Santal Majuscule Serge Lutens for women and men

Serge Lutens' Santal Majuscule challenges the modern trend of minimalist fragrance compositions by embracing a trio of distinct notes with unwavering transparency. In an era where designer brands often tout simplicity with three-note fragrances, masking a plethora of aroma chemicals, Lutens' approach is refreshingly authentic.

With just sandalwood, damask rose, and bitter cacao, Santal Majuscule delivers precisely what it promises. The journey begins with a luxurious blend of cacao-dusted rose, evoking opulence and sophistication. As it evolves, the rose gracefully recedes, yielding to the warm embrace of sandalwood in the drydown.

This simplicity is the essence of Santal Majuscule's brilliance—a plain and simple masterpiece that brings joy with every spritz. It's a testament to Lutens' dedication to authenticity and quality, reminding us of the age-old axiom: "It's very simple to be happy, but it's very difficult to be simple."

I wear this before bed lol. There’s something very meditative and calming about it, and different from most sandalwood frags out there. There’s this pungent to smokey to creamy journey to it which reminds me of flowers and smokes in temples, and of course the sandalwood. I grew up watching Balinese dancers practicing and performing in temples back in the 90s. It takes me back to that memory.

Funnily enough, i wear this before bed also because it’s so unique that it doesn’t smell like ‘normal’ perfume to me. Sometimes i think this could make a very good high-end body lotion, but not really. Maybe a high-end Balinese spa? Not sure. What an artistry.

Creamy sandalwood with Damascus Rose. Beautiful unisex fragrance.

Warm and cozy, nice! Slightly similar to L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme EDP Guerlain.

So serious, authoritative but yet so rounded, incredibly warm and reassuring…like an hug from your father.



The scent that started my passion for perfumery, this belongs to my heart ❤️

Luxurious rose accord mixed with some raw natural cocoa seed (if you expect this to be "chocolatey" look elsewhere). The sandalwood creaminess does not present itself till the drydown where the rose while still prominent, is much less pungent.

When designer brands claim their scents have 3 notes, they are doing it to appear mysterious and artistic, while hiding the other 30 aroma chemicals that are actually in there.
When true niche house like Serge Lutens puts 3 notes, you better believe it, because they are all there is in the scent and while still powerful, it is a bit more linear in its development. As a result Santal Majuscule may come as a bit too simplistic to the fans of the house and it does not strike me as Christopher Sheldrake's usual style of creating complex bucket of aromas.

This is the kind of scent that i buy not necessarily to wear in public, but more to enjoy the artistic perfumery that goes into the scent itself. And i have to say, i am yet to be disappointed by Serge Lutens in that regard.

I took a risk with it and blind bought it, only because I found it at a significant discount. It happened to be a happy blind buy. It develops very nicely on me. It's a bit sharp in the opening, the first 20-30 minutes maybe, then it's a creamy, sweet, and warm sandalwood, with some cocoa notes. I don't perceive much of the rose mentioned in the notes. I was afraid after I placed the order because I'm picky with rose notes, but it's nice.😊 I don't find it overly sweet either. I like it in cold weather. Kinda linear and uncomplicated, but you must be a sandalwood lover.
The way it smells on me, it leans more feminine, but it depends on everyone's skin chemistry I suppose. Longevity is very good, it lasts over 8 hours on me. Projection and sillage seem moderate, I wouldn't say it's too loud.

What a wonder !

I mainly smell a delicious scent of hazelnuts (is the pyramid complete or is it the cocoa that gives me this impression?) mixed with sandalwood. Zero smell of old bookstore for me, quite the contrary; I have a hard time not sniffing my sleeve that I sprayed before leaving the store. An addictive smell.

Personally, I don't smell rose or licorice as some people write. And let things be very clear; this nutty smell is that of a freshly crushed hazelnut. No hazelnut spread at all here.

If you like cocoa/hazelnut and sandalwood flavors, you will definitely like this one. And I will even tell you; I didn't think I would like it because of the cocoa and finally I'm won over. It is divine.

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The addition of cocoa and rose to the sandalwood make this feel rich, rich, rich. In some ways this evokes classic masculine boardroom scents, but it's more contemporary and versatile than that--there's a greater simpleness at work here with just a few dominant ingredients. This is highly unisex in its appeal--an instant winner. This may be my all-time favorite sandalwood-dominant fragrance.

ROMANCE!!!!!!!

This doesn't suit my skin at all.
Vinegar and baby powder. It just doesn't like me.

Sharp and mature sandalwood.
More male to me, my boyfriend adores it while it’s too sharp for my skin.
Not similar at all to Jeux de Peau which I own as well. That one is very bready, spicy and milky, way more gentle.

Safe, bland and bad-performing on my skin. Not even top 20 Serge for me.

Big fruity sandalwood rose. Smooth, lovely, and suspiciously normal for Serge Lutens.

Creamy sandalwood for rainy days.

soapy, powdery rose, a hint of cocoa, a base of smooth sandalwood. it's nice, smells very mature.

My favorite scent and the one that introduced me to the beauty of perfumery. It is really unique, not so much santal and a lot more cocoa and rose when I wear it. I always feel special and beautiful. Classic and mine.
Love it.

Chocolatey perfection.

A gorgeous and cosy sandalwood, truly unisex which I love a lot. Smells like subtle luxury.

This is a fragrance that invokes a strange reaction in me; it makes me want to go fragrance shopping. I'll explain.

I remember going to downtown Toronto on a cool rainy day and discovering this fragrance, really liking it and purchasing it. So now when I put this on, usually I do so on rainy days (like today) and get this urge to go hunting for fragrances.

Does it smell like a rainy day? Not really. On me the scent is hard to explain but is nice, potent and perfectly unisex. To me it's timelessly stylish which I can't say about a lot of fragrances (I'm off Oud/Rose combos for examples). I see people using the word "warm"... maybe? I reach for this on cool rainy days but feel it matches that weather, rather than giving me warming vibes.

Don't let the word Santal fool you, it's not a Santal 33 vibe, it's got more going on. You have to try it to understand it.

And now, it's time to go shopping.

One of my Mum's favorite perfumes of all time. I together with my Dad and Sister gifted her this for her birthday, right before Christmas Eve. She has always dreamt about this fragrance. She always loves to hear my enthusiastic descriptions of perfumes and always says that I made her nose more trained, haha. We both appreciate classic French perfumery, so we have quite a common taste.

I will always associate Santal Majuscule with my Mother. This is a homage to classic oriental French perfumery. It is very sophisticated, smooth and rich. Not overly complex in terms of notes, but it's so smoothly constructed, with multiple textures, Sandalwood-Rose formulation.

Very thick, dense, sweet and creamy. It owns definitely a gourmand quality, a powdery one as well. It smells eloquent and natural. I think it is a Musk heavy formula, with perfectly selected naturals, especially Patchouli. It seems to be built upon Patchouli EO, Sandalore, Ebanol, Musks like Ambrettolide or Galaxolide. It seems to have nice Sandalwood EO with high concentration of beta-Santalol combined with lovely aroma-chemicals. I detect some powdery texture here, maybe some right concentrations of Ionones (alfa- and beta-) were nicely handled by perfumer. It is so smoothly blended and very well executed with Rose accord. I believe that some Rose naturals as a support play with PEA-Geraniol-Rose Oxide-Citronellol combination.

I think, that it has nothing to do with modern perfumery. It is not old-school or dated, it is timeless. Very elegant, sophisticated, leaning more in feminine direction, French piece of art. Do I like it? Yes. It's particularly gorgeous, in my opinion.

I strongly recommend it for Sandalwood lovers. I guarantee, you will appreciate it. It is very delicious, feminine and sensual perfumery. You can find it on discounts for great price, even 130$ for 50 mL. A fair price for such quality.

I imagine a very sophisticated lady, in a beautiful velvet evening dress and black long elbow gloves observing a spectacle in Opera wearing this perfume.

Enjoy.

I haven't read reviews of this here yet, but I expect I'm going to be chiming in with a chorus when I say this is a very uncomplicated fragrance, much more so than many offerings from Lutens. It opens stridently with the house rose, so distinct you could pick it out of a lineup of roses when you've smelled it often enough. To no one's surprise, sandalwood is detected immediately as well, but that rose is loudest up top and softens as it dries to let the sandalwood take center stage. Rose is quiet, but persistent for the duration of wear. I did not start to notice anything I'd describe as cocoa until a few hours in, and then only in phantom whiffs, when I put my nose very close to my wrist. The sandalwood is buttery and realistic, in a way that reminded me immediately of this carved sandalwood figurine I had (years and years ago) from India. Fantastic! I don't agree with anything in the "reminds me of" section, except JdP and Fille de Berlin, but the latter is only because of that famous Lutens rose.

Intense warming spices with a lot of bitter-sweet undertones from realistic cocoa powder note. It definitely has a touch of classic Lutens’ rose (a bit similar to La Fille de Berlin or even Sa Majeste la Rose, but in a softer and warmer tone). Sandalwood here is very different, it’s not milky and not too dry, it’s something in between.

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I am so sad, I purchased a newer bottle batch code says 2022……it no longer smells like it used to, not even compared to my 2020 batch I smell almost no sandalwood no chocolate mostly a soapy rose, this used to be my favorite sandalwood perfume. Does anyone know of a perfume that smells like this used to smell?

Spicy, piney, and a bit sharp. This reminds me of the capsaicin-like spice that I detected in Tonka Vetiver by Hermes. The openings of this one and that one are remarkably similar to my nose. Both are harsh and “pointy” to my nose.

This is a beautifully blended perfume. The notes work harmoniously together. On my clothes it's more powdery, and on my skin it smells like maple syrup! The sillage is not great, but I like that it sits intimately. It's also a unique smell to me, but I can see that a lot of people think this smells like jeux de peau. I wish I had that to compare to but alas it's not available in this continent. Wondering if jeux de peau is still worth getting after having santal majuscule?

blind bought a bottle for half the price at the duty free and wow what a lucky investment and a gorgeous scent. it's dry, warm, sweet, but kinda also juicy if that makes sense? one of the few scents my mom is openly vocal about how much she loves it -- gotta love the classics

Where is the sandalwood? Only at the back helping in making the fragrance powdery and bit creamy. I get majorly rose in this one. Powdery warm rose. Leans feminine imo. And it is sweet for some reason. Not like syrupy sweet but yeah sweetness is there. If you are looking for a sandalwood dominant woody fragrance, this is not it. It is beautiful but not what i was looking for. Blind buy gone wrong.

The freshest, deepest cocoa and sandalwood scent I’ve ever worn. It’s tough to describe because it’s not overly sweet - which I love - but not so dry that you’re sneezing after smelling your wrist. I find myself reaching for this daily. Exceptional silage and projection.

Well I think I've found my favorite sandalwood fragrance. Previously, the fragrance Santal Majuscule most reminded me of was my favorite sandalwood: Radio Bombay by D.S & Durga.Santal Majuscule is a rich and buttery sandalwood, subtly blended with rose and cacao. Underline "buttery". And a very subdued rose. This overall has more sweetness than the sandalwood and coconut blend of Radio Bombay. But it has that similar creamy sawdust consistency. Very well balanced, and I just don't have a better sandalwood in my collection or have tried. I have Chanel Egoiste but I just don't like that harsh fragrance, despite its prominent sandalwood. By contrast, Santal Majuscule is pleasant, refined, perfectly sweet, blended, subtle. A perfect "Office Scent", Santal Majuscule is quiet but performs rather adequately, giving me some natural wafting to the nose on occasion. What's interesting to me is the artistic decision to create this, a scent very similar to Jeux de Peau, just a year later. Very similar buttery sandalwood, but with a bit less buttered baked goods gourmand association. This doesn't have the wheat and milk notes. Both very good, very enjoyable. My question is why both?
Update: Nevermind. The answer is obvious. It's simply a different interpretation using a similar sandalwood accord, but with rose and cacao.

very well made balance between sandalwood and rose!

