Sandalwood is one of my favorite scents. It also seems to vary quite a bit, so I thought I'd toss this up here and maybe we could share our experiences with different products and our thoughts on it. It seems to be a really common scent in men's products, second only to menthol. Of course it's all YMMV. Proraso Red: It's a classic sandalwood smell to me, I just wish it was a bit stronger. TOBS Sandalwood: Probably my favorite sandalwood cream. About as strong as I like a scent. Also a classic smell to me. Bee & Flower body soap: The first half of the bar is really strong, not so much the second half. Good soap and good scent though. It matches well with the shave creams for a shower/shave combo. Honey Bee Garden After Shave: A very different smell, but I like it. To me it's got a very strong sawdust smell to it, which is a good thing. Not a your regular sandalwood scent, but pleasant and complimentary. I like it as it doesn't conflict with the other sandalwoods, it just adds another layer to it.
I have the Honey Bee Garden Sandalwood aftershave. Until I read your post I couldn't figure out what it smelled like. I agree with the sawdust. Stirling Soap makes a very strong smelling Sandalwood soap. Good post!
Try the AOS sandalwood. I think it is a lot stronger than the proraso, and smells (to me) exactly the same.
If you like Prorasso Red, which I do myself, then you should try Caswell-Massey Sandalwood shave cream, aftershave balm, and cologne. Caswell-Massey makes all three to complement each other and it is the best smelling sandalwood I have ever smelled (IMHO). Taylors of Old Bond Street was the first sandalwood shave cream and aftershave I ever tried. I love it, but like Caswell-Massey better. If you like the Prorasso Red, you will love the Caswell-Massey.
Thought I would add a little info. here on this subject. I also am a big time Sandalwood lover and it's true there is so much variation in scents. I fell in love with Sandalwood because years ago I received a carved sandalwood bracelet from India as a gift from a friend who just returned from there. 12 years later the scent of the wood is just intoxicating. But I have found that most Sandalwood products don't smell like that. The only one I ever found (C&E Mysore shave soap) was discontinued (reformulated) WHY!! Well, after a little research I learned why (and why most sandalwood products have been reformulated). Indian Sandalwood is endangered and under protection by the Indian government which is trying to reforest Mysore's Sandalwood Trees. This means all sandalwood products now either are synthetic or are likely using Australian sandalwood extract which is not quite as deep and incensy as Indian. Sadly the best Mysore Sandalwood oils come from trees 50 years or older which means the only way you will likely get any authentic Mysore Sandalwood products in your lifetime is if you have any vintage ones stashed away. Here are a couple of interesting links on this: https://www.auracacia.com/auracacia/aclearn/features/sandalwood2.html http://www.nstperfume.com/2014/07/09/crabtree-evelyn-indian-sandalwood-cologne-fragrance-review/
I love the AOS sandalwood scent. I wanted to make my own sandalwood preshave oil but don't which oil and quantity to use.
I always thought that my skin was sensitive to sandalwood, so I steered clear of it for a long time. I tried a couple sandalwoods courtesy of the soap review crew, and have been trying more ever since. The one that has surprised me the most was mysore sandalwood by mama bear soaps. It has a rich, deep, woody scent. Not sweet or a cologne type. It's a good one that is probably off the radar.
I picked up some sandalwood oil from Www.brambleberry.com for my PSO (equal parts olive oil and castor oil). As to how much to use, start with a few drops. You can always add more, can't take away.
I just acquired Sensuelle Santal by Caties Bubbles and its a nice subdued sandalwood. Sorta like proraso but not quite as earth smelling maybe. I like it though
ive only used Lea Classic cream and Trumpers Sandalwood, and although the trumpers has scent components that have never been safe for me to smell, its the better one hands down. intoxicating and earthy, but "sweet"
Im a big fan of Proraso Sandalwood. I recently picked up a puck of Muhle Sandalwood that I look forward to trying when I work my way to it. Right now, Ive got about 4 pucks of Mama Bear soaps that are above it, so it may be a little while. LOL
WSP's Sandalwood is quite nice, albeit I use their Sandalwood Shave Soap prior. I'll have to see what it's like with a different cream/foam(Rise, Barbasol).
Mr. Shaverman and anyone else who has used TOBS can you rate the strength of the scent on a 1 to 10 scale?