Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Bought before I knew anything about REAL essential oils. Now I know better. And this doesn't even smell ANYTHING LIKE REAL Sandalwood. Sorry folks you can't get genuine Indian Sandalwood (or any real Sandalwood species) for 7.99. A 10 ml bottle is going to cost you at least $45*, but standard pricing is $75-95. The best price I've found on Amazon is $21.98 for 5 ml bottle of Australian Sandalwood (& that's a steal, & where I got the $45 for 10 ml price, by buying 2 to get 10 ml, but most charge $45 for 5 ml). Indian is usually more. expensive That's one of the key signs that this oil is fake, BTW, if the price is too good to be true, it usually is (too good to be true, that is!) Another is that there is no latin species identifying this. Even having that is not fool proof, but NOT having it listed on the label IS proof positive it's fake. I have not seen a true essential oil that did not list the latin name of the plant.. You also want to see the country of origin & method of extraction. BUT, having that info on the label is still not enough. Many fakes even have that too. What you want to see is a GC/MS test report on the product with a batch or a lot number that matches up to the same on your bottle. If they can't supply you with independent test results For THIS TEST SPECIFICALLY, proving their oil is genuine, then it likely isn't. Another dead giveaway is when they sell almost all their oils at the same prices (or tier of prices). Clary Sage, Thyme & Sandalwood are NOT going to be the same price as each other if it's real essential oil. If all the oils are the same color & same viscosity (thickness), that's another huge warning sign. Sandalwood comes in 3 variants, Indian (Santalum Album), Australian (Santalum Spicatum) & Hawaiian (Santalum Paniculatum) , with Australian being the least expensive & Hawaiian the most. Personally I think Australian & Hawaiian smell better, but to each his own. Much of the Indian Sandalwood being sold is actually grown in Australia too (which is not the same as Australian Sandalwood). The older the tree, the better the oil & a lot of what is being produced these days is from young trees. But that is neither here nor there with this brand of 'Sandalwood' oil. It may be an oil & it may be their interpretation of Sandalwood scented, but it is NOT Indian Sandalwood Essential Oil (Santalum Album) & it smells nothing like it. Favorable reviews are from people who don't know what the real thing is supposed to smell like. I bought a bunch of oils from quite a few cheaper companies (incl. this one) & had to go back & retract some reviews because I had given them favorable ones until I figured out what was & wasn't real. Which is why I felt compelled to leave this review, so others won't be fooled into thinking this is real or a good deal. The one positive thing I can say is that this company DOES stand behind it's money back guarantee. If you've bought this & like me, realized it's not the real deal, write them and they should refund your money (within the 30 days, I can't speak to longer than that..), so they do at least have excellent customer service. Just keep in mind, the old adage is true, you get what you pay for. Here the price is nothing & the product is nothing. At least, nothing real. Note - Amazon DOES sell a number of brands by legitimate essential oil sellers & you don't have to pay the MLM prices either. Be careful though if it is not the company you're buying from directly through Amazon, Aura Cacia, for instance, doesn't sell on Amazon but you can find their brand sold by other retailers & many have found them to be adulterated. I don't work for any of the companies mentioned, no one has paid or given me anything, I just want to share what I've learned to help others not go through all the wasted time & products & money I did. This is what I've found as sellers on Amazon for real essential oils: (alphabetically) Edens Garden, Miracle Botanicals & Plant Therapy & Rocky Mountain. Other good brands that may or may not be found here but don't sell here are Ananda Apothecary, Aura Cacia, Eden Botanicals, Hopewell Essential Oils, Mountain Rose Herbs, Pompeii Street Organics & Simpler Botanicals. Brands to avoid (besides this one, no special order) ArOmis, EcoOris, Laguna Moon, Woolzies, Majestic, RA, Gya, Artizen, Ola Prima, Sun, Sheer Essence, Positive Essence, etc. anything that's in the same price range, basically. (& yes, I hate to admit it, but I was duped into buying almost all of the brands listed) Also, some claim Healing Solutions & Now are legit, but I've also read adulterants have been found in some of their oils, so I wouldn't recommend chancing it. I also know that Healing Solutions is parent company to Ola Prima, so that's a black strike in my book as I know from personal experience that Ola Prima is adulterated (has carrier oil in it).. Personally I also wouldn't recommend DoTerra & Young Living because they are MLM's - multi level marketing companies & there are some independent tests that show some of YL's oils to be adulterated. Even if they are real, no point paying for over priced product, real or not. Just my humble opinions for what it's worth, hope it helps steer you in the right direction so you understand what you're getting, what to look for & what to avoid. If you don't care if it's real or not & just want pretty smelling oil, then buy "fragrance" oils - they've got some terrific synthetics if you don't mind basically using perfume. It won't be therapeutic, other than from smelling nice.