Spraying this fragrance gives me the same sensation as applying sandalwood essential oil: the sandalwood in this is creamy and very natural smelling. However, I am disappointed at the sillage because after a few minutes, I can only smell it from up-close. Luckily, the longevity is excellent and it lasts easily a whole day. I do not get much of the rose note, but I perceive a distinct bitterness in the drydown, most probably the cacao.

This has unfortunately been reformulated.
Chergui has the same. It does not smell as good anymore. Did anyone else notice this? These used to be my favourite but I will not buy them anymore. Amber sultan still smells good, so I will buy that. Such a shame.

On paper, this drew me to it straight away. It was this bitter, RICH cocoa, which is so hard to find in fragrances these days - they're too often mixed with a jammy, sweet vanilla-type rose. But this cocoa was rich, sexy, dark, and bitter.
Unfortunately, on my skin, something about it for the first hour smells camphoraceous and almost mentholated. It seems it's the sandalwood - but unfortunately I like my sandalwood dry and smooth rather than sharp and herbal. The camphoraceous element is something I get very often with Serge Lutens fragrances unfortunately and it tends to really put me off. After about two or three hours or so, the cocoa and rose start to emerge again - at this point it's a lightly jammy rose with a slight chocolatey bitterness.

Scent - Great on paper, but I think I don't have the chemistry for it
Longevity - Average
Projection - Soft to moderate
Polarity - Perfectly unisex

تست امشب
سانتال مجسکول
سرج لوتنسهای همیشه جذاب و زیبا و همیشه سخت پوش
یکی از بزرگترین مشکلاتی که من شخصا با عطرهای سرج لوتنس دارم ‌ . زنده بودن و خام بودن بیش از حد نت هاست .
شلدریک علاقه زیادی به استفاده از نت های اسپایسی داره و اکثرا هم اور دوز هستند .
این حس خام بودن ادویه ها خیلی جاها تو ذوق میزنه .
خیلی ابلهانست اگه فکر کنیم عطری با سه نت بلند شده .
سانتال مجسکول انگار سوغاتی از هندوستانه . بوی هند و پاکستان میده
چوبی . اسپایسی . فلورال . بوزی
سانتال وود و زعفرون و رز در شروع با حسی لیکوریک پذیرای شامه شماست در شروع .
عطر نسبتا کمپلکسه و تغییر رایحه و فاز خاصی تو طول عمر عطر رخ نمیده ولی درای داون عطر گرمتر . کوزی تر .اسپایسی تر میشه ‌ . مثل بوی گنجه تو قفسه معابد
بوی چوب . بوی ادویه ‌. بوی میوه های خشک . چند تا شیشه روغن معطر از گلها .
سانتال مجسکول نه اونقدر لطیف و زیباست نه اونقدر چغر و خشن ‌
کلا این عطرهای لیبل مشکی سرج لوتنس سخت پوش تر هستند . خام تر هستند ‌.
اگه به روایح شرقی و هندی با حسی معنوی و غلبه نت سندل وود علاقمند هستید
این عطر رو از دست ندید . نرم میشینه روی پوست جزوی از بدن میشه ‌. ساعتها عطر افسانه وار و شرقی خودش رو به مشام میرسونه ...

This is beautiful. Perfectly blended, refined, and evergreen. A signature scent kind of fragrance, true unisex, all day, every day. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but masterfully made; it just smells expensive, of offices with grand vistas and powerful people. Sandalwood base with a smoothness and natural sweetness of cacao and a drop of freshness from the rose that slowly opens more and more as it dries down.

This fragrance is really unique, I don’t think I’ve smelt anything like it before. It’s sort of like a spicy, round sandalwood. The floral element is really atypical too, I would never guess that it’s a rose. It must be the type of rose or accord this house uses. There’s a light jammy sweetness but it’s overall quite a spicy fragrance. Really lovely. It could easily be someone’s signature scent and what a statement it would make. Not a safe blind buy at all, it will be a very divisive fragrance.

This is one of the very best woody fragrances.
The woodiness is sandalwood and cedar I believe. The dry natural woodiness is greatly balanced with a slightly sweet cocoa and dewy rose.

The opening hits hard: sharp aggressive rose, dusty cocoa power and spicy sandalwood. At first I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. An hour later, I was in heaven! The sandalwood blooms into a soft and creamy scent, the rose sweetens up, and the cocoa (while very much in the background) adds a nice touch of bitterness and rounds out the composition. It doesn't project very far but it lasts somewhere between 6-7 hours.

So simple, yet so stunning.
Vibes: rich cacao scent, cozy, sexy, date
Form: 2ml sample

I purchased a 50ml bottle of Santal Majuscule a few months ago. What I received was a bottle of Bois de Violette labeled and packaged as Santal Majuscule. I really love it though. I have no idea how this could have occurred.

Rose, then powdery sandalwood, with some slightly sweet cacao sprinkled throughout.

I previously gave Santal Majuscule a harsh review, likely because I tried amidst a heatwave, in which it was good awful--even indoors with AC--and seemed to melt on my skin into an awful bitter rose. I dug my sample up against yesterday and in the winter chill, I have found new appreciation for Majuscule. It's hard to describe this scent. Yes, I agree that the rose is the most prominent note, but it is one of the better roses I've smelt. It's not fruited, or patchoulied, or turned into astringent chemical rose water (like in so many rose-oud combos), but instead smells like slightly dried out soft pink rose petals. The sandalwood note is a "you need to know what you're looking for" note to smell. I doubt had this fragrance not been named after the note, it would not be mentioned at length. It is a smooth, polished, block of white sandalwood. It is not the savory, buttery, Mysore Sandalwood variation, and thankfully does not use aromachemicals to try to emulate that. It smells clean and creamy (do not think you're getting anything like "Santal 33").

As it dries down, cocoa powder joins the mix. Thankfully, the cacao is not sweetened or chocolatey (that would be far too sweet and gourmand combined with the already sweet and creamy santal), but instead dusty and bitter. In fact, I think the beauty of Santal Majuscule lies in the yin and yang of dusty, bitter, creamy, and sweet. It manages to be all those things at once, like so many of Serge Luten's creations.

There's more to the notes than just what's listed above. I detect: Rose, sandalwood, cacao, orange peel, aldehydes, cashmeran.

If I had one gripe about Santal Majuscule, it would be that it's a little TOO clean. I would've loved something a little dirtier, purely for shock value (thought if you want that, I suppose you would prefer Santal De Mysore's spice market over this). This is certainly a high quality, well thought out, beautiful creation that I could see being a signature scent or "easy reach" for many. If I owned a full bottle, and I certainly might, I would appreciate its versatiltiy (so long as I don't wear it during another heatwave while cooking).

This is the coldest sandalwood fragrance I've ever smelled. It comes across spicy and minty on my skin, like an aftershave. It's very curious and I can't stop smelling it but I'm not sure if it's because of the novelty or because I like it.

Rose is always a tricky note for me - too sweet and it's juvenile, too powdery and it's too mature. Serge Lutens' aesthetic tends to the latter end of this spectrum, and this one keeps shifting between ok and too powdery for me.

I think I'll keep my sample around to see if warm weather melts the elements a little more cohesively. For now this is a solid ok.

Edit: This definitely shines in warmer weather. The rose stays sweeter rather than powdery, and the camphor quality of the sandalwood feels cool and refreshing. It keeps dancing on the edge of almost too sweet and powdery, but every time I wear this I can't stop smelling my wrist. I think I may need a full bottle.

What I really like in this one : the realistic strong sandalwood , what I hate : the rose. So I've found a good compromise : layering this scent with Quiksilver pour homme to annihilate this feminine rose and ending up wth a fresh yet potent sandalwood perfume.

This is pretty, but its not for me.. for now at least. A lot of the SL fragrances I've tried have this dustiness to them that pull very mature on me. Wearing this makes me feel like I'm in a church full of rich old people, where there are dried dead roses and little dark chocolates that have that ashy tone on them. I don't hate it though and I can appreciate the beauty of it, but I just don't think I will be wearing it a lot

Yummm. If you were to eat medjool dates in cream silk lingerie... in a sun-drenched dusty, dusty historic library with old giant atlases...filled with giant vases of fresh cut red roses.

In Santal Majuscule, in addition to sandalwood, rose has a prominent role. I like rose as a flower but rose note is not a favorite of mine when it comes to perfumes. So the opening of this scent was not something that I particularly liked. But after about an hour I get a dry down from this composition that is really beautiful. Rose and sandalwood work together to create an amazing scent that I really like. I can't stop smelling myself when it gets to the dry down in fact!

The scent overall is unisex and probably a little feminine, but still can be worn by men I would say. It is also very versatile and I can see it being worn around the year and for different occasions. The longevity is very good and it stays until you wash it. The projection was really good as well. Overall, this is a very good creation IMHO, highly recommended!

I like this fragrance for some weird reason. I'm picking up the powdery and woody effect, but not much rose. I'd say this is about 7/10, for me. Fall/Winter would be the best time to wear it.

Cool ambery sandalwood with a hefty dose of rose. Very powdery, but also gives the impression that it it would taste awfully buttery, if you had the misfortune to get any in your mouth.
Is it harsh if I say that I find this repellant? I adore rose, am actively looking for a sandalwood perfume, and don't pick up any cacao, so I don't know why this turns me off so much. I got a 1ml sample and won't even make it through that. Not for me at all. But an interesting experiment to test it nonetheless.

Santal Majuscule is a terrific triptych of rose, cacao and sandalwood which is a firm favourite of mine. I find this SL offering to be an easily wearable one and reach for it quite often.

The dry down is where the magic occurs with this perfume. You end up getting a beautifully realistic rose, jammy and fully blooming in all of it's splendour. The cacao is a realistic one, not artifical or sweet at all for the note. Instead it's dark, dry, a little bit bitter and dusty even; a realistic cacao, basically. The sandalwood smooths things out even more, blending the edges of things together into something gentle and flowing. It keeps this a soft rose centered scent that feels like silken petals against the skin.

Overall, the fragrence wears as very natural smelling, simple, but never boring. I'd say it leans feminine and it performs well in either cold or warm weather, in my experience.

From the website:
"Powdered here with the bitterness of cocoa, sandalwood sinks deep into a velvet trap."Serge Lutens
The rose is the same as in La fille de Berlin. I really like this aspect cause it reminds me of vintage Antaeus. It also seems to have a smoky, incense-y note at the start that stays throughout, and also a touch of cinnamon. So, it's not as simple as just 3 notes, there's more going on. It's strangely comforting on a late autumn morning. Unisex.

A unique and stunning scent. The best cacao note I have ever smelled by a mile - not sweet, not chocolatey - just a pure, roasted, dry cacao. I usually dislike sandalwood but it's perfect here as a base for the cacao. The rose smells like it's growing out of a bed of dirty, roasted sandalwood/cacao base, blooming on top of it. The perfect evening fall/winter scent, very elegant.

I ended up liking this -- a lot -- but it was *not* what I expected, based upon the name and description.

I was in search of another sandalwood-forward scent; instead, I was treated to the most realistic, life-like rose I've ever smelled. Santal Majuscule -- on me -- reads like a voluptuous red rose in full bloom. I can smell the texture of the silky petals, and the soft, alluring fragrance emanating from the center of the flower. It's not chemical or artificial or overwhelming. It isn't trying too hard to be a rose, and it's not a "perfume" version of what we think a rose ought to be; it simply *is* one, by its very nature.

