Eau de Santal
Floris (2002)

Floris Santal Review:

This fragrance starts of with a fairly subdued spicy opening. The spiciness comes from the cardamom mixed with a hint of pepper. Just like with everything else in this scent, the pepper never feels brash or abrasive to your senses. Sitting behind this spicy concoction is just a little bit of citrus.

The opening then leads into a soft lavender mid, with a creamy sandalwood base. It amazingly accomplishes all of this with a fresh airiness to it all. It's a beautiful fragrance in it's simplicity and is one of my absolute favorites.

This is one of the fragrances that gets compared to the classic Gucci Envy on occasion. From what I have tried, this is the smell that reminds me of Envy the most. It just so happens, that for my personal tastes, I actually prefer this one. It has a lighter and brighter smell to it than Gucci. It lacks the ginger and incense of Envy. They are certainly two unique fragrances that should be appreciated as separate entities. Still, this is a great pick up for those who miss that Envy dry down.

This is a perfect fragrance to add to your Fall and Spring Rotations. Also, if you find the Extreme version I would definitely pick it up. It's a bit stronger than the original and would be quite a find.

Best Age Group- 30+
Best Season(s)- Fall/Spring
Occasions- Formal, Work, Casual
Projection/Sillage- Moderate
Longevity- 7 Hours
Smell- 10/10
Overall- 10/10

YouTube Channel: theaveragecologneguy

Here is my review of Floris Eau de Santal that I had obtained as a free sample recently:

A really nice opening with gentle bergamot locking arms with cloves, cardamom, and subtle pepper. Lavender soon creeps in and holds sway over all of these notes, and my mind starts to wrack away as to which fragrances I'd experienced in the past that smell like THIS?!

As the crinkly Rolodex spins wildly in my mind, I behold a smooth patchouli emerge with its lovely herb-like powderiness. I then ask myself, which other scents have resembled this classy, powdery oriental?

Ahh, yes...Jaipur pour Homme by Boucheron! Of course.

This scent is dialed down many levels from the intensity of Boucheron. Yet, it ends up like a delicate, spicy powdery oriental that is right up my alley. It is a great daily scent fit for the office or even just casually.

Oh, one more thing: Where's the sandalwood?!

I checked another popular fragrance site, and I obtained this list of notes:

Top - bergamot, amalfi lemon, grass, pepper, cardamom
Heart - clove, lavender, nutmeg
Base - amber, Virginia cedar, olibanum, musk, vetiver, vanilla, *SANDALWOOD* [emphasis mine]

SO there's nutmeg, cedar, musk, vetiver, and SANDALWOOD here as well. Makes sense, and it explains the nooks and crannies of other notes I'd detected but couldn't put my finger on.

Smooth, very wearable, safe in terms of projection.

Floris Eau de Santal is a serviceable or everyday office fragrance, but not a true Santal or sandalwood fragrance IMO. Sandalwood isn't listed as a note, but the overall scent slightly conjures a sandalwood scent. The main them is a clove and vanilla, with the woody base supporting underneath. It gives the impression one would get from sandalwood, but since sandalwood is a difficult note to sustain, it works as well without it.

EdS is very soft in sillage and projection and doesn't last more than 3hrs with an additional hour of skin scent, which would keep me from purchasing it. A good scent none the less, but nothing more than Neutral from me.

Eau de Santal is the shy, more educated and sophisticated older brother of Gucci Envy.
While Eau de Santal is reading a book in his Oxford study room (Lady Chatterley's Lover, for science), his little more extravert brother is taking a ride in the woods with his dog, after his work as a gardener.
It almost reminds me as the less velvety, less sweet version of Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme.
It is very rounded, smooth, not much sillage, nice drydown.
I get smooth lavender, spices, vanilla, all very smooth, not strong, but delicate and natural.
It can be used in every situation, it is so rounded, fresh, sophisticated.
I wish it was stronger. It can be a signature scent, it's made of good ingredients by the old house of Floris.
I bought it straight from their internet shop, came in a nice wrapped, ribboned package, and a nice sample.
Though, for 99 Euro, I will not buy again, it's just too quiet, nice for me.
I like it more loud.
projection: 7 (out of 10)
longevity: 8/9
overall: 8

Reminds me of LIDG The first time I tried EDS I was underwhelmed, but after trying it again I am pretty impressed. It smells great, kind of reminds me of summer evenings getting ready for an exciting night...like that calm before the storm. It actually reminds me of LIDG without the lipstick note. Smells: Soft, flowery, powdery, yet with an undertone of aggression. I can't really describe the notes beyond the powdery sweetness. Unfortunately, I don't think it's something that I would like to wear, nor is it something I'd like to smell on a woman, unless it is a much more mature or older woman.Pros: Soft and subtleCons: Lacks sillage"

Spicy vanillaA smooth, lightly-spiced vanilla. Unlike many vanilla-dominant scents it isn't heavy, cloying, nor too sweet for non-teenagers. I don't know where the name 'Santal' comes from, I can't detect any. As others have noted, there's a resemblance to Gucci Envy for Men but Envy is much denser and Santal lacks amber and ginger. A heavily-diluted Jaipur Homme might be nearer the mark. Dubious comparisons aside, it's a versatile, office-safe, affable oriental, light enough to wear year round, with appropriate dosing. Longevity is good but sillage is low. I get 8 subdued hours from 5 sprays. P.S. this layers well with the inexpensive Crabtree and Evelyn Sandalwood, which amplifies the spice notes.Pros: Versatile, good longevityCons: No sandalwood