Le Labo Santal 33 vs. Dossier Woody Sandalwood: Is the $200 fragrance worth it?

If you live in New York City or have visited within the past 10 years, you’ve smelled Le Labo’s Santal 33. The smoky, unisex fragrance gained a cult following among the downtown crowd, and you’re still likely to catch a whiff of it on the streets in SoHo today.

The alluring scent comes at a premium, however, with a 1.7-ounce bottle going for $220. Thankfully, fragrance fanatics on TikTok love a deal (like us) and have found some strong contenders for affordable alternatives that smell nearly identical.

At $49, Dossier’s Woody Sandalwood is one of the best Santal 33 doppelgängers out there. The brand — which offers a range of fragrances that are essentially note-for-note copies of popular designer scents — even cites that the perfume is “inspired by” Le Labo Santal 33.

We tested how unmistakable Santal 33 really is, or if you’re better off saving and going with Dossier’s affordable fragrance.

Le Labo Santal 33 vs. Dossier Woody Sandalwood at a glance

They smell nearly identical

Created by nose Frank Voelkl, Santal 33 is a woody, leathery fragrance that balances its richness with a light finish. Each of Le Labo’s scents tell a story, and according to the brand, Santal 33 asks you to “imagine sitting in solitude on the rugged, wide plains of the American West, firelight on your face, indigo-blue night skies above. There is nothing around save for the soft, desert wind. You. Are. Free.”

Make of that what you will, but the fragrance’s base notes of cedarwood, sandalwood and leather do indeed give a raw, rugged impression. The smoky wood notes paired with a bit of spice from the cardamom and a touch of sweetness from the violet and iris notes result in a beautifully warm, sophisticated scent. It’s great year-round, but we especially love it for fall.

While Le Labo leans on imagery and artistic license to define its fragrance, Dossier actually provides a more straightforward breakdown of the scent: “[Santal 33 is] a lovely, comforting, smooth scent as it opens and develops, although by the end, what you’re left with is a bunch of smoky, milky notes that capture the distinctive scent of Australian sandalwood.” For its own version, Dossier uses Indian sandalwood, which it says is “an ingredient rawer, earthier and creamier than its Australian counterpart.”

Testing it head-to-head with the Dossier version — or wrist-to-wrist, rather, as I spritzed one on each of my pulse points — it was clear that the Le Labo juice was more complex and earthy.

Both smelled great — and very similar — but the Dossier version had a more sweet, zesty aroma, bringing a brightness to the woody base notes. Santal 33, on the other hand, smelled richer, with the leather and smoked woods dominating.

These differences were apparent when comparing the perfumes one after the other, but are not as obvious considering each fragrance individually. There’s enough similarity in the perfumes’ respective notes that they give the same smoky, woody impression. And when we did a blind test with Underscored staff members, the verdict was split as to which fragrance was the pricier one.

Le Labo’s sillage and longevity is superior

With continued wear, the Dossier fragrance mellowed out to a closer match to Santal’s warm tones. However, its sillage — the “wake” of the fragrance that diffuses in the air as the wearer moves — wasn’t as potent as Le Labo’s.

On one day I wore only the Dossier fragrance, I enlisted the help of my roommate, since the wearer can get what’s called “nose fatigue,” or the phenomenon of getting desensitized to fragrance after prolonged exposure (aka going nose-blind).

After three hours of wear, we found that we had to be in close proximity, within an arm’s reach, for Dossier’s perfume to be detectable and the scent didn’t linger in the air once I walked away. By the end of the day, the scent had faded almost completely.

The next day, I wore only the Le Labo. At the three-hour check-in, the scent was still quite strong. My roommate could smell it within a yard of me approaching, and the smell lingered when I left the room. This didn’t surprise me — I smell Santal 33’s sillage weekly when out in New York City. At the end of the day, the fragrance was more subdued but could still be smelled in close proximity.

The high price tag comes with some luxurious perks

The sticker shock you may get at Le Labo is tempered by some exclusive experiences the brand offers. If you have the chance to visit a Le Labo store, you’ll get to have your Santal 33 hand-mixed and personalized right in front of you. The lab technicians (the brand’s name literally translates to “the laboratory”) blend the fragrance and bottle it up on-site, then you can choose to have your name printed on the fragrance’s bottle and box. And when you’ve used up your personalized bottle, you can return to the lab to have it refilled with another freshly mixed blend (for 1.7-, 3.4- and 16.9-fluid-ounce bottles).

Bottom line

While Le Labo’s fragrance outlasts Dossier’s, the similarity in scent is uncanny. A discerning nose may be able to tell the difference, but when you’re not literally sniffing them side by side it’s unlikely anyone else would notice. Shared by both, the dominating sandalwood with other warm, woody notes make the perfumes sophisticated, alluring and a touch sensual — for anyone.

If you’re after a luxury fragrance for less, Dossier’s alternative is worth a try. But if you want the luxury experience to go along with your fancy perfume, Le Labo’s personalization and handmade touches can’t be replicated.