Sandalwood

Sandalwood is the wood that smells of skin. It is creamy, soft and warm in a way that no other wood approaches, and it has been burned in temples and rubbed on bodies for thousands of years. The sandalwood I use comes from the other side of the world from the temples, and it is drier, wilder and, to my nose, more honest.

What sandalwood is

Our sandalwood is steam distilled from the heartwood, branches and root ball of Santalum spicatum, the Western Australian sandalwood, a slow growing hemiparasitic tree that draws part of its nourishment from the roots of its neighbours. The oil is rich in santalols, the molecules that give all sandalwoods their creamy warmth, but it carries a different balance from the Indian species and a distinct resinous, myrrh like facet that makes it drier and more complex. The whole tree is used, including the roots, which hold some of the richest oil.

Where our sandalwood comes from

Ours comes from Western Australia, where Santalum spicatum grows across the dry inland woodlands and is harvested both from the wild, under strict quotas, and from plantations planted to secure the future of the species. The hot, dry, ancient soils of the region grow trees slowly, over decades, and the oil that results is dry and resinous rather than sweet and milky. It is sandalwood shaped by drought, and its restraint is what I wanted beneath oud.

How sandalwood smells

Dry, soft, woody and balsamic, sweet, with a myrrh like nuance and a creamy finish. It is less milky than Indian sandalwood and more resinous, with a faint dry spice, and it lasts on the skin for a full day.

Sandalwood in our chapters

• VIISultanat OudThe Deep Roots · in the base

  In Sultanat Oud it lies beneath the oud beside guaiacwood, the creamy wood of the deep roots that softens the leather above it.

• VIIIRoyale OudThe Taproot · in the base

  In Royale Oud it is one of the great woods of the taproot, the sandalwood among the cedars and resins.

A note from the atelier

Oud and sandalwood are the two oldest perfume woods in the world, and they have never been strangers. In my two deepest chapters they lie together, the one leathery and the other creamy, and each makes the other kinder.

Questions about sandalwood