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elxxxan – :
Very unique scent, which lasts only a very short while. I wish the projection and longevity and all other attributes could justify such a steep price. The other fragrances offered by this company seem to better justify the higher price. Very unique product, however, I would like to purchase any other fragrance from this company.
Evisydaysah – :
While I do enjoy the scent of Royall Bay Rhum. My problem starts that for $30.00 a bottle you would think this after shave would at least last as long as Pinaud Virgin Bay Rum. In truth, the longevity of this scent last 30 minutes if that. In fact I have used cheap drug store aftershaves that have last longer than this.
Would I buy this again? Only if it was $10 or less (Which would never happen). Pinauds scent lasts much longer (for an after shave) and is much cheaper (Less than $10 depending on size).
In the end I would not recommend unless of course you do not mind spending $30 for an overpriced after shave.
The Gents score (3/10)
mustang-76 – :
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).
ldu039Unlogrere – :
I love this! It reminds me of those Christmas oranges with cloves stuck in item. Nothing synthetic. Just clove, cinnamon and mint.
alex_pupyshev – :
I really like this, but unfortunately not a love. It is a little too sweet with a pickling spice feeling to it. It reminds me of a favorite bottle of pickles that I like and eat often, as if I splashed the juice from it on on my arm. When it dries down the cloves are spectacular, and overall it is very nice. But I can’t get the image of those pickles out of my mind. For someone without that association, it would be great.
landrei – :
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.
shevninal – :
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!
Meeig212Negeltzex – :
A lovely scent but on me it doesn’t last at all. Within an hour or so it’s gone. So why bother?
Much better: Pinaud’s Bay Rum. Used in barbershops. Lasts somewhat longer than the Royall product, smells about the same and costs next to nothing for a huge bottle. To paraphrase Ricardo Montalban in those great old Chrysler Cordoba ads, I know my own needs, and what I need from a bay rum scent I get from the Pinaud product. Deal!
LASIXBUY – :
Upon first sniff, all I could smell was cloves and a tad bit of spiciness. After a while, though, this scent morphs into a something very sweet and spicy. I could not understand why people liked it at first, but now I see that it can be more than some old man fragrance. I now view it as something very valuable in my small collection. I even layer it with Royall Muske and Mandarin and it makes a lovely cool and cold weather scent. Royall Bay Rhum is where it’s at.
almaz986 – :
Royall Fragrances bay Rhum is the category defining fragrance for bay rum toiletries. Though not listed, my nose does detect a hint of clove, most likely added to ground the scent but definately not so much as to overwhelm the middle and base notes carry through, as is typical in other brands, especially the cheaper barber style fragrance offerings. In fact, to a typical nose, the clove edge might not even be picked up, but that’s ok, since the use of clove in this fragrance blend is more for its ‘grounding’ effect on the overall fragrance than to be a stand apart aspect of the fragrance, which goes to show that Royall Fragrances formularies understand their art and do so on a highly sophisticated level.
Of all bay rum fragrances available in the marketplace, and believe me there are dozens of which I’ve tried and/or used over a dozen of through the years, Royall Fragrances Bay Rhum possesses the dual quality of retaining their sophisticatedly ‘simple’ primary fragrance note (as with Royall Lyme and Royall Vitiver), in this case, bay, while possessing a sophisticatedly subtle mixing in of mint and sweet grass fragrance, with just the right amount of ‘spice’ to drive the bay fragrance note into the middle and base notes without overwhelming those middle and base notes, thus retaining the distinctive Royall bay-ish fragrance throughout the day.
One of the little known things concerning bay rum fragrances as regards the higher grade offerings, is that certain chemicals and artificial agents have to be utilized to gain that high grade quality (as opposed to the simple mixed barber shop type bay rum products). However, Royall Bay Rhum does not contain these chemicals and artificial fragrance aids. How do I know this? Well my wife and a couple of other family members are chemical sensitive, especially to fragrances, and while they cannot be in the presence of any fragrances that contain chemicals and artificial fragrance agents, not a one of them have a chemical sensitivity reaction to Royall Bay Rhum. In fact, my wife has been called a chemical sensitive canary, so sensitive to chemical smells and artificial fragrance she is. (You should see her dealing with soaps and cleaners…, have to be unscented and chemicals-free). The chemical sensitivity issue of many in the population is growing and isn’t going to go away, and fragrances are coming more under scrutiny for their effects on the chemically sensitive. Royall Bay Rhum (and their Lime and Vitiver) appear to be free of the chemicals and artificial fragrance aids that set chemical sensitivities off.
Best of all, Royall Bay Rhum, along with Royall Lyme and Royall Vitiver, are classic scents whose popularity, especially among the classically inclined, high brow, and business class, will never go out of style. Why? Because the scents themselves have been with us since before the Victorian era and Royall Fragrances has done it right, and because these fragrances have just the right silage that’s not overpowering and doesn’t overwhelm and put people off, an especially important consideration for business people.
sick1997 – :
Quite a nice little scent. The bay is very realistic, and it shimmers through the cloves, cinnamon, and crushed greens. Longevity is a bit better than with Royall Lyme, but not by much. Still, it’s a worthwhile product for connoisseurs of bay rum.
JBee – :
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.
ogis – :
The problem with most Bay Rum fragrances is that they can smell too much like cloves or potpourri (which isn’t bad if you like those things), and Royall Bay Rhum suffers from this big time. It smells like cloves and water. Cloves cloves cloves cloves cloves cloves cloves cloves cloves cloves for about 5 hours, and then it’s gone.
Not my cup of tea.
yanina1959010583 – :
i just bought this for my man, and it is so awful when 1st sprayed. its and alcohol bitter mess. well, then it dries, and when it does it is the most sensous spicy rum scent. not loud at all. the rum scent really comes thru and it just smells so clean. i ended up loving it. wait the 5 or 10 minutes after 1st spray and i bet you’ll love it too.