Reviews of Eau de Santal (2002)
by Floris

This is not a "toned down" version of Gucci Envy but rather a more refined one.

The sweetness of the heart is beautifully balanced by the peppery spice. Masterfully balanced this one is for the self assured gentleman who feels no need to scream.

It is a good fresh spicy woody fragrance. Light, natural and for sure very well made (In its own right). Smells classy and distinguished straight from the bottle. It developes into a very subtle yet rich blend of woods and light musk. Quite long lasting but wears extremely close to the skin.

Not bad, but eventually not my personal style at all. Way too quiet and refined for my tastes – kind of usual problem for me with these aristocratic British creations.

It instantly became one of my all time favourites. You can't get much better than Floris Santal... This is a glaringly beautiful, utterly refined and highly elegant fragrance. Its warmth and softness, combined with the depth and complexity of its development, place this magnificent cologne in the very restrained world of monumental fragrances.

The bright, invigorating opening burst of bergamot, although absolutely fabulous, doesn't really prefigures the magical follow-up. After a few minutes, the soft, almost delicate mid notes break through. The experience is one in a million... a pure, yet complex sensation of joy, uplift and sophistication enshrouds you in an almost magical mix of emotions. A delicate touch of spices prevent it from becoming cloying. Nothing is too much, nothing is too little, everything is perfectly balanced.

After about two hours, Santal turns into a woody, mossy, ambery, but still creamy and mellow scent. Even at this stage of the development, the fragrance conserves its soft, warm, calming nature. From start to finish, this is mere perfection.

The iconic house of Floris has fulfilled its grandiose reputation... again!

I was annoyed with Floris that they discontinued Sandalwood, and because of that I was ready to dislike Santal… Didn’t work. I like it… not nearly as much as I like Sandalwood, but it is still a very good fragrance.

A sophisticated bergamot / green / spice accord opens up Eau de Santal – It’s an excellent opening rich and grounded: The opening immediately turns subtle and eventually moves to a spicy demeanor – pepper, nutmeg, clove, back grounded by a light lavender – I haven’t yet found the cardamom through several testings. The sandalwood is immediately apparent. I believe that it is more the creamy variety sandalwood than the aromatic, but and it is strongly supported by an aromatic cedarwood and frankincense that give it more body, breadth, and effusion. I didn’t think I would meet an accord this nice in Santal, so this is a pleasant surprise. The spices deliver but the wood takes precedence. I also love the richness and masculinity of the drydown… it is woody, incensy, musky, and a tad ambery: wood with a resinous tinge and a touch of sweetness. I think that I can see this as an Envy for Men that is more refined and subtle. It doesn’t have the Envy signature note in very much strength, but the supporting notes are quite similar to the background in Envy. Eau de Santal has limited sillage from my skin and marginal longevity so I won’t be purchasing it.

It does smell a bit like sandalwood, though there's none in the pyramid. Basically, it's the spices and the patchouli-oakmoss that make this scent. Bergamot is always a nice touch... I suppose this is technically not a chypre, because there's tree moss rather than oakmoss in it, but it kind of qualifies. I like this for cooler (but not cold) weather. It does seem to project a bit, but not excessively. It's warm and slightly spicy because of the clove bud oil and cardamom. Like many Floris masculines, it's "safe" for office wear, so I'll go with that for a casual Friday.

Nice scent. Like Creed's Original Santal but lighter which in turn means it a very, very light version of Joop! Homme. Also reminds me a bit of Cool Water/Green Irish Tweed (which also smells like JF). Overall, it's nice.

On my first use, I felt this had promise. However, subsequent wearings were unpleasant for me: I find it to be monotonous a bit too sweet. The notes listed in the directory are incomplete, so I provide those listed at the Floris website.

Top notes: bergamot, black pepper, cardamom, green grass, lemon
Heart notes: clove bud, lavender, nutmeg
Base notes: amber, cedarwood, frankincense, musk, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver

Thanks to a very generous Basenoter, I obtained Floris Santal a couple of months ago.

Floris Santal is my Sandalwood of choice. I don't care if they used natural sandalwood or synthetic ones: I think natural ingrediënts are overrated and more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. I care about perception and interpretation, and I like both on Floris Santal.

I first wanted to buy Gucci Envy, but Floris Santal - while very similar in nature - is more smooth, more creamy. Less aggresive, more refined. It does smell like an old man, but it's an old man with class.

I picked up a small bottle on Jermyn Street after sampling the line. I usually aim for light, citrusy, fruity, aquatic fragrances and avoid orientals, or anything too cloying. But a little spice is nice, and this Eau de Santal convinced me with its beauty and restrained good taste. I should have bought more, because now I wear it regularly, liking it especially at night or when I'm dressed up. The accord is tight, peppery and natural. Manly, yes. Not very sweet and I'd say it's inoffensive. An elegant bottle from a fine, historic house.

I loves the stuff. I picked up a bottle off of Floris' site, 20% off, imperfect packaging, $35, 1.7oz. At that price it was a no brainer.

