Opinions before Sandalwood Purchase

[IntenseBlue]

I'm interested in making my first sandalwood purchases starting tomorrow if possible.

I've spent around a month researching on here and on base notes, as well as reading books. Long term I'm interested in creating my own perfumes.

Short term I want to learn an ingredient well which is to be the foundation of my first fragrance, that being Sandalwood.

I was not prepared for the vast amount of options to be available and have exhausted myself and available material I've found to help make my decisions and still have some questions, mainly regarding comparison experiences if they can be found.

I initially wanted the highest quality I could find. Turns out this will be way out of my budget I think starting out. I do plan on getting one, if not two high end (to me) Sandalwoods.

1.) Al Shareef Oudh Mysore
2.) Craft Oud Mysore Antique 1989

If anyone has experience with both of these and can compare them that would be fantastic.

I'm also wanting a general all-purpose, replenishable sandalwood to which I thought from Basenotes id settled on Jamie Frater's signature Mysore from Payan Bertrand. I've learned here, along with other suppliers like him such as PSH, Eden, Hermitage, etc that their commercial Sandalwoods are weak.

There are two here that are cheaper than average that have positive review outside of their top note qualities but have traditional sandalwood heart/dry downs, and seem to last all day. Those two are 1.) RK & Sons, and 2.) Ali Brothers. Is there anyone here that can directly compare these two?

Lastly, I may seek middle ground through two alternatives to dodge the prior two of which I have extra questions for.

1.) An Najwa Mysore Classic
2.) Al Shareef Oudh's Tamil Nadu

With the Mysore Classic, it's a brand new distillation and I'm concerned it may be dead and dull jfrater's seems to be touted among other current plantation options. I've not seen any reviews on it.

The Tamil Nadu of ASO is appealing, one because shipping costs add up on these in a hurry 🤣, and it's an older distillation and has fantastic reviews as both an oil, as well as him as a business. The worry here, is that in this purchase I am seeking some sort of standard, benchmark, baseline, etc. And a decent blending oil as well. I'm not looking for something specialized or distilled in a manner to where it's irreplaceable even if it isn't $100 a gram.

Any and all feedback will be highly appreciated.

First post, btw...glad to be here. Been lurking Basenotes for years and within just the last week, I may not ever go back 😂

 

[IntenseBlue]

i'm dropping this and not responding to previous messages because this is not really a response to a previous comment but just general advice when it comes to assessing sandalwood: you will become desensitized to it very quickly, and the desensitization is pernicious and it can take multiple days to rebound if you've become very desensitized.

I tend to wear sandal woods in little chunks of time like for three or four days and then I won't wear them for a month. Given the subtlety of the variations, the unusual tenacity and the very slow unfolding of the sandalwood envelope, to really understand this material you want to take one oil and wear it for like three days straight, nothing else just get to know it… and then take a break for a few days, allow your nose to rebound before sampling the next one or else it will seem much milder in comparison even if it's comparable in strength.

sampling citrus oils can happen at like 10 times the pace 😂 because they are fast oils that evaporate quickly and go through their whole thing in no time

I hope I didn't offend you in any way. That post, especially, was very helpful. I've heard desensitization mentioned, but never seen a plan for handling it or recommendation for avoiding it. That's getting copied in my notes.

It's a good thing I've got all these $100-$200 bottles of $5-$10 frags to fill in the gaps 🤣.

That actually makes me feel better about not buying 100ml of affordable sandalwood from RK&Sons!

Off subject question directed towards anyone as this may vary... How far does a gram of this stuff go if being swiped as an oil based standalone on skin? If 10 or 20 grams/ml going to be something I'm restocking all the time or is this enough to last for a bit.

Ignore the fact that I'll be blending some in the future and separating some out for EDT work. Just normal wearing

 

[Mr.P]

I hope I didn't offend you in any way. That post, especially, was very helpful. I've heard desensitization mentioned, but never seen a plan for handling it or recommendation for avoiding it. That's getting copied in my notes.

It's a good thing I've got all these $100-$200 bottles of $5-$10 frags to fill in the gaps 🤣.

That actually makes me feel better about not buying 100ml of affordable sandalwood from RK&Sons!

