I have been using Proraso red soap & cream for a few years and always assumed that they contained the sandalwood scent. Then I tried Trufitt & hill's sandalwood cream and the scent is very different (although very nice). So, which one has the real sandalwood scent? Drumroll please...................... Proraso, hands down. The reason I can say this with such confidence is that my wife makes all natural (tallow based, essential oils, home grown from her garden herbs, etc.) soaps and sells the bars in an antique & craft shop in town. She had never made a soap using sandalwood essential oils so she was stumped when I had her sniff both creams. Well, today her new shipment of essential oils arrived and included in the order was a bottle of sandalwood essential oil. No doubt about it, the Proraso red has the scent nailed. Pretty sure they use the real oil as opposed to a chemical derivative. The Trufitt & Hill is great stuff. It just doesn't smell like sandalwood.
It is possible that T&H uses a different Sandalwood oil. There isn't just one type. Remember many trees and shrubs have subspecies.
I have a sandalwood soap and aftershave from Wet Shaving Products(Arizona). It's nice, but not my "go to".
I smelled the Proraso for the first time at The Old Town Shaving Company this weekend. Smells very similar to Fine Santal Absolut to me. Taylor of Old Bond Street is still the BEST smelling to my nose.