The sandalwood, for me, appears later in the composition, as a fine dusting of wood powder, intertwined with the rose aroma. It supports the rose, but doesn't intrude upon the flower's decision to take center stage, and it never becomes the main focus of the perfume. A sprinkle of cocoa lingers in the background, but it's hardly enough to notice. It's a simple fragrance -- but sometimes, less is more, and simplicity is a good thing. This perfume is wearable and comforting. It doesn't challenge your senses; it is content to be itself.

So, I guess this was a win? I came to the party expecting a sandalwood dream, but I left with the rose to end all roses. (For now, TF Santal Blush remains in my perfume closet as my sandalwood staple.) All in all, I can't complain; I'll just keep looking for more sandalwood perfumes. However, I think my search for the ideal rose may end here, because I doubt I could find anything more suitable.

Overall, I'd say this is a "must try" -- everyone seems to get something different from this one, and I think it's worth exploring.

I really like this one. When first sprayed on my skin it can smell a little sharp but then immediately it starts drying down and mellows out. That's when the magic happens. It smells strongly of rose and sandalwood at equal measures on my skin. Then the cocoa in the background really ties it together. Even though it only has 3 notes, it isn't bland to me whatsoever. I think it's beautiful fragrance and it really shines in colder weather.

ETA/ Performance is great. I think both men and women can wear this. Although it does lean slightly more feminine on my skin. Serge Lutens has become one of my favorite houses. The scents are unique with great performance. And I love the shape & simplicity of the bottles. Even if one of his fragrances isn't for me, I still appreciate the artistry and stories behind them. Truly a great house!

To my nose it´s all about leather and nothing else matters. An old comfortable glove forgotten in an old, slightly dusty drawer. Rose probably yes, on the sourish side which is wonderful. Subtle though confident fragrance. Definitely neither gourmand, nor sweet at all. It is not cosy, it's not rough either. Very nice and very quiet yet persistent. P. S. I may sound outrageous, but there is something in the core of SM, which reminds me of the very dry down of Shalimar. This is hardly a take on Shalimar. But to my senses Shalimar radiates a note akin to that of gas lighting , and this is probably the incense, playing tricks on my perception. I very clearly detect a similar note here, so honestly I doubt that this construction is held together by 3 notes only.

A puzzling title and strange reviews below misled me into believing this is a dense chocolatey woody composition. Instead it is a clearly a rose fragrance, with sandalwood cacao and spices as supporting notes.

Already from the opening I am smelling the sweet scent of rose, dense, powdery, but not sickeningly sweet, rounded by the sandalwood in the base, a certain dark dustiness of cacao surrounding it. A balance between darkness and brightness, I envision holding a massive, deeply red head of a rose, fully bloomed with large petals. The powdery or rather dusty elements add the aforementioned darkness and density to the formula. Many sandalwood compounds already have a gourmand element, but in this case I feel the opposite is happening, where the rose and sandalwood pull the cacao away from any gourmand connotation, bringing out the dusty and woody elements from it.

I feel I still need to sit and analyze it, but it definitely goes into the list of most enticing feminine fragrances I have smelled. Personally I can't envision it on a man, but rather on a classy woman in her 40s or older.

Delicate, dusty rose and burnt smoky sugar with a hint of whisky and oud? I have been toying with wanting Dior's Santal Noir for a couple of years which is very dark (doh!) and this is lighter, prettier and just easier. More of an elegant skin scent and far sexier in a chiffony, sultry way. Less 'in your face' than the Dior. Can't wait to wear this as the weather heats up.

Santal Majuscule is a linear yet nicely composed modern sandalwood scent. It is well-blended, with the rose and sandalwood present from initial spray, complementing each other nicely. It is not dry or dusty; instead it is jammy, even sticky, with an underlying sweetness. The sandalwood note is synthetic, but it is a pleasant, good quality scent overall. It reminds me of SJP Stash - an excellent budget woody-amber scent, but SM is simpler - less spicy and less boozy. It doesn't compare to vintage Guerlain Samsara however - the pinnacle of Mysore sandalwood perfume. I've seen this compared to Santal 33, but the latter is a drier, spicier sandalwood with some leather in the base that gets a little harsh, while SM is simpler, sweeter and well-rounded.

SM opens with smooth, slightly balsamic sandalwood, complemented by a jammy rose note. There is a slight booziness to the opening. Cacao adds warm, powdery sweetness after a little while. It becomes drier as it develops - the rose subsides and the cacao becomes more prominent. The cacao is more spicy than chocolate-like, but it adds a soft, warm, powdery, sweet-spicy quality that marries beautifully with the sandalwood.

The powdery cacao-sandalwood accord prevails as it dries down, smooth and warm on my skin until it fades. Sillage and longevity are moderate. Perfectly unisex, this is a lovely autumn/winter scent. Cosy and elegant, it is easy to wear and garners compliments. A lovely modern sandalwood that thankfully avoids harshness, SM is simple but beautifully composed with an inspired range of notes. 4/5.

Santal Majuscule from Serge Lutens - the masterpiece I can personally not wear. I have a full bottle, sleeping on my budoir since one year or so. I don't use it, but I have too much respect for it to let it go. It is a grandious perfume, it screams (not, it doesn't scream, it whispers down to your bones) autumn, smoky, woody, the most precious santal and an amazing drydown. Now for me, the initial phase is too much. I sprayed it once and then jumped into the car, don't do it.
After 1-2 hours you can admire the masterpiece. I bought it based on the drydown, I sprayed it on a paper in shop and every time I walked by it I thought: you have to be mine.
My advice is, give it a try, if you can wear it and if you are into those notes you will probably love it.

A beautiful fragrance. Three notes blended to perfection. I really like how the rose cacao and sandalwood work together here wow…It’s comforting and alluring. Think it could work as well on a date as a lazy cold afternoon. 4.2/5. Performance on me I’ve found very good as opposed to SL vetiver oriental which was also very nice but performance was very poor.

This is not a dry sandalwood. Santal Majuscule definitely has the quality of Santal Blush and Adam Levine for Her in that it smells like a sweet sandalwood jam. Rose is in here, jammy also, reminds me a lot of the rose in Kajal Warde. Smells synthetic, slightly woody underneath all the jam, ever so slightly dusty from cocoa. Santal Maj felt derivative at first due to the lack of complexity and the cloyingness of it all, but it's growing on me.

Not as strong as Santal Blanc, more discreet despite the presence of cocoa which I find weak.
Not the best of the Lutens but a must have in a niche collection.

Just my 2 scents.
I did not think sweet or gourmand when I first tried.
It's chocolaty woods, maybe cedar and some sandalwood. It's not a great Mysore sandalwood like in Creed Boise de Portugal.
The rose nicely brightens it up, and the slight sweetness is coming from a jammy rose, like in Amouage Lyric Man.
It's well blended, a very enjoyable 3 note fragrance accord.

Rating: 8/10

God bless. John 3:16

“Rose” and “powdery” are typically not accords that I go for, but luckily a friend gave me a sample of this and I absolutely love it. The cacao in it transforms the rose into something a little smoky and rich. The words I would use to describe this fragrance are: deep, dark, classy, and mysterious. It leans slightly masculine, but it’s definitely unisex.

This isn’t an everyday fragrance. This is a nighttime, cold weather fragrance that’s perfect for a date night or some special occasion. I love it, so I went for a full bottle.

Serge Lutens can do no wrong for me. This is perfectly unisex anyone can rock this scent. The woods are sweet almost syrupy and the cocoa almost makes it a gourmand. I love it. Good longevity I could smell it on me my whole work day 10 hrs and projection is good for the first few hours then becomes a little more intimate.

the newer presentation with black sticker label is more rosy than it used to be. I’m no longer noticing the chocolate/cocoa like I used to in the older packaging with cream trimmed label. just a heads up.

aside from this being more rose dominant now, it’s still the reference sandalwood along with samsara.

I think this is a very first time when I call any fragrance expensive and sexy smelling. What I have noticed that with this fragrance you can’t wear just random tshirt and jeans, or a floral/pastel coloured dress. It demands you to wear something dark and sexy💃🏽👠 You really have to pull this off🫵🏻, it doesn’t work with everything!
Moreover, Santal Majuscule can be tricky, so you have to try that out before you buy it, as for some females, it can smell masculine, and vice versa.

Beautifully dusty sandalwood with a coating of rich black cocoa powder, the super high quality totally natural and unsweetened stuff used for baking. There's also a sort of shaving foam note, like going into the bathroom after a man has been shaving. The rose is fresh, natural, and slightly lemony, tucked away in the background just peeking through the sandalwood/cocoa blend. I don't find this at all sweet, but woody and dusty and gorgeously blended. Very unisex, if slightly on the more masculine side. It stood up to a 23C summer day, but would be even better in the winter I think.

Just got this decant in and I immediately purchased a 3.3 bottle on fragrancenet it was $134 with the discount code. I just got seventeen different decants in the mail and REALLY had ZERO intention of purchasing anymore full bottles in this lifetime. But. This scent is a dry down dream come true for me. Similar to vintage Chanel Cuir de Russe dry down. Which is obscenely unaffordable. I will layer this with Estée Lauder Azuree for the leather note. On my skin it is supremely sweet without being foody. This may replace Shalimar as my desert island scent. I haven’t smelled it in a long while but it also brings to mind the Kubla Khan musk? If anyone has both I’d love to hear any comments. Edit to add the initial phase is not awesome for me personally. I don’t hate it but it’s somewhat…Red Rosie.

Not for me, but I can understand why it would be wonderful for the right person. I definitely understand why so many people are connecting this with Jeux de Peau and yet? For me, it lacks the challenging qualities that rounded out Jeux de Peau’s gourmand aspects.

On my skin at least, there’s something of that “bug spray” note that some sandalwoods seem to evoke for me. Beyond that, it’s unbearably sweet. I had so hopef the cacao would be a bitter chocolate, but this is pure sugar. I don’t find much rose at all here, although there’s a kind of powderiness that is a bit lipstick rose-esque.

Full disclosure, I generally do not care for gourmand styled fragrances. I’m definitely not the audience for this, and that’s okay!

Trying it out now. I've been looking for a darker counterpart to Fragonard's Santal that I can wear in the evenings. I'm in love with it. It's goth, powerful and pretty much unisex. Deep, beautiful roses and cocoa, and a wonderful sandalwood.

Edit: Got the full bottle and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted out of a winter scent. Love it.

This is a masterpiece and a gift to sandalwood lovers. It is pure beauty and simplicity. One of SL's very best offerings. If you have a penchant for sandalwood (especially paired with rose), this is calling your name.

This is the first perfume in my life I knew would be my signature the moment I sprayed it on my skin.
It is a deep rich woody scent not overly spicy as it often happens to santal fragrances, but rather sparkling with refined spicies, their lucios warmth and bitterness. At the same time it has that almoust creamy, but not eatable chocolate vibe, that feels soothing. The rose is hardly discernable by itself, but its soft scent is present in the background, giving a fragrance somewhat like a glow of dignity as these mature flowers often do. I simply felt in an instant that this is the way my skin should smell on it's own... Thank you, Serge Lutens, for giving it to me!

It’s a very strange scent. I think that’s why I purchased it—I couldn’t stop sniffing it in store. But unfortunately that was a really poor criterion for choosing a perfume. The performance lacks for the price. Definitely a “skin” scent. It doesn’t project at all and it doesn’t last very long either. As for the scent, I can’t even describe it but those notes don’t look accurate to me.

