Reviews of Sandalo (1995)
by Lorenzo Villoresi

Sandalo doesn’t smell too much like sandalwood. Instead it presents an angular synthetic dry wood accord that’s marred by harsh, sour off notes. The development is dominated by a bitter vetiver which rests upon a crude, aggressively chemical woody foundation. This is a loud fragrance with none of the suavity or depth I associate with sandalwood. Not one of Lorenzo Villoresi’s best offerings, I'm afraid.

Sorry to buck the trend here, but I find this juice unwearable. There's nothing about it I like....and I like sandalwood, but not this mess. This is aoud-like, dirty and austere and just downright unpleasant.

I've worn this 3 times now and I will never like this fragrance.

As usual with a Lorenzo Villoresi fragrance, Sandalo begins with an explosion. Its primary character in its opening is probably accomplished by the rosewood / lavender combination – quite aromatic, and, to my nose, developing an aoud-like quality. I do find the combination of rosewood, lavender, neroli, and rose a bit reminiscent of the original Ungaro III (the ORIGINAL Ungaro III, not the inferior recent re-issue). Sandalo’s opening certainly is potent, and the rosewood accord stays around for a long time. I would guess that I get the top and the middle notes together, all at once, because I can immediately identify most of the top and mid notes, and because the first accord lasts a very long time. In fact, the strong wood notes substantially destroy my ability to appreciate the floral notes of the middle because the florals stay very much in the background. With the drydown, the fragrance considerably quiets down, finally, to a full, rich sandalwood skin scent – about as good of sandalwood note as I’ve experienced. I originally thought that this fragrance was short lived. But I’ve found that this is another scent that quickly tires my nose. The sandalwood comes back when I leave off sniffing for a quarter hour, and then try it again.

Since I don’t get the clarity of the opening and mid accords that others get, but instead I get a basically undistinguished and undifferentiated rosewood accord that overwhelms, I'm tempted to vote a neutral, but the drydown is too good for that.

This is quite unique - a very dry sandalwood. When one thinks of a sandalwood cologne, one thinks of a rich, warm, amber-escent creation (Floris, Trumper, Caswell's Sandalwood and Tricorn), but this is sirocco sandalwood. Quite unique.

From Villoresi- top notes are rosewood, lavender, petitgrain, orange, lemon; middle are labdanum, Bulgarian rose, Neroli, Sandalwood; base are Vetiver, Amber, Oppoponax and Oakmoss.

To my nose the fragrance begins with a resinous rosewood, soon replaced by dry cedarwood, then a subtle rose, to be finally followed in about two hours but the dry sandalwood, which is long-lasting,as are all Villoresi's.

This is the 8th Villoresi I have tried and all but one have been winners. For the subtleties and uniqueness of this sandalwood, I rate it high on the chart.

Tam Dao notes: Rosewood, Cypress, Goa Sandalwood, Ambergris

I know this is a review of LV Sandalo, but my initial impressions of it were "A Glorified Tam Dao!!". Upon closer inspection and comparing it with Vanuatu and Australian Sandalwood EOs unveiled deeper intricacies of these mysterious "mysore" wonders.

Sandalo features a copious heart of Rosewood while Tam Dao's first half is an excercise in hitting the senses hard with a forceful Cedarwood note. It is important to understand what Rose/Cedar wood smell like, and to not confuse them with sandalwood (which happens a lot). Rosewood has a floral-sweet smell with hints of spiciness while cedarwood smells woody and "pencil-shaving like" with hints of smooth sweet warmth which is quite "sandalwood" like. As previously mentioned, Sandalo hits hard with rosewood. Initially, the excellent notes of lavender and rose do a coital dance over the underlying layer of rosewood - after a few minutes, these two notes merge and bring forth the rosewood heart in naked display. I believe that it was a design decision to use lavender and rose inconcert with rosewood to amplify the rosewood accord (a mix of lavender and rose can smell a lot like rosewood). The rosewood persists for a while before the drydown introduces amber and patchouli to "smooth things out". In the case of Tam Dao, the harsh pencil shaving cedar gives way to a somewhat similar drydown - the rosewood intermingles with ambergris to give birth to a sweet creamy accord.

