Santo Domingo

[ipb]

An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms.

mmmmm. lovely wet. reminds me of my vacation last jan, when we were driving in an open jeep through one of the islands' countrysides. as it dries, it becomes tobacco leaf and bay rum. i love beth's bay rum on TOH, and when he's here next, i'm going to slather it on him and sniff away, though with my luck it'll be all about the flowers on him

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Exotic! Sultry! Heady! Just like in the description.

 

Second Impression: Only Beth could make a Bay Rum that smells this womanly-sexy. This *is* Sex On The Beach. It's sexy and full of glamour. It's that woman in the bikini walking on the beach who looks so elegant that she wouldn't be underdressed in the middle of the grandest ballroom (you know the one, the one that you *wish* you looked like). The tobacco leaf in this is to die for.

 

Final Analysis: If you didn't get a whack at Formula 54, try this. This might just be going on the 5ml list because I want to wear this when I have my full-on summer tan.

 

[shadow]

Oh Santo Domingo - I want to compose sonnets about you. I can't, but I will write a short review.

 

I think this might be the one I was most excited about. There is just something about the smell of tobacco. Not stinky cigarettes, but unlit cigar and pipe tobacco. Everything from those cruddy Swisher Sweets, to Hula Girls, to that cheap cherry pipe stuff to those slightly expensive, obscure cigars my husband buys.

 

This starts out a bit smelly on me, actually. It's a really sharp, slightly pungent smell. I'm not actually sure what bay rum smells like, but I suppose it could be a combination of that and something slightly "perfumey." After about five minutes I start to imagine I'm smelling tobacco. Hey! It's not my imagination! It really is! And it's a deep, very pleasant, sweet tobacco - it seems sweeter than it does in Hellfire or Perversion.

 

After an hour, I'm dreamy and sniffing every few minutes. It's tobacco, and I think the blossoms have come out. Luckily most flowers like me (okay, most except for rose and jasmine and ylang ylang - those do NOT play nicely on my skin), so this combination is absolutely beautiful. If bay rum smells like rum at all, then I think I might be catching a teeny whiff of this one every once in a while.

[Jessica]

In the bottle it smells divine. And when I really get my nose in there I can smell the tobacco leaves. I love that smell.

 

Since Santo Domingo took it upon itself to ooze out of the top of my imp (I really need to invest in a holding case) I'm assaulted by all the wonderful notes, and I really really like it.

 

On my skin the notes hold but ultimatly turn to a powdery smell. Ugh, man.

 

I might have to try this one again a little heavier on my skin. My room smells great though!

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff

Ever read Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches series (not the crap ones like Blackwood Farm & Blook Canticle but the orginial three) and they're talking about how they were in the carribbean orginially and having sex with each other? Santo Domingo smells like what I imagine the carribbean would smell after a good long screw.

 

Wet

"But where's th' rum?" RIGHT HERE. ITS RIGHT HERE! Rum and Leather and fire. Whoa. This is a very evocative, manly sort of scent!!

 

Drydown

Ah the rum has toned down and now the blossoms have come out to play. Wow. This is fab...I imagine it would be FAB in the coming warmer months for a night out. More of a hedonisitic version of F54/Perversion

 

Aftermath

Not entirely sure if I'm gonna buy a bottle of it as I need to test the imp more but this is a WONDERFUL summer scent I feel and very very evocative of the town.

[Northernminx]

I had such high hopes for this that my chemistry rather crushed. it's gorgeous, rum filled and sultry in the bottle and while there's a touch of bay rum and yummy sticky exotic goodness, something in this quickly turns to powder on me. so sad.

[Rheliwen]

I had a really hard time trying to describe what Santo Domingo smelled like right after I applied it. I could barely smell the tobacco leaf, but it was definitely in there somewhere. The rum wasn't overpowering at all...not like Grog. It had a boozy quality to the smell, right along with a spicey, powdery floral.

