Let’s say, right off the bat, that sandalwood can’t be replicated accurately. Perfumers have been trying for centuries and, now that the real oil has gotten so expensive, the effort has accelerated.
Not knowing better, making a viable sandalwood was my first effort at perfumery.
While years ago, I used mainly immortelle absolute and vetiver, things are now more complicated. But, sophistication aside, I still struggle at making an accurate sandalwood copy. While I probably will never be satisfied, I have composed a replica that’s much like the real thing.
Now we get heavily into synthetics.
I began with mysantol, a woody resin-like compound that’s soft and accessible, unlike some sandalwood chemicals that are difficult to smell because they quickly tire the nose. Mysantol also has a delightful green note, like that of the natural wood, that many sandalwood chemicals lack.
At the risk of cheating, I added santalol. Santalol has the authentic aroma of sandalwood because it is distilled from the actual sandalwood heart wood. It is more expensive than even some sandalwoods, but more assertive. I could have stopped here, but, the cost at this stage, would have been too scary.
Next, I added sandela. I’ve got to smell sandela the first thing in the morning—it must be well diluted—before my nose goes blank and I can’t smell it anymore. It’s surprisingly sweet, with traces of something floral, and with notes of spices (cumin?) and ambergris. There’s something a little soapy. I put it in not only for its fragrance, but because it is very long lasting.
Mysore wood (another synthetic) came next. Mysore wood has a distinct creamy component that recalls the same milky facets found in real sandalwood.
I needed a long-lasting synthetic to match sandalwood’s long dry down. There is more—much more—about sandalwood yet to come.