Off subject question directed towards anyone as this may vary... How far does a gram of this stuff go if being swiped as an oil based standalone on skin? If 10 or 20 grams/ml going to be something I'm restocking all the time or is this enough to last for a bit.

Ignore the fact that I'll be blending some in the future and separating some out for EDT work. Just normal wearing

Not offended in any way - sorry if I gave that impression. I've got enough different sandalwood now that things have changed a little bit but if there's one particular oil that I'm wearing 1 mL will not last very long. I feel like you need 10 times as much at least as with oud for it to work as a personal fragrance. Just my opinion

 

[IntenseBlue]

I wasn't sure how to read your opening statement. You definitely didn't give that impression with anything else said.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

I’m starting to lean in the direction of getting a lesser mass produced oil and augmenting it with better oils for blending. Like Hamburger Helper but sandalwood. I did that with a boring but cheap Mysore from Kangiiten and ended up adding drops from several different better oils plus the tiniest bits of ambergris and musk and it’s one of my absolute most treasured wears, period.

It really is going to come down to sampling in the end. I wish there was an easy way to get hold of Indian Government oil. Surely they have better grades of wood that they distill oil from.

Oh for a time machine to take me back to the $2/ml oils I basically poured over my head and generally wasted. They were all mass market and I’m chasing best of the artisanal and high end market trying to get that again. Having said that though I really have had good luck with the small forays I’ve made into adding animalics and or higher grade oils to lackluster sandalwood

Aroma Sublime is currently selling a 1965 Govt oil. https://www.aromasublime.com/shop/p...roduction-sandalwood-essential-oil-1965-india

 

[Mr.P]

I wasn't sure how to read your opening statement. You definitely didn't give that impression with anything else said.

Oh I see now… poor choice of words on my part. I didn't mean dropping the thread or the conversation, I meant dropping this random tidbit of advice without reference to the questions that you had asked lol. cheers! 🙂

 

[Ahmaoud]

EJayB will not steer you wrong, that's for sure.

You can find him on Instagram. He collaborated with a member here @Margon who produces excellent Aceh sandalwood oil (this would be a bulk order situation).

I have a couple of big bottles of that shavings oil, nice stuff!

That's who I forgot! I was just talking to him a couple of days ago, Margon that is, and I'm awaiting an order for his aged patchouli which I'm super excited to experience! Anyways dealings with him has been super smooth and efficient and I can't recommend him highly enough! Whether you go for his patchouli oils, or his sandalwood oils!

 

[IntenseBlue]

Oh I see now… poor choice of words on my part. I didn't mean dropping the thread or the conversation, I meant dropping this random tidbit of advice without reference to the questions that you had asked lol. cheers! 🙂

Haha, I thought you were telling me you were done bc I aggravated you or something, but I realized the rest of the content didn't match that. Haha, my bad.

 

[IntenseBlue]

Aroma Sublime is currently selling a 1965 Govt oil. https://www.aromasublime.com/shop/p...roduction-sandalwood-essential-oil-1965-india

I searched that one too. ASO's vintage 1984 and the AromaSublime 1960 were both highly touted and I was too late to the game. This one was too new for me to find reviews on.

Interesting to me, there was at least one other company, but I think two, that were both freshly marketing a 1965 govt. oil.

 

[IntenseBlue]

That's who I forgot! I was just talking to him a couple of days ago, Margon that is, and I'm awaiting an order for his aged patchouli which I'm super excited to experience! Anyways dealings with him has been super smooth and efficient and I can't recommend him highly enough! Whether you go for his patchouli oils, or his sandalwood oils!

I saw him referenced a couple of times but couldn't find his store. Same with EJayB.

 

[IntenseBlue]

There was one other oil I scratched off of my list and can't remember why, but that was Agarwood Indonesia's Heart of Sandalwood.

 

[Ahmaoud]

I saw him referenced a couple of times but couldn't find his store. Same with EJayB.

I'd message him here when you get the chance!

There was one other oil I scratched off of my list and can't remember why, but that was Agarwood Indonesia's Heart of Sandalwood.

