Sandalwood oil of the day

[Olfactory Nomad]

Speaking of Kangiiten sandalwood..,

I didn’t find this particularly exciting so I almost immediately altered it with other sandalwoods. An RPP one, drops each of the old Mesoud macerations of ambergris and musk (which is still my favorite musk). I don’t know what all else now. It has several sandalwoods. It’s been sitting for about two years and I’m glad I forgot about it because it’s the perfect thing for my nose right now. It’s like every good vintage s. album that I own all in one. The ambergris is really expressive. There are both rich and dry wood elements plus an almost raspberry overlay. It smells very old but isn’t as muted as some of my older oils. The bottle itself is also adorable but is a sobering reminder of what 2ml really looks like.

EDIT: Wow, this is a lot. Much more going on here than I thought. It’s like a complete run through of santalum album profiles. The resin, paper, dry woods of NTT but mellowed out and sitting on top of warm sap wood; sweet, almost treacle. For like $30 on sale for the original I don’t think, I did so bad. This is the blend that had convinced me I could upgrade boring sandalwood with some cautious additions of better ones. I think I was right.

Very nicely done! I also bought that Kangiiten sandalwood and found it kinda flat. I've used it since as filler for some blends. I must try those soon.

 

[Shiningrobes]

Indeed, sandalwood, the more boring it is, the more useful it is a canvas. This sounds like a beauty you’ve made!

I just did a sandalwood and coral jasmine attar for my wife (inspired by Kai Leon!) and I’m quite pleased with it! I picked the blandest stuff I could find as a carrier.

Glad to get some affirmation! I had been making stuff lately with more expressive sandalwood and it took over. Luckily one of the ouds I put it in chewed it up and spit it out for breakfast. The santal doesn’t reappear until late in the drydown. I do agree that a bland but good SW is a great carrier.

I’ve never heard of coral jasmine!

 

[Shiningrobes]

Very nicely done! I also bought that Kangiiten sandalwood and found it kinda flat. I've used it since as filler for some blends. I must try those soon.

I completely lucked out. Actually, I went slow and with sandalwood on top of sandalwood it would be hard to mess up.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

HM Mysore - Sulaym. Have been rocking this one regularly since digging it out a couple of weeks ago. Royal indeed.

 

[roflwaffle]

do agree that a bland but good SW is a great carrier.

Interesting. I guess this would imply that dreamwood (90% santalols ish but very meek on its own) should be an amazing carrier? I've mostly used it thus far for tincture carriers but not seen how it does on its own in a blend. I'll have to play some more with it

 

[Shiningrobes]

Interesting. I guess this would imply that dreamwood (90% santalols ish but very meek on its own) should be an amazing carrier? I've mostly used it thus far for tincture carriers but not seen how it does on its own in a blend. I'll have to play some more with it

I have no idea with synthetics. I meant more like a non-artisanal oil. I’m pretty sure you’re not a fan of the Fraterworks signature Mysore, but that would be a great one. Actually that has been a great one for me.

 

[roflwaffle]

I have no idea with synthetics. I meant more like a non-artisanal oil. I’m pretty sure you’re not a fan of the Fraterworks signature Mysore, but that would be a great one. Actually that has been a great one for me.

I've actually not smelled it, but yea not a fan due to very questionable claims, and general kinda meh reviews for the cost, but yea, i think it'd be a great one as its very mellow for a carrier use for sure!

 

[Shiningrobes]

I've actually not smelled it, but yea not a fan due to very questionable claims, and general kinda meh reviews for the cost, but yea, i think it'd be a great one as its very mellow for a carrier use for sure!

For a mass produced sandalwood I think it’s great. I genuinely love it, and I think of myself as a sandalwood snob. Granted, I got gifted a 25 ml bottle so I can’t complain about the price. But I would definitely buy more.

I’m seriously eyeing the 2025 Mysore from An Najwa. I haven’t smelled that but his price is definitely good and I completely trust his taste. But, I’m so broke right now I haven’t been able to buy oils for a while and can’t foresee getting any for a while.

 

[Mr.P]

For a mass produced sandalwood I think it’s great. I genuinely love it, and I think of myself as a sandalwood snob. Granted, I got gifted a 25 ml bottle so I can’t complain about the price. But I would definitely buy more.

I’m seriously eyeing the 2025 Mysore from An Najwa. I haven’t smelled that but his price is definitely good and I completely trust his taste. But, I’m so broke right now I haven’t been able to buy oils for a while and can’t foresee getting any for a while.

