Reviews of Sandalwood Cologne by Geo F Trumper

And it is when I had almost lost all hope of finding a worthy replacement for my beloved Egoiste (original version from 90's), that I bought this perfume, blindly relying for the first time only on what I have read around on the internet. Thank goodness the reviews weren't wrong. It is very reminiscent of Egoiste by Chanel, it is true, and it is just as beautiful but also different, while maintaining that very spicy, creamy, slightly sweet and woody accord ... wonderful!

EDIT

after a few days of use, I can only confirm the first impressions and specify some points. It is true that it recalls Egoiste but, unlike the Chanel, this Geo F. Trumper is more scratchy and less round, less floral (the rose does not feel like in Egoiste) and the sandalwood is less evident being more covered by spicy notes. Even the base, late drying, is sweeter in the Trumper, where the sweet and soft but not cloying note of vanilla clearly emerges. Excellent longevity (more than Egoiste) and more than good projection, really nothing to complain about. I confirm, very promoted! ⁝

This came with much recommendation and is surprisingly concentrated and substantive for a Trumper cologne. What I mean is that this does really project, has depth, and lasts for hours, more like an eau de parfum.

There is a splendid atmosphere to it, with notable floral elements such as jasmine and geranium that exalt a smooth, gorgeous sandalwood.

Really, this is the kind of sandalwood that I seek and seldom find: woody, yet creamy, ever so slightly oily and sharp, but just wonderfully sheer, too. I could be convinced that there was genuine Mysore, though my nose surely deceives me, as that would be impossible.

10/10

I had long used the Trumper Sandalwood Skin Food and Shower Gel. This smells just like those and is a very nice extension of that creamy sandalwood scent.

It is very nice, but kind of defies easy categorization. It's inordinately pleasant. Not particularly masculine or feminine. Good for work or casual days.

It is probably a given that Egoiste fans would like this. It's kind of like a vastly simplified Egoiste A touch of citrus and vanilla, mainly sandalwood. Lacks the spice and rosey aspects of Egoiste.

Though a "cologne" has pretty good legs but a bit lacking longevity wise for me. It's a comfortable easy reach with a more prominent sandalwood than many are probably used to wearing.

A classic, British-style citrus-sandalwood-vanilla scent, but with one of the richest, most satisfying sandalwood notes you can find outside of vintage perfumery.

This is a beautiful gentlemanly sandalwood cologne that has a large citric and vanilla feel to it. The opening to my nose is notes of creamy, sweet sandalwood coupled with lemon and vanilla, while the drydown...It's really creamy in scent, like a custard made of sandalwood oil if that makes sense. Apparently a lot of people compare this to Chanel's classic sandalwood fragrance known as Egoiste (though I haven't smelled that one). This fragrance is also a near perfect pairing with Proraso Red aftershave as it contains a near identical sandalwood note to the one in this fragrance. Projection for this cologne is strong while longevity is also good at over 6 hours of good projection. It actually performs like an eau de parfum rather than a 'cologne', and I presume it probably is one. Overall, it's in my top 3 sandalwood fragrances of all time, along with Tom Ford Santal Blush and the discontinued Art of Shaving Sandalwood EDT.

4/5

It just smells like Egoiste. Egoiste and me are not friends. It is just one fragrance that I really can't stand.

If you like Egoiste you will love this. Plus it lasts a really long time for a cologne.

Having not read the reviews of this, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and complexity of Trumper's Sandalwood Cologne. The sandalwood note itself is the buttery lumberyard type, and it's paired up with a complicated mix that's familiar from feminine "fruitchouli" perfumes (bright violets, strawberry, cherry, rose, jammy patchouli, and cloves) that kind of smells like fruity lipsick mixed with red wine. It also hints at baby powder and dries down to vanilla suede.

I can understand the Egoiste references, but there are elements of Lipstick Rose and Feminite du Bois in here as well. That being said, Sandalwood holds its own, clearly displaying its influences while insistently maintaining its own personality. Nice work.

What I like about Trumper fragrances, as well as those of similar companies such as Truefitt & Hill, is that no matter how far they depart from the accords of a traditional eau de cologne, they still retain a lot of the form and function of the same.

