Year: 1997
Notes: spices, cumin, caramelised Siamese benzoin, styrax balsam, Mysore sandalwood
Comment: Santal de Mysore is part of the exclusive line
There was a time when Santal de Mysore was a personal Serge Lutens favourite. It was also one's first bell jar acquisition... only to be sold off a couple of years later.
The human nose can be so promiscuous: one minute, your olfactory senses are enraptured by a new discovery that you yearn to possess, only to become weary of its charms (for whatever reason) weeks, months or years later. With one's sense of smell constantly evolving, such fickle tastes have now been kept firmly under control, largely due to both hindsight and experience. As for that bell jar, one doesn't have any regrets.
A soft cumin, spices and caramelised syrup extravaganza literally sums up Santal de Mysore. The sandalwood makes its presence known from the very beginning but its prominence doesn't last particularly long – instead, it quickly recedes into the background. One can still discern traces of sandalwood but it remains shrouded within a sweet, spicy and ambery curry aroma for the majority of the composition's linear duration.
With a creamy coconut aura, its sillage is minimal with below average lasting power. Although one isn't entirely sure if earlier batches were more heady and longer-lasting, one has since concluded that sandalwood essential oil (Mysore or any other variety) provides far more satisfaction... and without any cumin in sight.
The human nose can be so promiscuous: one minute, your olfactory senses are enraptured by a new discovery that you yearn to possess, only to become weary of its charms (for whatever reason) weeks, months or years later. With one's sense of smell constantly evolving, such fickle tastes have now been kept firmly under control, largely due to both hindsight and experience. As for that bell jar, one doesn't have any regrets.
A soft cumin, spices and caramelised syrup extravaganza literally sums up Santal de Mysore. The sandalwood makes its presence known from the very beginning but its prominence doesn't last particularly long – instead, it quickly recedes into the background. One can still discern traces of sandalwood but it remains shrouded within a sweet, spicy and ambery curry aroma for the majority of the composition's linear duration.
With a creamy coconut aura, its sillage is minimal with below average lasting power. Although one isn't entirely sure if earlier batches were more heady and longer-lasting, one has since concluded that sandalwood essential oil (Mysore or any other variety) provides far more satisfaction... and without any cumin in sight.
