Heathens, Cowboys and the Santa Ana Winds Discothèque 2024

When I initially put this on, I thought "ugh, not another Santal 33 dupe. Do we really need to keep doing these?" But ultimately, this scent, while similar to Santal 33, is "prettier" and in my opinion generally more nuanced and wearable.

Yes, there are a lot of similar notes here, but in Santa Ana Winds, the proportions are different. The sweetgrass, tea, and white musk really offer a softness and level of complexity that's not in Santal 33. While this scent is absolutely unisex, it's ever so slightly more feminine in my view due to this softness.

Ultimately, I don't know that I need this in my collection as a full bottle, but if Discothèque made this in a travel size, I'd probably add it to my collection once I run out of my Santal 33 decant. It's definitely a soft leather/sandalwood fragrance at its heart, and if you enjoy Santal 33, Ombré Leather, Purple Suede, or Laurel Canyon 1969, chances are you'll enjoy this.

Edit: after wearing this for a good chunk of my morning, this is, unfortunately, another Santal 33 dupe. It's 85% Santal 33 and it is very strong. It's a shame, because it really had the potential to be something more interesting, but alas, the interesting parts are completely overshadowed by the Santal 33-ness of it all.

I had to take my time writing this review because I just got this overpowering cardamom scent and I couldn’t smell anything else. But after a couple wears I have started to grow fond of this. More creamy wood have shown itself to me, and a warm cozy suede. It actually feels a bit too creamy when I expected warm dry desert winds and sand. But that is just based of the name, and how I percieve Los Angeles and Southern California. A lot of the notes in this are notes I don’t really know, so its hard for me to tell you exactly how they play out in this, but after a couple minutes I do get some slight tea note. But that is a green unsweetened one. Probably herbal and organic, just as a cali-girl would!

But let’s get to the good part. The drydown in this??? A creamy heaven. Almost to the point of being vanilla-esque. The cardamom is still probably a bit too dominating for my liking, but I know a lot of people love that, and in this fragrance I am joining that hype train. I would initially say that this is male leaning, but I think most would say it is unisex. And like a lot of the other Discothèque fragrances this has a great longevity and sillage. Try it! Try them all. I have loved the journey they have taken me on. And the concept with playlists for each scent, and a night club description has been refreshing, fun, playful.

This is the desert fragrance I’ve been searching for! On me, it starts with sweet herbal notes, similar to fresh tea or a newly opened packet of rolling tobacco. After a few minutes, more woody and aromatic, almost spicy, notes join and make the sweet herbaceous scent warmer. After several hours soft suede notes appear, and the perfume takes on a slight creaminess, but there’s still an underlying herbal sweetness.

This isn’t a fresh green scent that will make you think of lush fields after recent rainfall, this is definitely an arid landscape. It’s the smell of desert plants drifting on a hot, dry breeze in Southern California or Arizona or New Mexico. It’s unlike any perfume I’ve ever smelled but it takes me straight back to visiting the Grand Canyon. I love it.

I love this combination of warmth, greenness, and the kind of dirty/sweaty note that cardamom can sometimes give when mixed with skin-scent-y staples. This doesn't strike me as a particularly creative or unusual fragrance, but it's really a nice addition to a classic genre. The part that really distinguishes it is how creamy it turns — the combination of the sharp green, the warm cardamom, and the creamy bottom notes makes it feel more distinct as it dries. I'm into it!

Oh Santa Ana transports me directly to Los Angeles in the 80s.

The scent is easy to like but not so easy to understand.

Inspired by the famous Helena’s Club, it perfectly captures that atmosphere for me.

Even the bottle is impressive, high-quality crafted, futuristic, and with many reflections, it immediately conveys 80s vibes.

Describing the scent itself in a few sentences is almost impossible; it is much more than just a fragrance, it conveys the rockstar feeling of the 80s.

The opening starts sweet with a gentle sandalwood note, accompanied by a fresh citrus note.

After about ten minutes, it changes significantly:
Vanilla, amber, leather, and musk increasingly come to the forefront, giving it a warm, elegant aura.

It is present but never overpowering.

The longevity is above average, and I would rate the sillage a solid 8/10.