Carlos Santana’s debut fragrance for women was released this year, and features notes of neroli, California pear skin, cassis, coconut water, freesia, Japanese plum, calla lily accord, iris, chocolate, musk, and sandalwood.
The fragrance starts off with a burst of neroli, but that fades quickly into sweet fruits over floral notes. It is well-blended, and I don’t particularly notice any of the individual notes (pear, plum, freesia, etc). It has a vaguely tropical feel in the early stages, but as it develops, it gets drier and warmer, with hints of coconut and chocolate. The woods and musk temper the sweetness and make this more interesting and wearable than the sweet foody fragrance I feared it might be.
As with Britney Spears Fantasy, my expectations were low enough that I was pleasantly surprised. My final reaction is about the same as it was for Fantasy: I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. In general, though, the men’s version strikes me as the more interesting of the two fragrances.
I suppose Marlen is right (see article above) that Carlos Santana has earned the right to market whatever he likes, but celebrity fragrances are a bit of a Catch-22 with me. If the celebrity is someone I barely know, or don’t particularly admire, the fragrance is not likely to interest me. If the celebrity is someone I do admire, and Carlos Santana, whose music was a big part of my youth, surely falls into that category, then I am likely to be dismayed. We all know that Sarah Jessica Parker was an avid, mix-your-own fragrance fan, but Carlos Santana? I don’t begrudge anyone their efforts to make a living, but nor do I necessarily want to buy their perfume just because they are famous. Ok, end of rant. At least some of the proceeds will go to charity:
He and Deborah Santana, his wife of 34 years, founded the Milagro Foundation in 1998 to help underprivileged children in areas of health, education and the arts. A portion of the proceeds from the fragrance and shoe sales goes to the foundation, which has given more than $1.5 million to charity. (via Houston Chronicle)
You can read more about the Milagro Foundation at their website, and you can read more about Carlos Santana at his website. Carlos Santana for women is an Eau de Parfum, but I found the men’s Eau de Toilette to have better strength and lasting power. The women’s version is available in 50 ml and 100 ml bottles, and in matching body lotion, at department stores and sephora.
39 Comments
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I happen to be quite a Santana fan and have even seen him a few times in concert in my wilder days.
Great to hear about his charitable foundation – very impressive. About the perfume – as the money goes to the foundation – I will buy one because I admire his work and gift it. Thanks for this post dear R!
Have a great weekend.
Thanks for a review, R! Based on your and Marl's descriptions, the men's version sounds much more interesting.
Like N, I very much admire their charity efforts, not to mention his work!
N, again, I will be the cynic: I couldn't find the reference this morning, but I am pretty sure I read that the MF gets $1 for each bottle sold. You'd be better off just sending the Foundation a check for a donation.
Sort of related, sort of not: I was watching TV this week, and I saw a commercial for something or another using “The Weight” by The Band as background music. Apparently none of the music of my youth is inviolate. *weeps*
My new hero is the drummer from the Doors, who has refused to allow any of their music to be used in advertising. Apparently the other band members are not happy — they were offered millions. He said:
“People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music,” Densmore said. “I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music.. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent.”
*clap clap clap*
LOL — am I on my soapbox or what???
V, I think the men's is considerably more interesting, and the Maja soap thing in the drydown is nice.
Bravo!! Shows our age for loving these groups R!
Obviously not Britney generation!
I admire the Doors very much too – guess most groups do most things like ads for extra publicity and royalty even when they do not need it.. Beatles comes to my mind and I find Paul M who comes across as being greedy (excuse me – fans of his). This is so very refreshing and touching I may add that there are some artists who value their creations over money..
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PS R – well I think you are right – a direct donation sounds much better. Thank you for this.
Clapping with you to what Densmore said. Must try both Santana scents anyway though
I wasn't surprised in the least that there was a chocolate note in the women's version. I mean, it seems like every other new scent out there has it. It is getting a little old, no? Just like green apple and pink pepper.
Looks like you are not the only one on the soapbox this morning R! 
I just saw these scents for the first time in Sephora and could barely believe it. If I recall correctly, either the box or the display had a picture of the man in full sweaty guitarist glory, headband and all, curled over his instrument under the stage lights, his eyes closed as he made a Rock Guy Guitar Face. Thanks for smelling them for me, as I was too burnt out on fragrances at that point to smell them, or I surely would have.
I want to add that this is not the weirdest thing Carlos Santana has done. No, I don't mean name-checking Metatron in his Grammy speech. I mean coming out with a line of women's shoes. The Manolo featured a Santana shoe a while back, and everyone was shocked at how essentially wearable it looked. In fact, it was cute. Shoes. Santana. Who knew?
N, I was disgusted to see the Fidelity Investments advertising with Paul M, but my dh, who adores him, sees nothing wrong with it & says I am too cranky about such things — obviously, he is right
M, I forgive pink pepper for being ubiquitous because I happen to like pink pepper, but agree on the apple & chocolate. It is good to be inconsistent in one's views, LOL! Must say that the chocolate in CS is very subdued.
Yes, T, the shoe thing is weird. Way weirder than the Jerry Garcia ties. It is a huge line now, too — just look at the selection on Zappos.
I guess in some ways, I would rather see the classic rock heros of my youth go into branded marketing rather than watch them tour right up to their last gasp. Although actually, I'd rather they all just retire with some dignity and live on their investments. Maybe they were all too stoned to make good investments.
I am totally with you R. That man has enough money for several generations and can feed a nation or two.
Don't tell your DH but we have this joke amongst some of my friends here about PM and his facelifts! ;D He must need a lot of dough for those AND maintaining such a young second wife!
