

A little different when lathered, but I like it and top off with CC sandalwood AS!

I love the TOBS cream but after using the AOS Sandalwood, I have not come to appreciate the TOBS sandalwood unlike its other fragrances. AOS and Proraso probably have the best form of Sandalwood IMHO. Good luck.

TOBS Sandalwood is one of the soapiest smelling sandalwood creams/soaps I've smelled. I personally love it. Its scent reminds me of visits to my grandfather's house, as a boy. Which is not to say I view it as "old man". I view it as a timeless classic. It will always be in my rotation.

Sandalwoods are different across the board because authentic sandalwood essential oil is damn expensive. Stuff seems to be like liquid gold... there's no consistency in the sandalwood soap/cream market because none of it is authentic. It's all sandalwood cut with carrier oils like jojoba, or the tiniest bit of sandalwood with a bunch of cheaper fragrances, or a whole lot of low-quality sandalwood (and there is a lot of variation among low-quality "sandalwoods").

Point being - it's profitable to make lavender creams/soaps with "pure" oils, so they're fairly consistent. It's not profitable to make sandalwood creams/soaps with "pure" oils, so they're all over the place.

TOBS sandalwood smells like old men and baby wipes to me. Not a true sandalwood scent at all.

The AOS is the very first non goo i tried. It smells great and the one near me will give samples. The Sephora stores around here also give you samples of everything. Since AOS is the only sandalwood I've tried I like that one. It is pricey though.

MirrodinFC said:

Sandalwoods are different across the board because authentic sandalwood essential oil is damn expensive. Stuff seems to be like liquid gold... there's no consistency in the sandalwood soap/cream market because none of it is authentic. It's all sandalwood cut with carrier oils like jojoba, or the tiniest bit of sandalwood with a bunch of cheaper fragrances, or a whole lot of low-quality sandalwood (and there is a lot of variation among low-quality "sandalwoods").

Point being - it's profitable to make lavender creams/soaps with "pure" oils, so they're fairly consistent. It's not profitable to make sandalwood creams/soaps with "pure" oils, so they're all over the place.

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+1000

And I'll echo the others in saying that lathering doesn't make much difference for TOBS sandalwood: If you don't like it in the tub, you won't like it on your face.

TOBS was my first exposure to sandalwood, and I love it, even if it (apparently) doesn't smell like the real thing. I enjoy the scent, whatever it is. They could call it Chunky Monkey and I'd still use it.

Proraso Red is great, and the general concensus here is that it's one of the more authentic sandalwood scents. I love it. If that's what sandalwood smells like, then count me as a sandalwood fan [emoji106]

Coates Sandalwood is another one I have, and I'm really not crazy about it. It hardly detect any scent at all, though I have heard that is about par for the course for Coates. To me is just smells... creamy, if that makes sense. In fact, I find all the Coates creams I have all have the same "cream" base scent. I know the story with them though. Already lightly scented, combined with sitting in a warehouse for a decade, they are bound to be less potent, so it makes sense. Still a great shave though.

AoS is my most recent sandalwood acquisition. To me it smells like Proraso Red in the background, with a whole bunch of other stuff piled on top. I like it, but I can't call it my favourite sandalwood scent.

Given the disparity between all the different sandalwood scents in shaving products, I've made it my mission to try as many as humanly possible. I like the variety.

In sandalwood I've tried TOBS, GFT and Proraso Red. Scentwise, I Like the TOBS, found the GFT to be Meh, and disliked the Proraso. YMMV.

Cheers, George

To me Sandalwood is the definitive perfect masculine scent, either blended or the oil by itself. I prefer the basic pure essential oil scent, it's like a cologne by itself. That's just my personal opinion. I've smelled many scents over the years, but nothing hits it for me like Sandalwood. For me it's the best ever, especially the parfum scent that Proraso adds to their shave cream and the the way the older version of Art Of Shaving sandalwood did it back before P&G bought them. Unfortunately genuine pure Indian sandalwood essential oil is hard to come by anymore and when you find it, it's real expensive and mostly diluted (with castor oil) these days due to India's tight control over the tree. Luckily I recall a time when it was far more readily available and easy to get a hold of.

just replied about this in a different thread, but the tobs sandalwood soap smell is terrible to me. it smells like a grandmas perfume and it is very strong, as if grandma had poured her perfume on. it gave me a headache and i never even tried it, just sold it to get rid of it. im cautious about trying other sandalwoods because the tobs ruined it for me. im sure others arent as strong nor as much of a grandmas perfume smell. i like mwf better for a good soap. my favorite smell though is Nivea sensitive, i just love this stuff. GFT is also a good masculine scent.

Oddly enough, I used to prefer the TOBS sandalwood but lately it seems too strong and over lingering. I have the Proraso red in tub and tube and like them both. Captain's Choice Sandalwood is also very good as an AS to follow up with.

I got some TOBS sandalwood to try as my tub of AOS Sandalwood is almost done and it seems a little strong and overbearing at first. Hmm, not sure about this. Might have to stick with the AOS.