I am not a scent guru by any means, but these are my observations: Both Sandalo and Tam Dao smell a lot like Australian sandalwood to my nose. Theres nothing wrong with that - the sandalwood down-under may lack the medicinal depth and "magical aura" of the mysore oil, but it is a fine sandalwood blend in its own right (and easier on the nose if I may say so). Sandalo's drydown smells the closest to the Aussie blend to my nose - its less sweet and more "tart" than the aus santal. Sandalo may disappoint if you are looking for something close to the mysore oil mixed in with the composition (although none of the fragrances duplicate the mysore smell very well - Santal Imperial perhaps comes the closest). However, by all other accounts, Sandalo succeeds. The pairing of rosewood/sandalwood with a host of other uplifting and meditative notes like lavender, lemon, rose and neroli give it a certain brightness and spark. If Tam Dao left you wanting more, give Sandalo a try. While I much prefer Santal Imperials less cluttered but more accurate blend, Sandalo is worth seeking out if you are on a journey to find your HG. It may well suprise you.

The most meditative fragrance I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Perhaps as close to a holy grail as I will ever come, and this quite literally: warm, comforting, tempering, fortifying, Sandalo is virtually a pocket-size religion. The spiritual dimension and ritualistic importance of several key ingredients support this bold claim. I find the sandalwood to be an immediate presence here and the oils grouped around it serve to emphasize its calmly uplifting woody sweetness rather than the harsher, pungent aspects equally latent in this mysterious Mysore wonder. You will find very different sandalwoods, but none better than Villoresi's intellectual and emotional masterpiece.

Complex fragrance. Herbal and fresh at first, probably due to the lavender and vetiver. Sandalwood plays a part, but not in the starring role. At first, I wondered why people liked this so much. Then I discovered why. The drydown begins, the supporting notes blend, and the sandalwood begins to come forward. Slowly, the orchestration develops until the herbs morph into rose and then give way to the sweetness of the sandalwood completely, hours later. This juxtaposition of bitter and sweet is beautiful. Unique. Nothing like it.

Like all Villoresi scents, Sandalo starts forcefully. The initial blast could be a bit misleading, as this rather quickly settles in as a comfortable, dry, woody scent. To my nose the rosewood, sandalwood, and Bulgarian rose are most prominent through the middle notes. The rose here is not a sweet, feminine rose, but a dry, herbal rose, very natural and actually quite masculine. As it dries further into the base, it picks up a touch of sweetness and a resinous quality, slightly ambery, with a bit of opoponax. Very classy and yet still acceptable as a casual scent, Sandalo, also doesn’t last as long as most other Villoresi scents. I’d consider it unisex leaning masculine, possibly even primarily masculine. As with nearly all his scents, this one develops quite a bit, keeping things interesting throughout. Another winner from this house.

LV Sandalo is extraordinary, and would be my absolute favorite sandalwood fragrance were it not for the fact that it disappears too quickly on me. The sandalwood supported by a lovely dusky rose is incredible. Almost too lovely for a man, but for the driness of the overall effect. Where Taylor's of Old Bond St. and even Trumper's are "wet," if I may call them that by comparison, LV Sandalo is as dry as the Arizona desert in August. But what a beautiful driness! Unfortunately, on me this desert beauty fades like a mirage. The thumb goes up, but with this one caveat.

Joe

Beautiful. The hint of rosewood, and rose, with the slightest kiss of lavender (or bergamot?), are the perfect completion to an arc of subtle, rounded scent Villoresi crafted to frame the crystal clear wood base. As a sandalwood purist, however, it seems to me that the sandalwood has been rounded with a touch of atlas cedar. Gorgeous, sweet creamy cedar, but cedar nonetheless. A very simple, elegant scent.

Gorgeous, rich, beautiful sandalwood in a mysterious blend. The ingredients are somehow familiar but just out of touch. Like other LV scents, this one is not afraid to make a statement, and I prefer to wear it in the evening. Don't get me wrong. You can wear it to work, but it is so rich and delicious you will spend most of the day sniffing yourself, and that could lead to trouble, at least where I work. It isn't cheap, but I splurged on a bottle and couldn't be happier.

A harsh, dry sandalwood that might have benefitted from a better blend of types of sandalwood. Though Sandalwood is my number one scent, this just didn;t work for me.

A superior sandalwood. Includes a great floral support that adds complexity. At once, a complex and straight-forward sandalwood scent. As definitive as LV's Vetiver.

Well, I finally received my Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo today and have been wearing it all day. Great "raw" sandalwood, very dry and resinous. You can smell a quality and talented craftmanship here.
Longevity is quite good, I would say (around 6 hours). It has little evolution from the moment you spritz it to the end of its cycle; Little but perceptible.

While sandalwood is a very common ingredient in MANY men's fragrances, I'm always a fan of those that center on that particular ingredient as their primary note and this one is, for certain, a superior blend. It not only has the superior lasting qualities that all LV products possess, but also a fantastic development through each and every phase and practically every note in the make-up. This is a MUST for fans of sandalwood.