Thanks for the great review! I have been looking for this comparison. However, as a middle eastern I would prefer Oud ispahan although it has no real oud in it. I haven’t tried the old version of oud ispahan unfortunately ;(
This may sound very bad, especially since you didn't like Santal Royal from Guerlain. Anyway, my opinion on Oud Ispahan. Is that it smells generic, as the oud + rose combo is very common in the middle east. Shades Wood from Armaf smells very similar to me. Ispahan is more refined, but it's just 1-2 steps above and nothing what people not into perfumes would smell the difference of. Taking the fact that you can't get it at discounters into consideration too. My opinion is only based on the new formula of Ispahan, which do not contain oud and just notes of wood. I much prefer Santal Royal, as I see it as more unique. The name is misleading, as it dosen't really smell like sandalwood. It's more of a rose + "oud" combo. Maybe the old formula of Ispahan contained real oud, but since it's a precious material that becomes rarer and rarer. I can understand why Dior chose woody notes over synthetic oud, because synthetic oud does not smell good. Only reason it works in Santal Royal, is because it's more in the background. To be said, I love rose as a note. And it's more prominent in Santal Royal than Ispahan, so it's more of a preference.
I don’t dislike santal royal. I actually love the scent. The name of it is the issue. My formulation is older and contains oud in it. To me a generic oud is something like Kilians Rose Oud. That being said, I haven’t smelled the newer formulations from Dior. It wouldn’t surprise me , if the scent has changed. Sadly this is common with designer labels. I would really be interested in trying the L’art collection from Guerlain. I want to see if those Ouds are truly elevated to the price, that they are asking. Thank you for the comment, It’s nice to see others that love fragrance just as much as me!
