Royall Lyme

Royall Lyme has been a fixture in my life from the time my parents brought it back from Bermuda on their wedding anniversary cruise and I was 16 (50 years ago just about!)

IMHO the standard for lime based aftershaves (which it really is). Not too sweet, but just enough. At about $30 a good sized bottle, it's reasonable for the quality. For me it has pretty good staying power, but not like some of the cheaper smell-perfumed-all-day type of stuff, which I am personally not a big fan of.

Some of the other "Royall" fragrances are also great: especially spice and musk.

Ok, well I got royall lyme because I previously got royall musk and liked it so well. When I sniffed it the first time, I was blown away by the, the pungency of the lime. There is nothing royal about it. It's savage lime, lol. Some guys like this kinda stuff. To me, it's slightly overbearingly pungent, and dry. There doesn't seem to be any "balance" to this fragrance. Upon application, the onslaught of lime stayed for a little while, and about 2 hours later I never noticed it. It may be my body chemistry, but most fragrances I have sport a shelf life of at least 5 hours. That's double the life I received from this stuff. It's not for everyone. However, Royall Lyme has its hoard of followers.

It's cool though, I'll find someone who wants it, it's up for trade.

I received my first bottle of this many years ago as a gift and have continued to replenish each time I'm about out. With that said, obviously I like it and I often receive compliments on it.

Price: Compared to other high end lime colognes it is very reasonable.

Quality: I have found the product to be very consistant.

Packaging: The packaging is great...wax seal, vellum paper, blown glass bottle with crown top...what's not to like.

Scent: As stated in an earlier review, if you like limes you'll enjoy this.

Complexity: It is simple and straight forward...clean fresh lime.

Staying power: It lasts on me about 3 to 4 hours.

All in all this is a great product that has stood the test of time.

I have used this for almost 20 years. Never had a woman who did not like it. Yes it wears off during the day but in a warm climate I find it gets stronger. In winter - cooler months I dont use it. I wear it in warmer months. I wore it once playing baseball. As a catcher I sweat like crazy and one of my teammates said at end of game, "You smell nice haha, we smell like ***"

Then you'll love Royall Lyme. There's not much to add in the way of complexity- it's a good balance of lime and powder, but at its heart that's all there is. It's a very good simple scent.

The packaging is pretty decent. If you've ever had a boxed bottle of anything from Burberry then you know what you're in for.

For the price, there's nothing to break your bank but there are better deals to be found.

I wouldn't really count this as a cologne, though. It's strictly a splash. Strong for an aftershave, but weak as a cologne. The staying power I rated as average, but for a splash it does seem to last a bit longer than average.

Big time alcohol burn, great scent, glass bottle. What's there not to like? Oh, it doesn't last the whole day...bummer.

I am not entirely sure where this review belongs. Some sites list this stuff as a cologne. Some as an aftershave. Some think it should be used for everything, up to and including washing the dog. Since it's definitely longer lasting than an aftershave and more complex, I'll dump it here. Mods, move as you deem appropriate.

While the price of Royall Lyme isn't in the stratosphere, it's probably too expensive for the average Joe to use as an aftershave splash. It is strongly alcohol based so it can work like one. When you first open the bottle and apply it you get a nose full of lime, plus a sting from the alcohol. Smells great and feels good. A short time after as it dries down you get a pungent, spicy scent which is quite strong. This is the scent that lingers, and it hangs around quite noticeably for several hours. After 2-3 hours the scent has dropped off dramatically, but not yet to zero. There remains a mild, citrusy, spicy sort of aroma that is quite pleasing and subtle, unlike the initial assault. This is not an all day scent, nor is it an aftershave type, smell and gone sort of thing. I'm not entirely sure what I will use it for, but it is interesting to wear and definitely perks you up in the morning.

The packaging is kind of a mixed bag. The retro corrugated box is wrapped in an elaborately printed sheet that is sealed with a wax seal. There is a very long, very ornate pile of marketing speak printed on a vellum type paper which is sort of fun to read. But getting it unhitched from the box without destroying it is nearly impossible. The bottle is a nicely formed and ornate bit of glass with a cheapo plain gray plastic cap shaped (but not even colored) like a crown. Bleah - uuuuuugly! If you're going to put the effort into the packaging, you shouldn't mess it up by going bottom dollar on the least expensive part - an injection molded cap!

Still, don't let that put you off. It's good stuff and worth your while!