 

This one turns to powder really, really quickly. After about 30 mins of wear I could detect the tobacco, but it faded away rather quickly and went back to powder. It's a lovely powder smell, spicey and warm, but it's still powder.

[luxuria]

This is definitely my favorite of the new scents, and it was one I'd just ordered for shits and giggles, thinking it'd be a wee bit too masculine. No way!

 

This is a tropical floral, but a sexy one. The tobacco leaf and rum add some depth and spice to this. I hesitate to actually call it a floral because it doesn't smell too flowery or make my nose itch, it just this lovely feminine oomph that mingles beautifully with everything else. This is so perfect for summer with the sort of sexiness that one usually associates with "winter scents."

 

This actually sort of reminds me of a Carribean version of Perversion..maybe a sister. This isn't as smoky or murky smelling as Perversion but it is also less sweet and syrupy.

 

In one word: AWESOME.

[darkling]

I had a lot of trouble figuring out exactly what Santo Domingo smelled like to me. It was largely floral and heady in the vial but was a tropical, green scent on my skin. Santo Domingo smelled like large, green, waxy leaves. I didn't get any hint of rum or anything I recognized as tobacco.

 

I feel very neutral about this scent. It didn't remind me of Santo Domingo (the place) which disappointed me. Also, the scent disappeared very quickly.

[tinyvulture]

I loved this one instantly. I can’t smell any rum at all. What I smell is tobacco, and a ton of exotic, lush, steamy florals. It's tropical like Manila, but without the fruitiness. I want to order a big bottle of this now, so it arrives in time for the hottest, sunniest days of summer. So sexy!

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I love rum and tobacco, but I'm worried about the bay rum in this since the Baron Samedi Incident. If there's no almond (or at least a very small amount) in this, I'll be fine, but if not I'm in trouble.

 

First sniff:

 

This reminds me of tropical smelling laundry detergent, truth be told. I'm getting a whole lot of tropical smelling flowers and a little bit of tobacco over a background of light soap. Right now it's too floral for my tastes, but hopefully it'll change once I put it on.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Less floral now, which is good and surprising since my skin tends to amp up florals. The tobacco is coming out nicely, but there's something powdery here, too...lime, maybe? Lime doesn't normally go powdery on me, but it's all I can think of.

 

Dry down:

 

Powdery tobacco and tropical flowers. Whatever it is in here that's going powdery is really killing this for me, which is a shame because I wanted to love this.

 

The bottom line:

 

Something in here's going powdery, even with only a tiny dab on. I wanted to love this, but it just isn't working for me.

[Glitzie]

I bought this due to my love of the Dominican Republic. *sigh*

 

In the bottle- Citrus and heady floral.

 

Wet- Floral with a little kick of rum. Very soft scent overall.

 

Dry-I think I can smell the rum, and a wee bit of tobacco flower. A very gentle scent.

 

This overall is a bit too faint a scent for me, I like it in your face strong.

Don't get me wrong it is a lovely scent, just doesn't bring the Dominican to me.

[AnnetteL]

Every now and then I order an imp of something that I should have known wouldn't work for me, and yet I manage to skim over that in my excitement. Santo Domingo is one of those - "Caribbean blossoms" should have warned me instantly that this would probably turn to soap on me, and it does, almost as soon as it hits my skin, overwhelming the other notes (which I do like).

[blaqpearl]

I had to try this one since I am part Dominican and have lived in Santo Domingo. One day I shall return. As long as I know that BPAL delivers.

 

I had my mom try this one first. It smelled awesome on her. The caribbean florals bloomed on her skin right before my nose. She was quite pleased with it. Maybe I should get her a bottle of this.

 

On me it took on something more different. I smell the sweetness of the tobacco leaves. Kind of reminds me of a pomade I used to wear in my hair as a child. Eventually the florals also blossom on my skin but differently of course than my moms chemistry.

