The Fragrance Dictionary: Sandalwood
What Is Sandalwood? The Scent, the Feeling, and Why It Works in Candles
Despite being used in rituals and perfumery for centuries, sandalwood’s presence within Western consciousness is relatively recent.
After decades dominated by bright florals, sharp aquatics, and clean, almost clinical scents, the turn of the millennium brought a noticeable shift. Fragrance became warmer, softer, closer to the skin.
A key moment in sandalwood’s rise came with the release of Santal 33 by Le Labo in 2011. Although spelled santal rather than sandalwood, it refers to the same material, “santal” being the French term commonly used in perfumery.
The scent brought sandalwood to the forefront in a way that felt modern, stripped back, and quietly addictive. Its appeal mirrored a wider cultural shift, one that included a growing interest in ritual, wellbeing, and slower living. Sandalwood, with its warmth and softness, fit into that world almost perfectly.
What Is Sandalwood?
Sandalwood is derived from the heartwood of trees in the Santalum family, most traditionally sourced from India and Australia. The wood is dense, slow-growing, and unusually rich in natural oils, which is why its scent lasts far longer than most materials used in fragrance.
Within perfumery, sandalwood is most often used as a base note. This means it works to anchor everything else, extend how long a fragrance lasts, and give it structure and depth.
Think of it this way: if fragrance were a house, sandalwood would be the walls, the thing that allows everything else to exist within it.
What Does Sandalwood Smell Like?
Although sandalwood is a wood, it doesn’t carry the sharpness of freshly cut timber or the greenness of a forest.
Instead, it is softer, more rounded. It has a gentle earthiness with a touch of smoke, balanced by a smooth, almost creamy texture. There is warmth, and a subtle sweetness, but nothing overt or sugary. In perfumery, it is often prized for its skin-like quality, the way it seems to sit close rather than project outward.
It is less about what it smells like, and more about how it feels.
Sandalwood in Ritual and Culture
As touched on above, sandalwood is deeply rooted in ritual.
In India, sandalwood paste, made from ground wood mixed with water, has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies. It is applied to the skin as both a cooling agent and a symbolic act of purification. In temples, its scent is associated with stillness, devotion, and moments that sit just outside of everyday life.
Across parts of East Asia, particularly in countries such as Japan and China, sandalwood has long been used as incense in meditation and ceremonial practices. Here, scent becomes a way of marking time, grounding the body, and returning attention to the present.
Even outside of formal ritual, sandalwood has long been associated with sacred spaces, moments of transition, and quiet acts of care and preparation. This idea of it being a quiet, grounding scent is still carried through today, even if the ritual now looks like lighting a candle at the end of the day.
Why Sandalwood Works So Well in Candles
As a base note, sandalwood naturally lingers. It remains in a room as a soft presence, even after the candle has been extinguished.
In its supportive role, it also blends beautifully. It works particularly well with amber for warmth and softness, cedarwood and oak for depth, smoke and resin for atmosphere, and dark fruits like plum and cassis for contrast.
More than anything, it brings atmosphere. It makes a room feel warmer, more grounded, and more intentional.
Bringing Sandalwood Into Your Space
Of course, scent is always subjective. But if you’re drawn to smoky, woody, atmospheric fragrances, to amber notes and deeper, more enveloping aromas, sandalwood is often a natural fit.
To experience it properly, it helps to think less about scent and more about timing.
It works particularly well in the evening, when the light lowers. In quieter moments, perhaps an afternoon or weekend to yourself. In spaces where you want depth rather than brightness, think snugs, studies, salons, and bedrooms.
Where You’ll Find Sandalwood in Our Collection
In Evoking Margaux, sandalwood sits at the heart of the fragrance, shaping everything around it.
This might feel slightly counterintuitive, as we’ve spoken about it as a base note. But here, as a softer wood, it moves into the heart while still performing the same role, holding the composition together.
Around it, the scent is layered with dark plum and cassis at the top, amber and tonka through the centre, and leather, aged woods, and smoky birch at the base.
Together, they create a scent which is deep, brooding, and quietly opulent - a reflection of the place that inspired it, Margaux, a landscape of châteaux, wood-panelled rooms, and the soft glow of a fire that has been burning for hours.