Sandalwood oil of the day

[Ahmaoud]

Just confirmed the bottle I have is Zen Heart and not Zen One, there was a reason I chose it because I believed it was a more unique profile according to the description on the page, and truly it lived up to that! Thank you indeed to Pierre for even asking for those logs, that alone is something I think few would have attempted, and then solo'ing the distillation .... must not have slept those nights much!

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Just confirmed the bottle I have is Zen Heart and not Zen One, there was a reason I chose it because I believed it was a more unique profile according to the description on the page, and truly it lived up to that! Thank you indeed to Pierre for even asking for those logs, that alone is something I think few would have attempted, and then solo'ing the distillation .... must not have slept those nights much!

Oh no! The confliction is real lol.. which one to get because...ya know. I have to get more now.

 

[dnelson786]

Just confirmed the bottle I have is Zen Heart and not Zen One, there was a reason I chose it because I believed it was a more unique profile according to the description on the page, and truly it lived up to that! Thank you indeed to Pierre for even asking for those logs, that alone is something I think few would have attempted, and then solo'ing the distillation .... must not have slept those nights much!

I have Zen Heart on the way. Looking forward to this one, hoping I can smell the cedar notes. I've bought multiple sandalwood oils over the last few weeks, and as each one comes in I can't help to be underwhelmed.

I'm actually in the search for something like the first real sandalwood I ever bought, back in 2006. It was sold as Mysore but I don't remember 'creaminess' as much an omnipresent cedar note as it dried down, but like a cedar that smelled better than cedar itself. I go behind my house where there's a row of cedar trees and get little hints of the sandalwood I longer have.

That oil had a light amber color, and was a bit sticky but not syrupy.

When I bought it, the guy decanted maybe 2 ml from a much larger bottle, and it's unlikely the larger bottle was kept topped, so no doubt it had been oxidizing. I've no idea how old it was when I first bought the oil.

The best Mysore I've bought since is EO Santal Royale, which I've had for 2 years now (and I think it has improved in those two years so perhaps oxidation is the beneficial factor). That oil is about the same color as the one from memory, is superb in its own right, but not quite as cedar-y as I'm hoping to find.

If anyone on the forum can direct me to something I should consider sampling, I'd be grateful. Something with cedar notes, but obviously with the depth/layers of quality sandalwood oil.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

I have Zen Heart on the way. Looking forward to this one, hoping I can smell the cedar notes. I've bought multiple sandalwood oils over the last few weeks, and as each one comes in I can't help to be underwhelmed.

I'm actually in the search for something like the first real sandalwood I ever bought, back in 2006. It was sold as Mysore but I don't remember 'creaminess' as much an omnipresent cedar note as it dried down, but like a cedar that smelled better than cedar itself. I go behind my house where there's a row of cedar trees and get little hints of the sandalwood I longer have.

That oil had a light amber color, and was a bit sticky but not syrupy.

When I bought it, the guy decanted maybe 2 ml from a much larger bottle, and it's unlikely the larger bottle was kept topped, so no doubt it had been oxidizing. I've no idea how old it was when I first bought the oil.

The best Mysore I've bought since is EO Santal Royale, which I've had for 2 years now (and I think it has improved in those two years so perhaps oxidation is the beneficial factor). That oil is about the same color as the one from memory, is superb in its own right, but not quite as cedar-y as I'm hoping to find.

If anyone on the forum can direct me to something I should consider sampling, I'd be grateful. Something with cedar notes, but obviously with the depth/layers of quality sandalwood oil.

What do you currently have? It's hard to meet the expectations of memory.

 

[SophMarie]

What do you currently have? It's hard to meet the expectations of memory.

Wiser words.... It's also hard to underestimate (overestimate?) time and place. A friend asked why I love Teone Reinthal fragraces so much and I'd be lying if I didn't consider that they found me at just the right moment. Likewise, I'm a fan of some EO attars. The ones I love most are the among the first I tried. Coincidence? Probably not.

 

[dnelson786]

What do you currently have? It's hard to meet the expectations of memory.

