Mysore sandalwood, harvested from Santalum album trees in the Karnataka region of southern India, was the perfumery standard for the entire 20th century until the Indian government nationalised the trade in the 1990s and restricted exports to protect dwindling forests. The result: pure Mysore sandalwood is now one of the most expensive raw materials in luxury fragrance, often sold by the gram. The note carries a creamy, milky-woody softness that Australian (Santalum spicatum) and synthetic alternatives cannot fully replicate. Argos Love Triumphs Over War and Argos Pallas Athene centre Mysore sandalwood in their compositions.
