# Crabtree & Evelyn — Extract of Mysore Sandalwood

> Extract of Mysore Sandalwood is the mythologized "holy grail" sandalwood in Crabtree & Evelyn's history — a now-discontinued cologne that vintage sandalwood hunters regard as among the most vibrant, t

## Essence
Extract of Mysore Sandalwood is the mythologized "holy grail" sandalwood in Crabtree & Evelyn's history — a now-discontinued cologne that vintage sandalwood hunters regard as among the most vibrant, truthful representations of authentic Mysore (Santalum album) sandalwood ever put into an affordable mass-market fragrance. The "1970" date in this catalog marks the original formulation; the line existed in at least three successive formulations, with the earliest and most coveted bearing "Mysore Sandalwood" and an elephant motif on predominantly red packaging. It is firmly a cologne, not an extrait-strength perfume despite the word "Extract" in the name — a point owners stress to temper expectations. Its reputation rests on having used real Mysore sandalwood oil in an era before over-harvesting and trade restrictions made that material scarce and effectively unusable at this price point.
## Scent Profile
The defining experience is a creamy, buttery, milky sandalwood of remarkable naturalness. Reviewers reach for "buttery," "yoghurty," "milky," "creamy, rich with depth but also mellow in a meditative way." Italian critic "Colin Maillard" (Ye Olde Civet Cat blog) gives the most granular account: "a tremendous blast of balsamic, slightly anisic and creamy sandalwood with a drop of citrus and an impressive 'material' woody texture, joined by a really peculiar sort of earthy, almost ashy and even slightly fecal undertone… truly subtle, but it's there," over a "luminous, soapy, balmy" creaminess. The opening carries a touch of citrus brightness and, in the floral-leaning telling, a clear ylang-ylang and jasmine presence atop the sandalwood; the heart is dominated by the santal accord with amyris rounding the base. It evolves dynamically — "darker and smokier at first… then progressively breezier and brighter… more purely soapy and balmy" — which Maillard cites as proof of its natural rather than synthetic character. The consensus caveat: it is "deceptively simple," gravitating around essentially a single magnificent accord rather than a complex composition.
## Performance
As a cologne, it is intentionally soft and intimate. Aggregate signal puts longevity mid-scale and sillage low, and owners are blunt: it was "incredibly mild and close to the skin," with one recalling "longevity of around two hours... if applied after a shower it would be gone by the time I got to school or work." Maillard found his vintage bottle longer-lasting in the drydown ("more and more discreet as time passes, but long lasting"), but no one frames this as a performer. There is also a known quirk of sandalwood perception itself: true sandalwood "sits on the borders of olfactory perception," so some people smell it consistently, some fleetingly, some not at all. Buyers expecting a "glorious, life-changing" sillage bomb are warned off; this is a quiet skin scent whose value is in quality, not projection.
## Wearing Context
A versatile, gender-neutral, daytime comfort scent. One longtime wearer recalls it as an everyday "go-to daily spray" in the early '90s that "fit well with practically everything" — and, tellingly, used it as a layering base "under the original Joop! and Samsara EDP for added sandalwood 'oomph,'" alongside the companion C&E patchouli cologne. Others describe it as "comforting, meditative elegance," library-quiet and relaxing, suited to a person who wants a refined wood rather than a statement. Its softness makes it ideal for close-quarters, office, and warm-weather wear, and its creaminess gives it a soothing, almost devotional quality reviewers repeatedly call "meditative."
## Comparisons & DNA
Its true peer group is other real-Mysore sandalwood scents, against which reviewers say it wins decisively: "I have tried loads of Sandalwood scents from Tam Dao to Santal Noble and they all pale in comparison." Maillard situates its "sophisticated, weightless woody sweetness" near the sandalwood drydowns of vintage masculines like Chanel Égoïste and Tiffany for Men, "just in a free, pure, complete and more 'amplified' form." The most important internal comparison is to its own successors: Crabtree & Evelyn's later "Sandalwood" (the green-boxed 1976/2004-era formulations, an oriental-woody with lavender and cedar) is widely held to be a good but lesser, partly synthetic descendant — Maillard calls the 2004 version "a truly remarkable and successful effort of bringing back some of these feelings… in a synthetic sandalwood fragrance," though "some, if not most part of the magic is gone." DIY perfumers note the Givaudan synthetic sandalwood base circa 2005 smelled startlingly close to the C&E Mysore. India's Mysore Sandal Soap is repeatedly invoked as the benchmark for the raw material itself.
