Bain de Champagne (Royal Bain de Caron)

Royal Bain in its modern version is nothing short of a men's delight. It may be quite different from what it was before, or not quite what it was, but as it is now, it's a truly delightful floral barbershop-style vegetal of vanilla powdery goodness. I keep waiting and waiting for that dull, rubbery sour note that so many similar cheaper scents eventually have (and usually quite quickly) But Royal Bain never goes there. It remains sweet, floral, and just slightly woody in the base. As it evolves over a few hours, it takes on a nice deep fruity edge - almost like the scent of apple peels that have oxidized for a little while - a kind of sugary, ripe sweetness that almost smells a bit like wine or cider, but all in a very pleasant and refined way. The base remains very rich and almost buttery. As I type, I'm at about 3 hours wearing time - Royal Bain still smells great, just slightly diminished and gentler now. I thought at first that this might just be something you splash on in the morning to be followed by a proper scent later in the day but this could work as a 'most of the day' scent, I think. Spring florals are close at hand!

THE ROYAL BATHROOM OF PRAYERS _______________________________________________________ Ever since I was a child, I loved lilac. I loved the lilac trees, the lilac bushes, it's overwhelming strong scent, it's colour ... simply everything. One of the best features, even nowadays, that I simply love about the lilac, is that a lot of people don't like it. It's almost the same with 'ROYAL BAIN DE CARON'. With ease Caron built a wonderful lilac shrine. But it's more that just a shrine. It's almost a fortress, with thick pillars made of opoponax and benzoin. And the shrine is being guarded by defensive towers made of mysterious imperial vanilla and gorgeous sandalwood. At the end of the day, you will come to do, what all others have done before you at a shrine. You pray. You pray and thank the wonderful God of Caron for letting you witness the wonder that is LILAC. Overall: Just like religion, ROYAL BAIN is not for everyone. It is inceredibly strong, with huge sillage and even an obnoxius longetivity. It's powdery, very sweet and very 'in your face'. Longetivity: - 20/10 Sillage: - 8/10 All in all: 9 out of 10 points.

I rember smelling this as a little girl at my grandmothers house. It sat on her shelf along with carven ma griffe and tweed. Royal bain by Caron was first developed at the request of California millionaire William Randolph Hearst to scent his bath instead of champagne. It was thought at the time pouring champagne in the bath was the height of luxury. The formula has changed over the years so take the reviews with a grain of salt. They are probably correct for their bottle. My bottle is pre ifra regulation as there isnt really anything that screams synthetic about it. This is a vanillic creamy sweet soft plush powder oppoponax bomb. If you liked the drydown on Opium.. this is similar. Amoung the creamy powder is rose, lilac, sandalwood, benzoin, inscense, and the caronaide plush musks. Its soft, comforting and lovely to wear at bedtime. I did not experience any fruit or champagne , perhaps the lift could be champagneish... Perfect for a dandy, someone that loves creamy powdery vanillic soft scents...there is a reason its been around since the 1920s.

This makes for the perfect nightcap, a pastel balm for my weary body. Its first movement is antique lilac and spiced rose, tender and comforting, with a foreshadowing of warm resins. There is a metallic hue, a glisten, that outlines these florals, jogging the memory of a distant, out of reach past, either my own—or of one's life before my own. I think of a pristinely groomed man of the early 20th century, trying to make his way in the world, dignified and earnest. I imagine that kind of man that would be illustrated by J.C. Leyendecker, strong-jawed and wide-eyed, averting his glance, yearning, and his smell is of fresh-from-the-barber-powder, nosegays, opoponax and benzoin, with just a soupçon of his own perspiration. I anticipate dreams when I wear this at bedtime, dreams where I am rescuing hurt souls from the past and sending them to a future that looks better than the actual future that is today. So yes, that's Royal Bain de Caron.

I have a sample from mid summer 2009, and just purchased a vintage bottle. The new sample, on my left hand, has incredible staying power, a delicious, powdery, sensual, almond-y lilac note. The vintage formula, on my right hand, smelled identical, at first, but after an hour hour, the powdery lilac has muted. And, the formula on my right hand makes me sneeze, whereas the modern one, on my left hand, does not make me sneeze. There you have it. Both are beautiful. The modern formulation has more depth and staying power. An hour on into the drydown, it has a nice hot chocolate kind of quality. I was about to say no chocolate on my right hand, but yes, it is there-- a slight chocolate on the vintage version drydown. Maybe nuttier and richer on the modern formula, with a touch of the tabac blonde vanilla pipe tobacco. I think both versions are absolutely wonderful. The old one seems more floral. I actually prefer the new version.