Sandalwood, and pickles?

This is not a very original post, since it is based primarily on what I have recently read on a number of other blogs. The perfume in question is Le Labo's Santal 33. Something that people have mentioned when writing about this perfume is a dill pickle note in the opening and this note seems to manifest itself in sandalwood prominent perfumes. Well, I read this and sort of dismissed it out of hand as being rather an odd thing to notice. I have tried numerous sandalwood perfumes and products over the years and have never noticed this note.

Today I wore Sandalo Inspiritu by DSH, which incidentally is a lovely perfume, but I have written about it before and don't intend to go into detail here. Suffice to say that this time, as I applied it, I was immediately struck by a dill pickle note, which amazed me. Now, I am certain that having read quite a lot about Santal 33 recently my mind must have been opened to the possibility of this accord and perhaps I was therefore more receptive to identifying it, even if only subliminally. Actually, the smell of dill and pickles are both very pleasant to me, so I was slightly amused to identify this and actually liked the fact that I experienced a slightly different take on a perfume that I am already quite familiar with.

Have any of you made this association with any sandalwood perfumes?

DSH Sandalo Inspiritu and Festive

I've been working my way through some recently acquired DSH samples, courtesy of kind Carol from Waft, What a Fragrancefanatic Thinks. Two that stand out for me so far are Sandalo Inspiritu and Festive.

I love the smell of sandalwood, whether it be a perfume, soap or shaving soap. My earliest memory of sandalwood was in the form of a soap by Roger et Gallet, which my mum always used to have in her linen cupboard, gently scenting our laundry. It's a very smooth, soothing, contemplative smell I find. Sandalo Inspiritu is a very apt name for this perfume, as it is very much about sandalwood, and if I have interpreted the name correctly, is quite spiritual and contemplative. The opening is quite smoky and almost incense-like, not sweet and only gently spicy. The sandalwood is evident from the start, but it is neither creamy nor sweet, as some can be. Rather, its use here reminds me quite a lot of Santal Noble by Maitre Perfumeur et Gantier. As the fragrance develops, the sandalwood does soften and become slightly sweeter and creamy, but it remains a fairly simple and linear construction on my skin. Not that this is a criticism mind you. I think it's this linearity that lends it its contemplative and calming feel, which I like.

Festive surprised me firstly by being in oil format, which I was not expecting. As a result the opening is rather subdued as it takes time to warm up on skin. I initially smell something quite smoky, mixed with clove and a hint of orange. At the time I was wearing this, our shops were full of intense orange and clove pomanders, their scent wafting along shopping corridors and out shopfronts. Festive to me smells just like this. In addition to the aforementioned notes, I also detect pine, fir and incense, which add to the Christmasy feel. I was also surprised to find Festive a bit soapy. Again, for some reason this was the last thing I was expecting, but here it works surprisingly well. It's not a distraction to me, as the soapiness is more like the astringency one associates with crushed rosemary - perhaps this soapiness actually comes from the pine/fir notes. Although miles away in smell to Sandalo Inspiritu, Festive is also quite linear and ultimately I find it equally contemplative and calming, albeit in quite a different fashion, but no less pleasing. If I have one criticism of both, its that I find them relatively short-lived on my skin, but then I do tend to sway towards stronger perfumes.

Image credit - http://photos.demandstudios.com