Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements - Supreme Sandalwood Science - Formula CK-6 Shaving Soap

Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements - Supreme Sandalwood Science - Formula CK-6 Shaving Soap

"A scientist in his laboratory is not a mere technician: he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairy tales." 
~Marie Curie 

Scent Profile: A blend of Indian, Australian & Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood. Robust, aromatic, extremely rich, semi-sweet, full bodied, creamy, warm & woody. I find both Longevity and sillage are by far supreme in regards to any other "sandalwoods" on the market...and you will too!

It has been well over a year now since I set off on my sandalwood quest, a pseudo religious path for what I believed to be, the ultimate sandalwood blend, Supreme Sandalwood Science. Good things certainly take time, but it is time well spent when you find what you set out to and oh so much more!

"She blinded me with science! Seriously, though. This SSS is incredibly rich and creamy with a depth of character I haven’t experienced before out of a pure sandalwood scent."~David Rose, Customer

 Sandalwood has always been rather special to me, a scent I really wore the heck out of in college (and after). And I don't mean aftershave!

When most of my pals were dropping big bucks on aftershaves and colognes, I was spending my money on tiny bottles of Indian & Australian essential oils...and long before beard oil was on the scene, I was rubbing these exotic essences into my beard!

True Story: I was pulled over one time by a police officer for speeding and he notices a vial of sandalwood on my dashboard...

"What's that?"

"Sandalwood sir."

"How do you use it?"

From there I slowly grabbed the vial and unscrewed it, poured a little in my palm and then began to rub it into my beard. He kinda sank a bit after realizing it was not some crazy new drug.

Back in the day I was all about Bay Rum & Sandalwood, those were my two signature scents. So just like I took my time developing my own killer Bay Rum, I also wanted to take time creating the king of sandalwood splashes...and I believe I did. [I mean, there's a crown on the label for a reason!]

Building A Better Sandalwood

I began the project by steam distilling some Indian Sandalwood Heart Wood harvested in Rajasthan, India. As many of you know by now, I don't care to use just plain water in my splashes, when I believe you get much more scent mileage with a flower or essence water. I find it provides a greater shape and depth to the overall accord and at this point, a kind of signature for me as a perfumer. 

Mind you, I had nowhere near enough heartwood to procure more than a drop of precious sandalwood essential oil, but enough for the most amazing hydrosol ever! The entire lab smelled amazing, I Imagined myself in an underground, secret lab located somewhere deep in a sandalwood forest! 

From there it was time to begin building the scent from the bottom up, which is how perfuming historically works; Base Note first, Heart second, Top Note last. But in this case, I was working with all base notes!

So I separated the oils by viscosity, using the thickest, slowest moving first! When I say slow moving I mean it, some of these oils must be soaked in a hot water bath to make them thin enough to use in a dropper! Mind you, this is the same approach I took when blending Vetiver Planet and I was very happy with those results, these results reinforced the technique for me. Experience is the greatest teacher.

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” ~Wassily Kandinsky

You may also notice a brilliant red color in the splash and eau de parfum, that too is sandalwood! Though Red Sandalwood does not possess a scent, it makes up for that by serving as a wonderful natural colorant, so safe it is also used traditionally to color foods! My Red Sandalwood was sourced from Talakona forest, in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India. 

Sandalwood stacked on top of sandalwood like the warm winds blowing through a sandalwood forest.

The characteristics between all the different sandalwoods work to compliment each other in a delicate dance of precise ratios. It's true, this was a lot like codebreaking I would imagine; counting drops and taking notes, waiting a week to check results, rinse and repeat.

There was more than 30 different variations on this theme before the code was eventually broke and my nose could understand the secret transmission! I just want you kind reader to know, a lot of time, frustration, money and care went into Supreme Sandalwood Science in an effort to get this right...and boy is it right as rain...in a sandalwood forest. [I need a new simile.]

This my friends is something for all the sandalwood fans out there, it is also something for folks unfamiliar sandalwood, a great place to start and a great place to end, if you will...Enjoy!

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Potassium Cocoate, Aqua, Potassium Kokumate, Sodium Lactate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Potassium Castorate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Cocoa Butterate, Potassium Avocadoate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Theobroma Grandiflorum (Capuacu) Butter, Astrocaryum (Murumuru) Seed Butter, Platonia Insignis (Bacuri) Seed Butter, Parfum [Fragrance]

Soap Net Wt 4 oz (113 g)