Chocolate powder made to perfection.
Forget about all the other tacky powdery chocolate scents out there and upgrade to this fabulous creation.
Santal Majuscule is leaning feminine and blossoms the best in winter, when the temperature keeps it tamed and sterile. The sandalwood adds strength to it while the rose makes it poetic and pretty. The best part is this powdery chocolate, the most elegant chocolate out there. The type of chocolate powder the Queen of England would snort in her boudoir during her tea time and would be harvested in a super exclusive part of the world, just for her. Another complex blend by Christopher Sheldrake.

This is a beautiful fragrance however I don't see myself wearing it as I feel that it leans a little too feminine for me and this is coming from a guy who wears Black Orchid and other female marketed and unisex fragrances like Gucci oud and Gucci Guilty Oud so I'm not afraid of something feminine and flamboyant. However, this fragrance just screams sophisticated mature lady, so I gave it to my mother and she loved it which was a surprise because she is very picky with fragrances and she mostly wears fragrances like Baccarat Rouge 540, Narciso Rodriguez for her edt and By The Fireplace. My final verdict is that this is a lovely fragrance that exudes class but not for myself something more for a classy boss woman.

Too sweet for a sandalwood.

Considering my cozy or sensuous experiences with sandalwood, rose, and cocoa, I came into this expecting just that.
I was surprised to find a masculine-leaning, cool and bluish, rose dominant fragrance. Santal Majuscule defied my expectations at every turn. I wish I detected sandalwood more strongly in the mix, but it's still nice. Has a crisp and refined academic feel to it.

The rose is persistent.
The drydown is superb. Strong longevity, but sillage dies down gradually (first few hours it's strong though).
Lovely stuff.

Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule (2012) - sandalwood rose - #christophersheldrake created another timeless modern classic. In this take on sandalwood, he’s able to bring out its warm and creamy facets. I also get smoked woods, cocoa powder, and a hint of baking spices. Balance comes in the form of Rose - dewy and fresh. Reminds me of a visual image of seeing a sandalwood tree wrapped in roses, slowly burning.

I was one step into blind-buying it as I went through my old box of samples et voilà! Found a little decant of Santal Majuscle that someone sent me yeeeeaars ago. It is in fact lovely for the sandal lovers, but owning Santal de Mysore also by Serge Lutens, I realize I don't need it - granted, Mysore has a HUGE cumin note that brings curry to mind and Majuscle has none of that nonsense, being a very easy to like and wear sandalwood. Mind you, they are not alike, I just find it overlapping having them both, since I have so many other scents in my wishlist line. I get the comparison with Adam Levine's perfume (which I like a lot - the perfume, not the singer at all) but they are not lookalikes, more like "if you like this, you might enjoy that". All in all, not worth a purchase for me, but wouldn't be mad to get it as a gift or a great discount deal.

Although the note isn't listed in the pyramid (never treat the pyramid as gospel), I detect this delectable hazelnut in the very opening of Santal Majuscule. I wonder if a dash of Filbertone was used here, but it really accentuates a nuttiness to the sandalwood and cacao, giving an almost praline quality while not necessarily being that sweet. Not too sweet at all, thankfully, as the sandalwood is allowed to come through: here the focus is on its drier, cedar-like qualities, more like the raw wood than of the oil. A pleasant bitterness, perhaps coming from the cacao, becomes evident several minutes after applied to the skin.

Let's talk about the rose though. Wow, how wonderfully this rose blooms, deep red with berry nuances, ionones and such, and while the initial impression for certain noses that this scent might be deep and heavy, there is an ethereal quality revealed in the heart. The rose elevates the shadowy, dusky woodiness and cocoa powder, and there is almost a sour, over-ripened quality to the rose over time, almost as if the roses are fermented into a brew, a rose potion, if you will, and the sandalwood begins to advance forward more so at this point in the development. There is almost a peaty whiskey quality in the background, quite a lovely accent. Over time, Santal Majuscule ensconces itself in a meditative, rosy, woody skin scent.

This is a scent that you have to try on your skin instead of the test paper strip. Upon initial spray, it is warm sandal wood with little or no sweetness. As it warms up on my skin, the gorgeous deep voluptuous rose comes out, with a sweetness that comes from unsweetened rich cacao powder under warm winter sun. Amazing scent for autumn or winter.

The three notes listed sum it up pretty well. It's dark and woody and intense, but gets sweeter as it develops on the skin into a nice, sparkly spiced rose. It's an elegant, classy scent I see suited for a night out at a fancy restaurant. It doesn't last very long on me, fading away after 4 or 5 hours, but I don't mind reapplying.

Propably that's the most gentlemanly smell in my collection. It is a 30+ old man scent, it summons all the classic, elegant and refined characters in any man fragrance.

This is an "older" scent i cant see anyone under 40 pulling this off to be honest, its very sophisticated, strong and has so much wisdom in it. That's the type of smell this is to me, it lasts very very long on my skin and i love the scent trail and whiffing it off the air rather than skin.
9/10

very sexy woody spicy scent, very serge lutens if you get what i mean

This is a really well-made woody fragrance. Initial spray was more masculine than I expected but it is softer in the drydown. Very cozy. Reminds me a bit of Guerlain's Santal Royal but much softer and smoother because of the lack of oud. The rose and chocolate notes are subtle. I was expecting it to be a bit more gourmand because of the chocolate, but to me this is much more woody than gourmand. This probably a bit too masculine for my personal taste, but it is still quite lovely and is suitable for anyone who likes woody scents.
Edit: Perhaps I reviewed this too soon. An hour after posting my review, the scent evolved even more and became a bit sweeter, more chocolatey, and less woody. Like steeping wood chips and rose petals in hot cocoa, minus the milk. It has officially won me over. I also just tried layering Alexandria Fragrances Cacao Dreams on top and I am swooning!!

Cocoa powder + aged sandalwood + dried fruits is what I get from this fragrance. It's more gourmand than woody, and a bit too sweet imo. There's something dark/dry/smokey about it... perfect for fall/winter.

Women who love LVEB, or like me Orchid Soleil TF, HP Dior, who are distinctly feminine perfumes, DO NOT blind buy, it could be an absolutely masculine perfume for you.

What a beauty! If you love the smell of chopped wood this will be a paradise for you.
The beginning is so spicey, as if someone lit a Christmas sprinkler in front of your nose: D cooool!
I feel neither rose nor chocolate, just perfectly spiced wood. It’s so simple that it’s wonderful to me. Sexy, elegant, sophisticated.
Edit:
Incredibly, I can smell the rose on my skin 7 hours after application, a sweet rose, as if it has berries.
Yesterday I gave it to my brother to test, the cacao smelled immediately(never on my skin). Great perfume.

forgot to add; I ended up buying a full bottle (Santal Majuscule)

Smelling a sample of this from SL brought me directly and immediately back 25 years to the Corsican maquis; it was uncanny. I visited Corsica quite often for a few years, and had gathered many flowers and greens from the maquis- I had a handful in a small glass bowl in a dresser drawer for simply ages; the scent was very potent, still very distinct even 5+ years later...and course it was ingrained in my olfactive memory as a result. In Santal Majuscule I sense immortelle flower...and certainly the hoary rockrose (its leaves smell of....rose and sandalwood :)) There is no mention of immortelle or hoary rockrose at all in the notes, and I've never heard someone review it as such, but that's what I get. I don't get cocoa- or perhaps just an earthiness of it, or that damp underpinning that dark cocoa smell sometimes has, but nothing chocolatey at all. In any event, it's an intriguing perfume for me because of the maquis notes; intense, potent and heady in a lovely way.

I found this sandalwood frag a bit too aggressive to my nose.

Yummy cacao and rose combo. Woody base and balanced sweetness makes this perfume unisex.

I can see this as someone else's signature scent. A fragrance that will remind itself. This type of rose is not my thing but I liked it.

Long lasting, moderate projecting.

NO. This is masculine, sharp, dry, sandalwood. I'm not reading reviews on fragrantica any more.

Rose, Cacao and Sandalwood. Sweet but not sweet, slightly floral, powdery, milk chocolatey, just stunning.

If a fragrance was a hot cup of cocoa and a warm blanket in a log cabin set in France it would be this.

French elegance.

So simple, yet the execution is phenomenal. I smell a heavy dose of sandalwood but it is tempered with the cacao and rose so it's not a slap in the face. It feels slightly . . . rough? But I mean that in the best way possible--like scratching an itch. It's satisfying! And I really really love it.

It's quite comforting, like a cozy wool blanket or cup of rich hot chocolate. It's your favorite sweater that hugs you in all the right places.

Whole-heartedly unisex, through and through.

Fall and winter use, for sure. Could easily be a signature fragrance. It's not a dynamic fragrance but I don't think it's supposed to be. The beauty is in its simplicity.

Certainly worth a try, especially if you're attracted to any of the three notes listed above. Enjoy!

Woody, sweet, oriental, with only a lovely hint of powder to balance the entire fragrance = LOVE. To me, this has a note of Ylang Ylang and tossed me back to a scent I created my first year of college. Gorgeous, deep, and not too sweet. Longevity and sillage are great as well! Grab an atomized sample of this on Ebay if you're hesitant to spring for the bottle. You'll be glad you did if you're into amber and/or sandalwood-based scents.

Smoky, unisex, striking woody fragrance! I personally did not notice the cocoa, but it is a great note to round out many a strong and uncompromising scent. Little to no sweetness on me personally. The rose is not noticeable either to my nose and that's OK. It's lovely for what it is - a woody scent with great character!

This is without a doubt a classic/masterpiece from Serge Lutens aka you may have smelled this on someone else before.

It is indeed a beautiful concoction, conjuring much more than the sum of its parts being chocolate, sandalwood and rose in equal amount. But for me, the chocolate is just a bit too sweet, more like a cup of hot milk chocolate than cacao. I kind of wish it's more bitter/powdery cacao. But nevertheless, it's a very nice scent perfect for winter and not at all unbearable even in the heat. Classic Lutens!

First impression:

Opens with a sweet, milk-chocolate note with rose. As it begins to dry, the sweet milk chocolate note fades a bit to a subtle cocoa (thankfully) and a drier sandalwood and rose scent become prominent. I'm not a fan of the opening, but the dry-down is beautiful, soft, fragrant sandalwood with a heady, intoxicating rose. I need to spend more time with this one, I find it quite addicting!

Update:

The late dry-down (2 ish hours in) is not pleasant. Something buttery and nutty comes out, it reminds me of nutella. I do not want to smell like a chocolate hazelnut spread. I do not want to smell like a cake. I do not want to smell like a cookie. I do not want to smell like a biscuit. I do not want to smell like ice cream. I do not want to smell like desserts, period. I've worked in bakeries as a baker and a barista. Coming home I'd smell of cakes and coffee and had to shower ASAP.

Spices I can do. Tea I can do. Coffee and chocolate, if blended well, I can do. Gourmand is clearly not my thing.

It took me a little to wrap my brain around this fragrance.

This was a love at first sniff... but I didn't exactly smell the notes listed here in Fragrantica. I wasn't sure what I was smelling!

In the opening, I get smoke. It is not listed, so I can only assume that the cocoa makes the sandlewood smell a hint smokey.

The rose, also doesn't smell exactly like rose. It smells... fresh? A hint sweet. It is VERY light.

To me, a gourmand lover, this is almost not sweet.

And overall, it reminds me of... whiskey.

A smokey, slightly sweet, whiskey, aged in a wood barrel. Fucking fabulous.

