Australian sandalwood – santalum spiccatum – possesses a tart, woody freshness that is as mentally uplifting as walking through a forest of freshly-felled timber. In Santal Austral, this facet is cleverly emphasized by an iris topnote that is as silvery as the sandalwood. Together, these notes produce an effect that is both dusty and sparkling, for a sandalwood champagne of sorts.
It is worth noting that all this effervescence is but a prelude to the main act, which is a creamy amber that sucks the iris and sandalwood deep into its velvet embrace. The subtle almond milk nuances of tonka bean and the dusty, vanillic sparkle of benzoin wrap sensuously around the tender iris and the bright sandalwood, sweetening and thickening the scent until it smells like sandalwood if sandalwood was a substance made out of condensed milk, soap, and papiers d’Arménie. Sweeter and warmer than most Australian sandalwood-themed fragrances tend to be, we recommend Santal Austral to anyone – male or female – looking for a softer take on this most coniferous of sandalwood species.
