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Something like Tam Dao?

post #1 of 24
5/13/10 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
I finally tried Tam Dao, and I gotta say.. it's marvelous. I also tried Philosykos which is easily the best fig fragrance I've ever used. I'm pretty impressed with the 2 I got decants of, but the sandalwood is just fantastic. Perfect smell as it slowly transforms into a rosewood/sandalwood; perfect longevity, perfect projection, perfect sillage. This stuff has ME written all over it, but the price tag is a bit out of my league, does anybody know if there are any inexpensive pure sandalwood frags that are similar? By pure I mean with emphasis on the sandalwood as Tam Dao does so precisely.

I also feel like I've smelled this before, but can't remember in what fragrance it was, I looked through my wardrobe of stuff I've owned/own/tried (wardrobe is pretty up to date.. but there are a lot of frags I've owned and tried that aren't on here) and nothing really rings a bell. Also I know Elizabeth Arden makes a cologne called Sandalwood that's very cheap, is this any good?
Thanks
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post #2 of 24
5/13/10 at 8:42am
Though not sandalwood, I think anyone who enjoys the particular style of Tam Dao should try Comme des Garcons Hinoki. The two are very, very similar in some respects, but Hinoki has this cool, greenish tinge that makes me like it more than Tam Dao. ( To my nose, both fragrances are more about cedar and cypress than the hinoki or sandalwood they're trying to represent. )
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post #3 of 24
5/13/10 at 9:03am
Three cheap options: Sandalwood by Art of Shaving (a bit more metholated), Sandalwood by Casswell & Massey or Sandalwood by Crabtree & Evelyn

IMO, you should just buy a decant of Tam Dao. Great stuff!
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post #4 of 24
5/13/10 at 9:05am
How about Ormonde Jayne Man or Cacharel Nemo?
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post #5 of 24
5/13/10 at 9:10am
Gucci Rush..
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post #6 of 24
5/13/10 at 9:11am
I'd suggest Azzaro Visit.
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post #7 of 24
5/13/10 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
Visit is disgusting IMO, it's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that goes on as sandalwood and stays that way throughout. Visit is more animalic like Dirty English to me, rather than woodsy. Thanks for all your suggestions though guys, I'm gonna read up on them.
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post #8 of 24
5/13/10 at 10:15am
The thing about Tam Dao is the simplicity. Sandalwood and Cedar and Cedar and Sandalwood.

8ml for $22

http://theperfumedcourt.com/Products...QUETAMDAO.aspx
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post #9 of 24
5/13/10 at 10:33am
I really like AOS Sandalwood.
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post #10 of 24
5/13/10 at 10:33am
Xerjoff Modoc is like a smoother Tam Dao. For a rosewood/sandalwood combo try Villoresi Sandalo.
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post #11 of 24
5/13/10 at 10:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Cologneist View Post

I know Elizabeth Arden makes a cologne called Sandalwood that's very cheap, is this any good?
Thanks

As far as Arden's Sandalwood goes, it might appeal to you if you like vintage, barbershop type fragrances. But the truth of the matter is, it smells mostly of cheap aroma chemicals.
Speaking of which, you might want to try Caswell Massey's Tricorn, another vintage smelling, sandalwood that is actually quite well balanced, has great longevity and projection. CM claims it's a single note Bangalore Sandalwood - I doubt it, but I love it. $30 for 3 oz.
To be honest with you, I find Tam Dao to be really more about a wood blend of cedar, rosewood and a huge gulp pf Iso E Super and less about sandalwood.
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post #12 of 24
5/13/10 at 11:21am
I once got a small decant of profumum.it Santal de Mysore and was shocked how much it smelled like Tam Dao. I was not expecting that at all. It is worth comparing, but it isn't cheap. Tam Dao professes to be a Goa sandalwood.
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post #13 of 24
5/13/10 at 12:09pm
There have been quite a few good suggestions here. I am going to go outside the box and recomend that you try Timbuktu by L'Artisan which, I like even better than Kyoto.
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post #14 of 24
5/13/10 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by adonis View Post

The thing about Tam Dao is the simplicity. Sandalwood and Cedar and Cedar and Sandalwood.

8ml for $22

http://theperfumedcourt.com/Products...QUETAMDAO.aspx

Or 10 ml for $18: http://flacon.ambaric.net/viewtopic.php?p=76
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post #15 of 24
5/13/10 at 1:48pm
I suggest 10 Corso Como.
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post #16 of 24
5/13/10 at 2:53pm
Cosaque by Galimard
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post #17 of 24
5/13/10 at 2:55pm
You can also get Tam Dao here: http://scentsplits.wikidot.com/current-splits

And most of those mentioned on this thread. Cheaper than Perfumed Court, I bet...

-Slim
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post #18 of 24
5/13/10 at 3:31pm
I suggust Trumpers Sandalwood
or Egoiste
both are great!
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post #19 of 24
5/13/10 at 5:17pm
Good picks, Cologneist. I really agree with your judgment on both Diptyques.

Kevin above mentions the cedar and Iso E super element to TD, and they're there for those who pick them up (thanks to another member mentioning the cedar in TD a year or more ago I figured out what cedar was and was also then able to smell it in TD) however, I'm more like you--the scent revolves around my notions of powerful and raw sandalwoods. Even if it has other elements to it, those elements seem so integrated into my, certainly erroneous ultimately, notion of sandalwood. So when I wear it all I can think about is sandalwood in many moist, drippy, and raw ways. So I don't have the cedar or other parts as part of my experience of the stuff either. The stuff sure is magic.
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post #20 of 24
5/14/10 at 8:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DustB View Post

Good picks, Cologneist. I really agree with your judgment on both Diptyques.

Kevin above mentions the cedar and Iso E super element to TD, and they're there for those who pick them up (thanks to another member mentioning the cedar in TD a year or more ago I figured out what cedar was and was also then able to smell it in TD) however, I'm more like you--the scent revolves around my notions of powerful and raw sandalwoods. Even if it has other elements to it, those elements seem so integrated into my, certainly erroneous ultimately, notion of sandalwood. So when I wear it all I can think about is sandalwood in many moist, drippy, and raw ways. So I don't have the cedar or other parts as part of my experience of the stuff either. The stuff sure is magic.

Exactly!
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post #21 of 24
5/14/10 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
Ehh, maybe I'll just spring for a bottle of Tam Dao, since a little goes a long way with it; rather than searching for all of these other ones. Although some of them do look really good like Sandalwood by Art of Shaving.
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post #22 of 24
5/14/10 at 4:17pm
I always thought that if you added incense and white floral notes to Tam Dao, you would get Passage d'Enfer as the result.
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post #23 of 24
5/14/10 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Cologneist View Post

Ehh, maybe I'll just spring for a bottle of Tam Dao, since a little goes a long way with it; rather than searching for all of these other ones. Although some of them do look really good like Sandalwood by Art of Shaving.

Get the Tam Dao. AOS Sandalwood is good but the two fragrances are not very similar, IMHO.
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post #24 of 24
5/14/10 at 6:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by adonis View Post

Get the Tam Dao. AOS Sandalwood is good but the two fragrances are not very similar, IMHO.

Plus one on this. I haven't found anything that goes where Tam Dao does.
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