Diptyque Tam Dao

Indian Sandalwood used to be a very popular addition to fragrances, and other applications everywhere. So popular, in fact, that the sandalwood tree has become an endangered species. Tam Dao is Diptyques homage to the precious sandalwood tree. Tam Dao

In Bottle: Dry spicy sandalwood with a hint of creaminess and a sharp blare of green floating on top.

Applied: Cedar and greenness with a mild hint of sandalwood coming through. The greenness adds a rather jarring experience but it’s a quick fader and it helps with the mid-stage where the spiciness and dry sandalwood shines a bit more. This is a pure, nicely done sandalwood scent. It has a nice and deep aroma to it, a very familiar scent thanks to how much sandalwood is featured in fragrances but I have to admit my disappointment that the scent doesn’t do much else but sit at sandalwood. I can appreciate it for its simplicity though as its focus is to remain simple and pure and present the wearer with a sense of calmness in a dry, spicy, amber-suspended sandalwood fragrance.

Extra: Often you’d think people illegally hunting animals when you hear the word, ‘poaching’. But poaching happens to trees too like the sandalwood.

Design: Bottled in the typical square-ish Diptyque style. That is a square glass bottle with a metal cap. The cap slides off rather nicely, the sprayer works just fine. I’m a big fan of the uniform and simple-looking Diptyque labels which often remind me of a mixture of art deco and woodcuts.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Goa sandalwood, rosewood, cypress, ambergris.

Tam Dao’s longevity was a bit weak for my liking, fading within five hours. It’s  a decent time period but I did expect a bit more from a woods-based fragrance.

Reviewed in This Post: Tam Dao, 2007, Eau de Toilette.