Yeah there's nothing wrong with that oil! I may have been one of the people who did not give this a good recommendation. My opinion on the oil itself has always been that it was a well selected specimen in terms of lacking any off notes and being true to form, but smelling watered down. If I wanted to make something like this from my collection I would take just a little bit of a good quality "wild" (whatever that means) Karnataka oil and dilute it in one of the neutral Australian plantation album oils. It's like a conventional attar of good sandalwood oil - sandalwood oil in a sandalwood carrier. If it was that versus plain old Australian plantation oil, I would take that 100% maybe at half the price.

My beef was with the aggressive pricing and product description (that is off enough to suggest some kind of problem somewhere in the process over there).At the time I wrote that review I felt I could get the good stuff for less than they were charging for the watered down stuff.

 

[Alamande]

I think I might have completely disappeared up my own backside with this one. I remember saying that mesOUD’s Kabini reminded me of white Burg, and particularly the spicy, buttery kind, like a Chassagne. I happen to have a Chassagne on the go this evening, so I figured I would try a ‘swipe and sip’ thing.

The experiment wasn’t entirely successful. The butter element in the wine cancels out that of the sandal somewhat (this is the opposite of what I was hoping for). There is also an unexpectedly intense, pithy quince note to the wine, which isn’t all that compatible with the sandal. It was worth a try.

 

[Shiningrobes]

Yeah there's nothing wrong with that oil! I may have been one of the people who did not give this a good recommendation. My opinion on the oil itself has always been that it was a well selected specimen in terms of lacking any off notes and being true to form, but smelling watered down. If I wanted to make something like this from my collection I would take just a little bit of a good quality "wild" (whatever that means) Karnataka oil and dilute it in one of the neutral Australian plantation album oils. It's like a conventional attar of good sandalwood oil - sandalwood oil in a sandalwood carrier. If it was that versus plain old Australian plantation oil, I would take that 100% maybe at half the price.

My beef was with the aggressive pricing and product description (that is off enough to suggest some kind of problem somewhere in the process over there).At the time I wrote that review I felt I could get the good stuff for less than they were charging for the watered down stuff.

Someone besides you really went after it. I agree on the base price, $32 for 1 gram is ludicrous and insulting. After that it does go down exponentially. First to $15/g then $12/g which is when the price starts to make a little more sense to me. The only other mass market sandalwoods I can compare it to are the ones that Eden Botanicals and Enfleurage used to and maybe still do sell. Priced the same at $12/gram and just absolute crap. When I could detect a smell from either one they were both sour, green and sharp in the way palo santo oil can be. I just pictured dry, green/white wood going into a still. This one thought smells like what I expect generic sandalwd to smell like but better.

I don’t need to harp on this though. I really like it and would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a decent workhorse sandalwood that’s also pleasant on its own. This is the oil I reach for when I just want to smell “sandalwood” it reminds me to of the stuff that India used to just pump out in gallons. I’m curious if you have a similar low stakes blender, beater car oil you can recommend. I like a good all arounder. Nothing precious.

 

[Mr.P]

Someone besides you really went after it. I agree on the base price, $32 for 1 gram is ludicrous and insulting. After that it does go down exponentially. First to $15/g then $12/g which is when the price starts to make a little more sense to me. The only other mass market sandalwoods I can compare it to are the ones that Eden Botanicals and Enfleurage used to and maybe still do sell. Priced the same at $12/gram and just absolute crap. When I could detect a smell from either one they were both sour, green and sharp in the way palo santo oil can be. I just pictured dry, green/white wood going into a still. This one thought smells like what I expect generic sandalwd to smell like but better.

I don’t need to harp on this though. I really like it and would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a decent workhorse sandalwood that’s also pleasant on its own. This is the oil I reach for when I just want to smell “sandalwood” it reminds me to of the stuff that India used to just pump out in gallons. I’m curious if you have a similar low stakes blender, beater car oil you can recommend. I like a good all arounder. Nothing precious.

I agree with your assessment and comparison to the other basic plantation oils which are just anemic and have slightly weird profiles. I tried a Quintis oil recently- it has an odd almost fishy quality to the top note although it eventually settles into a reasonably characteristic heart and base.

I don't have a good source for consistent repeatable low stakes blending oil - in the past I've had good luck with things from RK sons for a little over $2 per gram but there is no batch to batch consistency (other than all of them smelling authentic and like other sandalwood oils that I have purchased from other sources), Some batches are the floral lily type, others are more musky, some have a slight rubbery facet, others are nutty but all of them are decent, burn clean with no fixed oils, and saturated and probably with 4 (?) times the impact of the fraterworks oil. I haven't purchased from this source in a few years but they maintained that quality over decades from the early base notes days until a few years ago at least so it's worth sampling.

