Al Sandal Areej Le Doré 2024

This sandalwood is a surprise to me.
It’s creamy, resinously sweet, and spicy.

And while in some perfumes such spices might put me off, since they resemble curry or something similar, here the spices (I don’t think it’s just saffron) remind me of the spices in Penhaligon’s The World According to Arthur.

Of course, if you compare the scents, they’re similar by at most 40–50%.
After applying it to my wrist and half an hour later, I was surprised that the oily spot hadn’t dried on my skin yet, and when I tried to rub it in, the essence turned out to have a sticky consistency.. it’s a real attar, measuring tens of milliliters!

This fragrance exudes warmth, evoking gatherings with relatives during the holidays.
Also has moderate sillage and excellent longevity.

As my friend OTt8 said, this is a true ode to indian sandalwood and i add to indian olfactive culture, who puts on a show the depth of this magnificent raw material, giving her a spicy character though an home made Saffron Absolute by Russian Adam and a refreshing sugar side brought by natural cumarin.
What else? Gorgeous!

As opposed to the other two perfumes in the Arabian Heritage Collection, Al Sandal is not just about sandalwood. I get a big spicy accord, that is listed only as saffron in the notes, but I get a good amount of cumin and cinnamon as well - the coumarin perhaps contributing a cinnamon feel. And this accord is not limited to the opening but pervades throughout the fragrance. I was hoping for a more creamy scent, but here the sandalwood is dry and dusty. There is not much in the way of sweetness either. Performance is the worst of the 3, only lasting about 4 or 5 hours on my skin.

The main protagonist is Indian sandalwood. Dry, woody, at times acidulous and very aromatic. The stroke of genius in this perfume is the addition of Saffron absolute, which, with its spicy and slightly metallic hints, gives a more spicy and peppery twist, which blends perfectly with the precious wood, creating a warm and sensual aura.
The natural coumarin gives a veil of sweetness and makes it more persistent.
It does not have much trail, in fact it is very intimate, but it is a perfect ode to Sandalwood.