RUŌOD Lab

Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album)

Essential oil · Woody / Musky

woody, creamy, milky, sweet — base note.

Aroma illustration for Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album): pale sandalwood and chips and a splash of milk, for its sandalwood, creamy and milky notes. It illustrates smell associations, not the material or its source.Illustration of a cut log of pale golden sandalwood heartwood with chips.
Aroma View: an illustration of what Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) smells like (sandalwood, creamy, milky), drawn by RUŌOD Lab — not its appearance or its source.An original illustration of the botanical source by RUŌOD Lab — not a photograph of the material.
Images

By the RUŌOD Lab TeamRevision 1Updated

In short

Sandalwood oil from Santalum album is steam-distilled from the heartwood of East Indian sandalwood. It is the classic creamy, milky wood of perfumery, rich in santalols.

What Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) smells like

East Indian (Mysore) sandalwood oil, from Santalum album, is known for a creamy, rich aroma and a high santalol content — creamy, buttery and soft, in a retailer's comparison — against the drier, greener Australian oil. A forum perfumer notes that the Australian wood has the same chemicals in different proportions, with much less santalol. Synthetic sandalwoods are measured against it.

Leading note
Creamy sandalwood
Clear facets
Milky, buttery
Supporting facets
Sweet, soft woody
Character
Creamy, soft, rich, tenacious
  • woody
  • creamy
  • milky
  • sweet

What makes Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) distinctive

The reference sandalwood: creamy, rich and soft, the profile every synthetic tries to approach.

Where the descriptions disagree: Santalol figures come from a retailer; no controlled sensory comparison was found.

How Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) is used

Used as a base note and fixative in woody, oriental, floral and chypre compositions.

Typical role: fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes); backbone (used in large proportions as a structural material of an accord).

How Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) differs from similar materials

Australian Sandalwood Oil
Australian sandalwood is drier and greener, with less santalol; Mysore is creamier and richer.
alpha-Santalol
alpha-Santalol is its main constituent alone, a woody sandalwood; the oil is fuller and creamier.
Amyris Oil
Amyris is sold as a cheaper alternative; a glossary finds it sharper and less milky, with an angular resinous edge.

An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Supply of Santalum album is limited and closely regulated in its producing countries; plantation-grown oil is now common. Ask suppliers for origin and legal-sourcing documentation.

Identity and classification

Type
Essential oil
Origin
Natural
Odour family
Woody / Musky
Note position
Base note
Physical form at room temperature
Viscous liquid
Also known as
East Indian sandalwood oil
Botanical source
Santalum album L.
CAS number
8006-87-9

The CAS number was checked on 19 October 2026 against a PubChem substance record that gives it for this material. A natural material is a mixture, so it has no single formula; its composition varies with origin and processing.

Safety and compliance

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

  • Sandalore

    Aroma chemical · Woody / Musky — sandalwood, warm, soft, woody

  • Polysantol

    Aroma chemical · Woody / Musky — sandalwood, creamy, milky, woody

  • Ebanol

    Aroma chemical · Woody / Musky — sandalwood, creamy, woody, musky

  • Rose Oil (Rosa damascena)

    Essential oil · Floral / Fruity — rose, honeyed, spicy, fresh

  • Vanillin

    Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Amber — vanilla, sweet, creamy

  • alpha-Santalol

    Natural isolate · Woody — sandalwood, creamy, soft, woody

Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Australian Sandalwood Oil, Bacdanol, Butter CO2 Extract and Javanol.

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 18 published formulas

Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) is an ingredient in 17 perfume formulas and 1 accord in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

  • 1882 Naturals

    Community Formula · listed as “Sandalwood Indi”, origin India

  • Leather Accord

    Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Indian Sandalwood”, origin India

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

Further reading

Questions about Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album)

Is Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) natural or synthetic?

Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) is natural. It is a volatile oil obtained from plant material by steam distillation or, for citrus peels, by cold expression.

What is the CAS number of Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album)?

8006-87-9, the registry number for the essential oil as a substance rather than a single molecule. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.

Which published formulas use Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album)?

Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) is used in 18 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including 1882 Naturals, Beeswax Throne and Bright Wolf. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.

Sources

Your own records, next to the reference

Keep your own record of Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album) — supplier, cost, stock, dilutions and where it is used — in RUŌOD Lab's material library.

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