The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
X Santal is the first chapter in a collaboration between Bibbi Paris and Skins. The partnership brings together Bibbi's approach with Skins' thirty years of searching for the perfect sandalwood. Thirty years of searching, distilled into one bottle. Jérôme Epinette built the composition around sandalwood as both opening and anchor, present from the first spray, returning in the drydown transformed by everything layered above it. The sandalwood opens with a creamy, almost milky warmth that feels intimate from the start. As the fragrance develops, the sandalwood takes on depth from the other notes while maintaining its smooth character throughout the wear.
What makes X Santal unusual is how the sandalwood works. It doesn't arrive as a base note, it opens the fragrance, sets the tone, then settles back into the drydown alongside amber and vanilla as something richer and more complex. The cardamom adds warmth without fire. The papyrus brings an unexpected green, cucumber-like crispness that lifts the heart and keeps the powdery violet and shea butter from becoming too soft. It's a composition that earns its restraint. Nothing fights for attention. Everything stays.
The evolution
Cardamom arrives first, warm, aromatic, a brief spark before the sandalwood settles in. Creamy and smooth, that sandalwood sets the tone for everything that follows. The heart develops over the next hour: papyrus adds an unexpected freshness, almost green, a cucumber-like coolness that keeps the violet and shea butter from going too soft. The powdery quality builds gently, intimate, the kind of closeness that feels personal rather than performative. Then the base arrives. Amber and musk blend with the sandalwood foundation as vanilla rounds everything out, leaving a warm, skin-close trail that doesn't demand to be noticed. The sandalwood returns in the drydown, deeper now, richer, the scent of something that aged well.
Cultural impact
Sandalwood carries significant weight in fragrance work, and the collaboration between Bibbi Paris and Skins reflects that importance. The partnership draws on their shared love for fragrance and thirty years of searching for the perfect sandalwood, distilled into a single expression. Together they created a piece that speaks to the role sandalwood plays in thoughtful perfumery, honoring the ingredient's place in the craft and the stories that quality bottles carry.
