Sandalwood can be dull, but the Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle is a refined, velvety take on it that I keep recommending to people who think they dislike wood scents.
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“Sandalwoods are wild fragrant trees with tenacious leaves that grow in India’s Mysore state. Its wood was often used in building temples that to this day have kept its penetrating scent. Sandalwood oil has been used as a remedy for ailments for over four thousand years, and is a common fixative in perfumery. In Chinese medicine, sandalwood increases longevity, and builds confidence and determination.” – Carrière Frères Industrie
Sandalwood is a popular scent in home fragrance, typically used as a base note to compliment the key player. It’s a neutral fragrance, bordering on boring. Many times, on it’s own, it comes across as being almost watery and useless. The Carrière Frères interpretation of sandalwood, however, is anything but boring.
It reminds me of the Stephen Swift Furniture Studio in Nantucket. Stark white walls and warm wood floors filled solely with sleek, hand crafted, solid wood furniture. The wood is sanded to such a fine finish it feels almost like velvet. Soft curves made for comfort. Stylish tapered legs. Polished with simple oils to bring out the color and personality, each piece is a work of art. Nature made even more glorious. Anything else in the room would just add distraction. All that is needed is simple pieces of exquisite furniture for the most stunning statement.
The Carrière Frères Sandalwood candle is the same way. White frosted glass and creamy white wax liquefying cleanly and glowing softly as it burns. The fragrance is nothing like the raw, sawdust scent you get some from single note wood candles. It’s refined and distinguished. Full of character and elegance. Carrière Frères managed to create an almost feminine and delicate scent from such a masculine product – wood so strong and durable the scent lasts for decades.
Anyone that knows my fragrance preferences enough is well aware of my affinity for trees. I enjoy the strong, heart of the tree even more than it’s leafy, showy side. The Carrière Frères Santalum Album candle is a welcome addition to my collection. Now I am even more anxious to see what they’ve done with cedar…
A different kind of sandalwood
Sandalwood often plays a supporting role. Perfumers use it as a base that holds up the brighter notes, and on its own it can read as neutral or even watery. Many single note wood candles smell like fresh sawdust.
The Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle is nothing like that. It smells polished, like wood sanded until it feels like velvet, and it fills a room with a calm that I find hard to describe without a furniture showroom.
Most people who say they dislike sandalwood have only met the flat, sawdusty kind. A candle like this one changes their mind, and I have seen it happen at the counter more than once.
I hand the Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle to skeptics, and one sniff usually ends the debate.
Few candles I know are as calm as the Carriere Freres Santalum Album.
What makes Carriere Freres Santalum Album feel refined
The brand’s own note speaks of Mysore, temples and thousands of years of use, and the real history of the tree is a lovely rabbit hole. The Wikipedia article on sandalwood covers the species, including Santalum album, the tree in the candle’s name.
I think the maker managed something unusual. A wood so tough that its scent lasts for decades became a gentle, almost delicate fragrance. It is still clearly wood, but it is the wood of a sleek chair, not a lumber yard.
Sandalwood has also been used in perfumery for a very long time as a fixative, which means it helps other notes last. That is why you find it at the base of so many fragrances, and why a candle built around it feels so steady.
Santalum album is the botanical name for the tree, which is why Carriere Freres Santalum Album is such a precise title for this candle.
Where to burn it
White frosted glass and creamy wax make this a candle that looks at home in a minimal room. I would put it on a clean table or a bare shelf with nothing around it. Clutter fights the scent, and the whole point is quiet.
It is a good candle for the bedroom or a reading corner. Heavier woods can feel stuffy in a small space, while the Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle stays calm.
A good test is to burn it for an hour in a quiet room and then leave and come back. When you walk back in, the wood note should greet you softly, like a well-made room. The Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle passes that test for me.
On a shelf, the Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle looks like a piece of quiet furniture.
The Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle rewards a quiet room.
Pairing and gifting
If you like a woody base but want a little sweetness, layer it with a light vanilla or a soft fig. For a fig candle, see Herve Gambs Essence de Figuier. For a fruity violet note on the side, Anthousa Violet and Black Currant is worth a look.
As a gift, it works for the person who has everything and likes nothing loud. Add a lighter and a short note about the Mysore story, and you have given something with a little history in it.
I would also check the maker’s page for exact notes and sizes before you buy, as this post reflects my impressions of the candle.
It is a quiet candle, and quiet is rarer than people think.
A Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle also pairs well with a reading lamp and a quiet hour. I will be watching what else comes after the Carriere Freres Santalum Album candle, since I already like it a lot.