A very nice classic, masculine scent, though I find Floris Santal to be an artistic rather than realistic interpretation of sandalwood. One of my favorites.

I bought this on Ebay pretty cheap on MMM's advice (review) and wasn't dissapointed. This is a very high quality scent much like Envy but of much higher quality with less longevity. I seem to be finding that many of the higher end british scents exude quality but lack the longevity of their comparable counterparts from France et al. I would put this on my top 10 list especially if you can pick it up inexpensively. Very special.

I find Santal to be a warm, smooth, slightly sweet, woodsy scent similar to Gucci's Envy. Aside from the milky sweetness I can also detect some pepper and clove, but all-in-all it's a little too generic for my tastes. I'm also not sure it's any better than Envy, which makes me wonder if it would be worth the money. I guess if you are looking for something in the same vein as Envy but want something not as common, this would be one way to go.

I'm inclined to agree that this scent, while perfectly pleasant, doesn't really stand out in any way. It doesn't say anything rude or poorly, but it doesn't say anything distictive either.

The similarity to Envy is a fleeting one and this is a much more gentle and reserved scent in every regard. A light bodied oriental, if you will. Warm, cordial, and well mannered. It's a gentleman of gentlemen's scents. It just doesn't have that certain 'something' to capture my heart. But it's definitely worth trying. Your mileage may vary.

Good pure sandalwood scent that will leave an impression on you. Dry and not terribly medicinal like some sandalwoods can be. Decent lasting power, though the Intense version reminds me of Himalaya (but not was nicely done). Destined to be a classic and one that most people will like.

This is simply the best fragrance that I have come across (I originally came across it in Rome), and one of only two that women have really, really liked (!) and commented on without being asked (the other was M7).

Ok, but where's the sandalwood? This is so similar to so many other scents out there that it's hard to be enthusiastic about it...and again, where's the actual sandalwood?

Santal is warm and lightly sweet. An extremely refined mixture of fragrances. While the name may suggest sandalwood, there is none. It instantly moved to the top of my list. Today I noted that the scent was a pleasant companion for over seven hours. A happy day indeed.

Bought this from londons.com. It's outstanding. It's not very unique, but you cannot go wrong with this scent. Everyone loves it around me.. received compliments on this all the time. It's got a bit of incense to it, but also smells slightly like Gucci's Envy (other reviews are right)--but without that "chemical stench.."

October turns to November, warm turns to cold and I find myself reaching for my now quarter full bottle of Santal (didn't want to say three quarters empty and risk offending all you optimists out there). I keep coming back to this fragrance, seems to work reasonably well in Summer but its warmth definately suits the cold weather better. Up close to the skin you can really smell the Black peppercorns. As one reviewer suggested, there are is a hint of Gucci's Envy in this fragrance. I never liked Envy, it always smelled too synthetic for my tastes. Santal seems to redress this problem and take the basic Envy fragrance a good few steps further. I like wearing this stuff, perhaps its a sense of being English and thinking that I should be wearing something by Floris or possibly that this is just a lovely, warm, intimate and inviting fragrance. For those of you in the USA who have difficulty finding any Flories products I suggest visiting the website, www.florisoflondon.com, clicking on the New York option and get shopping! If I had to make one criticism of this truly classy smell, it is that the standard EDT dies away all too quickly on my skin. I think I'll opt for the Intense version next time.

Santal is a very pleasant scent, fresh and woody. The lavender and the citrus notes dominate the opening whereas a light and ephemeral grass-leaves accord develops surrounded by an aura of light woods that takes the scene very promptly (10 minutes or so) and remains there for something tike 5 hours or so. It's a nice scent though I don't detect any sandalwood on it. Could be cedar, cypress or the like.

This is a wonderful fragance but hard to find in the US. Neiman Marcus used to carry it, but no longer does. Can be found in some internet sites. Great sandalwood and bergamot notes, rich and long-lasting. Always get complimented when I use it.

Marvelous fragrance with the highest quality possible. Santal is such a smooth, natural blend, very masculine and romantic. It is indeed very similar to Gucci's Envy, but not as loud and even richer. It has a bitter edge to the sandalwood that makes it very old school, but never in a bad or cloying fashion. Much more complex than your average sandalwood, so if you want a "one-noter" go for Tam Dao, Santal Noble or Santal Imperial instead. This Floris is much more, IMHO one of the finest men's fragrances ever made.

Utter class and a wonderful addition to my spread. Very, very smooth and warm. Awesome indeed.

To me, Santal seems like a toned down version of Envy, with a few interesting light spicy bits added into it.
Renato

I was after a sweet sandlewood based EDT, and it was suggested that I try Santal. I've used and liked Givenchy Pi in the past, but Santal is a cut above that. It starts off a little flowery, zesty almost. But it slowly mixes into a sweet, sensuous, soft sandlewood/vanilla base. I've worn it on some really hot days, and its stood the test of time, lasting and evolving with body heat. Its ideal home though, would be on a soft intimate night out. Definitely a fantastic addition for those who prefer a sweet, but distinctive cologne.
Comes with an excellent range of grooming products - the post shave hydrator is rather good.