Best Santal Pao Rosa by Guerlain Alternatives & Similar Perfumes
Santal Pao Rosa by Guerlain blends creamy sandalwood with spicy cardamom and rich myrrh, layered over a base of oud, fig, and nutty notes. It offers a warm, resinous scent with a subtle fruity sweetness and a smooth woody depth. Those drawn to fragrances combining aromatic spices with a soft, milky sandalwood and a touch of smoky resin will find its composition distinctive and balanced.
Zagal by Otzlab £240.00
- Key notes:
- fig
- milky nuance
- myrrh
- sandalwood
- vanilla
- Aromagroups:
- fruity
- vintage/old school
- woody
Zagal is the Spanish word for a shepherd’s apprentice, a figure that embodies discovery and innocence. This namesake fragrance invites you to approach the familiar with fresh eyes. Zagal is a dialogue between saffron’s dry, subtle bitterness, and fig’s fleshy, vegetal sweetness. Rose, jasmine, sandalwood, myrrh and vanilla provide deeply cushioned upholstery, rendering Zagal as a contemporary oriental.
Perfumer: Gaël Montero
Osang by Mendittorosa £315.00
- Key notes:
- fenugreek
- frankincense
- heliotropine
- honey
- incense
- labdanum
- myrrh
- oud
- pepper
- peru balm
- sandalwood
- szechuan pepper
- Aromagroups:
- aromatic
- spicy
- unconventional
- woody
‘All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood’
Rainer Maria Rilke
***
A perfumed celebration of saints and superstitions, centred around a fierce fenugreek absolute note lavished with singed pyrazines, sacrificial myrrh and mournful molten honey poured over everything like amber rain. Meadow blooms, sticky dark resins, pungent balms and ashen clouds of iris swirl like dramatic weather.
Vettii by Agatho £305.00
- Key notes:
- amber
- myrrh
- oud
- quince
- sandalwood
- tolu balm
- Aromagroups:
- fruity
- leather
- woody
The olfactory journey through ancient Pompeii continues, this time focusing on the vibrant cultural and commercial life that defined the city.
From this dynamic atmosphere comes Vettii, a fragrance that opens fresh and fruity, gradually becoming more opulent and enveloping. It’s a conversation between precious Mediterranean ingredients and rich Oriental treasures, where fig and strawberry meet saffron, myrrh and oud.
Ormonde Man by Ormonde Jayne £235.00
- Key notes:
- cardamom
- coriander
- hemlock
- oud
- sandalwood
- Aromagroups:
- spicy
- woody
Ormonde Man, a most sophisticated fragrance, despite its unconventional ingredients. Complex and full of character, sultry and mystical, the fragrance exudes soft woody notes, but it is the infusion of Oudh oil, the world’s most prized essence since time immemorial, that sets it apart, elevating the scent to one of true distinction.
The Serpent’s Orchard by Pictura Fragrans £166.00
- Key notes:
- animalic notes
- fig
- honey
- jasmine
- lactonic nuance
- myrrh
- nettles
- Aromagroups:
- fruity
- vintage/old school
- woody
In a garden long unguarded, where fig trees ripen past reason and the perfume of crushed blooms rises from the warm ground, Eve returns to Eden, empowered. The Serpent’s Orchard is a heady surge of wine and rose, honey and myrrh, jasmine and sandalwood. Look out for the snake among the figs.
Stone Cap: 100% peacock quartz
195 A.C. by Agatho £305.00
- Key notes:
- cardamom
- cedarwood
- fig
- incense
- mint
- pomegranate
- Aromagroups:
- fruity
- green
- woody
Rest in the blissful shade of an orchard in the humming city of Pompeii: the year is 195 BC. Inhale the sweet aroma of ripe figs and the local pomegranate leaves heated by the sun; these entine spicy incense being smoked in the nearby temple. So anciently refreshing!
Beso Pasión by Beso Beach £145.00
- Key notes:
- amber
- blood orange
- cardamom
- fig
- ginger
- musk
- vetiver
- Aromagroups:
- fruity
- green
- woody
Perfumer: Jordi Fernández (the nose behind the white floral wonder of Latin Lover).
Beso Pasion is like a sweet summer breeze caressing a Mediterranean island. A breeze infused with sea salt, the delicious aroma of fig trees, and fragrant grass cured by the hot sun.
Fig Man by CARNER £150.00
- Key notes:
- cardamom
- fig
- sea salt
- tonka beans
- violet leaf
- Aromagroups:
- green
- marine
- woody
The Fresh collection.
Inspired by the wondrous illustration Homme Figuier by Dali, Fig Man takes seemingly classic earthy notes and subverts them into a fanciful surreal fig theme mixed with salt, cool spices and dry woods.
Fig Man is a fresh, lush and spacious green formula.
Secret Fig Affair by Mystikum £190.00
- Key notes:
- cardamom
- cedarwood
- cypress
- fig
- galbanum
- pepper
- Aromagroups:
- fruity
- green
- spicy
This is a beautifully rounded fig on the mellow end of the spectrum. Bright bergamot, cardamom and galbanum open the fragrance with confidence, leading into a smooth fig accord layered with iris, cypress and soft floral nuances. The earthy, woody base glows with subtle musk.
Perfumer: Ralf Schwieger
Tu te Calmes | Calm Down by Maison Matine £60.00
- Key notes:
- cardamom
- fig
- lemon
- neroli
- vetiver
- Aromagroups:
- citrusy
- spicy
Even intrepid voyagers exploring outer space to its outer limits need to keep calm at their core, which is where Tu Te Calmes comes in. Inside your spacesuit, you’re smelling a clean blend of fig leaf, cardamom, citrus and cedarwood. Guarantees a safe splashdown.
About Santal Pao Rosa by Guerlain
- What makes Santal Pao Rosa unique compared to these fragrances?
- Santal Pao Rosa combines creamy sandalwood with spicy cardamom and a nutty undertone alongside fig, oud, and myrrh, balanced to create a smooth, resinous, and subtly fruity woody scent. Several fragrances here share key notes but vary in the addition of animalic, fresh, or gourmand elements, which change the overall impression.
- Are any of these fragrances suitable for someone who prefers fresh over smoky scents?
- Yes, fragrances like Tu te Calmes, Fig Man, and Beso Pasión offer fresher interpretations with citrus, green, or marine notes. They maintain some of the fruity and spicy elements but avoid the smoky or animalic facets present in others.
- Do any of these fragrances emphasise the oud note like Santal Pao Rosa?
- Ormonde Man, Osang, and Vettii all feature oud prominently alongside sandalwood and myrrh, providing a resinous depth similar to Santal Pao Rosa. However, each includes additional notes that influence the scent’s character towards aromatic, smoky, or ambered styles.









