Park Royal (1929)
by Anglia Perfumery

As well as the others underlined the opening of this Victorian aromatic fougere, in full Penhaligon's style, is  citrusy, laundry and aromatic. This traditional british style beginning characterizes in my opinion all the following development because the smell remains aromatic, green and orangy throughout the journey with a sufficient level of hesperidic angularity to be it ranked as a green baroque fragrance. It's not clear if the aromatic feel is determined by eucalyptus-cloves or by the chord galbanum-cloves; what is plain, as well as Odisseusm asserted, is that the kind of aromatic greeness of galbanum is quite different from the one exuded by eucalyptus. I think that in this composition is present the galbanum and not the eucalyptus because the aromatic feel is more green, resinous, mossy and shadowy than effectively balsamic at all. The dry down is basically moss and patchouli under my nose but still very aromatic and sour of orange (in its already known link with cinnamon or nutmeg) and lime. The slightly prickly and anyway virile subtle final effect is produced by a well orchestrated accord of ambergris and spices. The smell holds on to be dry, green, slightly herbal and citrusy till the end, disclosing a sort of "old english" stiff  royal kind of olfactory experience. A good scent for the lovers of the uncompromissingly classic aromatic-hesperidic style. Nostalgic of a left over ege of lords, clubs and courts.

22nd December, 2011.

Wow, two fragrances from the same house that fit into my "stuffy floral clove bomb" category. Okay, so this one is not as floral, or as clovey, or as stuffy as Richmond, but it's still pretty clovey. The notes listed on the Anglia website differ from the note listing above. Top: lemon, galbanum, cedar leaf, rosemary. Mid: lavender, nutmeg, clove. Base: patchouli, amber, moss, and "precious woods." To my nose, clove and patchouli dominate the fragrance through the heart notes. Something sitting in the background smells a bit like violet even though there is none listed in the notes. The base gets mossier the further into the development you go, until the amber shows up at the very end, providing a lightly powdery sweetness. Like the other Anglias I have tried, this seems like a relatively simple and basic fragrance, a good way to train your nose in what certain notes smell like and how a top, middle, and base differ, but not all that exciting or interesting.

23rd July, 2010.

First up, I have to say that, unlike an awful lot of people, I enjoy a fragrance with a powerful clove note/accord. And Crown Park Royal certainly has that, in spades!

Noting the negative reviews I decided to find out for myself. Like the previous writer, I agree that there is a strong similarity with the Green Polo by Ralph Lauren. (Which is certainly no bad thing in itself)

Usually, a powerful eucalyptus/menthol/mint accord tends to 'cheapen' a fragrance, to my mind at least, it draws comparisons with a million toothpastes and mouthwashes and bargain-basement deodorants. But when you consider that the fragrance was launched sometime around 1929, this would hardly have applied.

Even the eucalyptus (to my nose at least) is subservient to the clove. The clove is so dominant in this fragrance that if you're any way hesitant about clove you'd be best advised to steer well clear of Crown Park Royal.

Even for somebody who enjoys cloves (and I agree with one of the previous writers who noted that it is a 'dry' clove scent) I find it unlikely there are many people out there who could wear this as an everyday/office signature scent. It's just too demanding, in a love-it-or-hate-it Kouros-esque way.
But worn on occasion, I find it an unusual fragrance, demanding, impetuous, but at least (in a world of citrus-y metrosexual aquatics) interesting. I'm going to give it a thumbs-up because it at least has the ability to pique my interest on the occasions when I return to it.
For some reason, it reminds me a lot of what a curator in a musty natural history museum might wear....or perhaps an English University lecturer with a drink problem...

Not everyone's cup of tea, for sure, but I like it.

10th April, 2009.

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.

5th September, 2008.

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.

12nd April, 2008.

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.

10th December, 2007.