Thread: Looking for a good Sandlewood aftershave

Porasso shaving soap has a great sandalwood scent. The problem is, they don't offer that scent in an aftershave.
I ordered in a Sandalwood aftershave blindly from a company and it was ok, but not the Porasso scent.
I took a sniff of Sandalwood at an Art of Shaving store. It was Sandlewood, but not something I would want to splash on.
Any recommendations on brands to try?

I like Taylors of Old Bond St Sandalwood, Its quite cheap too. Geo F Trumpers is also great but more expensive. Not sure if either of them smell like the Porasso,they all seem to differ from brand to brand. Try and get some samples or go into a store and see what you like. One thing to consider is that a scent will change once on for a while and will smell different on different people.

Maggard razors has a great selection of samples.

Being a fan of Proraso sandalwood myself I don't think you would like the TOBS but, YMMV. It just isn't sandalwood to me. It is very perfumey. I have a tub of the cream I bought before I realized this. Only used it a couple of times. To be fair i haven't tried the aftershave but, I'm told their scents match up pretty well. If you do like the TOBS you will be set though as they have a very complete line of sandalwood products. Shampoo, talc, deodorant, etc.

I have a sample of the Trumper's skinfood and while I do like it again; it isn't very "sandalwoody". I've also tried the EJ and GFT sandalwood creams and guess what. No sandalwood to my nose. Good creams; just not sandalwood.

I'm not saying don't try these because as we know YMMV and scents can be very different to different people. For example I love the AOS sandalwood and would certainly "splash it on". I do have the aftershave gel and the post shave balm. The only reason I don't have the pre-shave product is that I don't care for the oils.

There are a lot of sandalwoods out there so if you are diligent you will probably find what you are looking for. Please let me know if you do. Try searching some of the old sandalwood threads on this site and others as this topic has come up several times before and you may find some good suggestions there. Good luck!

Neckbone,

Several brands of Sandlewood aftershave come to mind. The one from The Art of Shaving is actually a cologne and not a splash. You need just a couple squirts and that will last you much of the day. It is also alcohol free.

Taylor of Old Bond Street's Sandalwood splash was too medicinal for me and I dumped it. St. Charles Shave also makes a sandalwood you might want to try.

The sandalwood splash made by D.R. Harris receives many positive reviews, so start there.

Obie, I've resisted buying the AOS cologne because it is an EDT and as such I thought it wouldn't last very long. I know YMMV but you seem to be saying that it has decent staying power. If that is the case I could certainly justify the expense as I love the scent.

Ted, in my experience, the AOS has staying power for at least several hours. It's worth the try. Also, as I noted, the D.R. Harris Sandalwood is well received, although I have never tried it.

Originally Posted by tedh75

Obie, I've resisted buying the AOS cologne because it is an EDT and as such I thought it wouldn't last very long. I know YMMV but you seem to be saying that it has decent staying power. If that is the case I could certainly justify the expense as I love the scent.

Here's a section, among a much longer article in Wikipedia, about fragrance concentration. As it states, EDT is, typically, twice as concentrated as EDC.

Originally Posted by JBHoren

Here's a section, among a much longer article in Wikipedia, about fragrance concentration. As it states, EDT is, typically, twice as concentrated as EDC.

Thanks JB. I have read that article I believe. After reading a few threads on basenotes as well as a couple of other fragrance forums I've tended to steer clear of EDT in favor of EDP as those sources recommend. The reason being that EDP is a better value based mainly on staying power and based on personal experience I find I'm usually happier with an EDP. I really only called it a cologne because Obie did and I wanted everyone to know what I was talking about. Most of us know now that the generic "cologne for men perfume for women" isn't accurate. I didn't know that six months ago however. I know that different perfume house vary in their concentrations within those categories and some houses call certain products by one name when others would label it as something else. I've also read that scents last longer on oily skin types as opposed to dry skin types so your mileage may truly vary.

That being said It sounded like Obie had personal experience with the AOS EDT and I wanted to confirm that he was pleased with its staying power. At $75 a bottle I would want it to last more than an hour or two. Thanks again for the info and if anyone wants to know more basenotes is a great resource. I don't recall the names of the other sites at the moment.

D.R. Harris tops my list for sandalwood after shaves. It is a step up in power from TOBS.

Originally Posted by lz6

D.R. Harris tops my list for sandalwood after shaves. It is a step up in power from TOBS.

I've found DRH sandalwood too strong to use as a splash. When I use it, I add a cole drops to my bay rum and splash that on. The bay rum scent quickly subsides and the sandalwood carries on. The first time I used DRH sandalwood I splashed it on like I normally would with an aftershave and nearly passed out from the scent. I find it very powerful.