Green, milky-woody freshness with a grassy, almost herbal edge. Less creamy than Indian sandalwood, less dry than Australian -- a raw, unfinished wood.
Green-milky wood with a grassy, herbal edge. Less creamy than Indian sandalwood, less dry than Australian. Like freshly planed wood in a workshop -- the shavings still damp, the sap still visible. A raw, vegetal woodiness with a faint rosy undertone from its guaiol content.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Green, grassy, faintly milky. Fresh-cut wood with a vegetal, herbal brightness.
After a few hours
After a few hours
The green settles. Smooth, rosy-woody warmth emerges -- guaiol's contribution becomes clearer.
After a few days
After a few days
A quiet, milky-woody residue. Less persistent than true sandalwood but clean and pleasant.
The Full Story
Paraguayan green sandalwood refers to Bulnesia sarmientoi, also known as Palo Santo or Guaiac (not to be confused with Central American Bursera graveolens, which shares the Palo Santo name). The wood is native to the Gran Chaco region of Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia.
The essential oil, obtained by steam distillation of the heartwood, has a markedly different character from true sandalwood (Santalum album). Where Indian sandalwood is creamy, rich, and deeply lactonic, Paraguayan sandalwood is greener, grassier, and more transparent. The dominant molecule is guaiol (a sesquiterpenol), which gives it a rosy-woody character distinct from the santalol-dominated profile of true sandalwood.
The "green" descriptor refers to the freshly-cut quality of the wood before aging. Green sandalwood has not undergone the oxidation and maturation that deepens the sweetness of aged sandalwood heartwood. It smells rawer, more vegetal, closer to freshly sawn timber than to finished perfume.
In perfumery, this material is a more affordable alternative to Santalum album, though its character is sufficiently distinct to merit separate use. It works well in woody, herbal, and green compositions where the richness of Indian sandalwood would be excessive.
This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
Bulnesia sarmientoi was added to CITES Appendix III in 2008 and upgraded to Appendix II in 2010, requiring export permits from all range states. Paraguay, the primary exporter, had previously shipped over 100,000 tonnes of the wood in a single decade, decimating wild populations.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of the heartwood of Bulnesia sarmientoi. The tree is native to the Gran Chaco region (Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia). Yield varies; the species is CITES Appendix III listed due to overexploitation.
Heart-to-base note in woody, herbal, and green compositions. Functions as an affordable sandalwood alternative with a greener, less creamy profile. Its guaiol content gives a rosy-woody character useful in modern woody-fresh formulas. Works alongside vetiver, galbanum, and cedar. Not a direct substitute for Mysore sandalwood -- its character is too distinct -- but a valid woody material in its own right.
