Tam Dao (2003)
by Diptyque

Gragh. A spicy dry woody sandalwood scent... Davidoff Adventure did the same thing! Tam Dao adds a touch of a boozy note, probably some kind of vanilla. It's an 'eh' from me.

I'm a sandalwood freak, and always ready to try on new brands. The top notes in Tam Dao smell "right" to me, and I feel the comfort and coziness that sandalwood gives me. But soon an intruder comes out, an unpleasant note that reminds me of gasoline. It disappears almost completely in the drydown, but it ruins my pleasure in the scent.

When I first put this on my arm, I couldn't place what that top note was. After maybe two minutes, it hit me -- it smelled like dill! Freshly-pulled dill right out of the garden. What an odd note to put in a perfume! But that dill only lasted less than 3 minutes if even that, and then it kind of faded into a cedar scent which lasted maybe 5-10 minutes. And then, it seemed to disappear entirely, but every now and then I could smell sandalwood. However, if I sniffed my arm, it disappeared. I could only smell it if I was just going about doing my thing, but the scent of sandalwood surrounded me like a subtle cloud. *THIS* is the sandalwood that I think of when I hear "sandalwood." My mother had a sandalwood necklace, which maybe was artificially scented, I'm not sure. But for years it gave off this wonderful aroma, which made her closet smell marvelous. She told me it was sandalwood, and ever since then, the scent of that necklace is to what I compare all sandalwood oils. My mother informs me that the necklace's scent has faded with time (it's been over 20 years), but I need not mourn, because if I want to enjoy that scent again, I know I can find it in Tam Dao.

It's dusty-woody-medicinal spicy. When I put on Tam Dao, I envision walking up to a dusty attic with 10.000's of books stored there. While walking between the shelves, I see a beam of sunlight shining through the roof window, highlighting tiny specks of dust floating in the air.

That is Tam Dao.

Tam Dao is a warm sandalwood and cedar perfume which is very comforting and peaceful. It is clearly made of high quality ingredients and dries down beautifully with nary a jarring note. It reminded me a great deal of 10 Corso Como but the basic difference between the two is that Tam Dao accentuates sandalwood whereas 10 Corso Como emphasizes cedar. I am certain that if you like 10 Corso Como you will love this. In the name of research, I spritzed my boyfriend’s wrist with Tam Dao who gave it a “thumbs up” and said that Tam Dao reminded him a lot of Paul Smith’s London cologne for men.

From what I’ve been able to glean from various sources, here are the notes: sandalwood, cypress, cedar, herbs, pepper, rosewood.

Boy, if ever a scent put me in a state of calm it's Tam Dao. Not the most multi-layered sandalwood I've worn but, for me, that is the pleasure of it. After the somewhat sharp opening, it settles into a very smooth, buttery sandalwood heart with hints of cedar and a light, smooth amber to round it out. Very tranquil and quiet. Some days just call for this and I think I'll always have a bottle handy.