Santal de Kandy Boucheron for women and men

Out of the three fragrances that I have tried from this line this is my least liked one. The sandalwood in this does not have the creaminess and it is more in the background; a sort of a back up note. The main notes that I get are black pepper, jasmine, and cedar wood. The entire fragrance is very quiet and bland, very meh and forgettable. The performance is really bad as well for me. I over-sprayed and still could barely smell it even with my nose close to the area where I put it on.

A beautiful sandalwood note is noticeable right after spraying. Soon after, the spices start developing, but they stay only for a short moment. During that time, I perceive a certain melancholy when smelling this fragrance, bringing me back to the hills of Kandy enveloped in low hanging clouds, sipping chai tea. The opening stage is definitely my favorite part because once the violet note comes out, Santal de Kandy becomes powdery and the woody notes lose some of their character. The longevity on clothes is great, easily lasting a whole day and I also get regular wafts of a powdery wood, more cedar than sandalwood, though.

This has taken me on a trip - I didn't love it when I first smelled it: I thought that it was too sharp and that it didn't have the sweetness that I look for in a sandalwood fragrance. After my first time wearing it, I decided that I actually really liked it, as it does project confidence and urban fashionability. I've worn it several times, and usually end up enjoying it, but I'm back to being unsure about whether or not it should stay in my collection.

First of all, the black pepper is the most apparent note to my nose - some other reviews say that the sharp pepper fades after a few minutes, but to me, it sticks around for the life of the fragrance. Sandalwood does become more apparent but it never seems to be the star of the show, it is sometimes equal to the pepper in intensity, but never overcomes it. I love sandalwood and would have hoped that a fragrance that is marketed as such would really focus on that.

The longevity is fantastic, and I feel that It's suitable for work, as the projection is soft but persistent. The wafts I get throughout the day are very nice, but on the rare occasion they lean a tad indolic and can make certain moments unpleasant. I'm attributing this to the jasmine note, and am a little disappointed that I don't get any of the beautiful floral facets of jasmine, just the stank undertones. I don't want to put anyone off this fragrance - I do not generally pick up any discernable funkiness and think that temperature and humidity might play a role in how I perceive theis fragrance on different days. I enjoy it enough to work with it and find the right times and places to wear this, but I suggest that anyone interested in this fragrance test it before buying it!

Is anyone selling this in Europe ?

Spicy santal, with phenomenal opening and dry-down, the dry-down has less amount of spiciness but still is a very pleasant scent to have on you, with some tinge of sweetness
The amout of woody scent is not prominent though, dont be fooled by the name, overall a great scent anyway
10/10

-Nondescript, spicy woody scent.
-Reminiscent of fragrances from the house of Aesop or Le Labo.
-Slightly less complex blend as compared to Wonderwood by CdG. (-)

Spicy sandalwood fragrance. Quite masculine, straight from the barbershop vibes.

Tested this today. It must me a skin issue on me, but this is a beautiful clean, pepper-sandalwood fragrance was rather soft projecting and hangs very close to the skin ( but is rather long lasting) on me. The violet notes blend perfectly making the whole experience of the fragrance more beautiful.

Had the perfect balance of spice and wood. It is unisex, but leans rather on the masculine spectrum. It imparts a rather lovely veil of scent. I can see this perfect for the office and for perfuming yourself when you want to be understated, yet beautifully fragranced.

I still prefer Diptyque - Tam Dao over this though.

This is a love, but full bottle worthy? Maybe not :(

UPDATE! (8/8/2021): TESTED it once again. Just ordered a full bottle for a good deal. It is a full LOVE. It's basically a luxurious spice+pepper+wood that hovers ever so lightly around you. It's what I expected CDG WonderWood to smell like. My nose must have been tired at that time when I first sniffed this. Can't wait for my bottle!

Spicy sandalwood, the sharpness of pepper is prominent. A fresh but incredibly long lasting perfume.

Cardamom with a hint of of sandalwood.

The opening definitely has a peppery kick to it. After that I can pick up sandalwood, violet, jasmine. I actually get a decent amount of jasmine out of this one. It's quite indolic. Actually now that I'm smelling it more and more, it reminds me of Hermes' Cedre Sambac. Sandalwood is soft and there's a powdery quality from the violet as well. However, if you're looking for a reference sandalwood fragrance, you won't find it here. It's more of a soft, indolic sandalwood, with a spicy and peppery finish to me. Well blended obviously. Unisex. Performance is quite poor, especially considering its retail price.

6,5/10

I purchased a decant.
This is a wonderful woody floral perfume. Warm, smooth perfectly blended sandalwood-cedar-violet-cardamom scent. I smell no pepper or jasmine. (I don't like strong pepper or jasmine notes)

Perfect for late spring/summer. Leans more feminine.

The performance could be a bit better, both the sillage and the longevity, which is a surprise after testing Ambre and Oud from the same line, both are strong and long lasting.

