Sandalwood (Santalum Album) is one of the oldest known materials in perfume production. It is a small evergreen tree native to tropical Asia, south India, the East Indies, and the Malaysian archipelago. It has a brown-gray trunk with many smooth, slender branches, leathery leaves and small pink flowers and can range anywhere between 25-60 feet in height. The Sandalwood is considered a parasitic tree because its roots burrow into the roots of surrounding trees to extract water and minerals, eventually killing the surrounding vegetation. It is usually found in open, dry places. Sandalwood has been used throughout the East for centuries as incense, in cosmetics, and as an ingredient in both perfume and embalming fluids. The early Arabs also used it in sawdust form as a base for solid perfumes. It has long been a principal ingredient in Indian perfumery as a fragrance and as a base for other fragrances. It is often combined with rose to create the famous Attar of Roses.

The essential oil is found in the heartwood and in the roots of mature Sandalwood trees. It takes 60 years to reach full maturity, and the amount of oil in trees less than 30 years old is minute. Therefore, trees less than 30 years are never harvested. The oil, sometimes called Sandal, is steam distilled from wood chippings, then powdered and dried. A viscous liquid is almost clear with a yellowish, brownish or greenish tint and a sweet-woody, balsamic odor. The scent is faint but long lasting. The oil works as an excellent fixative. The highest quality oil, and the renowned oil of history, comes from the Sandalwood trees of India and Indonesia. The very best oil comes from Mysore and is called White Sandalwood. But there are several other types of Sandalwood trees that yield essential oils with different, somewhat milder fragrances, such as Australian Sandalwood oil, Fiji Sandalwood oil, East African Sandalwood oil, Scented Sandalwood oil from the Polynesian Sandalwood tree, and Cayanne Linaloe oil from the West Indies Sandalwood tree. Today, sandalwood oil is one of the most valuable, and expensive, raw materials available in Western perfumery. It is used as a base for many types of perfumes. It gives a classic note to chypre, fougere, and oriental fragrances, and it is a principal ingredient in 30% of all quality men's fragrances and in 50% of all quality women's fragrances. Sandalwood oil is also used today as a fixative for soaps, detergents, and cosmetics. It's used extensively in cosmetics and as a flavor ingredient in most major food categories including soft drinks and alcoholic drinks.

The oil also has a long tradition of medical uses. In Chinese medicine, it has long been used to treat stomachache, nausea, choleraic conditions and skin complaints. In the Ayurvedic tradition, it is used mainly for respiratory and urinary infections. Modern Aromatherapy has found many uses for Sandalwood oil as well, such as in treating acne, dry, chapped or cracked skin, greasy skin, bronchitis, sore throat, laryngitis, nausea, varicose veins, insomnia, and even depression, especially when the depression is coupled with nervous conditions like tension, anxiety, and stress. It is also believed to be effective as a sedative, as a diuretic, and as an aphrodisiac.