Serge Lutens — Santal de Mysore

Decanting from 2011 Bell Jar.

The most polarizing of the three Lutens sandalwoods — and the most rewarding for those who surrender to it. The opening is a full cumin-and-spice assault, hot and almost culinary, that either reads as glorious or as something you'd rather not smell like in public. Give it an hour. What emerges is extraordinary: buttery, resinous Mysore sandalwood — the real thing, sourced before trade restrictions made it effectively extinct — threaded with caramelized benzoin, saffron, and styrax into something simultaneously ancient and deeply sensual. The drydown flips between wet and creamy and bone-dry aromatic dust in a way that's genuinely hypnotic. Not for the cumin-averse. A decant before committing is essential.

Notes:

Top notes: Cumin, Saffron, Wild Carrot
Middle notes: Mysore Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Spices
Base notes: Styrax, Benzoin, Caraway