Santal du Pacifique Eau de Parfum
Perris Monte Carlo (2016)

Exotic, pheromonic, sultry, dreamy, bold, top. A sensual orchid on a base of creamy-musky sandalwood with a touch of fresh earthiness (carrot). A far pacific island-kind of perfume. Bora Bora in a bottle.

A (mostly) synth-sandalwood in the modern style with the "pickle juice" element toned down a bit but still present. Easy to wear and comforting without any rough edges, which distinguishes this from the likes of Santal 33.

I like my sandalwoods a bit more authentic in feel (ala Villoresi and Maitre et Gantier), and if I'm going to wear something reliant on this particular form of synth sandalwood, it's likely to be something that uses it as an element of a more developed accord structure, as it does in Cremo Palo Santo.

Do you find Diptyque Tam Dao (2003) too dry? Is Le Labo Santal 33 (2011) too expensive and reminiscent of pickles? Do you still want a modern semi-realistic red sandalwood fragrance without a bunch of the "creaminess" found in things that contain or emulate Mysore? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then Santal du Pacifique by Perris Monte Carlo (2016) is likely for you. Mathieu Nardin is a relatively new nose who has worked for Etro, Annick Goutal, Miller Harris, and a host of other niche brands in the 2010's, including Perris Monte Carlo itself. The man doesn't touch mainstream perfume really outside the occasional Yves Rocher or Philosophy release, so much like Marc Buxton, he stays in the realm of the higher-end perfume experience. I guess this is supposed to translate to a perfumer that doesn't like to compromise on materials or development budgets, but I can't really speak to the body of work he's done. What I can speak to is the quality of this fragrance, which is pretty astounding given what sandalwoods of this type like to sell for at retail. Santal du Pacifique dutifully adds a slight marine edge to it's otherwise "soliflore" sandalwood nature, to really hit home the name given the perfume, making it a bit of a "fresh" woody experience but without an obvious citrus note to convey it. Santal du Pacifique also comes in an extrait version like most Perris Monte Carlo fragrances since about 2012, but that will set you back much more for half the liquid, and very little gained.

The opening of Santal du Pacifique is pretty barren as you might expect for a dry and realistic sandalwood treatment. I typically don't like this, as I didn't much care for either Tam Dao or Santal 33, but here there is a little something extra that keeps me attentive. Most of this something extra takes the form of carrot seed, something that can be found in Eau d'Ikar by Sisley (2011), with some dry bergamot, ionones, and gurjun balsam, which imparts some terpinoid sharpness. Further into the heart, the ionones impart both iris and violet in fits and starts, plus hints of the cashmeran note that tends to blend with florals to create the "orchid" note found firstly in Tom Ford Black Orchid (2006), but also turns up in things like Perris Monte Carlo's own Bois d'Oud (2011) and about half of the Amouroud range. This stuff isn't about oud, nor really about orchid, it's just that note is there. Also, some of what people detect as the "pickle" note in Santal 33 is also here, probably caused in part by the sharp semi-acidic nature of the gurjun balsam note mixing with the actual New Caledonian sandalwood base, but it's mild. Overall, you reach that aforementioned sandalwood dry-down pretty quickly, and the effect of the opening players gives a bit of sharp hot oceanic air mixed with the aromatics and floral aromachemicals which all serve to "freshen" up the actual sandalwood. Wear time is until you scrub it, and Santal du Pacifique is pretty unisex for anyone just liking a direct "woody" sandalwood interpretation that projects admirably, wearing best in fall through early spring.

There may not be enough difference here for fans who already stuff like Santal 33 to go adding this one alongside it to a collection, which is why I focused more on people who found displeasure in some aspect of it or something like Tam Dao, since Santal du Pacifique seems more like an alternative than an adjacent addition. Dry lifelike sandalwood perfumes are becoming a bit of a crowded market in niche perfumery the way Western ouds began to plague the market, so it's with great trepidation that I tell someone with at least $200 to spend on a single perfume to trundle out and throw down that cash for yet another perfume that tries to smell like an ancient temple full of joss sticks. However, Perris Monte Carlo has proven yet again to be pleasantly left-of-center for a mid-tier niche perfume house, cramming enough quirks and features into this "plain sandalwood" fragrance to keep automotive YouTuber Doug Demuro talking for at least 30 minutes. As for everyone else, this should be pretty easy to sample as samples don't cost a lot if bought, and most of your bigger niche perfume sellers who carry Perris will hand you one with the purchase of something else if you're already in the market to buy premium-tier stink juice from them internets, barring access to a live tester in a niche perfume store. Fresh, zippy, woody, a bit musky, and only the vaguest hint of pickle-like (but not really), Santal du Pacifique by Perris Monte Carlo is the one super-dry sandalwood in this mini-genre I find worth owning. Thumbs up.

The Luckyscent website gives a more comprehensive notes list for this one: carrot, orchid, violet, gurjun balsam (which apparently has aspects of pine, patchouli & camphor), Pacific sandalwood, dry woods, cashmere woods & musk.

This opens as a delightfully sweet-yet-salty, woody floral. I don't get carrot, but perhaps iris, along with sweet violet. The orchid note quickly amps up the tropical warmth, humidity & creaminess of a lovely sandalwood, which projects beautifully. After a couple of hours, the creaminess dies down & the drier woody notes intensify. It all lasts a good eleven hours before fading.
For me this is a top-notch sandalwood, with all the aspects that I most enjoy. Recommended, & possibly bottle-worthy...

A lightly floral, woody gem. Really like this one. May be a buy in the near future. 8/10

Stardate 20161121:

A soft woody sandalwood fragrance. Like CdG Wonderwood.
It is a good approximation of the SW wood. It does not project much and lasts a workday but no more.
Good for $100. If you want to spend a bit more get Wonderwood