Royal Secret For Men by Royal Secret, 2000

This one is a bit of a disappointment. Royal Secret for Men is not like all the other Conformity Fresh, Extreme, Blue, Black or whatever nonsensical terms the designers are using these days...but it just isn't my bag. I get a sugar cookie/cotton candy sweetness that overwhelms whatever floral accords are supposedly in here. Sillage and longevity are fine and the price is dirt cheap. It's not at all a bad-smelling fragrance, if you are a birthday cake. Might make a good out-of-the-mainstream for today's young man; most of your friends, if any, won't recognize it, but it's not old school so it'll fit right in with the modern sugary juices that dudes wear on campus.

A pleasant surprise indeed, I found this beauty in ebay for such a ridiculous price that I though it would be another of those cheap, synthetic drugstore fragrances, but I had to try it. It is very linear, no much of a development here, I smell a sweet creamy, powdery sandalwood from the get go, and nothing more. The sweetness comes from amber, but the clear dominant note of this fragrance is sandalwood. Rose and jasmine, as well as citruses are described in the pyramid, but honestly, I could not detect them at all. It is so powdery that my wife thought I had applied talcum powder with the perfume. Not a 5 star by any means, but good enough to get a thumbs up from me.

A pleasant but somewhat pallid reflection of the women's original. (Imagine the feminine version with slightly more sandalwood and lots more powder.)

I'm giving this one a thumbs up, but only because a) I'm so fond of its feminine predecessor and b) it's so darned affordable.

I have a love-hate relationship with Royal Secret. My aunt has worn the women's version for decades and it has always suited her classy, reserved, Southern-dame persona. However, back to the men's version--it's nice, but it just smells too blasted girly because of the sandalwood and rose. In its defense, however, I bought it during the warmer months, and I'm curious to see how I feel about it during the cooler seasons.

Disregarded testing this due to the ancient looking box. Managed to get this at a bargain price and was pleasantly surprised. It smells a bit old but not like an old person would. It is quite sweet and would best suit the older generation.