The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Accord No. 03: Ambre + Sandalwood arrived in 2022 from RAER Scents. The nose belongs to Stefan Kehl, who composed this piece around two raw resins, Balsam of Peru and storax, held together by a backbone of sustainably grown Indian Mysore sandalwood. RAER's catalog includes Accord No. 01 Nagarmotha and Accord No. 02 Cade, each one a tightly focused study of a single botanical focus. This release continues that single-focus approach, trading complexity for clarity. The result is less a perfume built around surprises and more an unfiltered look at what real resins smell like in their natural state, warm and slightly wild, with the sandalwood providing a creamy counterpoint to the denser balsamic notes.
What sets this composition apart is the sourcing. The Mysore sandalwood comes from Indian growers working with sustainable forestry programs, which matters because true Mysore sandalwood has become increasingly rare and protected. The amber accord leans on natural resins rather than reconstructed aromachemicals, and that changes the character of the scent considerably. What you're smelling is the raw material itself, which means slight variations between batches and an unevenness that synthetic reconstruction simply cannot replicate.
The evolution
The first hour belongs to the resins. Balsam of Peru opens with a deep sweetness, while storax adds a sharper, almost medicinal edge that keeps the sweetness from turning cloying. You catch the sandalwood early too, but it stays in the background, creamy and quiet. Somewhere around the two-hour mark the rose surfaces through the resin haze, and the whole composition shifts. The rose here is dark and slightly jammy rather than fresh, leaning into the woody warmth underneath it. As the resins start to soften, Mysore sandalwood takes over the composition. It's the note that outlasts everything else, a creamy, almost milky wood that lingers on skin well into the evening. The drydown isn't dramatic. There's no surprise twist, no smoky base or sharp leather arriving late.
Cultural impact
This sits in a growing niche of botanical-leaning fragrances that prioritize raw material integrity over mainstream perfumery conventions. The restraint here is notable, and the composition makes no attempt to chase trends or broad commercial appeal. Comparable in spirit to Comme des Garçons in its stripped-back approach to scent, though RAER leans warmer and more resinous, pulling toward natural balsamic richness rather than synthetic minimalism. For wearers, the appeal is less about projection and more about proximity, a scent that rewards close attention rather than demanding it from across a room.
