I am having the front of the house painted. I can’t recall how many years it’s been since the last rodeo, but at least 10, I think. Definitely a fair few. It’s going to be silver blue. All the other houses in my terrace are beige, white or so dirty the colour is unknowable. Work started Friday with cleaning, patching, etc. I think the painting should start either late Monday or Tuesday.
Last week was teeth. An ortho appointment one day plus a visit to the dentist for checkup and cleaning the next. Note to self: do not book them so close together again. I felt push me’d/pull you’d. Reward was reflexology a couple of days later.
I made pretzels with a new recipe after several years of not doing this. Came out very well.
Sandalo.
I first encountered this at least two decades ago (it was released in 1995). I think I heard about it on MakeUp Alley (now gone I think), on the then wonderful fragrance board.
Sandalwood. I recall really liking it but I wasn’t in a sandalwood period – and it didn’t quite sit well enough to merit a decant or bottle.
Notes for this include Brazilian rosewood, lavender, petitgrain, lemon, orange, sandalwood, labdanum, neroli, rose, sandalwood (yes, listed twice), vetiver, oppoponax, oakmoss, amber, patchouli and musk.
First off, I think the sandalwood now used isn’t as good quality as originally included. I get that cedar thing rather than smooth, creamy. I guess that’s not surprising, given what has happened to the sandalwood supply over time.
I recall the juice I sampled years ago having that creamy, gingerbread aspect that I really like in Perfumer H Smoke.
Now, everything feels a bit lighter, less individual and more morphed together. Generic woody.
And, there’s something sour in the opening.
The longevity isn’t brilliant.
In any case, thank you to Portia in last week’s post about the Trudon thing which gets labelled ‘scratchy woods/amber’ because that’s exactly what this has become. Maybe woods/sandalwood, but it’s such a meh sandalwood. Whatever. Scratchy definitely.
Another Villoresi, Piper Nigrum (1999), had a big moment on the boards decades ago. It was never one of mine but Villoresi was a brand that I thought was interesting and good quality.
Alas, if Sandalo is any indication I imagine the offer is diminished at this point. Anyone have any from this house?
Pics: pexels, mine
Yeah what you’re smelling is def Sandalwood, but its very linear and it is much more so rosewood. But one must like that solitary note to enjoy the Villoresi (I did many moons ago and went thru my bottle fast)
I was disappointed with the bottle of Tam Dao last year. Unexpectedly roughed up
Roughed up? As in more like pencil shavings?
Yes. I’d remembered it as creamy & smooth. Now I found it a bit more timber yard & sawdust. It calls to mind the last time I sniffed 10 Corso Como
I remember loving a Villoresi … some carnation thing? Must google. Sandalwood can be hugely annoying to me, I feel like I really magnify that raspiness. There was a creamy sandalwood I loved … I can smell it in my mind’s eye (nose?) … Tam Dao! That was “my” fave sandalwood. Haven’t smelled it in at least a decade, I wonder if I have a decant.
Garofano! Loved that one. Clove-y spicy carnation.
I love Tam Dao too, scent twin!
Yet another Villoresi I should revisit. Love carnation. Should bring out my small vial of Bellodgia.
Haven’t done Tam Dao for a while. That’s one I can sample in town.
I haven’t thought about this brand for a while but I remember Piper Nigrum being.. interesting. I got green pepper as well as black. Which was.. interesting.
A good sandalwood is hard to find these days. Most seem to go to pencil shavings on me. Which is.. interesting. But I can always just sharpen a Faber # 2 and get the same effect?
Agree that finding a good sandalwood has become difficult. I do think Perfumer H Smoke is worth a go (am sounding like a broken record on that). I wonder what the Chanel one, Bois des Iles, is like now.
Hey Cinnamon,
Woo Hoo on the house painting. Hope it’s fab.
Villoresi Musk is bloody excellent. The only one I have a bottle of, even though I’ve liked others.
Wondering if the sandalwood of old has been swapped out for the Aussie version. It has a screechy opening that mellows beautifully.
Portia xx
I wondered about the source for the sandalwood as it really is much less smooth and rich vs what I smelled years ago.
Thanks for the review of Sandalo, Cinnamon. I also dislike the scratchy wood notes that are so prevalent in today’s scents. That aromachemical must be as cheap as water, because everyone seems to use gallons of it. Also can’t stand Ambroxen. Another cheap, horrid aromachemical. In my opinion, of course.
A fresh coat of paint on the house will look great. I love the color you chose. And those pretzels look really professional– and yummy.
The scratchy woods reminds me of cedar boxes I was bought as a child on holidays down south. I loved the boxes but they all had a similar strange smell.
I just peaked out the door and the painting is coming along. The colour has turned out to be beautiful. Maybe it will entice others in the terrace to repaint …
I’ve got Teint de Neige which I love. So clean and powdery. It reminds me a bit of Johnson’s baby powder. I haven’t tried any of the others in the line.
I forgot TdN. I think it was the first Villoresi I ever heard about. I am not one for the powdery fragrances but I have this idea I must have tried it ages ago.
Omgosh! I’d forgotten all about TdN!!! I remember it having an oily note ( unpon application) that smelled like pancakes frying on a griddle… then that disappeared and it was just lovely!
Haven’t tried Sandalo but I have many favourites from the house of Lorenzo Villoresi. They have the classic Italian chic and a beautiful base with oakmoss and musk reminding me of Italian perfumes from the 70-ies and 80-ies. Donna and Uomo are nice – Donna is a smooth elegant musky rose with carnation and a woody base and Uomo is green, resinous, musky, nicely blended. I also like Theseus, a woody-musky abstract floral. Yerbamate and Iperborea are herbs and tea. I have Aura Maris, a herbal aquatic perfume evoking the smell of the sea and Mediterranean shrubbery. Villoresi’s latest perfume Teti is a nice fruity floral smelling like cyclamen to me with a touch of blackcurrant.
The only thing that bothers me with this perfume house are the plastic bottle caps that feel cheap.
I think I will have to investigate the line some more now. I feel more samples …
My two favorites are on opposite side of perfume spectrum: Yerbamate and Alamut. Yerbamate smells to me like a cross between dove and Irish spring soap and is oddly evocative and perfect when you need a cool down. Alamut is a rich floral amber that brings to mind creamy shoulders draped in red velvets – total vintage styled diva. I also have Ambra which has a distinct old bookstore smell buried not quite in middle but past the opening. And Musk, a pretty powdery rose. Have tried most of the rest and appreciate the style which overall tends to avoid a lot of the really annoying modern aromachem ingredients.
Alamut sounds very interesting. The place where I got Sandalo actually appears to have most of the line so maybe I need to have another go.
The idea of buried old books is quite enticing.
Not interested in the Sandalo, never took a fancy to any Villoresi scents, but I’m desperate to get some of that Perfumer H Smoke which sounds lovely. I don’t believe she ships though.
Where are you located? Have a look on the website — at the bottom of the page there’s a list of stockists, a fairly large number.
I think it took a bit for Perfumer H to get the idea that wider availability and offering samples was a good thing.
I did actually go out to her website and it says she ships to the US. So I went ahead and ordered a bottle, crossing fingers it will arrive safely.