It is bonkers to me that I love this.

the most beautiful combination ever ! so intoxicating & sexy

Love at first sniff! There is chocolate in the opening, followed by rose and sandalwood. Although I normally stay clear of scents with chocolate, here it only improves the sandalwood. The rose is soft and mild. The dry down is just sandalwood, pure and simple. Fbw.

Oh, I had one sample of Santal Majuscule I didn't know and I just found while I was looking for one palo santo stick.

This fragrance is like a warmer version of Five O'Clock Au Gingembre (which is a looooove for me, but without its freshness and cinnamon), it's like they could be cousins, imho. Santal Majuscule has 3 notes listed and they work pretty good together, resulting in a warm, not too sweet, sexy, not overpowering, boozy (I do feel like cacao does this to fragrances), a little bit powdery, with a "earthy" and something that me reminds me of incense in the opening, and when the times goes by, in the drydown it becomes something creamy, which makes me feel embraced and involved by this beauty. Rose doesn't shine in here for me, thank goodness, because it's a love hate note for me.

It's something that sandalwood lovers should give a try and a chance to fall in love with it.

8,5/10

This is above all a rose. A hint of acidity at the beginning, a sweet candy drizzle, softened by a light sandalwood and darkened by ... cocoa? ¿?.
Not overbearing like other rose themed. This develops in a soft way.
It goes very well on the skin but I personally prefer La fille de Berlin to this one if I were to wear a rose of master Serge.
However, it is pleasant and mysterious. The central part is the one I prefer.
I see it well on a seductive, elegant, self-confident woman with a cigarette in her hand.
VVell.

I received this in a swap with a lovely Fragantica member years ago, and had to repurchase it when I finished the bottle because I found myself drawn in and captivated by the final sprays of this intoxicating scent. Greater than the sum of its parts, this moody sandalwood rose combination expertly balances the tartness of rose with the uniquely savory-sour almost gourmand buttermilk richness of high quality sandalwood. The elusive Lutens signature is prominent as well. Surprisingly well suited for multiple seasons I can't get over the haunting beauty of this one but then again I'm in it with sandalwood for the long haul. If you are too, give this one a try. It's not exactly a crowd pleaser because it makes no apologies, but
it is definitely alluring, and a head turner for sure.

Heaven in a bottle. The smell is definitely something else, a brand new experience to me. The first smell is very exotic, honey and cacao notes are prominent. Although it's strong, I'm not overwhelmed. The rose and santal wood compliments each other nicely here. Longevity is good, 6-8 hours on clothes.

To me, it smells 90% like Jeux de Peau, even though there're barely any similar notes. I do not smell any notes in particular (rose or cocoa), only sandalwood is pretty prominent here with some spices. The projection and longevity are also rather poor, and I catch ever so slight smell of urine or BO (exactly the same happened with Jeux de Peau). I guess SL simply does not work with my skin chemistry.

Super feminine woody rose to me ! I do get sold yummy chocolate too!

Serge Lutens has created a large number of exquisite scents. Some of them are forged into a powerful panoply of notes. This one, however, is dedicated to Sandalwood and if anyone is a fan of Sandalwood, then this should be in your collection or at least on your 'to be sampled' list. The silage is not out to attract people from across the room, but anyone within a few feet will notice there is magic in the air. Just as there are innumerable Ouds claiming to be the best/strongest/purest there are many Sandalwoods that claim these honorifics. I think I find the addition of Cacao and Rose makes this lean more in the direction of a scent meant to seduce rather than impress. I am surprised it is not given more accolades by some of the more well-known reviewers. But that is fine with me, as I have not found myself smelling like anyone else when I am around people at events (not at all common these days, unfortunately). This is a classy, well-blent, superior scent that does not cost nearly as much as a number of Lutens' masterpieces.

The notes are very minimal but well blended. Definitely heavy sandalwood over burning wood and spices but the rose is burning too. There's an incense vibe in the opening maybe it the cocoa. When I stepped outside the air lifted this fragrance off my skin and the whiffs was a gorgeous sandalwood and rose. This is a perfect winter holiday fragrance.

-Sandalwood-heavy.
-A clean, linear scent to my nose.
-I barely detect cacao or rose in this.
-But the rose is probably there, as something helps round out the sharpness or 'dryness' thats often present in sandalwood-heavy fragrances.
-Not fbw. (-)

I was so excited when I tried this on a scent strip-- finally, a santal fragrance that actually smells like sandalwood! So many just do not have nearly enough of that nice santalol component that we know so well from the old Mysore sandalwood. This one has it. So this morning I excitedly decided to try it on skin. Well, much to my disappointment, the santalol takes a backseat to the cacao and what smells to me like coffee. So on my skin, all this smells like is a mocha from Starbucks, very gourmand, almost no sandalwood note. I was so excited and now I am so bummed out.

It's lovely, warm, sweet, caramel and sandalwood. I also detect some hazelnut in the opening. Feminine. It lasts, especially on clothes.

LE: I’m revisiting this as I find that that this is also quite an original creation that I regret not taking with me in my autumn holiday break. The play of sandalwood and gourmand notes is just great. It’s also an affordable one if that matters.

Burned butter and sweetened woods, that’s what I smell from start to finish. Dry down brings a little smoke reminding me of BBQ sauce— it’s not terrible but I guess that’s also the problem: Santal Majuscule walks in the middle of the road.

I don’t dislike this scent but I don’t like it either. Ultimately Santal Majuscule smells too synthetic and monotonous.

I'm really conflicted over this perfume. I get mostly the chocolate and rose, which is actually quite nice. The sandalwood here leans on the oudy, dirty side. It also does not smell particularly natural. I am missing the clean floral notes of real natural sandalwood. I think I prefer Santal Basmati by Affinessence, which uses real Mysore sandalwood essence and smells way more authentic. I think this offering is overpriced for what it really is, since there is no real sandalwood essence used in its composition. But at the same time, I can't help but enjoy it? It doesn't smell particularly like sandalwood but it smells good in its own way.

I don't know how Serge does it. There is something so captivating by the simplicity of this perfume. I'm addicted to this scent and cannot explain why. The roses that fade behind the woodiness drives me wild. The quirkiness of these scents I just cannot get enough of-I need to try more from this house. I own Santal Blush which is awesome but totally different. Santal blush dries down to a creamy sandalwood that is yummy and so cozy. Santal Majuscule remains a dry dusty rose cocoa sandalwood through and through the life of it. My two favorite sandalwood based perfumes.

This is my lazy Sunday scent. Its warmth is perfect for a cold winter/fall day when you just want to stay at home, drink hot cocoa and read a good book. As many noted, it's non-offensive and stays close to skin.

I dont know what took me so long to get to this gorgeous fragrance but this became my favorite comfort, before bed scent. It such a beautiful Sandalwood, Rose dusted with Cocoa Powder. Its slightly sweet and powdery. Does remind me slightly of Santal Basmati but different and performance is amazing too.

Cacao dustings and sweet ethereal roses. Sits close to the skin but will last the day. A worthy blind buy

Cacao and rose - first.
Sandalwood - second.

That is a good thing to know, if you are interested in this perfume.

It is linear, beautiful and non offensive. It stays close to skin (current version). It´s dry and powdery. Not gourmand.
You can´t go wrong with this, i´ll say.

For a more gourmand sandalwood: Frederic Malle "Dries van Noten."

For a more woody sandalwood: Tam Dao Diptyque (edp)

Instagram: @a_fraghags_tale

I ordered a sample, tried it, was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it, considering how picky I am about my sandalwoods! I am very familiar with Mysore sandal so I know well this one doesn't use it - but it is a gorgeous sandalwood blend nonetheless. So I tried the sample a dozen times and then ended up ordering a full size - my first Serge Lutens.

This one has all of my heart - I am mesmerised. The sandalwood is sharp as opposed to creamy, but not harsh. It is the friend that lends you firm support and encouragement rather than a cozy blanket and a shoulder to lean on. The rose is jammy and fresh, but never in the forefront - it lends a lushness that keeps this fragrance from ever becoming unpleasant or melancholic. Cocoa is very much present, but you'll find it only when you go looking - because it is beautifully blended with the sandalwood and doesn't really stand out as a separate note.

Absolutely divine, wonderful projection for 3-4 hours, lasts a good 8-10 hours on my skin. And I am talking about the latest formulation here.

Current version is terrible - diluted and synthetic, not comparable to older one.
Shame what is happening to brand...

I wore Santal Majuscule on one wrist and Santal 33 on the other, just because I couldn’t decide, and while 33 outlasted Majuacule by a solid 8 hours, my heart lies with Santal Majuscule.

I love Jeux de Peau, which may account for my enjoyment of this joyful, cuddly, hot-chocolate-in-Jaipur delight.

Santal Majuscule is wonderfully warm and well-balanced. It doesn’t feel like rose or sandalwood or cacao in particular, just warm and soft and cuddly. Perfect for a bracing, rainy, late-October day.

This is a slightly less sweet and gourmand Jeux De Peau, where the coconut and bready notes are replaced with a faint smooth rose and cocoa powder. Both are sandalwood dominant on me. I own a bottle of JdP and ordered a sample of this to try. It does have a slightly dustier quality due to the cocoa powder, as compared to the slightly “wetter” notes in JdP, they are different scents but I don’t see a reason for me to own both. The dry down is extremely similar and the same impression from the sandalwood is dominant on my skin. I am glad I got the sample as I think it likely I will purchase this once I run out of JdP instead of pursuing another bottle. However I do slightly prefer the breadier opening and mid but it doesn’t last that long on me, the dry down being so similar would make this a worthy replacement.

Sadly this smells like pickles on me - as did another sandalwood perfume.

Santal Majuscule is a sandalwood dominant woody fragrance. Unlike other sandalwood dominant perfumes that tend to be milky or creamy, Santal Majuscule plays up the woody aspect of sandalwood. I tried it on my skin several times without revisiting the note pyramid. I thought there’s something wild, almost bodily smelling that’s very prominent in here. After checking the notes it makes sense. It’s the cocoa combined with rose. Cocoa can turn wild and animalic on me sometimes, kind of like in Montale Intense Cafe. Intense cafe has coffee and rose listed but sometimes coffee and cocoa notes smell similar in perfumes to me. I was hoping this would turn out to be sweet in an oriental gourmand kind of way when ordering the sample, but it’s not sweet at all.
It smells incredibly warm so it’s good for cold weather. The woodiness plus the bitter cocoa lend it a masculine and serious air, so I would say it’s good for daytime use. Though it’s not a very usual scent. Definitely good for nights since it smells so wild and animalic. The scent is linear.
After trying this perfume, Sunny Side Up, Le Labo Santal 33, it became clear to me that I don’t like sandalwood dominant perfumes. I like sandalwood, but only when presented along with ten thousand other notes, hidden in a corner, instead of taking the center stage. I’ll stick to my vanilla orientals and woody floral musks, lol.

I never took care to smell the cocoa in this perfume, but the sandalwood and him very present, not as superb as Santal Blanc which is a real bomb of sandalwood.
Pleasant to wear at the start of Autumn,a discreet trail.

