Royall Muske (1978)
by Royall Lyme of Bermuda

Dry and soapy musk with just enough spice to shake things up. This is Kiehls without those "suntan lotion" notes of sweetness that can be so off-putting. There's also a hint of something vaguely synthetic (think Jovan Musk for Men) here.

Damn good buy for the money -- about half the price of Kiehls.

Royall Lyme Bermuda Royall Muske EDC

My first impression is "barbershop musk". The opening has a sweet and clean musk, one which tends less toward soap and more toward an amber musk. There are also some fleeting florals at this stage, but no individual flower seems prominent. It sounds like it might not be a good combination, but it seems to work quite well. The florals are clean and bright without being heady, the musk is mellow and sweet. Underneath it all is that "barbershop" note which must be something like bay rum.

As RM develops, the florals fade and spicy notes emerge. There is a dryness to the spices which starts to balance the sweetness somewhat. It seems to be a spice melange of clove and cinnamon, and there is also an herbal component, probably bay or basil. The musk seems barely there, but I am sure it is helping to marry the composition as musk often does. As an EDC I was expecting RM to develop rapidly, and it is. I sprayed liberally, but after only about half an hour, it is really changing and toning down.

Within one hour, RM has settled thoroughly into its spiced bay rum base, with a hint of powder and musk that seems to come and go. The spices are stronger than I expected from an EDC, and are pleasant, but the fragrance as a whole is not particularly deep. I think this is to be expected, though, as Royall Lyme Bermuda has an entire line of cologne waters, and the expectation for these types of fragrances are exactly what RM delivers: a fresh and light splash for after the bath or a shave. I quite like it, and will enjoy it either alone or layered.

At the risk of repeating, Royall Muske is a pleasant, simple, sweet, musk scent that has good longevity. It’s much more discreet than and nowhere near as complex as, say, Keihl’s Original Musk. It doesn’t have, nor is it meant to have the sensuality of Musk Kublai Khan, Musk Ravenger, or even Helmut Lang. But it is pleasant and not at all synthetic or tacky. It’s cleanly done… I enjoy it and I surprised myself with foreseeing several occasions where this is the character I desire in a fragrance. I like it.

Nothing yells babershop like a red, white and blue striped, spiral pole... except Royall Muske. I love this stuff. Sweet musk.

Perhaps not the best of the Royall fragrances, but certainly longer lasting than Royall Lyme, Mandarin or Bayrhum. What's it like? Simple. Light, sweet, lingering musk.

I defy anyone to smell this and not think "Barbershop." Back of the bottle features what is meant to be a musk deer, but looks like a donkey with a tragic Freddy Mercuryesque overbite.