Serge Lutens santal Mysore
Woody creamy and meditative. This perfume embodies the classic fragrance of sandalwood with a sprinkling of spices on top.
Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore is a heady sandalwood scent with a slightly steep cuminy curveball. Serge Lutens has said that this is the real thing, they bought this stock of now strictly harvested and protected Mysore sandalwood before those restrictions went into effect. This fragrance is incredibly smooth after the spices blow off a little from the open, relaxing into a beautiful bed of incense and balsam. Santal de Mysore is in the Woody Spicy fragrance group.
from whatmenshouldsmelllike - "Normally I do not like eau de parfum, I do not like coconut nor do I like gourmand scents, yet strangely I am obsessed with this fragrance that is all of the above. Highly original, the composition steers clear of the common sandalwood clichés: woody cedar accords or spicy amber orientals. Instead Lutens has created an entire meal of the wood that serves a savory curry laced with sweaty cumin, coconut and eastern spices. Although unlisted I suspect the floral notes that keep this weighty formula afloat is a sweet accord of jasmine and orange blossom. Blended with coconut the result is the illusion of white flowers and tuberose. These notes quickly subside and dessert is on the table. A vanilla custard, rich and creamy. The curry note that permeates this parfum is reminiscent of Dior Homme’s Eau Noire with its licorice lavender accord. This wears down to a cedar and sandalwood, earthy accord. If sweetness isn’t your thing, do not despair. Most of the sugary caramel notes exist in the top and mid notes. While its soul is still gourmand, the settled fragrance is a delicious blend of dry woods and exotic balsams."
from Kafkaesque - "Santal de Mysore opens on my skin with a burst of spices. There is light curry, followed by leathery burnt styrax resin with a charred caramel aroma, saffron, a slightly herbal note that smells exactly like buttered dill, and a touch of sweetened carrots. I’m actually a little surprised by how the much-maligned curry note, noticeable as it is, feels so light. Perhaps a better description is to say that it doesn’t smell of the stale, cumin, body odor that I had so feared, or of really potent, yellow curry. Instead, for me, the strongest aroma is actually hot buttered dill and, specifically, a dill pilau or rice dish in Persian cuisine called Baghali Polo (or sometimes, Sabzi Polo)."
| Perfume Name | Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore |
| Year Introduced | 1997 |
| Perfumer | Christopher Sheldrake |
| Gender | Unisex |
| Collection | Exclusive Bottles - Boises/Chypres |
| Notes | Mysore sandalwood, cumin, hot spices, styrax, balsam and Siam benzoin |
| Country of Origin | France |
Woody creamy and meditative. This perfume embodies the classic fragrance of sandalwood with a sprinkling of spices on top.
Serge Lutens is where I started, and got my inspiration for perfume. I like the uniqueness of this brand. Today, I received a 5 ml decant of Santal Mysore (blind buy) and sadly, thus far, I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed. Surrender to Chance was great in delivery as usual. Where I live, it was early spring like temperatures today, so it may not have been ideal wearing temps for this fragrance. First whiff: takes me to a beach somewhere, and I’m smelling a peculiar cocktail drink and sunscreen. In the opening, there’s warm sweetness drizzled over the multi-scented spices. Then, strong scent of pencil shavings, caramel, and glazed carrots. The longer it sits on my skin, I’m warming up a bit to the scent—not to say I approve of it! It’s not the Santal Mysore that’s the problem; it’s my nose. For some reason, my nose and Santal aren’t jiving to the same song. So, in my little experience, I know it’s helps to get a second take on the fragrance—probably wait a couple days for the temperatures to reach burrrrr, it’s cold again. So many things can affect your reaction to a scent—so don’t give up the first smelling! Okay, 45 minutes later I’m in first grade again. Spiced cookies, crayons, and pencils. It’s weird, and I think maybe I like it—I don’t for sure. It smells like candied spices. Very woody-spicy on the dry down. For me, the spices and perhaps the sweetness cloud up the sandalwood a bit. However, I’m beginning to like the scent okay now. Not great, but okay. I won’t be purchasing a full bottle of the juice. Many people love this fragrance, and I think that’s great—Serge Lutens is a great brand/product. It’s definitely better on the dry down. The spice curry is strong in the opening. That may be my dislike---curry. Curry is not one of my finest spice scents. Once I let my guards down from my dislikes and the dry down begins, Santal Mysore is actually a comforting scent overall. Then there’s ginger, cinnamon, and caraway, and Vanilla, all simmered in butter. Benzoin. I love Benzoin. Benzoin is one of the first scent material I diluted with ethanol. Benzoin is just gorgeous. The longer I wear this fragrance, it becomes more sensual and luscious. My first impression of this frag was about 2.5 or 3 stars out of 5. Now, it’s about a 4. Now you know why I’m fond of Serge Lutens. It’s brilliant how his fragrances can change over time, and in this case becoming more seductive. That’s how I see it. There’s another one by Serge called Santal Majuscule with sandalwood, rose, cocoa that I would like to try. Serge Lutens, Cedre is phenomenal. I wish it was edible. My favorite SL is Chergui. Diam Blond is great too. Men and women can wear most of his fragrances. Santal Mysore was introduced in 1991, and I would like to get hold of a bottle of the original or the older formulas. To sum it up: I like this scent. Obviously, it’s not the best SL fragrance in my opinion, but I like it and will wear it. The 5 ml Santal Mysore purchase will not go to waste, that’s for sure! I’ll discover more interesting things about Santal Mysore the next time I wear it. It’s always an experience wearing SL fragrances. I do recommend getting sample first—that goes for all (or most) fragrances. This is a wonderful fall and winter frag. Good for many occasions. Great frag for both genders.
