Royall Lyme by Royall Lyme of Bermuda, 1957

Royall Lyme of Bermuda Royall Lyme

True to its name, Royall Lyme starts with a strong lime blast. It is refreshing--fruity and juicy without being candy-like. It evokes all parts of a lime, the aromatic rind, the juice and the pulp. I would not say it is sweet necessarily, but a balance of sweet, tart and bitter. The juicy part of the opening fades rather quickly, but the bitter lime rind lingers, and is joined by subtle spices (clove, cinnamon), bay, and sweet resins (benzoin). Eventually, RL starts to take on a dry floral powder note which I would guess to be orris. From time to time, I catch whiffs of lime rind, which adds a pleasant, slightly sour edge. I have only tried one other Royall fragrance, and with RL, I am starting to see that this house tends to produce non-fussy, straightforward and classic cologne water. Royall seems to have a house base which consists of resins, bay and spices with faintly present floral notes. It is very pleasant, and is fresh and clean smelling without being soapy. The bay note does add a "barbershop" sense to the composition, but in RL, the bay is quite subdued. This is preferable since to my nose, bay can easily hijack a fragrance--as a single note it is strong and long-lasting, so I appreciate the deft use of it in RL. RL was originally intended for men, but its overall balance of fruit, floral and muted bay/resin base makes this very wearable for a woman. As with most cologne waters, the longevity is rather poor, but most of these types of scents were intended as an after bath or after shave freshener. Total development took 3-4 hours, and the deep drydown is soft bay, benzoin and a bit of sweet powder.