Roger Turpening has made a career of searching for hidden things of great value, many of them deep underground and traded on commodities exchanges. Now he is applying his seismic imaging skills in pursuit of another kind of oil, one that grows in trees.
— From On the Trail of Sandalwood Oil at Science Daily, with many thanks to Ruth for the link!
How unlucky for perfume lovers to live in an era when Mysore sandalwood has disappeared from fragrances. Let’s hope the over-harvested and endangered sandalwood trees of India are truly being protected and propagated for future generations. According to Serge Lutens P.R., the company bought its stash of Mysore sandalwood before stringent trade regulations went into effect, and it’s this “legal” Mysore sandalwood that supposedly enriches the Lutens perfume of the same name.
Santal de Mysore was developed by perfumer Christopher Sheldrake and released in 2001. I never smelled “original” Santal de Mysore so I don’t know how it compares to the new, surely reformulated, fragrance. Today’s Santal de Mysore contains, apart from Mysore sandalwood, “spices,” cumin, styrax balsam and “caramelized” Siamese benzoin.
Santal de Mysore starts off smelling edible, with a nougat-y and coconut-cream sweetness emanating from a faint “wood” note…
Duross & Langel is a small company based in Philadelphia, where it sells handmade soaps, body products, and haircare in a loft-like shop near the center of the city. When I was living in Philadelphia a few years ago, I made regular trips to Duross & Langel, and I still stop by whenever I’m in town, to stock up on one or two of my favorite products.
For some reason, I’m on the prowl for a good body scrub these days — it must have something to do with the transition from summer to fall. Duross & Langel offers a few solutions for ridding yourself of dry or flaky skin, and many of them happen to be nicely scented.
Some of the company’s hand-crafted soaps, for example, have exfoliating properties. There’s Blueberry Scrub, which is flecked with actual blueberry seeds and smells like the filling of a blueberry pie; Steve’s Seed Scrub, with a fennel scent and poppy seeds swirled into its base of olive oil and shea butter…
Elizabeth Arden has acquired most of the fragrance licenses held by Canadian company Riviera Concepts. Fragrance lines which will go to Elizabeth Arden under the deal include Alfred Sung, Hummer, Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Rowley, Lulu Guinness and Bob Mackie. Also included is the upcoming fragrance from Badgley Mischka (bottle shown at right). Riviera Concepts will continue to hold the licenses for Adrienne Vittadini and Hang Ten. (via cosmeticsdesign and cosmeticsintl)
Kannauj, India, once an important market center for the distillation of sandalwood and rosewater, is losing its prominence. The town…
Santal Blanc was launched by Serge Lutens in 2001. It was created by perfumer Chris Sheldrake, and features notes of white sandalwood, cinnamon, fenugreek, pink pepper, rose, jasmine, orris root, musk, benzoin and copaiba balsam.
Like many Serge Lutens fragrances, Santal Blanc starts off rather like spiced stewed fruits. Fenugreek, which is used in curry recipes and also as a flavoring for artificial maple syrup, adds an interesting touch, and there is quite a bit of pepper in the mix. Within a few minutes, the fruits and spices are overtaken by the woods. There is sandalwood, yes, but also quite a bit of cedar…