Santal de Mysore Serge Lutens 1997

Santal de Mysore (SdM) is an excellent sandalwood scent. It opens with a mélange of spices that does, indeed, feel a bit reminiscent of the smell of Indian food. That being said, the opening still manages to be enticing and to me and comes off as a more interesting than off-putting. The scent changes quickly and as the spices mellow and dissipate I can pick them out individually. There is cardamom, clove, cumin, carraway, ginger, cinnamon and the note that briefly tricks the mind into registering curry: immortelle. Suddenly the scent flips to a delicious spiced fig and maple syrup vibe, and then moves from there into a dry down of smooth, buttery sandalwood inflected with bits spice, fig, creamy resins and the occasional whiff of immortelle. It is a bit spare in the dry down though, which makes it feel more like a delicious smell then Perfume with a capital P.

While SdM is an intriguing aroma to me, it won't be for everyone. It is not particularly easy to wear. This is not a safe blind buy for anyone.