Genuine Mysore sandalwood oil is a rarity these days, but Ensar Oud offers three different takes on it that are worth trying if you are a sandalwood addict. One is an actual vintage oil dating back to the early 1980s, another is from 30-40 year-old red Mysore heartwood, while the third combines Mysore from Indonesia with centennial Tanzanian sandalwood for something utterly glorious that swept me off my feet.
Source: styx.odessa.ua
Today, I wanted to give a quick look at the two latest sandalwood oils from Feel Oud, Bengal Sandal Aira and Sandal 100K Hybrid. I know a number of you have either sampled or blind-bought one of the oils, so I’ll provide a comparison between the two. To me, they’re different in vibe and aroma nuances during their first four hours, but they eventually move closer and become more similar on my skin. Both, however, take a rather airy approach to sandalwood.
Mysore sandalwood cross-section. Source: vk.com
Last time, in Part I, we looked at the issues and methods that Feel Oud used to make its high-end artisanal oils, so today there will be 9 reviews covering the actual scent profiles of a range of different ouds and sandalwoods. What surprised me in several cases were the amazing number of complex olfactory facets and nuances that a single piece of wood could manifest, resulting in a bouquet that was really more like a fine French perfume with evolving layers and stages, rather than a mere distilled oil. It’s due solely to the things we covered in Part I, the complicated, laborious way in which that one piece of wood was treated in order to extract the maximum number of scent molecules. When more than one type of wood was used or when a rich floral essence was added to the mix, the result could be quite mind-blowing indeed, and I say this as someone who doesn’t always have the greatest degree of comfort around oud.
Feel Oud bottles. Photo: Russian Adam of Feel Oud.