So true, I wish I would've kept the empty bottle, I threw it out several years ago in a spring cleaning type of mindset day where I was consciously de-cluttering.

As I said before, I have the EO Santal Royale, and I also have their Sandan Ceylon in a .3 g purchased sample. I have never worn that one (had it a couple years) and I just smelled it is pretty good, I should give it a try. the Royale is potent in a good way where all my other examples lack it.

Recently I've been wearing the HM Mysore from Sulaym, it is a very pleasant scent and pairs well with my beard oil, it's just subtle. It has what I think others are referring when they say creamy and buttery notes, and does have woody undertones but I'd like something with that facet more pronounced.

Just today I received the Ali Brothers Sandalwood oil, and for the price it's hard to complain. When I first applied it, there was a note that seemed foriegn, but has now (30 mins in) gone away and all I smell are pleasant sandalwood smells. It's a good candidate I think to scent some unscented beard oil I have.

I have an Attar Bazarre "Mysore Sandalwood" that doesn't smell bad or anything but it does smell altered, like they've added something sweet to it and is much too rich.

Frietzche Bros Vinatage 1952, I haven't worn yet so no firm opinion on it, it doesn[t stand out from the bottle. I've read through most of this awesome thread started by @oud.time and saw the post where he talked about this oil, which when I read it my shipment of it had yet to arrive so I was hopeful after he said it smelled like the Kangiiten blackmeat oil, which either he or someone else noted was on the woodsy or maybe cedar side, but I didn't pick up on any cedar. I need to give it a multi-day wear to have a stronger opinion on it .

Tamil Nadu from ASO. I don't like it. I can't get past the musty sweet top, it's all I smell, it's probably the extraction method that is not for me.

Mysore from ASO. It's very pleasant in the bottle, I think it will grow on me I need to wear it for a week straight. Plus oxidation will hopefully improve it. It seems to lack potency, but I've smelled many new oils over the last couple of weeks so my nose is desensitized.

I only recently received those oils from Al Shareef, along with those oils I received a sample of Hekayat, which is a musk/mysore maceration. It smells fantastic, holding out to wear that one when I can fully enjoy it. Will very likely be purchasing it. I also want to try my own macerations.

I have a few I am waiting on from Aroma Sublime which I should be receiving soon. Package has cleared customs and trump tax has been paid.

I have another I will be receiving from AnNajwa, and a couple I will be receiving from the slow to ship Rising Phoenix (Mysore Ateek and the Ume one).

So that's about my experience with sandalwood. There's many more I want to try, but am also hoping to shortcut to the woodsy, cedary side of the profiles.

 

[dnelson786]

Wiser words.... It's also hard to underestimate time and place. A friend asked why I loved Teone Reinthal fragraces so much and I'd be lying if I didn't consider that they found me at just the right moment. Likewise, I'm a fan of some EO attars. The ones I love most are the among the first I tried. Coincidence? Probably not.

It's like chasing a gone but not forgotten first love.

All these wonderful oils I have now are like sandalwoods of the day, whereas the one I am looking for is a sandalwood of the night.

 

[SophMarie]

It's like chasing a gone but not forgotten first love.

All these wonderful oils I have now are like sandalwoods of the day, whereas the one I am looking for is a sandalwood of the night.

You have some beauties if you can figure out how to appreciate them on their own merit and not to compare them to the one from the past 🙂

 

[dnelson786]

You have some beauties if you can figure out how to appreciate them on their own merit and not to comparemthem to the one from the past 🙂

thank you for the encouragement😉

 

[Ahmaoud]

So that's about my experience with sandalwood. There's many more I want to try, but am also hoping to shortcut to the woodsy, cedary side of the profiles.

I think few people have as extensive an experience with sandalwood oils you have dnelson! From my experience I feel like we share the profile we're seeking in our sandalwoods, luckily for us this is considered a defect in distilled oils, this cedary facet (which to be clear, I'm thinking of true cedar not the junipers we call cedar in North America) and can be found in oils distilled from the younger woods and specifically their sapwoods not even their heartwoods.

