A little taste of Orient
I remember when Santal Royal was announced by Guerlain. On that day, many a Guerlain lover celebrated, as the great House of Guerlain would finally make another Sandalwood fragrance, an arabic inspired one that is. Would Santal Royal be competition for the beloved classic Samsara, which originally featured an exceptional amount of real mysore Sandalwood? Shortly after the release, negative reviews started coming in. People where upset about Santal Royal not being a Sandalwood fragrance, but merely another Oud with Rose. Also, people claimed the new fragrance to smell highly synthetic and concluded that not a lot of money was spent on its creation, using cheap raw ingredients. Even the well known and passionate Guerlain collector and blogger "Monsieur Guerlain" couldn't find any love for Santal Royal. But despite all of that, the fragrance seems to do pretty well, as Guerlain will create a whole collection called "Les Absolu d'Orient", which will include Santal Royal as the first creation. And the next chapter is already on its way: Ambre Éternel, the second one in this new collection, will be launched worldwide in February. How did I get around trying Santal Royal? It was pure coincidence. When I ordered Habit Rouge Dress Code, a sample of Santal Royal was added to my order as a gift. After reading all the negative reviews, I hesitantly sprayed a bit on the back of my hand, and slowly inhaled the new scent. Instantly, I was in olfactory heaven! What a wonderful, oriental smell. Thierry Wasser once again created something really nice. I don't know why so many people dislike this excellent scent.
Santal Royal, I agree, is not a Sandalwood scent. Guerlain already got an exquisite Sandalwood fragrance, Samsara. So why did the marketing people behind Guerlain decide to call this new fragrance Santal Royal, instead of being honest and calling it Oud Royal? Well, Samsara doesn't have to fear any competition, the intended target market for Santal Royal is different from that of Samsara anyway. But what does the new, arabic inspired fragrance called Santal Royal smell like? On one hand, it is different from anything Guerlain did before. On the other hand, I think it got a whole lot of a Guerlain feeling. The opening is a fruity, woody, smoky, spicy and sweet blend of a captivating berry like sweetness, which Thierry Wasser already used in La petite Robe noire; Cinnamon and Oud with Rose. The combination is wonderfully exotic and oriental, but also very Gourmand. So Santal Royal is a Rose + Oud fragrance after all. Thus, the fragrance fits into a niche Guerlain already covered with their fragrance "Rose Nacrée du Désert". So why do they need another one? Well, the price point of those two is different. Where Rose Nacrée du Désert is an expensive high end Rose Oud, Santal Royal costs less and offers 125 ml instead of only 75 ml. Isn't it quite nice to see the launch of more affordable variations, instead of more of these ambitiously priced "Ultra Niche" products that are saturating the market these days. Back to the scent itself, on the back of my hand Santal Royal evolved into a more woody-spicy fragrance, but don't be mistaken: The Rose is now the ruler over all other notes. She dominates, but lets enough room for the Oud, which lives in symbiosis with the fruity notes. The combination may not be new, but here it obviously bears Mr. Thierry Wassers signature. Luca Turin describes this signature as "[...] the weird long-term freshness that Thierry Wasser somehow builds into the fabric of his fragrances [...]", and he is spot on with his description. Even in Santal Royal, there is a freshness I cannot fully grasp, but that shifts the fragrance from being too dense and thick to having a wonderful lightness to it. How can I describe the scent in its current phase of evolution? Well, think of fruits drunk of cinnamon, lying on a leather tray, garnished with Rose petals and slivers of Oud wood. Yes, Santal Royal is a "Rose + Oud + Fruit" mixture. No, that doesn't mean Santal Royal is a trivial fragrance that fails to stand out from others. It's exactly the warm and Gourmand like feeling that makes this perfume a true Guerlain, and makes it stand out from the crowd. Adding to the Guerlain feeling, is the leather, which may not be animalic, but adds a nice texture to the base notes, they appear richer and more facetted thanks to the addition of the leather. Those who still got some space for a stunning Rose Oud perfume in their collection, and those who like their fragrances to be fruity, spicy and warming, will be delighted with Santal Royal.
