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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Hello APJ Peeps!

I hope you are all well and fabulously fragrant. I wanted to share a captivating documentary I discovered today. It takes an hour to view, but well worth the time invested for its fascinating content, based in Western Australia and France, all about delicious Australian Sandalwood and more!

Australian Sandalwood Oil Spectacular

The documentary outlines the Australian Sandalwood and Indian Sandalwood oil industries in Australia and highlights environmental issues, indigenous community involvement, poaching, uses of, industry’s worth and traces the oil right through to Givaudon’s laboratory in France where they now use both species of oils for fine fragrance and beauty products.

How would you describe the smell of Sandalwood Oil? Have you had the luck to smell both Indian AND Australian native sandalwood oil? What differences did your nose perceive?

I learnt so much from watching and hope you do too! Make yourself a cuppa or some popcorn, relax and enjoy!

Australian Sandalwood and Indian Sandalwood oil industries in Australia Documentary Link <<<JUMP

Here is an additional ABC news story, which outlines the dodgy poaching industry that is occurring in greater volume than the legal exporting of Sandalwood Oil from Australia. Who knew?!? SO interesting!

After watching the above my mind was inspired, racing in all different directions. My legs took me to my bathroom where I found a bottle of Mecca Cosmetica: Scrub Up Smoothing Body Polish. The reason I raced to find it was I knew it was the only product I had containing Sandalwood KERNEL (i.e. not from the wood) oil CO2 extracted AND the nuts themselves as the exfoliation component. It is from the species Santalum Spicatum which is indeed the Australian Sandalwood kernels. If you remember from the program they were the bigger nuts and sound like they often go to waste…perhaps not anymore!? It seems they have made a slightly more “luxurious version” of the traditional indigenous “chew and spit” kernel poultice/scrub. (..And I do recommend it!)

We at APJ would love to hear your thoughts on the above programs including anyone who has personally visited the plantations in Western Australia.

Finally, which are your favorite Sandalwood containing fragrances and do you think they contain Australian or Indian oil…or synthetic molecules?