Santal Volcanique by Maison Crivelli

Hey there Posse! Santal Volcanique by Maison Crivelli didn’t come to my attention properly until a spritz at our big city David Jones caught my attention. Yes, I had tried it previously and liked it enough to buy a 30ml from a FaceBook Sale Post. It had been spritzed on arrival  and put in a box. Poor thing languished there forgotten. I rediscovered it sitting there all forlorn after looking for something completely different. Quiet YAY in my head and now it’s back out and getting skin time.

I know we are all overwhelmed by new brands and that there are a lot we don’t even try because… overload. I want to tell you that Maison Crivelli is worth your time to hunt down. They do interesting twists on old tropes. Most have excellent projection and longevity (if that’s important to you). All in all a very well curated, broad selection for a crew with less than 20 fragrances. Santal Volcanique was part of their 2018 opening set of four. I’ve written here before of Fleur Diamantine and Iris Malikhan but one that is on my list to buy is Rose Saltifolia. That one is a marine rose, OMG I want it bad.

Santal Volcanique by Maison Crivelli 2018

Maison Crivelli gives these featured accords:
Ginger essential oil, cardamom essential oil, limette essential oil, sandalwood essential oil, cedar essential oil, ylang ylang essential oil, coffee absolute, musks.

How does Santal Volcanique smell and perform? Straight out of the gate I smell freshly grated ginger and some sharp twiggy greenery. It’s a rush and quite joyous, bringing a smile to my face. While the notes don’t fade away as such they are joined by a very tropical white floral. That surprises me because coconut and vanilla aren’t mentioned but they seem to be helping plump the white florals. There are some correlations to a few of the Annick Goutal fragrances.

Sadly the coffee never makes an appearance to my nose. Originally I was interested to see if there was any resemblance to Atelier Cologne’s Café Tuberosa. There isn’t.

The sandalwood really makes its presence known mid heart. It’s got all the dreamy creamy trademarks but also is given a lift by the lovely sharp greenness of fresh cut cedar. Greener than the pencil shaving route and giving the sandalwood an Australian sandalwood opening vibe. If you’ve not smelled it alone there is a scratchy green menthol top till it settles into the sandalwood we know best from perfumery.

Santal Volcanique has excellent longevity. The first hour or two projects beautifully without being overwhelming. Though wearable at any time it has a grandeur that would be divine for really dressy events.

Does Santal Volcanique sound like something you could wear?
Portia xx