I am trying to be fair to SM because it is a lovely fragrance, it just isn't special. I believe, having read all the reviews from people who love it and glow about the longevity (even comparing and contrasting SM, Arabie, and Ambre Sultan), that I expected the same sort of punch and development that Arabie and AS have. On me, this starts with a whiff of dry cocoa powder on a red rose, before a wind carrying sandalwood powder shortly thereafter blows across the rose, blowing away the cocoa powder and leaving the sandalwood powder atop the rose instead. Two hours after dabbing it on (twice) I'm left with sandalwood and a hint of rose. I also tried a spray on my tshirt, and will say that on clothing the three notes are more prevalent than on my skin. Longevity is yet to be determined, but considering how quickly the notes are fading I would approximate 5 hours out of this one. I will update. (I have the newer black on black bottle, so it is possible this is weaker/has a different order of notes than the previous versions which most reviewers seem to love.)
UPDATE: After about three hours I could only smell a soft powdery sandalwood, which lasted for another hour or so. I still estimate about 5 hours total, because when I could still faintly smell sandalwood I put on Vetiver Oriental (since it also has sandalwood in the base). Perhaps my next testing of it will be better as my nose becomes more attuned.

I don't see Santal Majascule as "date night" or formal, although it would go perfectly well with evening attire. This is a perfume I wear for myself only in the fall and winter. It's the one that makes me not sad to put the summer roses away. And I see why it was inspired by the happy childhood, because in me it also evokes all the wonderful things about my childhood- early fall, sitting alone and sketching, being somewhere safe and beautiful, smelling roses from an open window and the antique furniture on which I have my sketching paper. I get mostly a beautiful deep rose and sandalwood, with a very light dusting of cocoa powder and a touch of cedar. The cocoa is not heavy for me at all, it just enhances the richness of the rose, so to me this is not a chocolately scent at all, but rose and sandalwood forward. It is one of my favorites of SL- I would have to say that this and Arabie are my cool weather favorites. Interestly, both this and Arabie are not loved by everyone, just as I am not for everyone and do not follow trends. Do not blind buy, because it will not be what you expect. My one complaint is I wish it lasted longer. I do have to apply more than once a day.

Sandalwood bomb right here! From the nozzle it smells foodie...like sandalwood soup. It still smells like that at initial spray. After 10 to 15 mins the foodie-ness goes away and the rose comes in and remains balanced and linear. It smells really well done. I don’t know what unisex is supposed to smell like but I know this is like the perfect office perfume in my collection. Unfortunately I smell no cocoa at all and I bought this cuz of that. :(. But I am keeping this. Good blind buy after all.

Santal Majuscule is like drinking hot chocolate. It brings along comfortable dry warm woody accord. Santal is a well balanced mixture, a skin close scent without major spikes that is great for calm office environment as well as for home. It is overall unisex selection if you need a neutral nice fragrance from niche brands that is calm and comforting.

I thought I liked sandalwood....after having this on me I realized I LOVE sandalwood. Very few ingredients but they are perfectly balanced. This is deep rich sandalwood, not too sweet not too earthy. Good for layering IMO

Like a dark chocolaty rose....to sum it up.

It smells similar to Ferragamo uomo signature, but with a strong rose base-note and a more natural chocolate smell. It's really nice.

The rose in this is beautiful. It lays so delicately but noticeable in the background. I love this blend. Well done fragrance, it's classy and sophisticated.

This is for formal dress up occasions. A man in a tuxedo specifically. Could get away with wearing this to a wedding although you might show up all the other men. I don't think this is beastmode enough to blow out a whole room, but it's strong enough to make a dominant presence. For the right man, this would be fire in a formal occasion.

As for the note breakdown, for me, all I get is rose and chocolate, no sandalwood. I don't detect any wood or powder in this either, until well into the dry down when a little bit of powder peaks out, but not much. It's just a chocolate opening that dries down to a great chocolaty rose scent that is classy and for formal events.

scent-8/10
performance-7/10
uniqueness-6.5/10
value-6.5/10
overall-7.5/10

My introduction to Serge Lutens fragrances

Santal majuscule opens up with a massive dose of vintage rose. Beware, the opening is quite strong and heady, It has a slight sweetness that balance out the woody notes. The rose is the most prominent note in here, I barely get much of the sandalwood even after I have reached the dry down.

It is a feminine leaning dark, heavy, slightly woody, mostly floral fragrance that is not for everyone. The longevity is great, I got around 8 hours. Sprayed it in the late morning, still there after I took a shower in the evening.

Overall I would give it a 7/10

This is a gorgeous rose fragrance that leans feminine. It’s a lot more rose than wood. I almost blind bought as a fan of Egoiste so I’m glad I sampled.

I have been looking for a great sandalwood scent for a while now, and this is what I have been dreaming of.

Very sweet rose, the tonka listed on Basenotes is very present in the opening, and the dry down is tonka and sandalwood. If you don't mind a sweet, rosey opening--and you shouldn't: the rose is great--and you are looking for sandalwood, pick up a sample of this.

I think there is a bottle in my future...

This is not what I expected.The first blast is too strong woody rose,a little old fashion.There is a sweetness,darkness and woodyness.Then comes the dark cocoa note.After half an hour it settles down and I could smell the sandalwood.Yes,it`s there but it`s too faint.It is cold,because of the cocoa,the rose is almost gone.Too week to detect after the strong begining!I can`t say that I hate it,I almost like it,but I`ll keep trying to find that beautiful sandalwood in you SANTAL MAJUSCULE!

It is Ruby Port aged in a Sandalwood-Oak Vat, with Rose and a touch of Orange and Spice tossed in.

There must be more notes than sandalwood, rose, and cacao.

I don't get the cacao at all--or rather, if it's there, it's so well-blended, it is engulfed in the overall orchestra.

What I get is this--from the first time I smelled this and bought a bottle many years ago, to this day, is the following recipe:

1. Take a rose that is nearing the end of its bloom and it rich and nearly rotting on a hot, humid day.
2. Take a handful of best quality sandalwood.
3. Take a pinch of potent spices, perhaps eugenolic ones, such as clove, and perhaps a touch of sweet cinnamon.
4. Take a small piece of dried orange rind.
5. Toss all of the above into a large saucepan filled with best-quality Ruby Port, a cup of sugar, and heat.

Once infused, pour and drink.

This fragrance IS sweet, rose-scented, lightly spiced, Christmastime Ruby Port. The individual notes are secondary to that magic drink.

This fragrance also is a copied-and-revised version of Polge's famous and absolutely original 1990 sandalwood-rose-spice masterpiece, Chanel Egoiste.

Long time ago, in a perfumery course I took, my classmates and me had to face the challenge of describing sandalwood. I had a terrible time dealing with its nuisances - according to the professor, its molecules are too big, making it difficult to get it and analyze it.

This is not the case of SM.

First, a fellow fumehead warned me the Lutens lean more on the bold / bombastic range of blends, thus, if looking after discretion, he told me, any of the line could be problematic. Of course, since I don't know all the blends of the house, I cannot attest this.

However, SM fits the description - it is bold, shocking, strong, far away from what I was expecting after the word "santal", a discreet note difficult to appreciate, albeit providing key basenotes to blends.

SM is sweet and spicy in its opening, the kind of descriptors I expect in a feminine scent. I cannot, however, find notes as clear as the ones mentioned in the pyramid. For example, I can get whiffs of iris, and... some mix of aromatic molecules that are pretty nice but to some extent, a restrained cacophony of lollypops hitting my nose. After some time it turns into a powdery scent that is close to the skin, quite enjoyable though.

I really liked it, but this is not my cup of tea. Too sweet, too boisterous. A good winter fragrance, though. A spray under the shirt, more would be a lack of respect to those around you. Wrapping it up, SM is the kind of scent that makes me afraid, for it has the power of turning men wearing it into cologne guys, those that are dispaised by colleagues or any poor soul around him.

My second favorite from this house, after Chergui of course. This is a wonderful woody creamy sandalwood, bordering gourmand. It lasts at least 10 hours on my skin, with average projection. But it is sooo worth having! I don't usually like woody scents but this is amazing!!!

I sprayed this more than 7 hours ago on my arm and I can definitely still smell it, even after I went to the gym. Considering that the composition only contains 3 notes, I'm impressed with its longevity and sumptuousness.

When I smell Santal Majascule on skin, I think of seducing a sexy carpenter on Valentine's Day. The star of the show is the dry, dusty sandalwood. About 20 minutes in, the woods are still prominent, but I sense an unsweetened, dark chocolate brownie. Rose is also present, but only a shadow of it. The sandalwood and the dark cacao together make the most delicious combination without needing any sugary sweetness. I love it!

I find this so much easier to wear than Tam Dao, which has a weird formaldehyde type of smell to my nose (sorry). I also find this versatile. Santal Majuscule can tuck me into bed, go with me to work, or accompany me on a date night.

finally a SL I enjoyed!

opens woody, very resinous, salty, creamy sandalwood, & delicate rose that doesn't dominate

about 20-30 mins in it shares some similarities with Le Labo Santal but not as pronounced (which I appreciate)

after 3 hours it has "to die for" smoky like tea notes… I never really got any cocoa so not sure about that one …

3 sprays medium projection for about 5-6 hours

Beautiful sandalwood scent! Has a creamy rose and chocolate in the background that makes it gourmand. Reminds me oddly a lot of Nasomotto's Baraonda. In fact this is almost the same thing as Baraonda but just without the whiskey note. My only complaint is the performance, as with most Serge Lutens, it lasts only about 4 hours and then disappears. If it weren't for that, this would have been a buy.

4/5

True to what it claims to be.
In my opinion, stars off very beautiful and stays that way for 4-5 hrs. After that it seemed like it started to seem like it was nothing special.
A good one but won't be purchasing it.

Santal Majuscules is a masterpiece which is not easy to classify. It opens with spicy and sweet notes. In the center of the fragrance, sandalwood mixes with the very present rose to give way to a suave woody trail with a chocolate effect. Santal Majuscules is the third fragrance around sandalwood imagined by Serge Lutens after Santal Blanc, a rather sweet fragrance and Santal de Mysore which is more spicy. To a lesser extent, we could also mention Jeu de Peaux, with which Santal Majuscules has a certain resemblance. According to the brand this perfume evokes the childhood of Serge Lutens, on the school benches when he enjoyed embellishing with all kinds of drawings the capital letters in his writing. Thumbs up for this beautiful creation. 😊❤️👍🏽

(Writing this 23.Oct.2019) I just received my 50mL black label bottle(the renewed design), but I don't get the cacao notes as much as I used to with the original bottles. Mostly just rose and sandalwood...Is it just me? Or has the formula changed?

Well, I tried this today and fell in LOVE on first whiff. It filled the room with the most glorious scent and 1 hour later when my hubby walked in the back door, he commented on how great it smelled. Man, I was all ready to buy it right then. But, I waited to see what the longevity is and sadly it was only around 3 hours before it became a faint skin scent with none of that wonderful, room filling sillage that it started with. Great, masterful perfume with less than average performance on me. Not FB worthy, esp. at the price.

Sandalwood....rose....bitter-ish cacao.....creating a balsamic...woody/spice..cocoa flower scent.

Yes, a masterpiece.

Decent sillage and projection too !!

Masterpiece 💛💛💛💛💛

SANTAL MAJUSCULE VS JEUX DE PEAU

Many compare these two fragrances, and I can certainly see why they do, as I believe the drydown to be almost the same, yet:

On one hand, Santal Majuscule is snadalwood made to perfection. It is quite linear, and though I can smell cocoa, I find it is rather a more faint bitter cacao, which is there to amalgamate sandalwood and rose.

On the other hand, Jeux de Peau's opening and heart are, in my view, a CRAZY gourmand combination of milk, wheat and licorice with a hint of coconut and appricot, that I never in my life imagined I would like to smell of, but alas, I actually do. It is a fragrance that whenever I wear it, I just can't stop smelling my wrist; now, how often does that happen, you guys?!!!