I am a more of a George Harrison fan obviously.
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ahh, I remember the days BEFORE pink pepper was ubiquitous. *creaks bones and tries to remember where cane is*
Wow — I am going to look for evidence & send it to my dh, maybe that will get his goat! I refused to go with him to see PM in concert last month — he paid $180 for a ticket! He accuses me of being “not a real Beatles fan”. I say PM is *not* the Beatles, or at least, not any more, and I have no interest in paying the cost of several bottles of perfume to see some pale reminder of their former glory. LOL — aren't we a silly pair?
*passes along the Geritol*
Whoa, woman! You are on a roll today!
My grandfather, yes, my grandfather, turned me on to Santana's first album. I have been a fan ever since.
I know it's weird seeing him sell fragrance and shoes, but hey: I don't begrudge the brother one bit. I've seen and heard of stranger things. At least he's not hawking insurance for seniors or, worse yet, pantyhose. LOL!
In the vernacular of the sixties and the seventies, I say “Right on!”
Hugs!
And Bob Dylan is selling ladies undergarments. It's a changed world.
What??? Off to do a little google search on that one…
See R, you are so much nicer than I am! You are right, it is better than insurance or pantyhose, so ok, I will get off his case…not that it was any inconvenience to him, of course
Don't you remember his Victoria's Secret ads from a year ago? Or are you, like the rest of us, repressing the memory? It was the most surreal celebrity endorsement deal of all time.
Wow. I either suppressed it very succesfully, or I missed it entirely the first time around. Just found an article about it on Slate. I am stunned.
LOL! R, you are truly priceless today, and I love it!
You can't be as stunned as I was when a jiggly, underwear-clad Adriana Lima was suddenly replaced, on my TV screen, with a huge closeup of craggy Bob grinning at the camera.
Santana fragrance is not nearly as weird as the Rolling Stones shilling for mortgage brokers. That said, I'm afraid I'm still uninterested in either male or female version. I'm way too burned out on celeb frags to work up any interest at all.
That was the exact moment when my husband and I began referring to him as “Creepy Bob,” rather than Bob Dylan. Craggy Bob grinning at the camera while stalking ladies in their underpants struck as us as incredibly pervy and weird.
K, I have a feeling it is going to get worse before it gets better!
Beyonce, JLo, Jessica Simpson … help me out here. At least clothing designers have fashion bona fides — I'll give, say, Donna Karan the benefit of the doubt and sniff Cashmere Mist. But, God help me, I wouldn't touch Kimora Simmons with a barge pole. And Britney, I am: Not Curious. I really don't want to know what Paris Hilton smells like either.
On the other hand: Carlos Santana is so fine I guess he can do anything he wants. But Bob Dylan Homme sounds very, very wrong.
I'll probably give the Carlos Santana fragrance a try when I see it, but just picking up bottles that say Britney, SJP, or JLo make me feel that I'm trying to be younger than my 48 years.
Carlos Santana goes back to my “golden youth”, so I won't feel silly to tell someone I'm wearing it!
Does this sound vain? Maybe, but my mouth just won't form the words “I'm wearing Britney Spears' new scent!”
Well, do bear in mind that the same perfumers (pretty much) that make the scents for the designers also make scents for the celebrities. It is largely a difference of marketing, but still, I share your unease! I don't want a Bob Dylan fragrance.
C, There was a funny article somewhere online a few months back about “grownups” wearing Curious and layering it with other fragrances, but unfortunately I can't find the link now.
My assumption is that developing the new scent for, say, Britney is so driven by marketing and demographic decisions that the final product is made with a broad-enough appeal to fly off the dept. store shelves … which is a perfectly reasonable goal, just not one that's likely to result in a perfume I like! But SL or l'Artisan are creating a scent with a different goal in mind — an interesting scent, but not necessarily one that's going to fly off the shelves. SJP Lovely is nice, though… so I have to ask, are there any celeb scents out there you find compelling, even if they're not “you”?
Yes, with SL or L'Artisan…but wonder if the designer fragrances are developed any differently than the celebrity scents? I think they are still, for the most part, dependent on creating something that impresses within 15 minutes on a paper test strip.
No, can't think of a single celebrity scent that I would classify as “compelling”, except maybe Cumming, which I think is a great fragrance. I hear Deneuve was just wonderful but it is long gone, and I also hear good things about the fragrances by Isabella Rossellini, but I haven't tried them.
Please post it when and if you find it. I'd love to see how others are feeling about using twentysomething fragrances.
Had fun reading the various comments on celebrities' excursions into the wild world of marketing and advertising. Yep, it truly is a weird world we live in!
So – about the fragrance. I was pretty impressed with both the women's and men's versions of Carlos. Unlike most other celebrity fragrances, which tend to smell like they're just going for broad appeal, I get the feeling that Carlos would actually enjoy and/or wear these himself. They both have a Latino/tropical/ edgy rock star quality to them that perfectly suits Santana's image and his music. Of the two, I prefer the men's version, but I wear both. Especially good whilst salsa dancing.
CBG, you've got more faith in Carlos Santana than I do, which is good since I haven't much!
lol…well, wearing this is sort of like disobeying your mother and going out with that boy from the wrong side of the tracks…
The perfume snob in me wishes I didn't like it, but alas…I do…
It never hurts to have a few guilty pleasures, perfume or otherwise
Shalimar for stoners. And I mean hat in the nicest way. The lotion brings out the fruitier side of the fragrance, whereas the EDP – which has not enough staying power – is more balanced amongst the neroli, warm spices , iris, and woods.
And stoners needed a Shalimar