Ensar Oud Santal Sultan (Parfum)

The original Santal Sultan oil stole my heart and was my Holy Grail sandalwood scent. Heck, as far as I was concerned, it was THE Unicorn sandalwood that nothing else came close to in terms of notes, smell, opulence, smoothness, or quality.

My total adoration of Ensar’s Santal Sultan oil was no small thing; a long-time reader teasingly called me a “Sandalwood Snob” almost a decade ago and that moniker is so true that I adopted the name for myself. (I’m still waiting on those “Sandalwood Snob” t-shirts that were promised to me, “Hajasuuri.”) Whether it was an Amouage santal attar or something from Tom Ford, Rising Phoenix, or Killian, nothing was the perfect fit for my personal tastes or impressed me much.

Nothing until Ensar Oud’s (original) Santal Sultan oil.

And now he’s made a sprayable pure parfum version of it!

Ensar Oud Eo Santal Sultan parfum. Photo: my own.

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BDK Parfums Gris Charnel

BDK ParfumsGris Charnel is a cult hit, a blockbuster retail seller, and a fan favourite on TikTok and other social media sites. Does the creamy iris, cardamom, sandalwood amber scent live up to the hype? Well, yes and no. I think it will depend, even more than usual, on which notes your skin chemistry emphasizes.

Source: desktopwallpaperhd.net

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Masque Milano Lost Alice: Whimsical Fun & Comfort

Masque Milano‘s Lost Alice is a lovely, fun, whimsical olfactory escape and comfort scent for a pandemic world where most of these things are in short supply.

Richard Emil Miller, “Woman Reading in A Garden.”

Creatively inspired, original in notes and ideas, and (mostly) successfully achieved, it is one of those fragrances that epitomizes, in my opinion, what niche is supposed to be, the reason why we seek it out over more easily accessible fragrance brands, the reason why we’re willing to pay more money, and the reason why we expect so much more from other brands that claim to be “niche” only to offer the most tired, downtrodden, generic retreads of stale ideas instead. When I write scathingly about the latest rehash of tobacco, vanilla, and amber (or worse still, Ambroxan), when I lament about Serge Lutens’ loss of original ideas and pioneering spirit, it is fragrances like many of those from Masque Milano that come to mind as alternatives where the brand is genuinely making a constant, years-long effort to put something new, interesting, or creative out there. Like Lost Alice.

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Bortnikoff Santa Sangre: A Sandalwood Cloud

Bortnikoff‘s Santa Sangre showcases authentic fragrant sandalwood in all its glory. Not only does Mr. Bortnikoff use the very best, most luxurious version, Mysore sandalwood, but he and his co-creator add to the verisimilitude of the bouquet through a plethora of other ingredients that help to recreate the bouquet of a santal tree from the ground up.

Sandalwood. Source: styx.odessa.ua

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