While Santal Majuscule is more polished, more restrained, straight forward and straight laced, Jeux de Peau is the fragrance that converted me into Cristopher Sheldrake's most ardent admirer. I find it to be ingenious and creative; it is one of those scents that makes me look forward to Autumn and Winter, and I am just CRAZY about it.

Both are beautiful and masterfully blended, but you can see which way I'm leaning. Mr. Sheldrake is a genious. You cannot go wrong with any choice from the Serge Lutens house. Happy sniffing!

SANDALWOOD this is what the name of this fragrance means, sandalwood in Capital letter AKA Santal Majuscule, I have had a not a great introduction to Serge lutens as most of them are very dark and I live in country like India where we get 9 months of Hot/Humid Weather so this house is not ideally suited however this one is not typical Serge lutens .

It has three big notes Rose , Cacao and Sandalwood and they play equal role in this perfume life , As you spray this fragrance you smell beautiful rose which is Jammy with bit of cocoa which gives it little powdery feeling with bit honey like feeling , Almost edible perfume at this point which you can eat as a dessert , In couple of minutes after the development you start smelling the woody base which is sandalwood , I am not sure what kind of sandalwood is this ? Mysore (Don’t think so), Australian sandalwood acting as Mysore due to sweet base of Cacao and jammy rose? Yes, most probably! This is very linear fragrance and for next 8 hours with decent projection it stays the same, very playful and easy to wear fragrance, it will defiantly get you compliments as it’s a crowd pleaser and also unisex can be worn by any gender however it’s not something unique or complicated and some time that is not a bad thing.

Did it justify the name of Sandalwood in capital letter? IMO it should have been named Cacao Majuscule as its one of best cocoa note fragrance I have smelled and nowhere close to best sandalwood! I have heard Sandal De Mysore which was launched back in 1991 has authentic Mysore Sandalwood so now my search starts to test the same as I just a sucker for great authentic Sandalwood! 8/10

Absolutely incredible scent! Fair warning, the opening is very strong but rich. Warm, creamy and slightly spiced sandalwood with a subtle rose and cocoa dry down.

10/10 in terms of smell. As for performance, it's really strong on me for the first 2 hours and now 5 hours later, I can still smell it, so that's not too shabby for me.

I don't know if this has been reformulated or not, as this is my first experience with this scent, other than a tiny sample from luckyscent. I purchased this from fragrancenet for about $65. I'm not sure how old it is but the batch code is 7216rm and that checkfresh.com website doesn't have serge lutens in their database.

Edit: I tried another website and mine was made in August 2017.

got a 1ml sample and the sandalwood just kept popping up out of nowhere.the opening kept my nose busy just waiting for a chance to pounce on the rose.i tried and tried to hate the rose but it never happened.the best darn sandalwood i ever had on me thats for sure.BUT! 30 bucks for 7ml or so? well it was a nice experience is all i will say.

I recently obtained a 100ml bottle of Santal Majuscule as part of a much larger order.
A mellow, smooth take on Sandalwood...
The Rose note is more dominant than the cacao...but the 2 of them together with the sandalwood makes for a rather peculiar experience .
The wonderful thing about Sandalwood, in my opinion.....is it’s versatility.
The combination of notes register as somewhat of a waxy, sweet heavy fragrance somewhere on the lighter side of Sandalwood....but not Sandalwood dominant.
It’s unique and a very creative take on a classic.

The Verdict: it’s Pretty Good

- I'm SO glad I started sampling! I wish I had started my perfumed journey with samples! Anyway, I love this perfume. The chocolate, rose, and sandalwood is glorious! I have to admit that it took me a few wearings to understand and fully appreciate this divine fragrance. It was way too sweet when I first wore it but now I welcome the sweetness. It's balanced and lovely. Kudos to the perfumer.

It's warm, syrupy (not too sweet now), and woody in opening. After a while the sweetness fades a bit, giving way to the sandalwood. Drydown is much better than the opening on my skin. Lovely powdery rose. Creamy sandalwood. Dark chocolate syrup on top.

meh....not his best by any means- weak performance for me. Was hoping it was interesting but not really.

Of all the fragrances I've sampled so far, I wasn't expecting this one to be the most evocative of attending church with my grandma. It reminds me of her in general, actually. Her brown skin with the scent of lingering lush roses from her garden, her wooden rocking chair. The black she always wears, as it's her favorite color.

I've never had the pleasure of smelling real mysore sandalwood, so I have nothing to compare this to. Genuine mysore must smell out of this world, because this smells beautiful, like deep, spicy lumber split in half with some rosewater seeped into its cracks. The cocoa is subtle and reads unsweetened and dark with coffee. Can you tell I really like this? I actually like it more than Santal Blush, which seems anemic compared to this now. Great intro to Serge Lutens for me.

Just got this. Beautiful scent but meh projection and longevity on my skin. It's worth owning imo if only just as a Netflix and chill scent.

Barneys NY stores carry Serge Lutens and so I tried quite a few of his perfumes on blotter before obtaining a generous sample of this one. On the paper blotter the Santal M had a much more spicy, cacao note on opening. The rose note quickly followed with a very light powdery note which I dislike in floral scents. There is a creamy, woodsy note that is the sandalwood but it is very subtle. Later I tried a lot on my skin to really get the notes clearly coming through and even then the perfume was still light on me. The cacao still came through first and was much more spicy on the skin with a kind of licorice sweetness to it; the cacao smelled less chocolate-y than a peppery licorice. Then the rose but it was faint, I had to really press my nose into my arm to detect it, and with it the woodsy notes. It stayed here with the cacao/licorice spicy note being most upfront and the rose very much in the background kind of rounded out by the sandalwood creaminess. The sillage was close to the skin, and it faded after a couple of hours. I am a bit disappointed in the lack of performance of the other notes. The whole scent isn't a single note but they kind of blur together into one with the licorice-cacao being the most present above the skin. I struggle to say the performance and sillage is medium, it was actually closer to weak on me and I sprayed quite a lot on - about 3 sprays on my chest and one on each arm inside the elbow. Safe for the office, but not the sexy beast that I'd hoped for. I wouldn't pay for a full bottle as I already have better performers with more complex scent profiles but it is nice.

Santal Majuscule Serge Lutens for women and yes just for women in my idea!
Well, Serge Lutens fragrances have special character that are not match with my taste I think that so. However I like Santal Majuscule. It's gorgeous combination of Sandal, Rose and very nice, dark & attractive spicy vibe by Cacao. I can imagine one modern eastern woman with heavy makeup & floral dress. Nice for winter nights. Sillage is outstanding in this case.

Bought this after Demi Rawling was hyping it up. Ehh.. it's absolutely awful. Maybe it's the reformulation as other reviewers said. It's yucky, too sweet in the beginning and then plain boring linear afterwards. This is how you make beautiful sandalwood smell disgusting. If this is the first time you are trying sandalwood-based fragrance, do not be terrified as this is a terrible execution of the note. This was my first and probably last try from this house.

I'm a bit sad that I received the newer, slightly reformulated bottle of this perfume rather than the original that I reviewed last week. It's not that it's bad, but it isn't what I was expecting when I placed my order. The new one definitely does seem to have a citrus note, and it's a much lighter, brighter composition. Both the rose and cacao are less prominent. A more modern composition that remains very attractive but seems less full bodied than the original.

I did not expect the reformulation here, but there is and a minor positive reformulation!

The last formula was much of a reduced form of Amouage Lyric for Woman: sweeter, less resinous and incense free.

The new formula (with black label) introduces a citrus layer and probably labdanum note, which makes it possess some kind of edges in a way of Penhaligon's Vaara, a specific trio of sandalwood, rose and citrus. I really find myself enjoy the new.

Rating: 8/10 (new); 7-7.5/10 (old)

Heavenly. This is the most accessible Serge Lutens fragrance I've tried and also my favorite. I'm curious if hardcore Lutens fans will appreciate this one, because it does seem less melancholy than his other fragrances. It must be the cacao note that adds just a touch of optimism. This is an elegant, French-ified take on rose attar. The rose is barely present as a narcotic, sweet note. The sandalwood is at times very creamy in the sense that it has that coconut undertone that quality sandalwoods have, and it goes beautifully with the subtle cacao, which fades quickly. To me, this is more than a mere Western rendition of a classic Eastern fragrance because it is too transformed and true to Lutens' style. All it took was one sniff of Santal Majuscule for it to shoot up to the top of my wishlist.

The best sandal fragrance I ever met and happily used.I need to say that the rose inside is not evident at all.Normally whenever I see rose in the ingredient list , I pass the fragrance without even trying it.But this one is not like rose rose in "Fille de Berlin" of the same brand but more like orchid, lotus, iris or violet alike timid kind of rose, so velvety creamy and somptuous.By the way the composition is far more comlplex and deeper than 3 ingredients which renders the parfum its exquisite character. The only thing that confuses me , is, that it says above that the fragrance is published in 2012.I am sure that I used it in 2008 in Germany

This is the perfect date night valentines his/hers fragrance very romantic and extremely cosy. You just want to cuddle with a loved one when you smell this. I’m glad I don’t get any drydown with this as the opening sandalwood and cocoa compliment each other perfectly. Not to sweet and bitter and the rose is very light in this just enough to balance everything out. I need a full bottle of this.

Imagine a haute-couture silk-velvet dressing gown in the darkest possible chocolate brown, swathing you as you strut across the hand-waxed parquet floors of your immaculate yet cosy Paris apartment to lounge on the divan for a while. You're wearing Santal Majuscule and that's where it puts you.

Smooth, warm, coddling, to my mind pretty femme, and maybe heavier on sweetness and rose than my Platonic ideal of sandalwood, but it is totally charismatic and convincing. Irresistible, in fact. Cocoa can be a dubious proposition for me (don't really want to smell like chocolate) but here it's magnificently, elegantly smoothed out, grown-up and not cloying and adding a whole other undertone of richness and luxury. The rose is appropriately dusky, not shrieking, but very very much there - for me, the best sandalwood scents of all are just wood with very little floral, so beware if you don't want any flowers crashing your private sandalwood heaven - yet once again, Santal Majuscule rides it all out impeccably. First time I tried a sample of this I wrote it off as 'too coconutty' - looking back on that scribbled note I don't know what I was thinking, or maybe I was smelling something else - as this one elegantly dodges two common sandalwood-scent hazards, of conjuring up dill-pickle notes or going fake-coconut, with total finesse. Majuscule is more of an indoor-luxe thing than my very very favourite sandalwoods, which go more spicy-woody-outdoors - for me maybe Lutens' other, even more upscale option, Santal de Mysore, is the ultimate - but it is still a beautiful, beautiful thing.

For me it was strangely reminiscent of Santal Royal without the leather, which is not a bad arrondissement to be in at all. Sillage is contained, but constant for a surprisingly long while, and overall longevity pretty robust even on my perfume-drinking skin, lasting up to 6-7h and much, much longer on fabrics.

So- I was mildly sceptical about this at first, and really only picked up a discount bottle from eBay to experiment with and locate exactly which sort of sandalwood really does the business for me. Was not even expecting to be totally won over. Writing about it and remembering it makes me want to put some on right now. That should tell you all you need to know!

a....flat...out....masterpiece. Period.

I've had this one for almost a year now, but I couldn't make myself to write a review about it, because it is so special to me.

I think this perfume is made for my skin chemistry. Some of you say that it is not complex enough. Maybe. But if you are equally and madly in love with sandalwood, rose and cocoa like I am, you don't need much more.

I love it because on my skin, all notes are constantly present, but the domination variates (in general, this one variates according to weather more than my other perfumes, which I find very charming), so it stays interesting and alive. It fades quite quickly and then it stays close to skin. I usually hate this, but with this one, not so much. I actually find this fragrance very intimate and seductive, so it is okay that it is subtle.