I believe it was @PersonelHigh (apologies for tag but didn't want to talk about someone without letting them know) received that oil and wasn't too thrilled with it's characteristics (again if I recall correctly)

 

[IntenseBlue]

I've just written Shareef and now am writing Najwa. Eager to hear what they have to say about their products vs. my wants.

I'll post back once I've heard from both and have made a decision. Door is still open for further inquiries at the current time.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

I searched that one too. ASO's vintage 1984 and the AromaSublime 1960 were both highly touted and I was too late to the game. This one was too new for me to find reviews on.

Interesting to me, there was at least one other company, but I think two, that were both freshly marketing a 1965 govt. oil.

Even though it's newly listed on one shop, if you can find reviews on an Indian Govt vintage 1965 oil from elsewhere you could take them to mean also this current one from Aroma Sublime. They are very rare. So, you could have ten bottles all lined up next to each other that were all distilled in the same year you could rely on them all smelling the same.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

AlHindOud can/does sell amazing quality sandalwood for tola's also.

 

[IntenseBlue]

AlHindOud can/does sell amazing quality sandalwood for tola's also.

Looked him up too. All I saw on his site was a bulk package for around $1200 and it was Indonesian I believe. I feel like most things I saw that had really really good reviews was gone. Which is one reason I don't want to sit and let good stuff get away. Hence the $330 for a tola purchase I'll be making along with sandalwood I'm actually wanting to put to use. I cant sit over here go and go broke, though.

Another one that had great reviews who was out of everything was TabeerOud.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Looked him up too. All I saw on his site was a bulk package for around $1200 and it was Indonesian I believe. I feel like most things I saw that had really really good reviews was gone. Which is one reason I don't want to sit and let good stuff get away. Hence the $330 for a tola purchase I'll be making along with sandalwood I'm actually wanting to put to use. I cant sit over here go and go broke, though.

Another one that had great reviews who was out of everything was TabeerOud.

Indonesian yes but still Santalum Album. He does also have large amounts of another distillation called Santalea 1. Also from Indonesia but honestly one of the best I've smelled. Or after you an Album oil specifically from India? Remember also these guys are sometimes open to a private distilation of X amount. You don't have to rely on what's currently up on any given website to obtain what you're after.

 

[Shiningrobes]

I love Santalea but didnt mention because it is Indonesian and I find I can smell the difference even though it is still S. Album. I couldnt miss another of his sandalwoods and gladly got a tola and wish I could have afforded more. I think he mentioned recently that he’ll be doing a Mysore again soon? Or maybe I just want that to be true.

If anyone ever wants to split some raw wood for a willing distiller to process I would be more than interested in chipping in!

 

[IntenseBlue]

Indonesian yes but still Santalum Album. He does also have large amounts of another distillation called Santalea 1. Also from Indonesia but honestly one of the best I've smelled. Or after you an Album oil specifically from India? Remember also these guys are sometimes open to a private distilation of X amount. You don't have to rely on what's currently up on any given website to obtain what you're after.

Santalea was also sold out. I've heard people hold that opinion on Indonesian and even Sri Lankan oils although I've heard the latter die off early. Not sure if it's a Santalol or an aging issue, or even distillation method. Still learning.

I'm set on Album, but for blending I'm not limiting myself to Mysore oil. I do consider it a plus though all things otherwise being equal.

I had not considered there being vendors or other artisans "nearby" who would make batches or blends for me. I'm interested in this highly. I have entertained over the past few days and had two phone calls today over stills. I come from a family of moonshiners 😉

 

[IntenseBlue]

I love Santalea but didnt mention because it is Indonesian and I find I can smell the difference even though it is still S. Album. I couldnt miss another of his sandalwoods and gladly got a tola and wish I could have afforded more. I think he mentioned recently that he’ll be doing a Mysore again soon? Or maybe I just want that to be true.

If anyone ever wants to split some raw wood for a willing distiller to process I would be more than interested in chipping in!

What do you differentiate between Indian and Indonesian, and how noticable is it to you?

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

My bad. I had not noticed Santalea had sold out. I can smell a difference in the two as well. Somehow the Indo has an oceanic note to it. Slightly salty top which isn't surprising given it's origin. I'm quite partial to it. MesOud's NTT also carries this "saltiness".