 

[dnelson786]

I think few people have as extensive an experience with sandalwood oils you have dnelson! From my experience I feel like we share the profile we're seeking in our sandalwoods, luckily for us this is considered a defect in distilled oils, this cedary facet (which to be clear, I'm thinking of true cedar not the junipers we call cedar in North America) and can be found in oils distilled from the younger woods and specifically their sapwoods not even their heartwoods.

that's interesting . and yes for sure talking about true cedar.

I don't remember who said it in this thread, but someone recommended to always step out into the fresh outside air when evaluating a sandalwood oil. I stepped outside moments ago and got this rush of sandalwood fragrance over me. and this from the Ali brothers oil at $50/10g (excluding shipping and vat).

 

[SophMarie]

that's interesting . and yes for sure talking about true cedar.

I don't remember who said it in this thread, but someone recommended to always step out into the fresh outside air when evaluating a sandalwood oil. I stepped outside moments ago and got this rush of sandalwood fragrance over me. and this from the Ali brothers oil at $50/10g (excluding shipping and vat).

Sounds like a Mr. P suggestion!

 

[Mr.P]

Sounds like a Mr. P suggestion!

That is indeed something I would recommend. Rose oil as well... let your nervous system kind of adapt to it and soak it up and then cross a threshold into a space with a different atmosphere. It's a very interesting phenomenon - it's like the contrast enables us to smell things that we can't otherwise.

 

[dnelson786]

I think few people have as extensive an experience with sandalwood oils you have dnelson! From my experience I feel like we share the profile we're seeking in our sandalwoods, luckily for us this is considered a defect in distilled oils, this cedary facet (which to be clear, I'm thinking of true cedar not the junipers we call cedar in North America) and can be found in oils distilled from the younger woods and specifically their sapwoods not even their heartwoods.

have you tried blending? like a few drops of cedar wood oil into a bottle of Mysore? is that all there is to blending or is heat required?

 

[SophMarie]

That is indeed something I would recommend. Rose oil as well... let your nervous system kind of adapt to it and soak it up and then cross a threshold into a space with a different atmosphere. It's a very interesting phenomenon - it's like the contrast enables us to smell things that we can't otherwise.

I've done this -- gone outside -- when testing new perfumes and it's helpful then too. Especially when I feel like I've gone noseblind or I've just been stuck indoors too long.

 

[Ahmaoud]

have you tried blending? like a few drops of cedar wood oil into a bottle of Mysore? is that all there is to blending or is heat required?

I think when it comes to mixing essential oils, heat usually isn't required, unless you want to speed up the process, but I've never used it. That being said, you sorta read my mind denelson! I was gonna mention how wonderful I find cedar essential oil to be, either from the Himalayan variety or the Atlas variety, there was also a special bit of cedar from Lebanon which @mesOUD distilled a couple of years ago, not a straight forward distillation but a hybrid setup and it was truly wonderful, I wish I had a kilo of that stuff!

It makes sense to me that cedar and sandalwood would go well together, the former being a top note, while the latter is used as a fixative, but I'm not sure about the ratios. One thin in blending which is difficult to ascertain is how strong a note will be in the final blend. Take rose with oud for example you'd think the oud would always overpower the rose, but in blends the opposite happens. So if you've had experience letting that blend mature for a couple of months and it staying the same it might be worth checking out!

I think you'd really enjoy this true Japanese Camphor which Pierre at @Aroma Sublime stocked, I believe he still might have some, I used to enjoy just a few drops on a ceramic incense heater, and you'd find notes of pear mixed in with a truly unique and complex camphor unlike the mass produced pills of camphor. There's also Lavender and Lavandin ottos which can be quite camphoric, a mixture of any subset of these materials might be a wonderful addition to sandalwood oils. It's just that if an oil has a deep buttery sort of profile it'll be more expensive so mixing it with things doesn't make economical sense, but hey neither does anything we recommend here 😉 Oh and of course a clean Patchouli has these qualities as well, oh gosh then there's vanilla absolute and tobacco absolute to bring to the party, I'll stop here though! Actually many of the resins in resinoid form could work as well to "spike" our sandalwood oils into these directions!