## Reception
Devotion is the keynote, tempered by realism. "This is where my love of sandalwood began. I loved this oh so much" and "THIS is what sandalwood is SUPPOSED to smell like… my heart literally broke when C&E discontinued this scent" are representative. Maillard rates it near the top of his scale and calls it "a true gem... easy to love like a piece of perfect blue sky." The realist counterpoint, also from owners: it is "simply a nice sandalwood with a touch of other notes," not a complex masterpiece, and "it would take a fool to buy this at the current ridiculous prices expecting something glorious and life-changing." No major print critic verdict is on record; its standing is a vintage-collector and fragrance-blog phenomenon.
## Versions & Reformulation
This is the single most important thing for a buyer to understand, and the record is unusually clear. There were three successive formulations: (1) the original "Extract of Mysore Sandalwood" with the elephant on red packaging — the most prized, containing real Mysore oil; (2) a second formulation still bearing "Mysore" and the same bottle, also excellent; and (3) a later version moved to a clear bottle that dropped "Mysore" from the name and is "still very good but doesn't have the depth and richness as the OG." A related but distinct product, the green-boxed "Sandalwood" (dated 1976; a 2004 reissue is also cited), is a separate, more synthetic line, and the most recent "Indian Sandalwood" is widely panned ("smells like some cheap wood notes and/or a whole lot of aldehydes"). Confusingly, surviving "Extract of Mysore Sandalwood" bottles carry various dates — one seller documents a 1983 production date and UK manufacture on a 4.4 oz/125 ml spray — so "1970" is the line's origin, not the date of most extant bottles.
## Acquisition Notes
Acquisition is entirely secondary-market, and prices have escalated sharply: owners who once paid around $20–40 now report listings of $250–400+, with UK bottles around £200. Target the elephant-motif, "Mysore"-labeled bottles (formulations 1 and 2) for the genuine real-oil experience; the clear-bottle later version and the green-boxed "Sandalwood" are cheaper, easier to find, and acceptable but lesser. Given the modest cologne-strength performance, weigh whether the collector premium is worth it — several owners explicitly advise that buying a good Santalum album oil, or affordable Indian sandalwood products, may deliver more sandalwood satisfaction per dollar. Watch production dates (most scents lose intensity after 3–5 years, and these are decades old) and inspect fill levels. Avoid dupe-house "type" recreations.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- Its elegiac status is inseparable from the real-world collapse of Mysore sandalwood supply: Indian sandalwood-oil production peaked around 165 tonnes annually in the early 1970s before a sharp post-1975 decline.
- Karnataka's government sandalwood production reportedly collapsed from 3,000 tonnes in 1978 to 20 tonnes by 2002; the notorious poacher Veerappan smuggled an estimated 65 tonnes worth $22 million before he was killed in 2004.
- The wood is legally guarded: in 1792 the Sultan of Mysore declared Santalum album trees crown property, and it remains illegal to harvest sandalwood without Indian government permission — which is why a mass-market cologne built on real Mysore oil became a relic.
- The elephant-on-red-packaging artwork, evoking pre-Raj India, is itself part of the appeal, said to evoke "the legend and the exoticism of India."
- Pure sandalwood sits at the threshold of human olfaction, so wearers genuinely differ in how much of it they can smell.
- A persistent debate splits its character — most call it a near-soliflore creamy santal, while a floral-leaning camp insists ylang-ylang and jasmine are co-stars — likely reflecting the three different formulations as much as individual noses.