In short: sandalwood smells soft, creamy and warm. It is a wood note, but a smooth and rounded one, closer to a polished wooden bowl or a cedar chest lined with silk than to a pine forest. There is often a faint milky sweetness to it.
What sandalwood smells like
Most people describe sandalwood as creamy, buttery or milky wood. It has none of the sharp, dry edge of cedar or the smoke of birch. Good sandalwood is quiet. It does not jump out of a candle, but it gives everything around it a warm, rounded base and it lasts a long time.
Where it comes from
True sandalwood comes from the heartwood of slow-growing trees in the Santalum family. The most famous is Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), from Mysore in southern India. Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) is drier and a little greener. The trees take decades to develop fragrant heartwood, and overharvesting made Indian sandalwood so scarce that its trade is now tightly controlled.
Because of that, most sandalwood in modern perfume and candles comes from aroma molecules made to recreate it. Our candles use fragrance oils, not the raw wood oil, which is how we can keep the scent consistent and avoid adding to the pressure on wild trees.
How it is used
Sandalwood is a base note. It sits at the bottom of a fragrance and carries it, which is why it shows up in so many blends that don't advertise it. It also has a long history in incense and in religious practice across India and East Asia.
What it pairs with
- Rose and jasmine, for a classic soft floral
- Vanilla and amber, for something warm and cozy
- Cardamom and other spices, for a richer, more masculine feel
- Cedarwood, to sharpen it with a drier wood
Our candles with sandalwood
- Santal: sandalwood at the center, with cardamom, cedar, amber and musk.
- Poseidon: sandalwood under sea salt, ozone and dark musk.
- Orange Blossom: a bright floral resting on a soft sandalwood base.
- Chapel Sanctuary: sandalwood with frankincense, oud and amber, like an old stone church.
Common questions
Is sandalwood a masculine scent? It is used a lot in men's colognes, but on its own it is gentle and creamy. It reads as warm rather than masculine or feminine.
Why is real sandalwood oil so expensive? The trees grow slowly, only mature heartwood is fragrant, and Indian sandalwood is protected. Supply is small and demand is high.
For more on the oil itself, see our older post on sandalwood oil.
Explore more notes in our Fragrance Notes A to Z, or browse our Woody & Earthy candles.