Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo

[Evbo]

Got a small atomizer decant of this from the Perfumed Court. Tried a spritz of it on my wrists tonight.

Holy CRAP, guys. This stuff is intense. The opening is a real blast, I mean it really announces itself. I don't have an educated sniffer but even I could pick out the mixture of lavender, rose & sandalwood that came roaring out of the atomizer. It's been a little over an hour since I sprayed it on and it's starting to dry down to really nice, really dry, very true sandalwood.

This is quality stuff.

Here's one of the reviews from basenotes:

As usual with a Lorenzo Villoresi fragrance, Sandalo begins with an explosion. Its primary character in its opening is probably accomplished by the rosewood / lavender combination – quite aromatic, and, to my nose, developing an aoud-like quality. I do find the combination of rosewood, lavender, neroli, and rose a bit reminiscent of the original Ungaro III (the ORIGINAL Ungaro III, not the inferior recent re-issue). Sandalo’s opening certainly is potent, and the rosewood accord stays around for a long time. I would guess that I get the top and the middle notes together, all at once, because I can immediately identify most of the top and mid notes, and because the first accord lasts a very long time. In fact, the strong wood notes substantially destroy my ability to appreciate the floral notes of the middle because the florals stay very much in the background. With the drydown, the fragrance considerably quiets down, finally, to a full, rich sandalwood skin scent – about as good of sandalwood note as I’ve experienced. I originally thought that this fragrance was short lived. But I’ve found that this is another scent that quickly tires my nose. The sandalwood comes back when I leave off sniffing for a quarter hour, and then try it again.

Since I don’t get the clarity of the opening and mid accords that others get, but instead I get a basically undistinguished and undifferentiated rosewood accord that overwhelms, I'm tempted to vote a neutral, but the drydown is too good for that.

Indeed.

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Thanks much for that, Evan. Price is manageable, too. There's a 10ml decant going for $21 on Ebay now. Worth it for a pure sandalwood scent. Do you have any experience with Tam Dao or Floris Sandalwood? How does it stack up against them? I'm referring to the sandalwood itself, not the other notes.

[cvac]

I got a sample recently too but haven't tried it yet. I have a bottle of Tam Dao and love the stuff. I do prefer Tam Dao over MPG's Santal Noble though. No experience with Floris.

[Evbo]

Thanks much for that, Evan. Price is manageable, too. There's a 10ml decant going for $21 on Ebay now. Worth it for a pure sandalwood scent. Do you have any experience with Tam Dao or Floris Sandalwood? How does it stack up against them? I'm referring to the sandalwood itself, not the other notes.

Hi Allen --

No experience with Tam Dao but I do have a small decant of Floris Sandalwood.

The Floris is a very dry, very true, austere & almost unnoticeable Sandalwood. Very subtle. I really like it.

The Villoresi dries down to the same authentic, beautiful Sandalwood scent. I stays close to the skin but is, I think, more noticeable than the Floris. Not by an awful lot -- it still stays close -- but it's more noticeable.

Hope this helps!

Evan

[Tinzien]

Tam Dao kicks ass to the point that I feel like I'm a heretic for considering taking this new scent for a sample spin.

[Evbo]

Tam Dao kicks ass to the point that I feel like I'm a heretic for considering taking this new scent for a sample spin.

Interesting. Here's what another basenotes member had to say about this frag vis a vis Tam Dao:

Tam Dao notes: Rosewood, Cypress, Goa Sandalwood, Ambergris

I know this is a review of LV Sandalo, but my initial impressions of it were "A Glorified Tam Dao!!". Upon closer inspection and comparing it with Vanuatu and Australian Sandalwood EOs unveiled deeper intricacies of these mysterious "mysore" wonders.

Sandalo features a copious heart of Rosewood while Tam Dao's first half is an excercise in hitting the senses hard with a forceful Cedarwood note. It is important to understand what Rose/Cedar wood smell like, and to not confuse them with sandalwood (which happens a lot). Rosewood has a floral-sweet smell with hints of spiciness while cedarwood smells woody and "pencil-shaving like" with hints of smooth sweet warmth which is quite "sandalwood" like. As previously mentioned, Sandalo hits hard with rosewood. Initially, the excellent notes of lavender and rose do a coital dance over the underlying layer of rosewood - after a few minutes, these two notes merge and bring forth the rosewood heart in naked display. I believe that it was a design decision to use lavender and rose inconcert with rosewood to amplify the rosewood accord (a mix of lavender and rose can smell a lot like rosewood). The rosewood persists for a while before the drydown introduces amber and patchouli to "smooth things out". In the case of Tam Dao, the harsh pencil shaving cedar gives way to a somewhat similar drydown - the rosewood intermingles with ambergris to give birth to a sweet creamy accord.

I am not a scent guru by any means, but these are my observations: Both Sandalo and Tam Dao smell a lot like Australian sandalwood to my nose. Theres nothing wrong with that - the sandalwood down-under may lack the medicinal depth and "magical aura" of the mysore oil, but it is a fine sandalwood blend in its own right (and easier on the nose if I may say so). Sandalo's drydown smells the closest to the Aussie blend to my nose - its less sweet and more "tart" than the aus santal. Sandalo may disappoint if you are looking for something close to the mysore oil mixed in with the composition (although none of the fragrances duplicate the mysore smell very well - Santal Imperial perhaps comes the closest). However, by all other accounts, Sandalo succeeds. The pairing of rosewood/sandalwood with a host of other uplifting and meditative notes like lavender, lemon, rose and neroli give it a certain brightness and spark. If Tam Dao left you wanting more, give Sandalo a try. While I much prefer Santal Imperials less cluttered but more accurate blend, Sandalo is worth seeking out if you are on a journey to find your HG. It may well suprise you.