DIOR
SANTAL NOIR

2018

PERFUMER
Francois Demachy

Sandalwood
Ambrette
Turkish Rose

‘Sandalwood is a sacred wood with warm, milky and cozy nuances. I’ve shaken it up with potent Ambrette, which blends hints of fruit, liqueur, amber and musk. It gives this round, enveloping wood a good dose of energy, emphasized by a highly expressive Turkish Rose Essence.’ – Francois Demachy

‘NAME
Santal Noir is a fragrance with a name that reflects the desire for an authentic olfactory composition, like raw wood. Sandalwood is combined with the black of ambrette, hence the name Santal Noir. A fragrance with a contrasting trail.

CHARACTER
Santal Noir is the olfactory interpretation of effusion. A scent of contradictions, at once soft and dynamic, subtle and expressive.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURE
The milky softness of Sandalwood is spiked with the fruity and musky notes of Ambrette.

COLOR
The warm brown of Sandalwood and the black of ambrette, a chromatic pairing of both shadow and light.

FAMILY
Sensual and woody. Santal Noir gives a sensual quality to the precious woods of Maison Christian Dior. The Santal Noir fragrance derives its sensuality from the milky fullness that emerges from the Sandalwood, stirred by potent Ambrette and eloquent Turkish Rose.

INTENSITY
Santal Noir is a powerful fragrance that becomes one with the skin, a captivating fragrance worn as a reflection of one’s personality.’ – Dior

To me, this is Santal Noir is one of the better newer Maison Christian Dior releases. It feels a bit redundant alongside Oud Rosewood and Oud Ispahan, but it might be the best of the bunch. Well, redundant might not be the right word, as they are definitely different, but they don’t feel like new directions for this line. But as I said, I also think it’s great, so let’s dive in.

I named Oud Ispahan before, but it’s actually Guerlain’s excellent Santal Royal that shares similarities with Santal Noir most to my nose. However, whereas Santal Royal is a quite a heavy beast, with a rougher edge and a pronounced oud, Santal Noir feels more sophisticated and the rose seems brighter. In both the cases of Oud Ispahan and Santal Royal; I bought them before trying this, but think I might have chosen Santal Noir over them if I’d tried it earlier.

This opens with a beautiful rose and there’s a rather strong, tart, acidity. Accompanied by a very woody, but dry sandalwood note. It is dry and smooth in the way Fragrance Du Bois Sahraa is to me, so it’s a wonderful texture. I think there’s a lot of ambrette in this and the rose develops into something more fruity. You definitely get sweetness here as well, though not overly so. It’s more of a honeyed floral sweetness to my nose.

Within the hour the dryness makes way for a more milky sandalwood, though occasionally it still feels a bit powdery on my skin. The scent becomes darker as it loses some of the acidity and a dried fruitiness comes through more, yet I still get a hint of soapiness coming from the rose to offset it. The sandalwood remains prominent throughout, so the name is fitting.

I’m really loving this release and I’m considering one day getting it in my collection in favor or Guerlain Santal Royal (which opens more conventionally as a rose-oud and takes hours to reach the sandalwood stage in the way Santal Noir instantly does). I definitely prefer it over Oud Rosewood (on first impression) and I think it’s different enough to own alongside Oud Ispahan, so even though I hope Dior gets a bit more creative with this line, I’m sold on Santal Noir.