Re: spicy sandalwood?

[Guest guest]

Maggie <cythereasgirl@...> wrote:<Is there a variant of sadalwood that has

a slightly spicy undertone to

it? >

I find that the Australian sandalwood seems to have a spiciness to it.

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[Guest guest]

On May 16, 2006, at 3:05 PM, Maggie wrote:

> Is there a variant of sadalwood that has a slightly spicy undertone to

> it? I have tried the Vanatu from Eden, and a sample of Indian

> Sandalwood from FPI and they are both very soft, a little creamy and

> almost musty-woody at first. Very pretty, but not quite what I was

> expecting. Granted, my only experience in smelling sandalwood has been

> from perfume, so it's entirely possible I was abstracting the scent

> completely wrong in my mind.

Hi Maggie,

The Sandalwood CO2 extract (the higher quality one especially) does

have a spicy note that the steam distilled does not have. I do not

know anywhere that it is available however. Basically it has stopped

being made. I would be careful when looking for a sandalwood oil to

match a sw perfume. I think that you will find them very different.

It is very curious that the Indian origin sw oil seems to smell quite

similar to the Vanuatu sw oil to you - " they are both very soft, a

little creamy and almost musty-woody at first. " I personally would

be wary of a sw from India that smells like Vanuatu sw. The reason

for this is that the Indian sw sellers have been scrambling worldwide

to find things to make or adulterate their (poor quality) sw oil

with, including sandalwood absolute, east African sw oil, Australian

sw oil and sw oil from the S. Pacific islands (as well as synthetic

sw oil). I have seen an " Indian " sw oil (being sold in Taiwan) that

was Vanuatu sw oil.

Vanuatu sw oil on the other hand does not smell like Indian sw oil,

nor (I suspect) the sandalwood perfume that you are trying to match.

Anyway, the word on the street is be careful buying Indian sw oil

because it is very hard to find the real thing.

You might try a little blending with the sw oils that you do have.

Try adding a couple of drops of Cardamon or another spice oil that

you think may add a spicy-ness that you are looking for.

Happy blending,

Will

Eden Botanicals

[Guest guest]

>

> > Is there a variant of sadalwood that has a slightly spicy

undertone to

> > it? I have tried the Vanatu from Eden, and a sample of Indian

> > Sandalwood from FPI and they are both very soft, a little creamy

and

> > almost musty-woody at first. Very pretty, but not quite what I

was

> > expecting. Granted, my only experience in smelling sandalwood

has been

> > from perfume, so it's entirely possible I was abstracting the

scent

> > completely wrong in my mind.

>

> Hi Maggie,

>

> The Sandalwood CO2 extract (the higher quality one especially)

does

> have a spicy note that the steam distilled does not have. I do

not

> know anywhere that it is available however. Basically it has

stopped

> being made. I would be careful when looking for a sandalwood oil

to

> match a sw perfume. I think that you will find them very different.

>

> It is very curious that the Indian origin sw oil seems to smell

quite

> similar to the Vanuatu sw oil to you - " they are both very soft,

a

> little creamy and almost musty-woody at first. " I personally

would

> be wary of a sw from India that smells like Vanuatu sw. The

reason

> for this is that the Indian sw sellers have been scrambling

worldwide

> to find things to make or adulterate their (poor quality) sw oil

> with, including sandalwood absolute, east African sw oil,

Australian

> sw oil and sw oil from the S. Pacific islands (as well as

synthetic

> sw oil). I have seen an " Indian " sw oil (being sold in Taiwan)

that

> was Vanuatu sw oil.

>

> Vanuatu sw oil on the other hand does not smell like Indian sw

oil,

> nor (I suspect) the sandalwood perfume that you are trying to

match.

> Anyway, the word on the street is be careful buying Indian sw oil

> because it is very hard to find the real thing.

>

> You might try a little blending with the sw oils that you do

have.

> Try adding a couple of drops of Cardamon or another spice oil

that

> you think may add a spicy-ness that you are looking for.

>

> Happy blending,

>

> Will

> Eden Botanicals

>

Wow, that's a little alarming. I had no idea one had to be so wary

when purchasing sandalwood.

Both the Vanatu and the other oil where similar in their difference

from what I was expecting, though not entirely identical to each

other side-by-side. The gentleman from FPI explained that this oil

was sourced from Indian origin, though it was not Mysore, and that

this was the last stock they would received from this source. They

were currently looking into an alternate source that would be twice

as expensive.

Thank you for the suggestion for blending. That is in fact what I

will experiment with next.

Maggie

[Guest guest]

Hello, Maggie and Will. Sandalwood essential oil is my favorite

accord. I've sampled quite a few australocalidonicum oil from

Vanuatu, but don't know that I picked up a " spicy " note. Actually

more of a greenish note in the young oil, I'm suspecting from the

curcuminol that is present in it (think: watermelon seed or

tomatillo), absent from s. album. I also have a horrible time with

Australian sandalwood. To me, it has an unwelcome slightly burnt,

toasted starchy topnote. Do you find that? I usually use it only for

blends in which that note can be masked by leather, castoreum,

labdanum, cade or birch tar. Could be that what I've had access to is

just overdistilled.

In my quest for a nice, ethically sourced sandalwood, I ultimately

contacted a Vanuatu distiller directly and bought a kg. of good

sustainably sourced oil and put it away. For me, the greenish top

note wears down in a minute or two, it gives me the same complexity

and creamy richness that I crave from a good Tamil Nadu oil. The

tenacity is also very, very good, once the sort of yucky greenness

passes.

There is something irreplaceable about the solid, grounding character

of true s. album. I am still naive enough to appreciate sandalwood

oil as a single note and find that it is too often extended with

other accords that easily mask it even in minute dilutions, any form

of cedar being the main culprit. I actually disagree with using

rosewood in any amount with it as it seems to me to exhalt a

camphorous note that I don't like. One surprise I liked (actually in

S. Noble perfume by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier) was cocoa and

coffee! In tiny amounts those accords seem to continue on the

vomeronasal spectrum of receptors into a smooth, continuous

composition.

I do have a lot of small Oshadhi Agmark oils available to pass on at

$40 each if someone's looking for tiny bottles of good, aged,

unadulterated agmark Mysore, forewarning that this oil is so thick

that it barely comes out of the dropper hole on the 5 ml. bottle. I'm

wondering why Oshadhi designed them that way. More affordably, I have

a few " NOW Foods " s. album full ounce factory sealed bottles for $80

that i can share too, to fund my endeavors into other accords.

Would love to hear about any blends that truly feature the sandalwood

without masking it. Cheers.