People smell it if they are close to me and usually love it, can't go away from me:) it is kind of mature scent, but sooo yummy at the same time.

Most importantly for me, this scent stimulates me. I feel really good while wearing it, determined to rock the world but sexy and spontaneous at the same time. It helps me get things done and it reminds me to love myself sometimes, when I forget it.

What sandalwood? It's smells like a guy who ate Indian food and wants to hide it by spraying generic cheap cologne. Epitome of a paki shower.

Disgusting.

Modern Sandalwood Heaven

I'm a Samsara gal through and through but this is one of the few sandalwood perfumes that give her a run for her money.

Some note that Santal Majuscule is a bit linear and doesn't develop much. They're right--what you smell at the beginning is more or less what you've got for the entire wear.

I would say though that what changes are not the notes but the characteristics: SM is at some or most points during her wear rich, decadent, sweet, smoky, petal soft, rugged, delicate, and aggressive. Yes I know those words all have conflict with each other, but while the perfume is the sum of it's parts: Sandalwood, Rose florals, and Cacao, this perfume ACTS in all of the above manner, at some point. SM has a rose that is rich and aggressive, but lends a tactile soft earthy smoothness all around. There are notes of acrid smoke that make this perfume seem a bit rough and strong, but that's only at first, and it compliments the cacao and the sandalwood. This is a substantial sandalwood perfume: No substitutes here, that and the cocoa bean work in contrast, one a smooth hard plank, another earthy and alive.

This is what I think of: ground cocoa beans, rose water, rose petals, lush, creamy, milky sandalwood oil. It's the dichotomy between being floral and woody, lush and earthy, soft and rugged, sweet and creamy.

Does this make any sense at all? I hope I'm explaining it right.

As far as performance, SM wears overwhelmingly loud on my skin for at least an hour, quiets down a bit but has impressive silage, lasts up to 10 hours on my skin. You HAVE to love sandalwood to like this perfume. This isn't a wimpy, washed out, 'hint of woods' sandalwood--it's like being hit in the head with a baseball bat sandalwood. Add the smoky cocoa rose, sweet and deep and luscious and smoldering, and wow. A triad made in heaven.

Honestly SM is so "much" that I don't wear her that often. Truly a perfume that "wears me" vs. the other way around:)

The opening does a good job at resembling natural sandalwood, similar to Tom Ford's Santal Blush. Longevity and sillage are moderate. For fragheads, this is a fairly linear uninteresting fragrance. It may work well layered with over fragrances. To me, it leans very masculine even though it is listed as unisex, but who cares anyway?

Santal Majuscule is mystery! I have tried Jeux de Peau years ago and I remember that I loved it but Santal Majuscule is damage to minds! It is just magical composition which captures all your sense suddenly. This is my gourmand! Sweet but in a serious way.

I was so excited to try this, since I love sandalwood but my heart broke when I realized it smells like syrup on me. No wood at all. Just burnt sugar syrup, with a hint of soap, of all things.

Hard pass.

Now that Jeau de Peux is unavailable to me, this is probably the next best thing. Not identical, but definitely close enough. A bit more heady than JdP, but somewhat similar.

Does Serge Lutens make a bad perfume? This is my 5th purchase from the brand, and they just keep getting better and better. Santal Majuscule is no exception. The opening is a blast of heady rose but the sandalwood presents itself almost immediately. I agree with those who say it's a little "sharp" but in my opinion it works to temper the rose. I don't really get cocoa until the drydown, but what a lovely cocoa it is, reminiscent of a high quality bakers chocolate; smooth, with no trace of bitterness. Longevity could be better but overall this is simply gorgeous. 10/10 would purchase again.

I really wanna love this! It's almost there for me, but after about 10 minutes on my skin something happens and I lose the rose which is what seems to keep it from being too flat and bitter in the beginning and provides the lift it needs. Once the rose burns off, I'm left with something that wants to be bitter cocoa but instead comes across as chemical and earthy. It's as if the sandalwood note and cocoa clash to create this unsettling accord on my skin. Big bummer because these notes in a perfect world would be all I need in a fragrance.

My second favorite sandalwood scent, after the incomparable Santal De Mysore also from the same brand. This is one of the brightest representations of beautiful creamy Australian sandalwood with very little distraction from other notes. To achieve this magical effect, the perfume only includes slight notes of damask rose and cacao added to the beautiful central majestic sandalwood note. The perfume remains about powdery magical sandalwood from start to finish. Unisex, beautifully blended with moderate to strong sillage and very good longevity. One that has always remained a mainstay of my collection since it was released. Enjoy!

I'm baffled by the reviews finding the opening harsh, sour or screechy or like JDP. Maybe I'm blind to the top notes? This is a lush, creamy cocoa and rose for me. I'm having trouble identifying the sandalwood under that but it's probably my inexperienced nose.

The first time I tried this (in winter) I was utterly seduced. The second time, a few months later, it was sweet and somehow 'empty' on my skin. The magic was gone and I struck it off my want list. Now I've got a sample and have tested it several times at home and am in love again. While I thought I would love JDP and its milky gourmand notes, I actually found the doughyness odd and not pleasant to wear (Daim Blond, by the way, actually smells nauseatingly like Playdo to me).

I hope SM never turns into JDP though because this is a swoonworthy, indulgent yet unpretentious, chocolate-brown-flecked-with-rose angora sweater of a fragrance for me. I could see this being a winter and autumn wardrobe staple. I would even go a step further and say this fragrance would give me a reason to look forward to cooler days.

Edit: And I don't care at all that some diehard Lutens fans see this as a 'beginner' or mainstream Lutens that doesn't have much complexity. It simply smells wonderful.

For me it's pleasant but it smells synthetic, and very dry.
I think it would suit a man better.

This smells sinister... very sharp and sour. There is nothing friendly or approachable in this scent, but that's not exactly a bad thing.

I can image Edward Scissorhand's big creaky house smelling like this.

The sillage is soft (as opposed to harsh) and majestic. So creamy without a drop of (obvious) amber or vanilla. I can't pick out a single note.

Up close, the scent is drier and obviously sandalwood.

Lasted 2 hours.

Edit: Holy cow does this layer well with 7 Virtues' Noble Rose. Dry as opposed to sweet, very slightly dusty, sillage like whoa. I'd love to find a vanilla that I love separately and layered with either of these!

Sandalwood.
yep. very,very Sandalwood-y.
On me, it goes on almost sour, very sandalwood heavy and masculine pungent.
but it turns creamy not long after, it has a iris/tonka vibe to my nose.

much later....

What is going on here?
I’m redoing my review because this perfume as I thought I knew has been turned on its head.
I saw that people were comparing it to my beloved Juex de peau and thought are you all mad?

Now trying jeux de peau on HIM after wearing Santal M for a few days I can’t stop smelling the sour-y note I took for sandalwood as the yeast-y note I loved in JDP!

What is going on here? Do I love SM now? Do I like less my old favorite?
Colour me confused.
Serge Lutens… never boring.

Sultan Hossein Mirza in Promenade (RIGHT part) BY Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād
V-F

My perception of this perfume keeps changing as my taste for perfume broadens. First I found it harsh, then very woodsy creamy when I revisited two years ago, and now it's all about the rose. In Santal Majuscule I can distinctly smell every note, but the blending is truly masterful that none overpowers one another and each facet stands out on their own, like the sides of a triangle. This is more floral of a sandalwood than other well-known ones such as Diptyque Tam Dao and By Kilian Sacred Wood.

Going along with the triangle analogy, SM definitely has sharp corners just like any excellent perfumes, so be careful on the trigger. If I get greedy and spray more than twice the magic becomes a curse, but less than 2 the spell lasts and lasts.

This is a new love for me and I will be buying a bottle.

I get the most pleasant amber and just enough well-blended spice to make it gentlemanly, but not rough.

The fragrance is fairly linear on me and sadly only last 3 to 4 hours with fair projection. It then becomes more of a skin enhancing smell for a couple more hours. I spray this on my clothes to help with this.

That being said, it is the kind of scent that makes you feel good and if anyone gets close they will be impressed.

This is a easy to love amber, and maybe I will find a better amber. Until then, I will love this beauty.

Love it!
I actually bought a bottle for my husband after he wore a sample several times and we both loved it on him.
I just kept smelling him and telling him how great he smelled.
And he loves wearing it.

Needless to say, we feel it is not just for women.
Men can absolutely wear this.

I wore it today and one thing that stood out for me is that it needs some time to warm up on the skin. Then it turns into a gorgeous scent that is amazing.
Do not judge too quickly. It really needs some time to develop. But well worth the wait!

3/10

I love Sandalwood, as a base supporting other notes. As the main player in this fragrance, unfortunately, I find it too bright and screechy. It was so overwhelming on my skin that I could not get past it to find any hint of the chocolate or rose.

شروعش همان نسخه کاکائویی شده ژو دو پو سرج و عام پسندتر اما به مرور به عطری کاملن متفاوت، زنانه و گلی بدل میشود
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Scent & Qualiy: 8/10
Longevity: 7/10
Sillage: 6/10
Creativity & Uniqueness: 7/10
Affordability: 5/10
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Overall: 6.6/10

I think it may of been this one I smelled today in Sephora. Regardless, the reason I'm commenting is because there is a rose note in this fragrance that smells like the rose in Creed's Royal Mayfair. It's a beautiful scent. A man could certainly pull this off, but easy on the trigger!

Serge Lutens is the bee's knees when it comes to oriental & spicy fragrances and Santal Majuscule is a fine example of the genre. The notes are simple but the fragrance is by no means boring.

SM opens with an astringent sharp and very spicy sandalwood note. The note is as close as you can get to smelling genuine sandalwood oil. It can be challenging for the novice but it is exotic nonetheless.

The harsh opening phase gradually calms down and the sandalwood morphs into a sumptuous creamy note with the emergence of the Damask Rose and the cocoa. The fragrance eventually settles into a delicious chocolate pie. The scent lasts for a good part of 6 to 8 hours.

The fragrance is best in colder weather to balance the hot spicy opening otherwise SM, not only is cloying but, can cause a choking sensation. This should not put you off trying SM but serves as a word of caution.

I am a big fan of Serge Lutens' creations and my views could be interpreted as biased. Notwithstanding, Hats Off to Serge Lutens.

8/10

PS. I am a male if it should make any difference to your kind self.

Great scent for ladies, and absolutely way too feminine for gentlemen. Have no idea why it's listed as unisex. It is as feminine as it goes all the way from opening to its demise in about 7 hours. Both on paper and my skin, so it's not case of bad chemistry.
Safe buy and full bottle worthy for ladies.
No more suited for gentlemen than Chanele No5 or any other ultimate feminine perfume.

This is a warm, spicy, fatty rose. Thick, voluptuous, sweet and rich, so beautifully elegant and exotic yet rather frisky.

For those seeking sandalwood, I would not classify this as a sandalwood perfume at all. This is more of a spicy floriental with some boozy woody-chocolate rapture hypnotically undulating through the petals.

This is a sexy, seductive perfume, even slightly vulgar as it's provocative and loud. I'm not even sure what type of sandalwood this is -- it doesn't smell like Mysore, Australian, or Pacific. It's a bit of a creamy wood stew, but luscious none-the-less. There's a hint of a bitter, dark green, leathery cypriol note which throws a little dryness into the sticky rose and wood jam.

Santal Majuscule is more hot nightclub than intimate night on the couch or a quiet dinner for two. This perfume has some serious legs!