The most obvious comparison I can draw for Sandalwood is Trumper's own Spanish Leather. The two are clearly part of the same evolutionary line; just different clades. Spanish Leather is darker in tone, Sandalwood somehow "blonder"; yet both of them immediately impart those "sensual waves" of fragrance that Trumper's is so fond of talking about.

Sandalwood starts off immediately spicy for me, and I don't really detect much of the citrus that others talk of. However, the idea and execution of a heart made up entirely of florals is interesting, and to have this retain a masculinity is a terrific achievement. But it's all about the waves of spice, wood, and vanilla, with perhaps just a touch of leather. Spanish Leather seems to attract condescension for its inclusion or otherwise or strong leather notes; Sandalwood, by virtue of its name, has no such pretensions, and appears to gain a critical benefit for it.

This is high quality stuff, and has set off my interest in these spicy eau de colognes again. I suspect that it won't too long before I add one of them to my collection. I would recommend Sandalwood to anyone, and suggest that it's an inexpensive way of getting started for enthusiastic newcomers who want to explore male perfumery beyond the easily available designers on the high street.

The opening of this on initial spray is similar to the wonderful moment of initially spraying Egoiste, the beauty of the sandalwood having been waiting to escape. From there, it is a different perfume with its own merits, with citrus playing a role.

The longevity is fantastic, I can smell it throughout the wearing, and there is an agreeable development to a sweet, skin-scent base. I only know of this perfume brand from someone sending me an unsolicited sample, but I am mightily impressed, and curious to try more of their perfumes.

Majestic alternation of spicy hesperides (lemon but also orange I suppose), floral notes, aldehydes, aromatic patterns, balmy sandalwood and starring leather waving in a perfect symphony harmony. What a surprise! Synthetically lovely. The leather/suede is soon fruity-floral, peachy-like, aromatic (notable lavender), joyful, spicy (coriander, cloves, cinnamon, may be cumin) and silky. I'm absolutely smitten by the Egoiste's flashback (and vaguely catch the Biagiotti Roma Uomo/Paloma Picasso Minotauro's vibe). Patchouli, rose/carnation, cinnamon, prickly-aromatic spices, sandalwood and amber/vanilla come up gradually increasing the Egoiste's vibe in the air (probably the Chanel's one standing out more spicy-oriental in vibe- due to a stronger ambrette seeds presence- while Geo F. Trumper Sandalwood playing more suede veined and woody). The prickly dusty sweet spices play a basic role in order to enrich the wake (together with hesperides, suede, oriental notes and woods). The final wake is warm, dusty, vaguely minty (still the lavender in the background) and fruity (like orangy-peachy) in a virile way.
P.S= not for the lovers of typical sandalwoods.

Regardless of the negative reviews of this fragrance, I'm giving this a thumbs up!

Why? We'll firstly, let's not slate the fragrance for not being 100% crystal and diamond! like you'd expect from Creed, tom ford, etc etc.
It's a very very affordable delightful and long lasting fragrance, which I don't think is sickly or deserves a negative for its failure to not be perfectly sandalwood or patchouli. (there are MANY more frag houses that do the same and charge you 4 times the price for the privelige)
Secondly, anything purchased for under £40 direct from a house, is not going to be the most long lived and give the most presence, APART from this. Under £40 and it's the longest lasting frag I have tbh, even longer lasting than Creed aventus, and Acqua Di Parma Oud concentree.

In all honesty, if it was £120 for 50ml like some creeds I own, I'd be more likely to think before buying again, but seeing as it's so affordable, and does last, and does smell rather masculine and nice, it's added to my collection for my work days.

For so little money, it's worth a punt.

A great sandalwood scent, waxy, dense, sweet and slightly syrupy but discreetly aromatic, woody, rooty, with a nice aftertaste comprising nuances of hay, patchouli, cocoa, licorice and oak moss. Cumin and cloves, bergamot, a slight floral breeze (lavender) complete the composition. As minutes pass a floral accord emerges better, you smell more clearly the tasty density of rose and carnation, which makes Sandalwood come closer to many 1980's fougères, for example Versace l'Homme. It then finally evolves on a soapy-woody accord, noble and refined, and it also emerges a subtle leather base, nice and well-executed. What I personally do not enjoy after a while is a persistent vanillin note, which works for a while, then becomes a bit cloying, mostly because of its artificial sweetishness. Apart from this, a good scent in the "old school mossy-zesty fragrances" segment.

