The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Highlands arrived in 2019 from Alexandria Fragrances. The brief was direct: a sophisticated masculine composition built around a creamy sandalwood core that knows exactly what it's doing. Creed's Bois du Portugal had set the template for what a gentleman's evening fragrance could be, a benchmark of creamy sandalwood sophistication with that quiet authority you don't need to explain. Alexandria's answer wasn't a copy. It was a louder, spicier, more assertive interpretation of the same vocabulary, one that keeps the architectural bones of BdP but turns up the volume on the warmth, the spice, the projection that fills a room before you've said a word. The sandalwood here doesn't whisper. It leans in close and speaks with intent.
What makes Highlands interesting isn't the note list. Four ingredients, no pyramid padding, no top-note theater. Sandalwood, lavender, spices, ambergris. That's the whole conversation. The interesting part is how those four voices are balanced, and which one leads. Mysore sandalwood forms the floor, creamy and resinous, the kind of material that costs real money per kilo. Lavender provides the aromatic counterweight, herbal and slightly cold, the fougère handshake that signals old-school masculine grooming. The spices sit in the middle, unnamed and therefore plural, adding the warmth that elevates this beyond a straightforward sandalwood soliflore.
The evolution
The first thirty minutes are a handshake: lavender up front, bright and herbal, the kind of clean aromatic snap that reads as freshly shaved and properly dressed. The sandalwood arrives underneath almost immediately, not waiting for a traditional top-note exit, which gives the opening a denser, more unified feel than most compositions manage. You don't get the usual gap between top and heart here. The wood is already present, already contributing texture, already telling you this isn't going to be a bright aromatic fade. As the lavender softens, the spice layer takes over, warming the sandalwood into something richer, almost edible. This is where Highlands separates from its BdP inspiration. The drydown is where the ambergris does its quiet work.
Cultural impact
Highlands found its audience among collectors of formal masculine perfumery who wanted a sandalwood-driven composition with real presence. The fragrance lands squarely in aromatic-woody territory and has been discussed and reviewed extensively across the fragrance community since its release. Reviews consistently describe it as debonair, masculine, and effective at commanding attention in formal settings. The composition earns praise for its handling of sandalwood, a note that demands respect and rewards compositions that know how to frame it properly.
