Sandalwood is probably the most beloved and widely used woody raw material in all of perfumery. Its unique creaminess, enveloping warmth, and ability to enhance any note it blends with make it indispensable. And also, in its most valued natural form, extremely scarce.
The types of sandalwood and their differences
- Mysore Sandalwood (India): the most valued in the world. Creamy, warm, with almost animalic and floral notes. Santalum album. Protected in India since the 1990s, its export is now highly restricted. Extraordinarily expensive — over €1,500 per kilo for quality essential oil.
- Australian Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum): drier and less creamy than Mysore. Sustainably cultivated in Western Australia. It is the most commonly used natural alternative in the industry today.
- New Caledonian Sandalwood (Santalum austrocaledonicum): with a cleaner and softer profile. Produced sustainably.
- Synthetic Sandalwoods: molecules like Javanol, Polysantol, Ebanol, or Santaliff. Each reproduces an aspect of natural sandalwood — none match it entirely, but combined they can come quite close.
Why sandalwood is so special in perfumery
Sandalwood has a unique quality: it fixes and enhances other notes without stealing the spotlight. It acts as an "amplifier" of the composition — making florals bloom more, orientals warmer, and fresh notes longer-lasting. That’s why it appears in the base of so many perfumes of completely different styles.
Sandalwood in the great classics
Le Labo’s Santal 33 made sandalwood the absolute star and sparked an entire movement. Diptyque’s Tam Dao, Guerlain’s Samsara, L'Artisan Parfumeur’s Timbuktu. Sandalwood rarely reaches the general public, but when it does, it often creates addiction.
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