What a marvellous triad of Roses, Oud and spicy sweet Fruit. Santal Royal is not trivial, nor is it of lesser quality. Instead, it shines thanks to its exotic aroma. I do not believe that the lower price indicates lower quality raw materials, that's nonesense. We all know how the "high quality materials" lie is used to push prices for niche fragrances up. Whether it's Chanel, Dior, Guerlain; or Creed, Amouage and Roja Parfums, they all use the same ingredients. Need an example? Frederic Malles new scent "Cologne Indélébile" features the musk material called "Habanolide". Everyone familiar with this kind of materials knows: Habanolide are not exclusive, nor particularly expensive. But yet, they make up 50% of the formula of Cologne Indélébile. Does that make it a bad fragrance not worth the price tag? No. It's still a good fragrance. Everyone experienced enough in perfumery will know to ignore many companies presenting their products telling us "We only use the finest and purest of ingredients that we hand pick from all around the world". It's a lie. And just like that, Santal Royal is not more or less luxurious than any other Guerlain perfume out there. My guess is, people can't get over the bad choice of a name, and are just too disappointed to not find any Sandalwood in Santal Royal. Personally, I don't care, and I will continue to enjoy the sweet cloud of fragrance that is Santal Royal around me. And I am pretty excited for the next Chapter: Ambre Éternel.
Santal Royal, I agree, is not a Sandalwood scent. Guerlain already got an exquisite Sandalwood fragrance, Samsara. So why did the marketing people behind Guerlain decide to call this new fragrance Santal Royal, instead of being honest and calling it Oud Royal? Well, Samsara doesn't have to fear any competition, the intended target market for Santal Royal is different from that of Samsara anyway. But what does the new, arabic inspired fragrance called Santal Royal smell like? On one hand, it is different from anything Guerlain did before. On the other hand, I think it got a whole lot of a Guerlain feeling. The opening is a fruity, woody, smoky, spicy and sweet blend of a captivating berry like sweetness, which Thierry Wasser already used in La petite Robe noire; Cinnamon and Oud with Rose. The combination is wonderfully exotic and oriental, but also very Gourmand. So Santal Royal is a Rose + Oud fragrance after all. Thus, the fragrance fits into a niche Guerlain already covered with their fragrance "Rose Nacrée du Désert". So why do they need another one? Well, the price point of those two is different. Where Rose Nacrée du Désert is an expensive high end Rose Oud, Santal Royal costs less and offers 125 ml instead of only 75 ml. Isn't it quite nice to see the launch of more affordable variations, instead of more of these ambitiously priced "Ultra Niche" products that are saturating the market these days. Back to the scent itself, on the back of my hand Santal Royal evolved into a more woody-spicy fragrance, but don't be mistaken: The Rose is now the ruler over all other notes. She dominates, but lets enough room for the Oud, which lives in symbiosis with the fruity notes. The combination may not be new, but here it obviously bears Mr. Thierry Wassers signature. Luca Turin describes this signature as "[...] the weird long-term freshness that Thierry Wasser somehow builds into the fabric of his fragrances [...]", and he is spot on with his description. Even in Santal Royal, there is a freshness I cannot fully grasp, but that shifts the fragrance from being too dense and thick to having a wonderful lightness to it. How can I describe the scent in its current phase of evolution? Well, think of fruits drunk of cinnamon, lying on a leather tray, garnished with Rose petals and slivers of Oud wood. Yes, Santal Royal is a "Rose + Oud + Fruit" mixture. No, that doesn't mean Santal Royal is a trivial fragrance that fails to stand out from others. It's exactly the warm and Gourmand like feeling that makes this perfume a true Guerlain, and makes it stand out from the crowd. Adding to the Guerlain feeling, is the leather, which may not be animalic, but adds a nice texture to the base notes, they appear richer and more facetted thanks to the addition of the leather. Those who still got some space for a stunning Rose Oud perfume in their collection, and those who like their fragrances to be fruity, spicy and warming, will be delighted with Santal Royal.
What a marvellous triad of Roses, Oud and spicy sweet Fruit. Santal Royal is not trivial, nor is it of lesser quality. Instead, it shines thanks to its exotic aroma. I do not believe that the lower price indicates lower quality raw materials, that's nonesense. We all know how the "high quality materials" lie is used to push prices for niche fragrances up. Whether it's Chanel, Dior, Guerlain; or Creed, Amouage and Roja Parfums, they all use the same ingredients. Need an example? Frederic Malles new scent "Cologne Indélébile" features the musk material called "Habanolide". Everyone familiar with this kind of materials knows: Habanolide are not exclusive, nor particularly expensive. But yet, they make up 50% of the formula of Cologne Indélébile. Does that make it a bad fragrance not worth the price tag? No. It's still a good fragrance. Everyone experienced enough in perfumery will know to ignore many companies presenting their products telling us "We only use the finest and purest of ingredients that we hand pick from all around the world". It's a lie. And just like that, Santal Royal is not more or less luxurious than any other Guerlain perfume out there. My guess is, people can't get over the bad choice of a name, and are just too disappointed to not find any Sandalwood in Santal Royal. Personally, I don't care, and I will continue to enjoy the sweet cloud of fragrance that is Santal Royal around me. And I am pretty excited for the next Chapter: Ambre Éternel.
Kankuro
