Extracted almost to the point of extinction from the heartwood of Indian sandalwood trees not less than 65 years old, Mysore sandalwood essential oil enjoys an almost mythical reputation in perfumery. A rarefied ingredient unlike any other in its sheer richness, Mysore sandalwood is at once floral, creamy, dense and carnal – nothing like the green, spicy and herbaceous nuanced Australian or Caledonian sandalwood we are accustomed to in contemporary fragrances.
With trade in the precious wood halted by World War I, in 1916 Krishna Raja Wodiyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore, established the Government Sandalwood Oil corporation to utilise the stockpiles of sandalwood sitting in Mysore’s ports. Eventually, the government of Mysore introduced special laws and regulation to preserve their monopoly on sandalwood oil and later geographical indication protection. The result, a regulatory stranglehold on the market, and only a minute allocation of Mysore sandalwood for international consumption.
Due to its extremely limited supply and astronomical price then, Mysore sandalwood essential oil is little used in perfumery today, which makes Santal-Basmati from niche French house Affinessence all that more remarkable for its heavy use of this scarcest ingredient.
I remember the first time I smelled Santal-Basmati; it was 2017 and I’d just cut open the parcel bag that my Affinessence Discovery Set had travelled in from Paris only to be greeted by think haze of sandalwood that seemed to permeate the whole package. It was olfactory nirvana. I was hooked. For days after I wore only my small sample of Santal-Basmati, its sweet creamy persistence so addictive that I bought a bottle as soon as my sample was depleted, such is its pulling power.
Affinessence provides the following notes list, a list quite accurate in my experience:
Mysore sandalwood, basmati rice, patchouli, iris, Cashmeran
A list of seemingly dense notes, no? That is by design. The whole Affinessence range is composed of notes more typically reserved for use as base notes in a composition, though that’s not to say that there is no evolution to Santal-Basmati. It opens immediately with steamed a basmati note, nutty and earthen, its inherent floralcy accentuated by the starchy inclusion of iris. All the while, Mysore sandalwood holds court over the composition from just behind the fore; its budding rose, double cream, spice and brown sugar facets lending nuance to the basmati, the effect something akin to a rich rice pudding. A few hours in and the precious fragrant wood becomes one with the basmati rice, and in doing so, amplifies the creamy, steamy, nuttiness of each as the composition shifts towards a Cashmeran-rich base. Finished is the rice pudding, the composition now takes on the character of an ensconcing cashmere blanket – the sandalwood tightly woven with the diffusive muskiness of Cashmeran and patchouli’s sweet earthiness.
Santal-Basmati is first and foremost a Mysore sandalwood composition, but one broken down to its parts and then reassembled. Forgone is carnality of sandalwoods like Tom Ford’s Santal Blush, the dark broodiness of Serge Lutens’ Santal de Mysore, or the headiness of Samsara by Guerlain. Instead, Santal-Basmati constructs an intimate aura for its wearer from the subtly of its precious star ingredient.
For those who believe Mysore sandalwood to be relegated to history, a unicorn today only found in vintage compositions, I cannot recommend Santal-Basmati enough.
Year of Release: 2015
Creative Direction: Sophie Bruneau
Perfumer: Alexandra Carlin
Alternatives: Frédéric Malle Dries Van Noten (also Mysore sandalwood), CHANEL Bois des Iles, Donna Karen Santal Musc, Serge Lutens, Santal Blanc,
Available: www.affinessence.com for €335, 100ml.