hmmm is this still Sandalwood?

At the very least, an inferior product. more probably, an adulteration of even a mislabeled bottle. Take it back.

True Indian Sandalwood is pretty well impossible to get now. I think you may have been sold a dud.

Sandalwood, like any natural, does vary from batch to batch. Genuine Indian sandalwood from Santalum album is extremely difficult to obtain now and to be honest probably better not to buy as the plants there are endangered. It certainly should not smell like pine needles.

Personally I use Vanuatu Sandalwood from Santalum austrocaledonicum, which is grown in a sustainable way. It has been out of stock for a while at Hermitage but I believe they will shortly have some available again: I'd recommend trying that.

Try sampling Amouage Sandal Attar, if you can find it.

A quick update on this - I've just been talking to Adam at Hermitage and he tells me he will have the Santalum austrocaledonicum, in limited quanitities only, on the site next week. I'm planning on snapping some up while it's available . . .

You have been had - Indian Sandalwood is not available anymore

As you are in Canada:-

http://www.whitelotusaromatics.com/s...sentialoilso-z
http://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/...urals-h-z.aspx
http://www.edenbotanicals.com/sandalwood-rare.html

The Amouage one is lovely quality & 12ml.
P.M. your address if you would like a small sample of mine (free) for educational purposes - one time offer 'though as I only have about 6ml left & am selfishly keeping it all - it's just to let you test it.
I don't have enough to share otherwise & would be selling it on ebay if that were the case!

Where did you buy yours from? - only asking so others (probably me) don't repeat your mistake - pm if u like!
People are cutting sub-standard oils a lot, passing off stuff as other stuff.

As you are in Canada:-

http://www.whitelotusaromatics.com/s...sentialoilso-z
http://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/...urals-h-z.aspx
http://www.edenbotanicals.com/sandalwood-rare.html

The Amouage one is lovely quality & 12ml.
P.M. your address if you would like a small sample of mine (free) for educational purposes - one time offer 'though as I only have about 6ml left & am selfishly keeping it all - it's just to let you test it.
I don't have enough to share otherwise & would be selling it on ebay if that were the case!

Where did you buy yours from? - only asking so others (probably me) don't repeat your mistake - pm if u like!
People are cutting sub-standard oils a lot, passing off stuff as other stuff.

http://www.basenotes.net/group.php?d...755&do=discuss

Suggest check this out - @bluemoon knows more than we ever will1

Did you mean to say that the Sandalwood that I said to return came from PA? and John Steele?

Hmmm... Should be pretty good stuff then...

Kaern - Sure, EI Sandalwood, Santalum Album is indeed available, but it's not cheap either...

Thanks! - well, don't worry Rory, 'cos my Amouage sandalwood was only about £50 for 12ml!
Not sure why - it was from Les Senteurs some years ago when Amouage single attars were pretty reasonable, also possibly before our currency collapsed! I'm perfectly happy to send some. There are still places who sell it at a reasonable price.
The Amouage isn't strong like the sandalwood from the 1960's, but echoes it, no off notes, definitely dreamy, little sillage.

Surprised to hear about the Steele oil - was considering ordering some based on positive comments that I'd read about his stuff.
Maybe go for samples until you find one you like? Sri Lankan can be nice too.

Age makes a huge difference to the smell of even very good quality sandalwood oil. I have a sample of stuff that's well over 100 years old that smells stunning, but even my 30 year old is streets ahead of freshly made stuff.

Sandalwood normally comes with some undesirable top-notes and these fade away as it ages - doubtless there are other changes going on too but sandalwood is one of those oils that really does improve a lot with age.

Just tried to reply & it logged out/seems lost.
Trying again!
Agree with Chris - leave the sandalwood for a few years in a dark place. Patchouli is the same.
When you find one u like, suggest buy some before the batch sells out!

- - - Updated - - -


Are you aiming for a general Amouage exotic style or one in particular? I'm not up to date, but they are so varied. The attars are very different to the sprays.
They certainly use top quality ingredients, but I don't know whether our E.E.C. regulations or just pure volume of sales/availability of ingredients have affected them recently. Just opened a new factory, so fingers firmly crossed.
Sore subject here - I have a couple of bottles of the 'new' Homage that were left sealed for a couple of years (so not returnable) & when opened were totally so weak & unrecognisable that I am doctoring them - ended up adding some of their Silver Oud, various roses, lemon, ambergris, frankincense, jasmine, neroli....nearly there with one so far! And it's not my memory playing tricks as I still have the old stuff!

