Park Royal (1929)
by Anglia Perfumery (orig. by Crown Perfumery)

Really green. Green and minty... hmmm... I'm not enjoying this at all. If you do enjoy this try Green Water. It's a tad fresher and more approachable. Park Royal seems to turn into an ugly spice.

Crown Park Royal is an unusual fragrance that combines both herbs and spices to create a warm, unique experience. It opens with a citrus / aromatic accord with the aromatics being supplied by cloves and eucalyptus. The eucalyptus is presented quite strongly — as strong as I’ve smelled in a fragrance. It is something to experience — a sort of Vicks Vapor Rub meets dentist office. I rather liked it at first, but I quickly recognized that it’s not the kind of thing I’d keep enjoying…it’s aggressive and it could get really old, really fast, that is, if it lasted longer than it does. The crux of the matter is: I’m not a big fan of a strong smell of cloves in a fragrance. At first, the eucalyptus dominates, which I approve of; then, the cloves take over, which I don’t approve of. That’s about all there is to the fragrance — eucalyptus and cloves.

Although it is unique, I am not really fond of this fragrance — there are too many minuses. The initial accord is interesting at first, I am already bored with it after three wearings, and if I really want a eucalyptus / cloves fix, I have a jar Vicks Vapor Rub in my medicine cabinet and a jar of cloves in my spice rack. Crown Park Royal ends up almost entirely clove and, although it becomes very subtle, I still find it annoying. As a sillage maker, its longevity is abysmal, but as a skin scent, the clove domination lasts through a couple of showers.

Crown Park Royal fragrance notes (from Anglia website)
top: Sicilian lemon, galbanum, cedar leaf and rosemary
heart: lavender warmed by a touch of nutmeg and clove
base: patchouli, amber, moss and precious woods.
I think it is important to note that these elements differ from the Basenote list. In particular, eucalyptus is not listed; rather there is galbanum and rosemary which could account for the spicy green and slightly minty scent (though galbanum is quite different from eucalyptus). Park Royal has a lovely brisk opening, very aromatic and green. The middle likewise is aromatic, a bit of lavender, mostly woody and tangy spices (cloves and nutmeg). I don’t find the cloves to be problematic. There is a substantial difference between dried cloves in a spice jar and what we find here: these are modulated and not pungent. Admittedly they bestow an assertive air to the scent. The base has carefully controlled patchouli and amber; they are not sweet nor heavy. I like this scent, I find it to be a delightfully warm spicy wood. It is not particularly mossy, certainly not in the green-moss Trumper/Pehaligon fern style. This reminds me of R&G’s Open or YSL’s Rive Gauche.

I daresay, the only person this fusty concoction would befit is Sir Humphrey Fitzroy-Jones, who has not risen from his chair at the Garrick Club since April 4, 1911.

This stuff smells EXACTLY like the original Polo by Ralph Lauren. Small wonder when you look at the fragrance notes of each. It doesn't last quite as long as Polo, though.