Woody creamy and meditative. This perfume embodies the classic fragrance of sandalwood with a sprinkling of spices on top.
Serge Lutens is where I started, and got my inspiration for perfume. I like the uniqueness of this brand. Today, I received a 5 ml decant of Santal Mysore (blind buy) and sadly, thus far, I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed. Surrender to Chance was great in delivery as usual. Where I live, it was early spring like temperatures today, so it may not have been ideal wearing temps for this fragrance. First whiff: takes me to a beach somewhere, and I’m smelling a peculiar cocktail drink and sunscreen. In the opening, there’s warm sweetness drizzled over the multi-scented spices. Then, strong scent of pencil shavings, caramel, and glazed carrots. The longer it sits on my skin, I’m warming up a bit to the scent—not to say I approve of it! It’s not the Santal Mysore that’s the problem; it’s my nose. For some reason, my nose and Santal aren’t jiving to the same song. So, in my little experience, I know it’s helps to get a second take on the fragrance—probably wait a couple days for the temperatures to reach burrrrr, it’s cold again. So many things can affect your reaction to a scent—so don’t give up the first smelling! Okay, 45 minutes later I’m in first grade again. Spiced cookies, crayons, and pencils. It’s weird, and I think maybe I like it—I don’t for sure. It smells like candied spices. Very woody-spicy on the dry down. For me, the spices and perhaps the sweetness cloud up the sandalwood a bit. However, I’m beginning to like the scent okay now. Not great, but okay. I won’t be purchasing a full bottle of the juice. Many people love this fragrance, and I think that’s great—Serge Lutens is a great brand/product. It’s definitely better on the dry down. The spice curry is strong in the opening. That may be my dislike---curry. Curry is not one of my finest spice scents. Once I let my guards down from my dislikes and the dry down begins, Santal Mysore is actually a comforting scent overall. Then there’s ginger, cinnamon, and caraway, and Vanilla, all simmered in butter. Benzoin. I love Benzoin. Benzoin is one of the first scent material I diluted with ethanol. Benzoin is just gorgeous. The longer I wear this fragrance, it becomes more sensual and luscious. My first impression of this frag was about 2.5 or 3 stars out of 5. Now, it’s about a 4. Now you know why I’m fond of Serge Lutens. It’s brilliant how his fragrances can change over time, and in this case becoming more seductive. That’s how I see it. There’s another one by Serge called Santal Majuscule with sandalwood, rose, cocoa that I would like to try. Serge Lutens, Cedre is phenomenal. I wish it was edible. My favorite SL is Chergui. Diam Blond is great too. Men and women can wear most of his fragrances. Santal Mysore was introduced in 1991, and I would like to get hold of a bottle of the original or the older formulas. To sum it up: I like this scent. Obviously, it’s not the best SL fragrance in my opinion, but I like it and will wear it. The 5 ml Santal Mysore purchase will not go to waste, that’s for sure! I’ll discover more interesting things about Santal Mysore the next time I wear it. It’s always an experience wearing SL fragrances. I do recommend getting sample first—that goes for all (or most) fragrances. This is a wonderful fall and winter frag. Good for many occasions. Great frag for both genders.
I was excited to receive this sample as I love Serge Lutens work. I found this to be a very solid accessible Sandalwood, almost a little bit of bitter. Not a lot of longevity little bit more sillage than expected. A bit linear, didn't really evolve as I wore it throughout the day. Don't think I'll buy a full bottle but I certainly will enjoy using up the sample.
I adore sandalwood. I've spent hours in pursuit of fragrances using it as its main note/ingredient. This, so far, is the finest. Sultry, but wearable all day long and perfect for the autumn and winter seasons.
This is perfect for spice lovers who enjoy a soft warm dry down.A tad hot and dry for me in the beginning but the quality of this scent is undeniable.
I would actually give this 4.5 stars. I find this a nice cozy boozy winter scent. Like sitting in a big leather chair in a dark english pub with a scotch sitting on a brandy soaked wooden table. Gourmand scent, on the masculine side.