Tam Dao is the woody Eau de Toilette that Diptyque launched in 2003, composed by Daniel Molière. It draws on the childhood memories of Yves Coueslant, one of the house’s founders: the sacred forests of Vietnam and the sandalwood burned in their temples. Diptyque pairs the sandalwood with cedar, cypress and myrtle.
Diptyque does not divide Tam Dao into tiers. The house names sandalwood, cedar, cypress and myrtle, and describes a barely spicy Mysore sandalwood that recalls the forests of Vietnam and the sacred temples.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood plays the leading role. The house calls it velvety, milky and barely spicy, and pairs it with cedar. It joins to it the lively notes of myrtle and cypress, a promise of freshness and lightness.
The notes of 2005
In 2005, Now Smell This gave a different list: rosewood, cypress, ambergris and sandalwood. The cedar and myrtle that the house names today did not appear in it, and rosewood has since left the current list.
What the label declares
The INCI list declares two allergens, linalool and limonene. Linalool is the main constituent of rosewood and coriander essential oils; limonene dominates those of citrus fruits.