Woody familyBase note
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is a base note from the woody family: prized for a creamy, milky, almost lactonic warmth that feels soft and skin-like.
- 01Family
- Woody
- 02Pyramid
- Base
- 03Best seasons
- Autumn, Winter
- 04Type
- Note
What does sandalwood smell like?
Sandalwood: prized for a creamy, milky, almost lactonic warmth that feels soft and skin-like.
From our page: Woody fragrance familyBase notes are long-lasting, not necessarily strong: sandalwood and white musk are famously soft yet last 8 to 12 hours.
From our page: Top, Middle, Base: How the Notes Pyramid Actually Works
Is sandalwood a top, heart or base note?
Sandalwood is a base note.
- Top15 minutes to 2 hours
- HeartHour 1 to hour 5
- Base4 to 12+ hours
Woods almost always sit in the base of a composition rather than the heart, so the family is defined less by a loud opening than by how it settles after the first hour.
From our page: Woody fragrance familyBase notes are the memory: they are what lingers on a coat hours after you took it off.
From our page: Top, Middle, Base: How the Notes Pyramid Actually WorksWhat does sandalwood pair with?
Oud and sandalwood often share a base with amber.
Named partners
Also in the woody family
- Cedarbase note
- Vetiverbase note
- Cypressbase note
- Guaiac woodbase note
- Ambroxanbase note
- Iso E Superbase note
The woody family bridges to
Read more about sandalwood
ScienceTop, Middle, Base: How the Notes Pyramid Actually WorksThe fragrance notes pyramid explained: what top, middle and base notes are, why perfume opens bright and dries down warm, and how to read a pyramid.
DiscoveryBest Winter Cologne for Men: 20 Picks (2026)The best winter perfume for men: 20 woody, leather, spicy and gourmand picks, from Spicebomb Extreme and Tuscan Leather to Jazz Club and La Nuit de L'Homme.
EducationThe Fragrance Families, Decoded: From Chypre to GourmandA complete guide to the eight fragrance families with named examples from Tom Ford, Mancera, and Diptyque. For fragrance buyers who want clarity, not poetry.
Find the perfumes built around sandalwood.
Fragnatique reads every perfume down to its notes and scores it against your own taste, with the reason behind each match written out. Start from a note you love and let the app do the narrowing.