Diptyque Tam Dao Eau de Toilette is a sweetly spice, aromatic wood fragrance that starts off with a more pine-like woodiness that transforms into a cedar-sandalwood mix–creamy but aromatic–and then eventually, heavy on sandalwood in its smooth, creamy form with rose to round it out. The drydown had light spices and golden amber whispers that accentuated the sandalwood, while a touch of musk came through. These are the notes:

• top notes: Italian cypress, myrtle, rose
• heart notes: sandalwood, cedar
• base notes: Brazilian rosewood, spices, amber, white musk

It opened with rich, dry cedar accented by soft rose and aromatic woods. The cypress gave it a green facet that paired well with the cedar and seemed mitigate some of the dryness, before creamy, smooth sandalwood joined the composition to blend with the cedar. In a way, it had more of a forest woodiness to–slightly camphorous, sappy, and piney, but then the wood was chopped and left to dry out, becoming softer, smoother, and less pine-heavy. The rose was subtle throughout the opening that I almost missed it entirely as the woods were quite dominant; the rose seemed there to fuse the types of woods together without being overt.

It was cooler, crisp, and pine-like, despite some of the warmth that I associate with drier cedar, and it took about a half hour for the fragrance to warm through with richer rosewood, lightly spiced amber, and a touch of powderiness. As the creamy, smooth sandalwood shifted upward and became the more dominant of the woods, the scent felt warmer and softer with rosewood peeking through. The drydown had a little bit of muskiness coupled with sandalwood and a subtle, ambery sweetness.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. 

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for four hours until it was a skin-scent and about eight hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were both on the lighter side even from initial application–it wafted from about five inches above my wrist initially and dropped closer within an hour.

Personal Thoughts

I’d describe it as a more approachable sandalwood fragrance, and it would be ideal for someone who prefers skin scents and closer-wearing fragrances with no real sillage or projection (none of these are negatives, they are simply descriptors in my eye!). I’m happy to wear a more intense take on sandalwood, so something like this is nice to see for others but not so much for me specifically.

Available Sizes

• 75ml for $190
• 0.7ml sample for $6

Where to Buy

• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstrom

Diptyque Tam Dao Perfume Review

Diptyque Tam Dao Perfume Review