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

So true, I wish I would've kept the empty bottle, I threw it out several years ago in a spring cleaning type of mindset day where I was consciously de-cluttering.

As I said before, I have the EO Santal Royale, and I also have their Sandan Ceylon in a .3 g purchased sample. I have never worn that one (had it a couple years) and I just smelled it is pretty good, I should give it a try. the Royale is potent in a good way where all my other examples lack it.

Recently I've been wearing the HM Mysore from Sulaym, it is a very pleasant scent and pairs well with my beard oil, it's just subtle. It has what I think others are referring when they say creamy and buttery notes, and does have woody undertones but I'd like something with that facet more pronounced.

Just today I received the Ali Brothers Sandalwood oil, and for the price it's hard to complain. When I first applied it, there was a note that seemed foriegn, but has now (30 mins in) gone away and all I smell are pleasant sandalwood smells. It's a good candidate I think to scent some unscented beard oil I have.

I have an Attar Bazarre "Mysore Sandalwood" that doesn't smell bad or anything but it does smell altered, like they've added something sweet to it and is much too rich.

Frietzche Bros Vinatage 1952, I haven't worn yet so no firm opinion on it, it doesn[t stand out from the bottle. I've read through most of this awesome thread started by @oud.time and saw the post where he talked about this oil, which when I read it my shipment of it had yet to arrive so I was hopeful after he said it smelled like the Kangiiten blackmeat oil, which either he or someone else noted was on the woodsy or maybe cedar side, but I didn't pick up on any cedar. I need to give it a multi-day wear to have a stronger opinion on it .

Tamil Nadu from ASO. I don't like it. I can't get past the musty sweet top, it's all I smell, it's probably the extraction method that is not for me.

Mysore from ASO. It's very pleasant in the bottle, I think it will grow on me I need to wear it for a week straight. Plus oxidation will hopefully improve it. It seems to lack potency, but I've smelled many new oils over the last couple of weeks so my nose is desensitized.

I only recently received those oils from Al Shareef, along with those oils I received a sample of Hekayat, which is a musk/mysore maceration. It smells fantastic, holding out to wear that one when I can fully enjoy it. Will very likely be purchasing it. I also want to try my own macerations.

I have a few I am waiting on from Aroma Sublime which I should be receiving soon. Package has cleared customs and trump tax has been paid.

I have another I will be receiving from AnNajwa, and a couple I will be receiving from the slow to ship Rising Phoenix (Mysore Ateek and the Ume one).

So that's about my experience with sandalwood. There's many more I want to try, but am also hoping to shortcut to the woodsy, cedary side of the profiles.

Pretty tasty collection you have there brother. My recommendation would be to try Sandal Uno from Habzoud. 💚🙏

 

[Mr.P]

I think when it comes to mixing essential oils, heat usually isn't required, unless you want to speed up the process, but I've never used it. That being said, you sorta read my mind denelson! I was gonna mention how wonderful I find cedar essential oil to be, either from the Himalayan variety or the Atlas variety, there was also a special bit of cedar from Lebanon which @mesOUD distilled a couple of years ago, not a straight forward distillation but a hybrid setup and it was truly wonderful, I wish I had a kilo of that stuff!

It makes sense to me that cedar and sandalwood would go well together, the former being a top note, while the latter is used as a fixative, but I'm not sure about the ratios. One thin in blending which is difficult to ascertain is how strong a note will be in the final blend. Take rose with oud for example you'd think the oud would always overpower the rose, but in blends the opposite happens. So if you've had experience letting that blend mature for a couple of months and it staying the same it might be worth checking out!