Think that the posts are getting lost when I try to add links, so pm if u want some.

Oud is costly, but goes a very long way. Abdul Samad Al Qurashi is a reliable house - the guys in the oud group have huge knowledge here (unlike me), but for mixing ASAQ should be fine, the Dhen al oud Cambodi/muattaq is possibly a good place to start?
Zahra's has oud, as does the Misk Shoppe and others. Recently had an order from Zahra's & it shipped in good time. She doesn't hold stock, so may be a bit slower than someone local who does. The web site is a mine of information. There's a guy in Dubai also.

Should you feel like an oud journey, Agar Aura & Oriscent are both very well regarded indeed.

ASAQ are a major grower of Taifi rose, but the lower grades are not strong and probably not economic to play with - lovely to wear as is.
Surrati do an amazing & reasonable 'Rose Taef', but given their ability to ape stuff, not 100% sure how natural it is. I adore it 'though, wear it loads, no off notes. Can't afford the Amouage Taifi one right now. Amouage ordinary 'Rose' (damask/Bulgarian) attar is very good & very calming but I personally value it too much to play with it and it is fairly subtle.
Hermitage currently has a very nice Turkish rose absolute - possibly your best bet - Turkish absolute does not seem too easy to find?
I read somewhere that the Bulgarians' best roses go to make Otto & the Turks' to make absolute?
And the Afghanis are growing it instead of poppies, fingers crossed for them & us. Irani is available, maybe not very strong?

Omani/Somali frankincense is available. Long-term you could tincture the tears yourself - I have some Hogari tincture pending!

Not sure how helpful this is?
I hope you enjoy the journey!

I've never experienced sandalwood that smelled like pine needles. I have a few ml's I purchased a few years ago that is supposedly East Indian Sandalwood (I have my doubts) that smells nothing like pine needles.

Every bottle that I own smells different, some have notes that might be considered 'piney' (or just not what was expected!) - I just leave them alone & check them occasionally if I'm looking for one to use - be interested to know what other people do?
That's a reason to buy a supply if you find one that you personally like, assuming that you can be sure that you're buying from the same batch!

Natural products not only vary batch to batch from one producer, but also due to manufacturing differences between producers & use of different species. And different suppliers have varying turnovers.
A lot of wheat is grown locally here & each year the crops look different and give different yields & quality, same thing really.
'Amyris' is sometimes bought as a substitute for sandalwood and has a very strong smell indeed to me.

Sandlewood in my experience has never resembled pine needles.

Agree with Chris. I have a 150 year old Sandalwood (manufactured by the East India Company before the Brits colonized India), and its nothing like any of the Sandalwood EO's that I've collected over the past 15 years. A company in India used to sell pure Sandalwood EO's that came very close to the real thing - Forest Essentials. Unfortunately they don't sell them anymore, and anything you get in India is probably adulterated.

Time: you don't need to do anything special really. Stable room temperature and not too much air contact are good, but really it's just time.

Vetiver and Patchouli can be aged as well. Some rumors have it that you need enough quantity to age EOs well, i.e. a few ml won't give you the same result as a kilo, over the same period of time. I don't know if that can be verified or what's the science behind it.

It's concerning to me that you say this sandalwood came from Perfumer's Apprentice from their John Steele selection. I thought these were really good quality - their price would suggest so.
I just checked the site and there is not much information beyond that the oil comes from India. I wonder what the story is there?

Maybe someone else who has bought some of this recently can chip in?

Mr Steele's contact details are on Perfumer's Apprentice's website.

It's probably just as Chris says - age.

I was looking at a website (Ananda) the other day as they had some lovely Patchouli a few years ago (which is even better now) and they have clearly made the point that their Indian sandalwood is quite freshly made so they offer an option of buying it blended with Vanuatu.

I think the best way is to contact Mr. Steele directly and ask for the source and year of your oil. We can only speculate and guess, but he has the real answers.

Haha!
Included some Hougari (maybe) frankincense tears, which you may chew if you wish! Bit like gum, but nicer - or u could tincture it or put a bit on an open fire.
Have fun!

