Santal Royal (2014)
by Guerlain

The oud is there right from the start. A soft oud note - as synthetic as possible - of medium darkness - with the nigh-obligatory rose adjoined to it like in a Janus head. Some floral notes are also present, mainly a tender greenish Jasmine with a smooth glowing neroli of some brightness.

In the drydown some fruitiness sets in, involving which peach and whiffs of apricot. The rose is still there, although a bit attenuated in strength, but the other components of this creation prevent this Guerlain from becoming another oud-rose lemming stampeding towards the edge of the cliff. The oud is still dominant at this stage.

Approaching the base a cinnamon arises that, when we proceed further towards the base, will challenge the oud and surpass it as the dominant nots in this mix eventually. The oud is still there, but it is enveloped in the rich, smooth and intense cinnamon that has just the right amount of sweetness to be never intrusive or cloying. And slightly ambery leather as well as a touch of white musks turn up on this olfactory stage towards the end.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

This autumn scent is another oud-centric product, but fortunately it is a bit more than that. The cinnamon as it’s main counterpart is a nice concept, but apart from the two main players the other components are quite generic at times, and this fake oud is not particularly original, albeit it lacks the shrill and scratchy side found in ouds a lot these days. Not bad, but not great either. 2.75/5.

Marvelous. Love this fragrance. Definitely in my top 5. Great sillage. Enjoy wearing it out on special occasions. I find it unique.

This is a style I like (the clean-feeling floral-oud) and so I don't hate this, though it's undeniably an also-ran entry in a well-explored category.

It's hard, if not impossible, to recommend this given countless other options in this category (from low-cost options like Banana Republic Oud Mosaic on up to more upscale entries like the sublimely constructed Floris Leather Oud).

Red Door for the 21st century, but "unisex".


This is a scrubber.... Glad it's only a sample.

Honestly, this is the absolute last Guerlain I'll ever try.




Edit: After 15 minutes of pure olfactory punishment, I wrapped a washrag around a bar of soap and took a few mils of skin off in the shower.

And I may need to repaint my bedroom, as there was a thick fog of Santal Red Door Royal hovering over the bed. AFTER the scrub session..... So if nuclear beastmode Red Door is your thing, well roll around for a week with a spritz of Santal Royal.

Good god, this is awful stuff! The high falsetto oud made this intolerable, but even if it performed at lower than a shriek, I struggled to find any sandalwood. Instead, whatever chemicals they cynically used smells like artificial sandalwood/ rose scented lacquer painted on some fake oud pressboard to invoke the gravitas of both.