Reviews of Sandalwood (2003)
by Floris

I've done a bit of a turnaround on this one. It's very temperamental in terms of sillage, but it does last longer and project better than I used to give it credit for. Case in point: I was testing several scents on cards one day. At one point I was sitting and relaxing with about 5 cards in front of me, including a few Bond no 9s, some Jo Malone, a Hermes, and on a whim Floris Sandalwood. I kept distinctly smelling the Floris from a distance over the others, but when I stuck my nose in the Floris card to get a good whiff, it really didn't smell that strong. Weird, but interesting. Further testing revealed that the fading in and out effect even more noticeable when the scent is alone.

Behavioral discussions aside, it really does feel like a single-note sandalwood. It starts very alcoholic and gradually - in fits and starts - morphs into a fuller and fuller sandalwood note, with little else there. I used to think it didn't have enough depth...but I failed to realize that you aren't going to have a single-note sandalwood with depth. You want depth, get Santal Noble. At trying to convey the smell of pure sandalwood, Floris succeeds in a way that even Tam Dao can't match.

I imagine that Floris loses a lot of sales on this because people who are testing this EdT might take a sniff of it and immediately dismiss it because they can’t smell anything. I smell nothing in this when I first apply it. A half hour later there’s a bit of oily wood there that I still can’t really identify as sandalwood—it’s quite unspectacular. As time goes on, the sandalwood gathers more and more presence, but it never seems to reach what I would call a complete EDT demeanor. What it does end up as, is a rich but understated, natural sandalwood fragrance that forms a compact and soft aura over the skin. It is minimal and unadorned, and I imagine that it is about as pure of sandalwood as exists in perfumery—but I don’t know that as a fact.

Floris Sandalwood is an unpresumptuous sandalwood scent—remaining reticent and close to the skin, it is unamplified and uncomplemented by the usual citrus or cedar. I very much like its Zen-like purity. And even though it is now about ninth on my list of favorite sandalwood fragrances, I’m going to buy it because I feel strongly that it’s the kind of scent that will continue to grow in my estimation as I become more acquainted with it.

I don't like my sandalwoods harsh at all, so Santal Noble really doesn't do the trick for me. Others like Tam Dao - where cedar compliments very well, and Santal from this house - where spices and sweetness balance the blend, are much more appealing. And this sandalwood is perhaps the best on the market for the pure ones, perfectly mellow and soft. Wears close to the skin all day and is definitely more to the masculine side. Also smells very timeless and I was surprised to see how late it was lauched.

Sandalwood is a very refined and subtle sandalwood scent much in the line of Diptyque Tam Dao. I find it very wearable and at the same time warm and fresh (sic)... It is not sharp or edgy; it feels kind of "beveled" under the action of the other ingredients, specially the amber and the jasmine. Very good longevity.