No 74 Victorian Lime

The best of the whole range, difficult to get nowadays, used the last of mine a couple of years back, terrific manly scent though.

This is a classic British barbershop lime cologne and is over a century old. It is in fact the same formula as the old fragrance known as "Edwardian Lime" by Royal Yacht Mayfair, which was discontinued years ago but picked up by Taylor of Old Bond Street - which itself is an old British wetshaving house of traditional colognes and aftershaves. It was initially created by Geo. Thomas, a gentleman's barber in London and a contemporary of Geo. F. Trumper and Wm. Penhaligon (the latter 2 of whom iconic British cologne houses still exist). Geo. Thomas became the 'official' barber for Eton College in the early 1920s, and his shop finally closed in the 1970's. Two of his products were reintroduced by Taylor of Old Bond Street - the original Royal Yacht, and the Lime cologne, now called No. 74 and No. 74 Victorian Limes respectively, by Taylor of Old Bond Street. So this is possibly the oldest classic English lime cologne still in existence. As for the scent, the opening is of a very sour and potent lime scent. It is unmistakeably lime, and not lemon or any other citrus fruit. It is a sour, tart, and dry lime and not the refreshing or zesty kind - however it is very pleasant all the same. It is not a spiced limes scent either. The heart notes mostly consist of the scent of the fuschia flower, while basenotes are mostly of oakmoss. So it is a green and mildly soapy fragrance overall and smells very old-fashioned but high-class at the same time. Wearing this with a well-tailored suit would make a lot of sense. Projection is moderate, but the beauty of this fragrance however is in the longevity, running at over 6 hours on my skin - being one of the most potent lime fragrances ever made. The bottle is also beautiful but is a splash bottle, so I had to decant this into a travel atomizer in order to spray it on me. I have tried many lime fragrances, as lime is my absolute favourite aroma on earth (followed by neroli), and this is my favourite out of all of them, along with Armani's Acqua di Gio. 5/5

I love this stuff. It opens with an invigorating, slightly sour blast of lime that is still slightly candied and rounded - not as 'photoreal' or sour like the actual fruit, but very pleasant. Unfortunately this stage is short-lived, but fortunately it is has more depth and complexity than I expected it to have. In its next stage it develops into a classic barbershop style fragrance that has a rich, classic and warming effect to it. I'm not sure which ingredients are responsible for this, but I get hints of bay rum aftershave and a bit of barbasol shaving cream, while the lime is now rather faint - but still present - in the background.

A Delight !! Hmmm a description !! Lime is for sure the talent here but you get the Old wood polish and a hint of gin. Too young to have witnessed the cabins travelling through India but I would have had this Lime in my leather cases. Bang on trend in the rebirth of traditional shaving.