Sandalwood

What it is

Sandalwood refers to fragrant woods from Santalum species. One of the best-known perfumery and incense sources is Santalum album, often called Indian sandalwood. Kew records the fragrant heartwood as a source of essence used in perfume and cosmetics.

For scent study, the useful distinction is between sandalwood as an actual aromatic material and the broader idea of a “sandalwood note,” which can also be created or extended with other materials.

How it appears in scent culture

• Heartwood and powder can be used directly in incense traditions.
• Incense sticks and blends may place sandalwood in the foreground or use it mainly as a quiet woody base.
• Essential oil provides a concentrated reference for sandalwood’s characteristic long-lasting woody profile.
• Perfume can use natural sandalwood materials, other sandalwood species, related materials or reconstructed sandalwood effects.

What to notice

Classic sandalwood descriptors include soft, creamy, warm, woody and smooth, but real material is not necessarily a simple “creamy wood” block. Dryness, sweetness, milkiness and subtle spicy or balsamic facets can shift with species, quality and extraction.

In Japanese incense, it is particularly useful to separate incense that presents sandalwood relatively plainly from incense where sandalwood is mainly the base beneath a more obvious perfume-like composition.

Why species matters

“Sandalwood” is a commercial and sensory umbrella. Different Santalum species and other woods sold under sandalwood-adjacent names are not interchangeable. When a source identifies the species, The Aroma Book should preserve it rather than flatten everything to a single generic material.