Le Roi Santal (1988)
by Comptoir Sud Pacifique

A very nice woodsy tropical santal, whose creamy texture makes me salivate. It starts off nutty, which is where the "tropical" comes from, but upon dry-down becomes smoother and the wood projects more. Beautiful fragrance, but lasts only two hours on my skin. You really need to reapply, but with a 5oz bottle for $40, its worth it.

Very woody indeed. I do not really get much of the orris except for a little powder, otherwise everything is wood. I find an unfamiliar note in the opening—either that note is a form of sandalwood that I am not aware of, or it is the cabreuva wood—it doesn’t smell floral or herbal or like anything green, but it does seem synthetic. Its artificiality doesn’t bother me because it is so short lived. The sandalwood note that I do get is a wonderful raw scent—unrefined and unembellished but not vulgar. I love it because it feels so natural. The sandalwood note, as with the rest of the fragrance is too understated for my tastes—I prefer to spend less effort in sniffing a fragrance. Le Roi Santal is one of the few woody fragrances I’ve tried that I have to apply more than a couple of sprays in order to be satisfied with the scent’s presence and sillage. The longevity is dismal. I found that it helps to spray a bit on my shirt, which I don’t ordinarily do. It’s an excellent fragrance that is just too weak for me, and, as much as I like the sandalwood note, I don’t think I’ll be buying a full bottle when I’m finished with the decant.

A beautiful and clean, fresh and simple sandalwood. Neither sweet nor sharp, this is a perfect rendition with a hint of musk as it dries. Longevity is a problem however.

A sandalwood scent of very high quality. I detect a hint of musk as well, but this has a more dominant note of sandalwood than any other I have tried. Brilliant in its simplicity, it is miles away from the more popular tropical vanilla products that CSP is famous for.