Santal Royal by Guerlain

When getting myself some new samples to go through, I saw some from Guerlain, and decided that I should pick up these fragrances that I hadn’t experienced before. One of these colognes, is Santal Royal. Obviously, it is going to be much more of a niche, sandalwood based scent. Is it worth a try?

What does Santal Royal Smell Like?

Notes include: sandalwood, oud, leather, rose, amber, cinnamon, musk

Click here to try: Guerlain ‘Santal Royal’ Eau de Parfum Spray 4.2oz/125ml

My Review

The opening of Santal Royal is much more about the oud and leather than the sandalwood with a touch of cinnamon spice. While it’s there, the sandalwood isn’t the main attraction, and much more of a supporting player…at least at the beginning.

The Guerlain fragrance has a warm air and a rose note that is joined by a sweet fruit note. It’s almost a fermented sort of fruit smell. Santal Royal is very rich and thick at times, which I guess adds to it’s ‘royal demeanor’.

As it dries down, Santal Royal becomes drier and woodier than it had been previously. The leather and sandalwood emerge much more and form a triumvirate with the oud note. I’m glad because oud and rose can be a bit too much for my nose, so, I’m glad that this one balanced things out.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Santal Royal is strong. This is a sillage beast and it really doesn’t require many sprays to be effective and I think too many would be a hindrance to enjoying this fragrance.

Longevity, is absolutely great also, it doesn’t crap out at any time during the wear and will last all day long. I’ve gotten at least 9 hours of wear with this one, each try during testing.

I would put this as an autumn/winter cologne. It is not at all a summertime scent and I can’t imagine wearing this in the heat. It is unisex to an extent, though, much more suited to the masculine end of things.

Santal Royal could be worn dressed up or for an evening on the town. It is mature but not old man smelling. One could wear it to the office, if you went light with the sprays.

Overall Impressions of Santal Royal

Overall, do I recommend Santal Royal by Guerlain? Yes, provided you fall into this niche of oud/sandalwood lovers. This isn’t something that everyone could wear or even enjoy, it’s much more unique (but very much like others in this niche) and complex, than an average best selling cologne.

You get a lot of oud, sandalwood, leather, and rose with some other notes giving their best support. For some, that’ll sound appealing. For others, not so much.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.