Updade: purchased the full bottle. I like this scent.
Update 2: I swaped it in the end but kept the 10ml decant.

this starts as a strong sandalwood with spiciness. it gradually gets softer over time but is primarily sandalwood on me. there is something softening everything after the drydown, which i am guessing is violet? i don't get any jasmine at all. it leans traditionally masculine/unisex on me.

Becoming one of my favorite sandalwood perfumes. Just the right amount of spice, too.

Purchased a decant of this because the description sounded intriguing and like something I would wear.

I do love the original Boucheron for women and this scent has the same elegant fashioning.

It projects in the mid range and on me, lasted about 6-7 hours.

I initially got a burst of the santal/sandalwood, then it dried down into a white musky/cedar shavings vibe.

This could be worn by anyone and would work well as an every day scent, natural and not overbearing.

It reminds me very much in the beginning of Sensuous, one of my top 10 scents....but it lacks the intoxicating warmth of it.

Very nice, but not sure it is FB worthy for me when I prefer Sensuous.

I have smelt similar elsewhere. A typical classy Boucheron scent. I would say it's spot on unisex. A touch more masculine than vanilla zanzibar.
Sandalwood, cardamom and pepper. If there was plum as well then I would say it bore a resemblance to SL feminite du Bois.
A spicy wood scent. I did wonder at first if there was ginger in there.
It's very pleasant but it doesn't make me want to buy. I might give my decant to my oh. It should smell great on him.
I can't say it evolves at all.
Good longevity and arm length silage.

Very nice realistic santal wood scent, but disappears very quick.

Inoffensive, smooth, clean santal wood. It is not too heavy, not too dry, but also,if it makes sense, not too fresh. It is just a delicate, bit woody, nice santal fragrance. Good projection and longevity.

If you love santal wood, this could be the perfect scent for office or for warmer days.

This is an exquisite presentation of sandalwood, smoothly blended and never powdery or 'soapy'. It is bliss in a bottle. It isn't harsh and chemical like Nest White Sandalwood, not as subtle and fleeting as KM's Boise Blond, not as dry as Commodity's Special Reserve not overwhelmed by spices as is Caswell & Massey's Sandalwood. Byblos' Sandalwood is very very dry. I love Sandalwood and this is the perfect sandalwood fragrance for me. Boucheron fragrances are, in my opinion, unmatched. I miss the original 'Jaipur'.

4/10

I’m picking up cardamon and spices over a bed of sandalwood. I don’t pick up the florals. The opening is lovely, and Santal de Kandy never over powers.

I’m wearing this on a sunny mild fall day. I have a feeling it would perform better in warmer weather, as Kandy stays close. I think you could wear this to the office and no one would care. I’m testing from a small spray tester, I wish I could apply it more liberally.

After all the Boucheron’s that have disappointed me, this one (and Néroli d'Ispahan, which I love) make up for all of them. I like it, even though Kandy is on the quiet side.

its pleasant yet not offensive. good longevity and sillage.

i would prefer to wear it in office settings and also in warm day casual outings. it has luxurious vibes. i love it.

Great for summer under 30 degrees. Generously applied it will last for long time ;-)

Woody, cedary smooth sandalwood with a very slight hint of cardamom spiciness in the background.

Great for classy spring/fall days.

7.75 / 10.

Creamy sweet and spicy sandalwood. Not strong at all yet it stays on all day. Perfect for hot climates, day or night.

Very well done, classy sandalwood scent.

Opens with a peppery spicy(cardamom) sandalwood+cedarwood. I detect no sour notes at all. Floral notes never compete but subtly hide in the background. The interplay between the spices and woods is perfect. Dries down to a quality sandalwood. Very unisex. Not too powdery. Sillage is moderate. Longevity is good. Definitely worth a try. Glad to have bought a bottle

Just got a bottle
It open with fresh spiced cardamomy sandlawood and later dries down to more powdery sandalwood with clean feeling to
It
Very nice, luxury smell

This is a very smooth warm weather daytime scent suitable for office. Discreet and subtle. You can take a bath with it and it won't become cloying. 

The opening is beautiful, smooth sandal, totally unisex. But the dry down leans more to feminine scents. Still I think is quite safe for both genders though. 

It opens with smooth & dominant sandalwood with a citrusy vibe, maybe a tiny bergamot note mixed with it or just the natural light sourness of the sandalwood. As time passes emerges a smooth cardamom note which becomes stronger as time passes. I also get mild black pepper and violet which blends perfectly with the cardamom. They feel like one note. The violet is safe. No metallic or sour qualities just the aroma. There's a woody/dusty-powdery sub-sweet vibe which characterize the whole blend and a tiny faint jasmin note at the background. The cedar comes at the late dry down.

Overall I get a warm spicy, woody scent with a sub-sweet and slightly sour sandalwood/cardamom/cedarwood combo with some spice and a tiny floral note.

It is a subtle long lasting scent with moderate sillage. Projection is moderate to soft and quite quickly settles close to the skin. Elegant scent not in your face. I like it, I'm not impressed but still I believe it's one of the best of this house.

Clarins is really upping their game now with Boucheron after losing distribution rights to Burberry.