Sandalo
Etro (1989)

A really great take on sandalwood. It reminds me of my personal favorite sandalwood Santal Noble - opulent sawdust surrounded by wisps of chypre tones and sweet amber, but while Santal Noble puts the focus squarely on the sandalwood, Sandalo mixes the same ingredients differently, such that the supporting players (bitter chypre greens and sweet amber incense) are more forward. I've really enjoyed this.

From the starting moment I am getting a soft, elegant sandalwood note that is intermingled with orange and a soft rose. In the drydown it turns more floral; the rose is complemented by geranium, remining me of the scents of my childhood. Later a very gentle amber/patchouli note with vanilla forms a gradually fading base. The sandal is always embedded in the orchestra of the other scents and never is a solo performer. Beautifully blended of high-quality ingredients, with decent silage and projection; total longevity is over six hours. A fine sandal+ scent for warmer autumn days.

I'm totally rewriting this review after having tested this fragrance more properly- spraying from a bottle instead of dabbing from a sample – but mostly after having smelled it widely on my partner .
Sandalo is a lovely, masterfully crafted essay on sandalwood. The SA at Etro boutique defined it “a sandalwood in a Western perspective”, as opposed to some more spicy, heavy and heady “Oriental” sandalwood fragrances . I can't say myself for sure, in any case, the balance between the soft, freshly floral opening (rose, geranium and a delicious, slightly sugary lilac accord) and the wooden heart and base- rounded and polished sandalwood, of course, and a more bitter and stern cedarwood- is beautifully mantained with the aid of some peppery spices and plushy, enveloping musk. The result is a perfectly unisex, elegant, I would say urban fragrance, with a muted amount of exoticism that prevents it from slipping into boring conventionality.

Does Etro still make this? Picked up Sandalo a few years back and it's a light woody scent if there ever was one. Is there real sandalwood oil in here? I would seem to think so as sandalwood is a very intricate and multi-faceted material from what I've smelled over the years. Sandalo plays on your nose: is sandalwood this smoky and rubbery or are they ancillary notes that were added to enhance the juice? I would lean toward the former but I'll never know. What I do know is Sandalo is a fine ode to sandalwood and is one of the best out there. The question is: Can you still find it?

I don't consider this to be that much of a sandalwood fragrance. It is clearly more of a case of cedarwood- patchouli- animalic musk accord. It reminds me quite a bit of Zino (1986), only in very much lighter and subtle form.

Sandalo wears close to skin for a decent amount of time. Suitable for both sexes equally.

I think this is a nice little scent - it's well made and everything, but I just think it is not adabtly named fragrance at all ("Piccolo Ligneo Animale Oppuro Qualcosa" would have been better name for it), since it naturally gives one an impression of a true, sandalwood dominant scent. (And yes, I don't think it's that, not by any means)
There is that buttery sandalwood note in the blend, and it's detectible, but it goes winding in the shadows.

This, like everything else from Etro, has unfortunately gone through re-formulation at least once. (Some have actually been touched two or even three times)
I have only tried the original, vintage formulation of Sandalo.

There is a sort of exoticism in each Etro's scent which never fails to intrigue me and so in this case does Sandalo. This fragrance is a very likeable stuff, it's a woody oriental with an exotic spicy tail (quite close to MPeG Parfum d'Habit under my profane nose), a discreet and delightful fragrance based on amber, patchouli and sandalwood. The scent itself is woody and mellow (by precious resins and fruits) but there is a certain touch of smoky incense or hints of a sort of bitter licorice or burnt caramel kind of presence in the background which i like so much. The introduction is citrusy-floral with orange and rose that exude a delicate and bit exotic initial mild fruity/floral whiff. The middle notes settle on the olfactory ground a woody rooty stable heart. Each element stands at its right place in order to create a perfectly orchestrated general balance. Sandalwood is prominent with its real woody, resinous (in this case) temperament, patchouli provides noble boldness, the cedar a boise and luxurious sour (restrained) touch to balance the oriental following base and the lavender expresses green "laundry" tradition and a touch woodsy freshness. The woody, dry heart which lists a touch of lavender preludes a soapy oriental base which lists dreamy myrrh, amber and musk. I perceive the ambery magic touch and the woodsy temperament by musk. The amber-musk link introduces a sort of woodsy soapiness whereof the green temperament is not deflected by just an hint of myrrh. The combination between amber, myrrh, woodsy and rooty elements reminds to me slightly that one operating in the exotic old Vetiver Guerlain. The sweetness is moderate and is the type of natural one inherent the elements as woods and amber.  This is a very delicious and distinguished scent utterly refined for each occasion. Even if longevity is not the best imaginable i assign to it a full thumps up cause is one of the fragrances i love more in all this magic but dangerous (for my wallet) olfactory universe.

A crisp,slightly camphoric rendition of sandalwood,but as with so many members of the Etro family,it needs more stamina to make it worthy of a full bottle purchase.It is not a bad example of its kind, but it lacks the quality and invention to be considered a real success.One of the better examples from this house, but my search for a true gem continues.

A very nice frag. Dry and bitter. I gave it 4 stars. I would give it more had it been more rich and persistent. Otherwise a good parfum. But not feminine.

I guess Burberry Brit Gold was an attempt to copy this one. BBG is stronger, spicier, and a bit harsher, but otherwise very similar. Both have a "bare" quality that I'm not sure that I can enjoy for more than short periods of time. In contrast, I can enjoy the sandalwood/gourmand fragrance, Python by Trussardi (the "women's" one), for hours. I'm not a huge sandalwood fan anyway, so I'll give this a neutral and let the sandalwood lovers discuss this in the context of a "sandalwood fragrance."

I don't know how to explain this, but so far all Etro fragrances that I know are in different ways true to their visual philosophy. Just look at the patterns on the fabrics. Me, they always give me the atmosphere of an antiques shop, and at the same time are so contemporary, that one can think this is what the future should look like. A "New tradition", indeed. You can almost tell it looks like your grandma's, but there's something in it... And somehow this feeling has been translated in Etro's fragrances as well. Quite literally, Sandalo smells almost like a box of sandalwood incense sticks and old furniture. But there's something in it....There's creaminess, there are hints of raw black smoke and patchouli, there's warmness and there is a distant challenge of something savage, which you don't find in the otherwise comforting smell of pure sandalwood incense.This is from 1989. Now, here there are many fragrances from that times that are praised out of respect or out of nostalgia. 20 years later, this one is completely wearable, sexy, mind-challenging. What more can be said?

The pickins are mighty slim in the Santal Forest these days, and it seems fruitless to debate which ones smell most like the real Mysore deal since the answer is probably d) none of the above. Etro's Santal (or at least my decant from a recent vintage) has absolutely no plot, but sure smells good which is more than one can say about Original Santal, the Floris, Lutens and Micheri sandalwoods, which IMO falsly trumpet the word "Mysore" in their names or notes. That being said, the Floris pales in the presence of Sandalwoods that actually contain a healthy slug of Mysore--Creed's Bois De Santal, which costs about 5 times as much, smells about 31.4 times better and as such will get my full bottle money if I can ever find it. I give this a thumbs up only because I always give frags that smell good a thumbs up regardless of their high artistry or lack thereof.

This is a wonderful fragrance. Just received my bottle and I was quite impressed. I was not at all looking to buy, however, after taking a sniff of this stuff I had to buy. The drydown is that of powdery and sandlewood; (very similar to Sandlewood by The Art of Shaving) very soft, yet, masculine. You have got to try this for youself. This is a very long lasting fragrance....all day. My wife loved this! This fragrance is very mild, not at all aggressive , however, it does give its 75 cents though.