Royals Heroes 1805
by Washington Tremlett

I'm not sure what I think of Royals Heroes - it smells quite good but at the same time I find the scent quite oppressive - too cloyingly sweet, too heavy, too "dense"... Perhaps too synthetic too - it has the kind of saccarine sweetness common to many modern massmarket fragrances, a kind of abstracted fruitiness (my girlfriend said "pear"). I think the anise adds to that almost chemical-smelling sweetness as well. I can't really pick out any other notes but I think there's some abstracted wood or amber accord in there, the kind used in generic orientals, that adds to the warm and sweet and "dense" feeling. That might be the tonka, I don't think I'm any fan of tonka. I also get hints of something musky or animalic lurking underneath, which I'd normally like, but paired with all the synthetic sweetness I'm afraid it just adds to the general cloying feeling. Royals Heroes certainly is strong and it doesn't seem to develop much, if at all. I think it's the kind of scent that lasts forever but that you tire of quickly, even though you might initially like the smell. At least, that's the way it is for me.

A citrusy, fruity opening with oomphs of tonka...the citrusy opening almost treads on a tightrope to being called gourmand or candy like...but luckily its not, it manages to cross the tightrope without being called candy. The heart is a touch woody with hints of green...with the candy like flavor still lurking though....now...picture all the above with a wax like quality to it and that's the twist Royal heroes has to offer.

It has some sorta eccentric quality to it which quite proudly says, "im Different". i was testing a lot of frags tht day but i ended up sniffing this up a lot towards the end. this scent has tht "X" factor to it. nice one.

Aromatics and anise – I’m trying to mentally tie these notes to the concept of heroes… It doesn’t compute; the anise, (as in, ahem, Lolita Lempicka) doesn’t really fit the hero mystique... not even with a ripe imagination. It’s a nice scent if you like highly aromatic anise. It is pleasant and very well put together. There’s some clove in there, too, and after a long spell of anise, the fragrance settles down to an quite good cedarwood, patchouli, and tonka base – personally, I would prefer more wood and less tonka, and I flatter myself to think that the heroes would, too.

Royals Heroes is a darn good scent – refined, balanced, attractive, masculine, good sillage and longevity – but the propensity of the wearer to stand up to the dominance of anise should be taken in consideration. For me, it’s a neutral.

The notes listed here smell nothing like what comes from the bottle. This is a hugely anise smell with a patchouli base and a hint of clove. Quite comforting during the winter by a fire reading a good book or just to calm down from a day of nothing but shoveling the sidewalks and driveways. Beware wearing this in the heat, it will cling to you like a pair of Tiberian bats.