7-7,5/10

A wonderful rainbow array of florals of Rose, Jasmine & carnation that has a dose of vanilla to make it sweeter. It gets woodier in the basenotes.

This is often compared to Egoiste but I think this smells better and is more easier to wear. I find it to be a real laid back fun and colourful scent though it's pretty light on the Sandalwood if you can detect it.

A real pleasure to wear as it smells rich and opulent , I get about five to six hours before it is a skin scent.

All in all a delight!

I decided to give this one a try as from the reviews it seemed to be close enough to Egoiste to be a decent, cheaper and more widely available substitute.
There is in fact a distant resemblance between the two, but when compared side by side, this one disappears as Egoiste is WAY more intriguing and complex.
I also own the "skin food" lotion of Trumper's sandalwood, and it is very close to the cologne (with the expected shorter olfactory lifespan). I could buy more of the lotion for my after shaving needs, but certainly my experience with the cologne will be limited to the sample

Finally getting around to this one...a real favorite, though it's a bit of an oddity among sandalwood scents. This one took the throne of Egoiste a while back among my sweet wood scents because it didn't have as much harsh blast at the beginning, and seemed slightly more masculine. It's one of those fragrances where the alcohol fumes cover up the first of the top notes, but then they break through: sharp citrus, dry herbs and spices. (This stage lasts for longer on tissue paper than on my usual cloth, where it's brief enough to be inconsequential.) As that fades, more sweet wood comes into play; it's initially a bit medicinal from the remaining herbs, but becoming warmer and creamier. Here begins the stage that most people refer to: a sublimely smooth, mellow, soothing sandalwood/vanilla mix, just slightly soapy, and without the twangy edge that a lot of straight sandalwoods have. Compared to their other offerings, it lasts for an eternity and stays strong all day. I also agree that it's not that different from their Spanish Leather, which lies between this or Egoiste and a sweet herbal leather like Bel Ami. And if Original Vetiver can be good without having much vetiver, then I won't criticize this one for not being a pure, hard-core sandalwood.

A very sweet and creamy laden sandalwood. A nice opening of citrus and herbs followed by the sweetness of tonka and vanilla chiming in. The sandalwood is faint, but ever present and I wouldn't really classify this as a traditional sandalwood fragrance that veers to the light, dry and airy side. This is really a sweet, vanilla fragrance laced with hints of sandalwood and patchouli. Very creamy and long lasting. I actually quite enjoy this for what it is and not for what it says on the front of the bottle.

This is a sweet and sickening mess. If there is a trace of actual sandalwood in Trumper's "Sandalwood", it is quickly overpowered by the gooey sweetness of vanilla. Nauseating vanilla. Cloying vanilla. Oh, there are other trace notes here and there, but they are also overwhelmed by vanilla. If you're into sweet, cotton-candy colognes -- I am definitely not -- then this one's for you. If you're looking for good essence of sandalwood, there are plenty of better choices. Even the bottle is cheesy with its poorly-made faux gold crown. Bought it, tried it once, gave it a second college try - then dumped it on eBay. The only positive comment I can make is that longevity is good. But then, is longevity a virtue when a fragrance smells this bad?

Sandalwood appears to be quite a difficult fragrance to pull off successfully. The genuinely brilliant sandalwoods can be counted on one hand - Floris, Crabtree & Evelyn (moreso the original, though the current version isn't half bad), Caswell Massey, Art of Shaving and Yardley's classic Sandalwood, sadly no longer in production. By rights, Trumper should have come up with quite a good and true sandalwood but, as is the case with Taylors of Old Bond Street sandalwood effort (which is actually worse), all they've managed is a weird and very sweet sort-of woody frag. Heavy on the amber, vanilla, clary sage and white jasmine, the sandalwood and its darker notes (leather, spice, patchouli) seem to be completely lost in the mix, to the point of being non-existent at which point it becomes similar to Trumper's leatherless Spanish Leather (though Spanish Leather is, in itself, very nice juice indeed). One area where Sandalwood excels, unlike most other Trumper releases, is in its longevity and silage - lasts all day on me and a couple of squirts project very well indeed. The only problem is when it's as sweet as it is, you don't really want that longevity or projection. Disappointing, too sweet and nowhere near woody enough.

