Royall Bay Rhum

I've been wearing Royall Bay Rhum, Spice, and Lyme, for years. Yes, sillage and longevity was better in the past. I still enjoy Bay Rhum and Lyme, and trying Vetiver. I agree with Buddhacowboy "... Royall Fragrances Bay Rhum possesses the dual quality of retaining their sophisticatedly 'simple' primary fragrance note, ..." That appeals to me. The simpleness. Buddhacowboy's 2012 anecdote on chemical sensitivty has more import in 2015. The Royall fragrances I have are inexpensive. In fact, I believe their cost per ml has not gone up, and may be lower than 20 years ago. Sometimes burgers. Sometimes steak. Choice is good. By the way, I continue to do a barbershop, and not a salon.

My dad used this when I was a kid. I always used to call it "sweet smell", and at night I'd ask him before he tucked me into bed if I could put some on. He always rubbed it behind my ears. I love my dad. This makes me think of him.

I just picked up a vintage bottle of Royall BayRhum, the older version that was made in Bermuda. There is a definite chorus of bay leaf, clove, and mint going on with this, with the bay leaf out in front. At first I thought perhaps it would be too much, leaving me feeling like I'm in an Italian cooking class or preparing a hearty soup. But the notes actually play well together. The clove is the second most prominent note, that almost overtakes the bay leaf. BayRhum is similar to Spyce, because of the strong presence of clove. Otherwise, they're different enough not to feel like duplicates with each having their own signature. I've never sampled another bay leaf focused fragrance, so I don't have much of a basis of comparison. All I can say is that this is a strikingly unusual fragrance. This isn't something I would use every day. And with that it would only be an early part of the day kind of thing, because longevity is rather short (under 2 hrs, unless very liberally applied). However, it is definitely something I can see enjoying for years to come. In the case of Lyme and Muske, I had the opportunity to sample both vintage and current releases... and I found them weaker than the originals. I have no doubt from reading all of the disappointed reviews on Amazon for BayRhum that the same thing has happened with it (an alcohol strong & weak fragrance version). Frankly, I won't even bother to discover it for myself. In my preference ranking of Royall Lyme of Bermuda Ltd fragrances, the first is Muske followed by Lyme, Spyce, and then BayRhum. I also recently picked up Mandarin and despite all the negative reviews, I actually like it!

I have to echo boardbat - you need to wait for this scent to cool down for a second and then the tender and beguiling rum and bay leaves finally comes through. Ah, and when it does it's heavenly. This is a distinct scent, and I'd say it's pretty masculine, but I also know women who swear by it as an all-around good scent for anything (a bit of this mixed with cold water makes a really invigorating splash for the face.) It's very affordable and is a great stand-by when you're not sure what to wear. It mellows nicely for something easy to wear in the office. It's a little too spicy for sitting next to someone in a closed car, though... You also really have to like the elements here. I happen to love the smell of bay, but not everyone does. I live in New England where this fragrance (for some reason) is extremely popular; think of summer on Cape Cod - images like that. It may just be a regional curiosity about the scent, but it feels like a natural part of the landscape here. I think it may be because it evokes the historic trade between the Caribbean and the 'New World', when rum, sugar and spices arrived on these shores from trade.

Disclaimer: I use this solely as an aftershave, and am reviewing it as such I don't really like bay rum fragrances, but bought this when I was sampling what Royall has to offer. This fragrance opens with a chorus of bay leaf, clove, and just a hint of mint. Give it a few seconds to dry, and that's when it comes into it's own - a natural, spicy bay rum. There's absolutely no synthetic smell to this, which you sometimes get with bay rums. Interestingly, while this is touted as an 'All Purpose Lotion' like the other Royall fragrances, the label on the Bay Rhum also has instructions on how to use it as a head wash. I haven't been that adventurous just yet... All in all, a lovely natural bay rum at a pretty decent price point. Longevity is good, I get around 3 hours on my skin. However, this is a skin scent on me (given that I use it as an aftershave, that's not an issue).