I've been trying various sandalwood accords and oils and substitutes for a while now. The Sandal Wood Supreme 3ml (which was 30 dollars) from J Steele is the best I've tried so far. It's far superior to the Australian Sandalwood I tried. Sandalwood accord from perfumers apprentice is nice but doesn't really smell like good sandalwood oil.

J Steele also has a Sandalwood Heartwood Oil which is 3ml for 50$ and I'm going to try that next.

Unfortunately, I have a high standard for sandalwood oil. Back in the 70's my grandmother had an indian neighbor who would make sandalwood inscence sticks for her. Smelling that burning was one of my earliest memories...it was amazing. They lived in the same apartment for 40 years and the odor of sandalwood was in the walls, the rugs, their clothes, everything. When she finally passed away and we cleaned out the apartment it still smelled beautiful. And she hadn't burned a single incense stick in at least 10 years or more. Crazy right?

@ luckyrory - And it's supposed to be an anti-inflammatory - research is being done on this.

Interesting description there on naturesgift -

@Pharmacist_Blender - thanks for that - and yes, amazing stuff - there used to be a Wood Museum @ Kew Gardens where they had a large piece of sandalwood - maybe a table? & it had permeated the whole room with it's fragrance.

The Vanuatu people appear to sell their best wood as small blocks - very tempting!
http://www.thesummitvanuatu.com/the-...ss=Y&proID=134

Yay - managed a link!

I agree. Synthetic sandalwood accords are sharp and dry. They never recapitulate the smooth creaminess of the real thing. I'm surprised that people have not come up with ways to mass-synthesize santolol?

@luckyrory
Do you think that you should send a bit of your errant sandalwood to Mr Steele @ Lifetree & ask for his comments?
- 'cos you seem pretty clued up to me & they might have sent you the wrong one?
Someone else out there's probably also wondering why their oil smells strange!
Even in the best run businesses mix-ups can happen.

As for inexpensive Sandalwood Accords to mimic the natural exactly, get over it. When a natural has the complexity and molecular structure of elements numbering the inhabitants of a small town, then putting eight or twelve molecules together and expecting miracles is unreasonable. A good sandalwood accord might encompass 75 materials, many of which would be expensive, and it still won't be a perfect match.

And Believe me that the Fragrance Chemist have been trying for decades to synthesize Santalol. I think I just read about some Alpha Santalol Success, but it's the Beta Santalol that is really the prize. Even so, Santalol alone still isn't the complete answer.

Get John on the phone, and pick his brain, he's a nice guy, and extremely knowledgeable... I've really enjoyed talking to and learning from him.

The santalols (both alpha and beta) can indeed be synthesised, the trouble is no-one has yet come up with a method that does not rely on such expensive starting materials and inefficient processing that the result is more costly than the oil itself. It's worth remembering how tough this kind of chemistry really is. The man who worked out how to successfully synthesise plain, cheap old l-menthol on an industrial scale won a Nobel Prize for it - santalol is evidently more difficult still . . .

Meanwhile back at the real sandalwood - I've heard from Adam this evening that Vanuatu Sandalwood is back on the site and my order is already placed - so you might want to get yours in quick before it all sells. I believe he only has a Kg and I've already had a big chunk of that . . .

Final thought: a good sandalwood accord is never going to be an equal to the natural oil (given it won't contain the santalols) but it does not have to be dry and sharp: there are good enough synthetics about that a reasonably skilled perfumer can come up with a good facsimile - of course that probably won't be exactly cheap - and that's the issue. Most accords and bases being sold are produced from cheap materials and designed by perfumers to narrow margins and a deadline . . .

I don't really trust new direction's oils. A friend of mine bought either patchouli or vetiver oil from them and found the oil to not completely dissolve in pure ethanol. The company said it's a "batch variance" and recommended her to buy the organic version (read: expensive) instead. After that incident I have stayed away from that company.

I've had good experience with eden botanicals, although they are a bit pricy for the quality. But they didn't list the % of santalol, and it's the % that matters.

Maybe ask them before purchase if interested?

Mind you, these guys don't state it either & it's turned out the best that I've had for years, apart from the Amouage.
And given the price, I was quite surprised.
Appears to be UK shipping only 'though - no overseas options in the checkout form.
http://www.essentialoilsonline.co.uk...to_Z.html#a146