Santal Noble by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier, 1988

Gravitas in a bottle. This may be Jean Laportes masterpiece. Sweet and dry at the same time. Coffee, patchouli, incense and dry woods all on a thick belly of amber. This is a heavier scent that I prefer for cooler months. The silage and projection are only moderate, which is probably a blessing since this is such a rich scent. But it cohabits nicely with other scents in the environment, and you need not fear inviting it to dinner. If you like light, trendy or androgynous scents (Though my wife thinks she wants to steal it!), Santal Noble very well may not be for you. But if you like the scent notes named in a perfectly balanced and evolving accord, and youre rich, you might wish to pick up a bottle. If youre poor, you should probably get one sooner, because when you wear it youll THINK youre rich! This smells as if it could have been brewed a couple hundred years ago. It smells like old money. And if all this sounds like a starched collar, or perhaps even a hair shirt, its not. Santal Noble is very sexy. Its warm and rich, but in a serious and unblinking way. It doesnt flirt. During intimate moments the amber base notes rise and project more making this a marvelous scent for romantic evenings. I had to learn how use it. Two sprays to the chest work best for me. Application to the extremities or clothing yields little. Longevity is marvelous. Though the top notes burn off quickly, the middle notes of woods last for many hours with echoes of the patchouli and incense occasionally still heard. The amber is still there the next day. And pleasingly, while used almost daily for the last six months, only about a third of the bottle has been consumed. I'll add that four years after my initial review I am still enjoying this scent during cooler months, and that little has changed of my feeling for it. An interesting note is that I sometimes wear a silk scarf that comse into contact with the skin to which I've applied the Santal Noble. This scent can leave an echo of patchouli, wood and spice on the silk that literally lasts YEARS!

I am enamored with this fragrance. The first image that comes to my mind is gold: sparkly, rich and decadent gold. But I do not mean to associate with those images the secondary images of greed, stuffiness or "old money". This scent has a cool elegance is unlike anything ive ever smelled. I actually get so much sexiness from this scent that im a bit taken a back in order to double check my intuition. All the notes are uncompromising but again, always in an elegant way. Cool Water is an example of a compromising cologne and I am also enamored by Cool Water, but Santal Noble has an uncompromising power which Cool Water does not. It is the base note I think I am most moved by. It is utterly empowering and sensual. The top notes simply project that spicy fury. I have to end this review with a final impression. This scent is exotic. If anyone has studied 19th century opera one knows the stage in which opera goers went to experience different worlds completely alien to their own. Exoticism. Carmen - Latin love and sexuality. Madame Butterfly - The oriental customs of love and sacrifice La Fanculla del west - The American west... My exotic impression may sound uncharacteristic of the previous reviews. Neon lights and beautiful olive skinned woman, tequila on the breath and sweat in the air.

genvy5 said this "Buttery sandalwood cologne which reminds me of a very humid and stuffy library with archaic tomes and old frail men rummaging through them." This is SPOT ON. Though he gave it a thumbs down, I kind of liked it. Go figure EDIT BEGINS HERE It's funny how you can "neutral" a fragrance after a few samplings and a wearing, but you keep going back to smell it. Then you order another little decant, and you keep smelling it and wearing it. Suddenly you need to own the motherf... uhh, you need to own the nice fragrance. Oh, but that isn't really enough, is it. You need to own a vintage bottle and can't sleep until you do. See, Santal Noble is something that's kind of nice at first, but really grows on you and becomes an acquired taste that you'll swear by. It's like unsweetened cappuccino, or Guinness. Anyhow, let's examine that quote. "Buttery sandalwood cologne which reminds me of a very humid and stuffy library with archaic tomes and old frail men rummaging through them." Not quite. Buttery sandalwood cologne which reminds me of a very old, beautiful library with archaic tomes and well groomed, 3 piece suit wearing librarians rummaging through them. It's the kind of place that Indiana Jones would go when trying to dig up information on a relic. Now, once you own that vintage bottle, every spray will invoke the terror that this scent is finite, and will one day cease to exist.