I also have some large-ish bottles of recent Indonesian distillations that I got directly from a distiller who used to be a member here but he has moved on… these have worked nicely for blending and are well received by people who smell them; and also are down around the same price as the RK sons because I bought them in relative bulk. EJayB (olefaktory on instagram) used to keep one of these oils in stock but the one he had was distilled at 2 bar pressure and it's very rich and woody and sweet but with a very different terroir than Indian oil. I think he used to sell it for around 6/7 dollars a gram, might be worth reaching out to him although I haven't seen any updates on his Instagram in a long time. I recently got some of the same type of oil distilled by "Margon" a former ouddict member who also makes mean patchouli oil. Not sure what he's up to, I wasn't able to get the sandalwood oil consistently from him when I had hoped to so I'm not sure what the situation is now.

Finally, not so long ago I got something at a little higher price point but still cheaper than the Fraterworks and quite a bit richer - from @An Najwa. This particular batch has a kind of nutty aroma that I associate with Karnataka oils I've smelled in the past, I had asked if he might be able to source a more affordable sandalwood to use as a carrier and he 100% came through. At the time the price was less than half of the fraterworks oil

 

[Shiningrobes]

I agree with your assessment and comparison to the other basic plantation oils which are just anemic and have slightly weird profiles. I tried a Quintis oil recently- it has an odd almost fishy quality to the top note although it eventually settles into a reasonably characteristic heart and base.

I don't have a good source for consistent repeatable low stakes blending oil - in the past I've had good luck with things from RK sons for a little over $2 per gram but there is no batch to batch consistency (other than all of them smelling authentic and like other sandalwood oils that I have purchased from other sources), Some batches are the floral lily type, others are more musky, some have a slight rubbery facet, others are nutty but all of them are decent, burn clean with no fixed oils, and saturated and probably with 4 (?) times the impact of the fraterworks oil. I haven't purchased from this source in a few years but they maintained that quality over decades from the early base notes days until a few years ago at least so it's worth sampling.

I also have some large-ish bottles of recent Indonesian distillations that I got directly from a distiller who used to be a member here but he has moved on… these have worked nicely for blending and are well received by people who smell them; and also are down around the same price as the RK sons because I bought them in relative bulk.

Finally, not so long ago I got something at a little higher price point but still cheaper than the Fraterworks and quite a bit richer - from @An Najwa. This particular batch has a kind of nutty aroma that I associate with Karnataka oils I've smelled in the past, I had asked if he might be able to source a more affordable sandalwood to use as a carrier and he 100% came through. At the time the price was less than half of the fraterworks oil

Thanks I’ve been curious about direct from India. Been looking at Ramnarayan rose oils (which I’ve been meaning to ask you about since I think you have those) and their mitti and sandalwood.

Is the An Najwa the Mysore Classic 2025? I’ve had that oil bookmarked forever but the stupid orange person tariffs and the fact that I’m desperately broke right now have kept me from getting it. Anything he’s sent me I’ve absolutely loved so figure that sandalwood is a keeper.

 

[Mr.P]

Thanks I’ve been curious about direct from India. Been looking at Ramnarayan rose oils (which I’ve been meaning to ask you about since I think you have those) and their mitti and sandalwood.

Is the An Najwa the Mysore Classic 2025? I’ve had that oil bookmarked forever but the stupid orange person tariffs and the fact that I’m desperately broke right now have kept me from getting it. Anything he’s sent me I’ve absolutely loved so figure that sandalwood is a keeper.

I don't think it was an oil that he listed on his site, perhaps he will see this discussion and can comment. He had at one point mentioned that he could help me find certain materials beyond the things that he listed for sale... one of the things I'd asked for help with was budget but fundamentally decent sandalwood for attar making (a rabbit hole I was peeking down at the time but never really dived into). He turned this oil up in response to that discussion but it didn't have a particular name as far as I know. That oil happened to have the same nutty profile as some of the RK sons oils and an old Karnataka oil sold by Simon Rishel / Aluwwah (doubt I spelled that right). The rksons oils somehow smell a little bit crude and the one from An Najwa was quite balanced in comparison. I have struggled to put my finger on what it is about the rksons oils that seems crude… but they all seemed kind of like slightly second rate distillations. Like the accessory notes are too strong compared to the core sandalwood and the result is an unbalanced thing when worn on its own especially in the top notes