I think you'd really enjoy this true Japanese Camphor which Pierre at @Aroma Sublime stocked, I believe he still might have some, I used to enjoy just a few drops on a ceramic incense heater, and you'd find notes of pear mixed in with a truly unique and complex camphor unlike the mass produced pills of camphor. There's also Lavender and Lavandin ottos which can be quite camphoric, a mixture of any subset of these materials might be a wonderful addition to sandalwood oils. It's just that if an oil has a deep buttery sort of profile it'll be more expensive so mixing it with things doesn't make economical sense, but hey neither does anything we recommend here 😉 Oh and of course a clean Patchouli has these qualities as well, oh gosh then there's vanilla absolute and tobacco absolute to bring to the party, I'll stop here though! Actually many of the resins in resinoid form could work as well to "spike" our sandalwood oils into these directions!

One thing I recommend folks tune into in this post is the specific types of cedar mentioned here (they are in the pine family) - these are the true cedars, and n the genus Cedrus and they have a sweet complex precious woods scent that is at times almost animalic / musky. Old sandalwood when it becomes very oxidized acquires a bit of this scent as well.

In the United States at least the word cedar is associated with a few plants that are actually in the Cypress family, in the Juniperus genus. The aroma is completely different, a scent I will forever associate with evergreen shrubs, pencil shavings and small animal bedding. If I walk into a place selling essential oils and ask for cedar oil around here, the odds are I'm getting Juniperus, not Cedrus.

(I i'm catching up on this thread - this may have been mentioned or this might be common knowledge at this point but I'm not 100% sure)

 

[dnelson786]

One thing I recommend folks tune into in this post is the specific types of cedar mentioned here (they are in the pine family) - these are the true cedars, and n the genus Cedrus and they have a sweet complex precious woods scent that is at times almost animalic / musky. Old sandalwood when it becomes very oxidized acquires a bit of this scent as well.

In the United States at least the word cedar is associated with a few plants that are actually in the Cypress family, in the Juniperus genus. The aroma is completely different, a scent I will forever associate with evergreen shrubs, pencil shavings and small animal bedding. If I walk into a place selling essential oils and ask for cedar oil around here, the odds are I'm getting Juniperus, not Cedrus.

(I i'm catching up on this thread - this may have been mentioned or this might be common knowledge at this point but I'm not 100% sure)

Had I never stumbled upon this forum I may have gone to my death not knowing our giant Western Red Cedars and the like here in the US Pacific Northwest are not true cedars. I remember thinking before about the cedars of Lebanon and the Epic of Gilgamesh and that it was curious we also have cedars here on the literal other side of the world not realizing they were different species entirely. I just assumed ocean currents, continental drift and the long passage of time were at play and never looked into it further.

I’m probably referencing the false cedars then as the scent I pick up on in some sandalwood oils. I will try to species match later the stand of trees whose aroma hints at the sandalwood oil I had years ago, I’m now doubtful those trees are true cedars. Though I would say I don’t get that specific aroma when working with cedar lumber, only around the trees and the foliage. I will have to purchase some essential oils of true and false cedars to compare.

 

[Mr.P]

.

Had I never stumbled upon this forum I may have gone to my death not knowing our giant Western Red Cedars and the like here in the US Pacific Northwest are not true cedars. I remember thinking before about the cedars of Lebanon and the Epic of Gilgamesh and that it was curious we also have cedars here on the literal other side of the world not realizing they were different species entirely. I just assumed ocean currents, continental drift and the long passage of time were at play and never looked into it further.

I’m probably referencing the false cedars then as the scent I pick up on in some sandalwood oils. I will try to species match later the stand of trees whose aroma hints at the sandalwood oil I had years ago, I’m now doubtful those trees are true cedars. Though I would say I don’t get that specific aroma when working with cedar lumber, only around the trees and the foliage. I will have to purchase some essential oils of true and false cedars to compare.

true cedars will have small bundles of needles that are like pine needles - elongated, thin and needle-like. tends to grow like a tree and produce large smooth ovoid cones that are made of many closely packed flat scales.

The foliage of junipers and cypresses generally are flattened and scale-like, though sometimes prickly, but nothing like pine needles. They produce berry-like and odd small irregular green structures to hold their seeds instead of cones.

True cedars:

juniper: