Floris Santal

Santal, like with most men’s fragrance samplers, fell into my lap through some exchanges or trades. Its little glass vial sat pretty much untouched since I received it due to its unspectacular name. But like books, you really shouldn’t judge a fragrance by its cover–sometimes.

Santal

Santal

In Bottle: Soft gentle spice with a sandalwood heart.

Applied: Bergamot with a lemony friend in the opening. The spices roll in quickly, but very elegantly. It’s a gentle spice, like a nice little dusting of cardamom and nutmeg and clove on top of your cup of tea or coffee. It smells light, doesn’t come on too strong and imparts this sense of confidence without being loud and obnoxious about it. This smells like a refined gentleman with a nice sandalwood upon entering the latter midstage. The dry down is marked with a warm, light spice and heavier dose of woods. Santal is not young smelling. It’s not the aqua deluge of modern mens fragrance. It smells more classical and has a nice, subdued sophistication to it.

Extra: Santal was released in 2002 and is still available today in an EDT concentration, bar of soap, aftershave, shower gel, or shaving balm.

Design: Looks nice enough. The Floris label is really the focal point of this design with a nice classical air about it. The bottle itself is unassuming with an easy to hold design and subdued but mildly flashy gold detailing.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Spicy

Notes: Bergamot, pepper, cardamom, grass, lemon, nutmeg, clove, lavender, amber, cedar, sandalwood, olibanum, vetiver, vanilla, musk.

Some scents never cease to surprise me. I ended up liking Santal quite a bit.

Reviewed in This Post: Santal, 2011, Eau de Toilette.


Tom Ford Lavender Palm

Lavender Palm was a new discovery for me from the Tom Ford Private Collection and while I try not to veer into Tom Ford too much–mostly because of the price–I couldn’t help but be curious about how well the lavender note was used here.

Lavender Palm

Lavender Palm

In Bottle: Lavender from the get go with a nice clean hint of lemon and bergamot accompanied by a green mossy base.

Applied: Lavender is loud and first out of the gate followed by a clean taming citrus blanket. I smell the lemon in this more than the bergamot, but lavender is definitely the star of the show. This isn’t screeching lavender. It doesn’t make my teeth hurt or make my nose wrinkle, it’s bold but in a good way. It’s naturally used in the fragrance it wraps the wearer in a comforting lavender throw instead of hitting you in the face full force. It’s a bit difficult to describe so I suppose the best way to explain would be to say the lavender in the fragrance–while strong–smells just right. I don’t get too much progression as the scent wears on. Lavender fades in and out, it gets tamer the longer the fragrance is worn, and near the end I’m treated to a bit of moss and earth. If you were worried about the oleander and wondering how that was going to be, I wouldn’t be too concerned as the lavender is the star and it doesn’t share the limelight very well.

Extra: The Tom Ford Private Blend collection houses the exclusives for the line and if you’ve got the cash, a Tom Ford Private Blend fragrance can be quite nice. Lavender Palm was released to a wider audience in early 2012.

Design: Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances tend to sport a similar look. They remind me of apothecary bottles the more I look at them. Simple, elegant, and they’d look wonderful all lined up in a row.

Fragrance Family: Aromatic

Notes: Lemon, bergamot, lavender, clary sage, lemon blossom, oleander, moss, vetiver, olibanum.

While I can’t say that I really need a lavender prominent fragrance–not being much of a fan of lavender, I can say Lavender Palm is a very nice interpretation. I’m still on the look out for my preferred lavender scent, but I think those who really appreciate the note would like Lavender Palm.

Reviewed in This Post: Lavender Palm, 2012, Eau de Parfum.