Sandalver Dragon House of Heartistry 2024

I’m excited that I can finally write this review that has been swirling around in my head for days, almost weeks.

The life of a dragon can be really dull. Just look at the dragon in our example here. Since people like to name things and creatures, let’s call the fire-breathing dragon in this review Hans - Günther (because the name just works for everything).

What does he do all day long? Breathing fire, grumbling, burning down villages, munching on the neighbor's livestock for the next half year, day in and day out. Dull, boring routine. Welcome to life! No wonder Tabaluga never wanted to grow up :P

"It’s about time to break out of this hamster wheel!" thought Hans - Günther. "It’s time for a change of scenery!" But where to? That’s a good question. He could ponder it forever, but why not just do what so many others do? There’s a map on the wall, so why not throw a dart and see where it lands?
Done. He throws. The dart flutters through the air and finally lands in Tahiti, specifically in a place called Ensar. "Hmm, that name sounds familiar," thought Hans - Günther to himself. "Wasn’t my cousin Waldemar there once?"
So the travel destination was chosen. The suitcases quickly packed, and off he goes. At least he saves on the flight; he can fly himself.

------Time Jump---------

There he lies now, Hans - Günther, comfortably on the beach in his sandalwood lounge chair, dreamy, with cucumber slices on his eyes. Next to him is a generously filled plate with honeydew and watermelon, bananas, and some pineapple. It’s humid and warm, almost a bit oppressive, just the right climate for our fire-breathing friend. It’s even so warm that the sandalwood chair seems to sweat its precious, woody aromas. A light, gentle breeze wafts over the various scents from the flower vendors on the boardwalk. Beautiful lotus, a bit of rose, and jasmine can be detected, balancing out the other flowers so that no one becomes too dominant. Ah, what a life! Just the right thing to escape the dull everyday routine!
Hans - Günther decides to take a walk. As he strolls along the beach, he notices something that has washed ashore. It’s two pieces of wood. He picks them up and smells them. One smells beautifully "jungle-like," a bit green-woody (Borneo), the other slightly berry-purple (Malay). He decides to take them with him. They’ll make a nice souvenir. So here stands our Hans - Günther, gazing at the sunset. A truly beautiful backdrop.

-----fine (End the curtain falls)-----

After this formal blockbuster, I’d like to say a few summarizing words:
At first, the scent reminds me in certain aspects of the Tahitian line from EO. The sandalwood also has a similar tropical, slightly floral mélange. However, I find it more pleasant here, to my taste. The Tahitians were never really my thing; I find them just too "cough drop-like," almost a bit stale.
Here, I like the composition of "the tropical aspect" much better. The scent starts with a combination reminiscent of melons, a good interplay of honey-sweet honeydew and the slightly subtler sweetness of a watermelon, which still brings a slight kick of freshness. Both balance out quite well and provide a certain base sweetness of fruit that runs consistently through the scent without being too overpowering.

This is paired with homeopathic traces of pineapple and a rather background note that reminds me a bit of a freshly cut cucumber, adding a watery freshness. The banana is quite noticeable but always stays playfully in the background. It’s not overly sweet but has more of a banana that is still in the ripening process (so to speak, on the transition from green to yellow).
The flowers blend in well; you can perceive each one individually without any one of them completely dominating the scent. (I admit there’s a slight predominance of rose and lotus, which I think isn’t quite enough to say that they direct the scent, as the jasmine has a balancing effect).

Also, the various ouds are, in my opinion, beautifully integrated into the scent. It occasionally becomes dark-woody, sometimes green, sometimes super subtly smoky, sometimes berry-purple, but always only episodically. All in all, the oud remains more in the background without pushing forward and acts more as a kind of framework on which the scent constructs itself. I also find the integration of sandalwood very beautiful. You can almost "smell" how the sandalwood slowly, almost drop by drop, flows through the scent until it is fully present at the end.

The name of the scent might suggest that you’re dealing with a true powerhouse. Loud, fiery, powerful, but in the end, the scent is the complete contrast. It’s simply understated, working quietly without going completely overboard or taking over the room. I find that lovely; it radiates a certain vacation feeling, taking you a bit out of the hustle and bustle of life. However, the longevity is really excellent at around 15 hours (at least for me)!

All in all, I am absolutely thrilled with the scent. This was actually my first from this brand and will definitely not be my last!