 

[Shiningrobes]

I don't think it was an oil that he listed on his site, perhaps he will see this discussion and can comment. He had at one point mentioned that he could help me find certain materials beyond the things that he listed for sale... one of the things I'd asked for help with was budget but fundamentally decent sandalwood for attar making (a rabbit hole I was peeking down at the time but never really dived into). He turned this oil up in response to that discussion but it didn't have a particular name as far as I know. That oil happened to have the same nutty profile as some of the RK sons oils and an old Karnataka oil sold by Simon Rishel / Aluwwah (doubt I spelled that right). The rksons oils somehow smell a little bit crude and the one from An Najwa was quite balanced in comparison. I have struggled to put my finger on what it is about the rksons oils that seems crude… but they all seemed kind of like slightly second rate distillations. Like the accessory notes are too strong compared to the core sandalwood and the result is an unbalanced thing when worn on its own especially in the top notes

Thanks, that’s better than I had hoped. After those two clunkers I mentioned above I just figured anything from India that I could get my hands on would be like that. Just skinny little young trees that I could wrap one hand around chopped down before their prime, literally. I’ve meant to reach out to him but like I said I’m scary broke and apartment hunting in NYC which is its own type of hell, like a Japanese game show in a hell.

 

[Mr.P]

Thanks, that’s better than I had hoped. After those two clunkers I mentioned above I just figured anything from India that I could get my hands on would be like that. Just skinny little young trees that I could wrap one hand around chopped down before their prime, literally. I’ve meant to reach out to him but like I said I’m scary broke and apartment hunting in NYC which is its own type of hell, like a Japanese game show in a hell.

Yeah the thought of trying to find an affordable apartment in a large metropolitan area brings back bad memories from my days in Seattle and the Bay Area in the 90s… Just an awful stressful experience - I remember racing to places after work when but they would have showings, long lines of people at every viewing sweating bullets to convince the landlords to choose them. Each time you'd show up it felt pointless and basically like a lottery with poor odds… not good.

 

[Shiningrobes]

Yeah the thought of trying to find an affordable apartment in a large metropolitan area brings back bad memories from my days in Seattle and the Bay Area in the 90s… Just an awful stressful experience - I remember racing to places after work when but they would have showings, long lines of people at every viewing sweating bullets to convince the landlords to choose them. Each time you'd show up it felt pointless and basically like a lottery with poor odds… not good.

It’s like having your soul weighed. I left SF in 1995 because of the first dot com boom. There was a 1% vacancy rate. We found a place directly on the panhandle of all places. A first floor Victorian walk-up. We would have each had a bedroom and a little side room/ giant closet to ourselves for $400 each. Each! . My friends at the time didn’t want to pay that much so I peaced out to NY which was, shockingly enough, far less expensive at the time.

 

[roflwaffle]

just figured anything from India that I could get my hands on would be like that. Just skinny little young trees that I could wrap one hand around chopped down before their prime, literally.

For cheaper oil, could look at agmark certified ones. As near as I can tell to get the santalols % it guarantees needs a 15-25yo tree. Since it's semiparacitic, I have no idea what size trunk that actually yields though.

I'd avoid crown brand though, they shorted me. Agmark guarantees purity, but not honesty in weight apparently, lol. But it is gcms tested and adulteration free... I'm withholding judgement on quality, it came quite young, and should improve a fair bit in the coming months

Bulkaromas was wicked cheap, but Indonesian. It is very very mild though, pretty low on my list. I have some single batch Indonesian from a perfumer direct from distiller coming as soon as USPS sorts itself out running 4 days late that is supposedly quite good, but we'll see

 

[Mr.P]

Interested in any reviews of the sandalwood oil that @mesOUD recently distilled! Unfortunately my small bottle got swallowed up by the logistical nightmare caused by the on again/off again tariffs and fees. I'm sure it's an excellent specimen but I'm wondering if anybody can elaborate any particular things that either set it apart in some way or that connect it to particular other oils that may have been shared here? I've smelled enough small batch sandalwood to have a sense for what these bring to the table but I'm always curious about unique notes/terroir etc.

 

[roflwaffle]

batch Indonesian from a perfumer direct from distiller coming as soon as USPS sorts itself out running 4 days late

My poor sandalwood is now in hawaii, USPS has been a mess lately for anyone else? I have 2 packages out of 3 just going in the wrong direction. Prob some sandalwood in my future today, but not the one I'm waiting for