This is by far the most sickeningly sweet and cloying sandalwood type cologne I have yet try (though the shaving cream is decent). The opening is an indolic blast then creamy woods and super sweet vanilla and tonka bean emerge and stick around for hours.

This is an excellent sandalwood fragrance. I think it's best described as a crude Egoiste, and that's not a bad thing, though it isn't exactly the most unique fragrance I've ever worn. It lacks the polish of Chanel, but it's obvious that it's made of quality materials. It's a sweet, slightly spicy sandalwood with a vanillic base. I actually like this better than Egoiste because of its relative simplicity and its excellent, colorful drydown, which itself is reminiscent of Egoiste's drydown. It also has a subtle soapiness and a slight Habit Rouge-like orange peel note during the first hour, which makes Trumper's Sandalwood smell cleaner than Egoiste. Finally, I am happy to say that this fragrance has excellent longevity; on my skin, I can still smell this about 12 hours after application. Sandalwood is a winner.

A deeply unpleasant experience, saved only by a brief phase close to the end that was smooth, mildly spiced, and what I had hoped for from the beginning. I could have sworn that I sensed the presence of cassis in the opening, it provided an oily hemp like accord that was quite wretched. I would have preferred to have the presence of the sandalwood earlier in this experience, as it would have lent the whole fragrance a much more reassuring seam on which to build. As it is, this is something bizarre and chaotic.

this is a lesson in patience... Preconceptions given the blatant use of sandalwood in the name would lend you to believe that this would be a one man show, but this is very far from the truth. The opening spicy citrus kick is anything but the creamy soft texture you would think a sandalwood fragrance to be. My girlfriend, who has the enhanced olfactory sensitivity of a newly pregnant woman, thought it beautiful on the skin but had a bit of insect repellant sillage. As we lay down to watch American Idol (thank god for DVR) some mysterious changes came to pass. Within fifteen minutes the brutal acid of the citrus top started to quiet, and an extremely sweet (though not cloying) floral santal vanilla started to pulse and waft up from my chest. This is definately an "aura" fragrance, which projects only enough to be detected by those within a couple of feet from you. As everything settles down you are left with a very stark vanilla with just enough sandalwood to keep it from being too sweet. All in all at hour one I would give it a 7, hour two a 9, and hour three forward down to a 8. It definately does not fit the bill as a pure sandalwood fragrance, and after the last few months of smelling vanilla in most of the fragrances I sampled, I cannot give it an enthusiastic thumbs up, but a thumbs up teetering on neutral.

Much like Le Labo's Vetiver 46 "isn't vetiver", Sandalwood Cologne isn't sandalwood. Also much like Vetiver 46, this is a sweet, creamy, incensed sandalwood. Good thing I wasn't expecting a huge sandalwood. I'd be disappointed if it actually was sandalwood. I rather like this. Good cool weather wear.

The lemon-spice opening is pretty good. Lovely rich florals give this depth. The sandalwood starts off woody and tangy, and with the other ingredients it intially makes a dignified statement. But then the heavies (amber, leather, patchouli and particularly vanilla) kick in and highjack the scent. Where did the sandalwood go? This winds up creamy and luxurious, quite sweet and perfumed. Loads and loads of vanilla give this a foody sort of profile. Not my style at all. For the complete opposite – a lean, woody, austere sandalwood – try Santal by Melvita in its Soliflore line. That can be hard to find but is is worth the effort, I never grow tired of it. Whereas this Trumpers is a scrubber for me. A shame, because I love pretty much all of the ‘historical' Trumper scents. But the modern ones don't have the same character: perhaps in an attempt to have a unisex scent some of the masculine assertive flair has been lost.