Why Does Santal 33 Smell Like Pickles to Some People?
Why Does Santal 33 Smell Like Pickles to Some People?
Some people spray Le Labo Santal 33 and smell smoky sandalwood, soft leather, and expensive boutique hotel energy.
Other people smell straight-up pickles.
The "Santal 33 pickle smell" debate has been all over Reddit, TikTok, and fragrance forums for years, and once someone points it out, it's honestly hard not to notice. The weird part is that both sides are technically right.
Santal 33 blends smoky woods, leather, papyrus, and warm spice into a fragrance that reacts differently depending on who's wearing it. Some people get smooth sandalwood and soft smoke. Others get something weirdly close to pickle brine.
Why Does Le Labo Santal 33 Smell Like Pickles?
The biggest reason Santal 33 smells like pickles is the sandalwood and papyrus combination.
Papyrus has a dry, earthy sharpness that can smell smoky and expensive on some people but sour or almost vinegary on others. Once it mixes with skin oils, heat, and body chemistry, the fragrance can shift a lot from person to person.
That's why Santal 33 can smell:
Creamy and Woody
Rich sandalwood warmth with a smooth, buttery depth.
Dry and Smoky
A campfire-adjacent dryness that reads as effortlessly cool.
Soft and Leathery
Supple leather notes that add an expensive, worn-in quality.
Weirdly Pickle-Like
The papyrus-skin chemistry combo that launched a thousand forum threads.
- And unfortunately, once your brain locks onto the pickle comparison, there's kind of no going back.
What Does Santal 33 Actually Smell Like?
For most people, Santal 33 smells:
- woody
- smoky
- leathery
- musky
- dry
- slightly spicy
The fragrance became famous because it smelled completely different from the sweet perfumes dominating fragrance culture at the time. Instead, Santal 33 felt dry, minimal, and effortlessly cool in a way people instantly became obsessed with.
It quickly became associated with boutique hotels, fashion spaces, expensive candles, and that whole "clean but expensive" aesthetic people still chase constantly.
Why Does Fragrance Smell Different on Everyone?
Fragrance is surprisingly personal because skin chemistry changes the way fragrance notes develop throughout the day. The exact same perfume can smell cleaner, smokier, sweeter, sharper, or more sour depending on the person wearing it. Woody fragrances especially tend to change throughout the day because notes like sandalwood, cedarwood, and papyrus react heavily with skin oils and body heat.
That's part of why Santal 33 became such a huge conversation online. Some people smell smooth woods and soft leather. Others smell pickle juice. And somehow both experiences are real.
Is Santal 33 Supposed to Smell Like Pickles?
No. Le Labo did not intentionally make Santal 33 smell like pickles. The Santal 33 pickle smell usually comes from the way certain woody aroma chemicals react with skin chemistry, especially in fragrances heavy on sandalwood and papyrus.
Some people never notice it at all. Others can't unsmell it once they do. And honestly, the pickle discourse probably made Santal 33 even more famous.
What Smells Like Santal 33 Without the Pickle Effect?
Not everyone experiences the pickle note equally, and some fragrances inspired by Santal 33 feel smoother or less sharp overall.
Así Sándalo
If you love the woody sandalwood side of Santal 33 but not the sharper sour edge some people pick up on, Así Sándalo goes in a smoother direction.
And unlike Santal 33, Así Sándalo lasts up to 8 hours on skin while costing a fraction of the price.
- Average price: $39
- Wear time: Up to 8 hours
- Best for: Everyday wear, woody fragrances, fans of Santal 33
Diptyque Tam Dao
Tam Dao focuses more on creamy sandalwood and softer woods instead of smoke or papyrus-heavy sharpness.
The result feels calmer, smoother, and less likely to turn sour on skin while still living in the same sandalwood-heavy world as Santal 33.
- Average price: $120
- Wear time: 5–7 hours
- Best for: Softer sandalwood fragrances and office wear
Maison Louis Marie No.04 Bois de Balincourt
Bois de Balincourt keeps the dry woody atmosphere people love about Santal 33, but with a cleaner and slightly lighter overall profile.
For some people, that softer cedarwood blend avoids the pickle-like sharpness they get from the original fragrance.
- Average price: $95
- Wear time: 4–6 hours
- Best for: Daytime wear and lighter woody fragrances
Why Is Santal 33 Still So Popular?
Even with the pickle allegations, Santal 33 remains one of the most influential fragrances of the last decade. It helped popularize:
- smoky sandalwood fragrances
- woody minimalist scents
- gender-neutral perfumes
- the entire "clean expensive" fragrance aesthetic
And honestly, part of its staying power comes from how recognizable and debated it became online. Most fragrances would never recover from the pickle allegations, but somehow Santal 33 became even more famous.
FAQ
Why does Le Labo Santal 33 smell like pickles?
For some people, the sandalwood and papyrus notes in Santal 33 create a sharp, sour smell that can resemble pickles or pickle brine. Skin chemistry plays a major role in how the fragrance develops throughout the day.
Is Santal 33 supposed to smell like pickles?
No. Le Labo Santal 33 was designed as a smoky woody fragrance, not a pickle scent. The pickle comparison happens because certain woody notes react differently on different skin types.
What note in Le Labo Santal 33 smells like pickles?
Most people point to the combination of sandalwood and papyrus as the source of the pickle-like smell in Santal 33.
Does everyone smell pickles in Santal 33?
No. Many people experience Santal 33 as smooth, woody, smoky, and leathery. Others pick up a sour or vinegary quality depending on skin chemistry and scent perception.
What smells like Santal 33 without the pickle juice note?
Fragrances like Así Sándalo, Diptyque Tam Dao, and Maison Louis Marie No.04 Bois de Balincourt capture a similar sandalwood-heavy atmosphere while feeling smoother or less sharp on some people.
The Así Perspective
Santal 33 became iconic because it smelled different from everything else around it. Smoky woods, dry spice, soft leather, and that expensive energy people immediately wanted to copy.
The pickle debate honestly just made the fragrance even more famous.
Because the most influential fragrances are the ones people can't stop talking about.
