BIBBI
x Santal (x Skins)

2023

PERFUMER
Jerome Epinette

cardamom
sandalwood

orris
papyrus
shea butter
violet

amber
vanilla
musk

Made in collaboration with Skins Cosmetics.

Someone at Skins Cosmetics must love Santal 33, because I believe this is the third of their collaborations (after Vilhelm and Salle Privee) that has hints of Santal 33 in it.

In the case of Bibbi’s x Santal, it’s one of the fresh, greener takes on ‘sandalwood’. The type of ‘cucumbery’ sandalwood that’s unanymous with the Le Labo, so it’s easy to make the comparison. It’s definitely not a 1 to 1 similar scent, but you will likely either enjoy both or dislike both. Whereas the Salle Privee collaboration differed a bit more, this feels genuinely familiar.

You get a crunchy, rather sharp green with a bit of citrus, instantly followed by some of the more milky quality.

I’ve never tried Bibbi Santal Beauty, but that one has been compared to Matiere Premiere Parisian Musc and this x Santal doesn’t seem too far off either.

It grows into a very familiar smelling, but also rather pleasant woody scent, with some milkiness, some dry wood shavings, some sweetness, but befitting of the woody scent. And for a long time you keep the cucumberish, bitter green tinge. It feels a tad more woody and warm than the industrial Santal 33, but I don’t like the Bibbi as much.

Overall, this is solid (it wears nicer on me than the x Vanilla collaboration with Skins), but it’s also clearly redundant and uninspired. There are many options for this scent profile and this is average, middle of the pack at best, similar to the Skins x Vilhelm collaboration.