Sandalwood is one of the first woods used in perfumes. It was already used in Attars, a nearly 5,000-year-old way of making perfume oil from India and the Arab world. Traditionally, attars has sandalwood oil as its base.

Most sandalwood comes from India and Indonesia. The best and most expensive sandalwood is produced in the Mysore region of India. To obtain the best sandalwood oil, the tree must be at least 30 years old. Only then will you have the typical high-quality scent of sandalwood.

To make sandalwood oil, steam distillation is used. The heart of the trunk and roots of the tree are ground into powder and then dried. It is then distilled to obtain an oil.

Today, however, sandalwood is a protected wood species. In the 1970s, so many trees were used that the species was endangered and protected.

Fortunately, numerous sustainable programs have been set up where the trees are planted and replanted responsibly, both in India and for example Australia.
In addition, today you have very good synthetic sandalwood such as santalol and polysantol that can replace natural sandalwood.

Traditionally, sandalwood was used for religious events. For example in incense used with ceremonies.

Only in the last century has sandalwood been used more and more in perfumery as we know it today.

Sandalwood is an ingredient that you also almost always find in oriental perfumes and then in the base of a perfume. Especially also because it is very long lasting and you can still find it delicious on your skin. In addition, there are beautiful soft creations where sandalwood gives depth and warmth.