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Santal de Mysore by Serge Lutens

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Mysore Sandalwood, Cumin, Spices, Styrax Balsam, Carmelized Siamese Benzoin.

Cinn-umin , Cinn-umin, get your Cinn-umin right here folks. Ah yes.....The Serge strikes again with his eclectic rendition of spicy wood. You'll have to excuse me if I liken The Serge to Doctor Strangelove. It's apparent that he thinks on a different plane than your average parfumeur.

Santal de Mysore begins with a hybrid cumin-cinnamon that's slightly burnt. I also get that phantom hairspray aura surrounding the opening, but that quickly fades into oblivion. The spice notes are eye opening but not offensive. I have become somewhat fond of them actually, but it took a few wearings to adjust to the fantasy that is Serge. His unconventional approach and creations are his children and it's safe to say the apple falls directly beneath the tree.

It takes Santal de Mysore about 15 minutes to unravel itself from the opening and reveal its woody character. When it does, a very good, somewhat creamy sandalwood is born. The sandal rises in presence just enough to take some of the sting out of the Cinn-umin accord. On my skin, this is the heart of SdM and the spicy sandal works well on me, but I can see how others may be put off a bit. I think Serge lives to polarize; knowing full well that some will love and some will not. I know his releases have that effect on me.

Once Santal de Mysore enters the base and drydown stage, there's a resin in the mix to augment the still going spicy wood. By now, the sandalwood has gained the upper hand on the spice, but both are still obvious even though the balance of power has shifted. The presence has also lowered, but in sandalwood dominant fragrances, this is business as usual. Sandalwood is not a loud note by nature, but Serge has managed to keep the volume satisfactory.

The drydown is unusual since I expected an oriental finish. On that note, since when does Serge do what you expect? Instead of a vanillac undertone, I get a balsamic texture that compliments the spicy wood and resin. The result is woody and simple with a touch of earthiness and ( of course ) spices.

Santal de Mysore, in totality, is one of those fragrances that the more I wear it, the better I seem to like it. I certainly needed to adjust to the spicy opening, but in all the wearings, the spicy aspect worked for me once the heart arrived. Now, it seems, I don't even mind the top accord. Perhaps one needs to build up a tolerance to The Serge like you would certain class A narcotics.

Sillage is good in the beginning and diminishes to a polite level in 15 minutes. Longevity is also good by Sandalwood standards. I get approximately 4 hours before thinking of applying more. Thumbs up from Aromi for Doctor Strangelove and his Mysore.




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