 

As I smell I close my eyes and picture myself driving from the Santo Domingo airport as I inhale the night air and feel the warmth and the ocean breezes along the road towards the capital. As I reach my mom's home her garden overwhelms my nose. Its great to be home.

 

Although this evokes lovely memories, I love this more on my mom. It is like it was made for her. Which is perfect since she was born and raised in Santo Domingo. Mom is lucky that every perfume she puts on make her smell so yummy, and this is no exception.

[Sheila]

This was a giftimp from the lab. Thank you so much for letting me try this!

 

Unfortunately my skin chemistry totally destroyed this one. I like tobacco, and I like "heady" and "sultry" blooms, but this just smells flat on me--herbal and earthy rather than floral. Ah well--I'll swap it to someone who will hopefully have better skin chemistry.

[ebonykawai]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

I have Formula 54. Now I have Santo Domingo. After about 15 minutes, I can't tell the difference.

 

Needless to say, I'm one happy girl.

[Andromedii]

Santo Domingo is VERY pretty!! For a scent that has "tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms", the scent is remarkably light! All I can smell are gorgeous sweet and creamy exotic flowers with maybe a hint of the tobacco leaf giving it a dab of herbal depth.

 

Though it fades slightly, I don't mind as I'm going to slather this one because, strangely, I feel like a tropical hula enchantress right now and I LOVE THIS!!!!

[Orodemniades]

Imp: Smells...breezy. Smells like I imagine a tropical island would be like, actually! Cool and sweet...and...breezy.

 

Imp: The same, but a bit spicy, not that I can pick out any specifics.

 

Drydown: This reminds me of a candy, but not a supersweet one, more something like how a Necco Wafer tastes.

 

Overall: I really like this. It gets warmer and gently spicy after about an hour. I like Bay Rum and I suspect that this is the spiciness that I'm getting, but it's not overwhelming at all. I think this might smell fantastic on a guy...

 

Oro

[Witch's Dagger]

Santo Domingo

 

Preconceived notions: I was worried about the rum, but Port au Prince worked - this doesn't sound too sweet, which I think was the problem with the other rum scents I tried. But I really got it to go with Santa Muerte *blushes*.

 

In the vial:

Flowers, rum, exotic spices - very nice. This is not the icky rum I get from Hellcat, etc., but a sharp spiced rum, right out of the bottle. I love the way spiced rum smells (but not how it tastes, unless watered down, and then I wish it were thicker, but without the metallic alcohol zing), but so far, it hasn’t worked much in oils.

 

On me:

This is really unique. I really like it. IT’s a dark, ominous, ritual floral. I never would have expected that. It somehow manages to be completely floral, while giving the impression of Voodoo ceremonies with masks around a fire and lots of chanting and wild dancing and laughter. But it’s a floral. Wow.

 

In 20 minutes:

Rose? Yes! My goodness, what is the world coming to? This is a dark rose, like Black Rose, but with spices, like Harlot, and the rum is still slinking about backstage. I wasn’t expecting this to be a rose scent, but it works.

 

In 45 minutes:

Wow, this is a real morpher. Now we have much less rose, and it’s almost completely rum and spices. There’s something else, too, softening it - sandalwood, perhaps? Or musk?

 

Overall:

Incredibly unique and fascinating scent. Amazing.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Tobacco leaf and some bright tropical flowers. This bay rum is excellent - I've smelled many over the past few years and most tend to gross me out, but Beth's is actually one I would want to smell on my man. The mingling of this and the florals is very exotic and intriguing.

On me: The scent remains tobacco-strong on me, but the rest of the notes all go powdery. Interesting enough, something rather leathery comes out on the skin, but it does not blend well with the powder. Too bad!

[bellis]

I'd ordered a bottle of this on a whim, because although I was slightly wary of the bay rum I LOVE the smell of drying tobacco. On me, this was not masculine in the least as I had feared. For the first thirty minutes the rum is the most prominant, but after that it blends in with the florals and the tobacco comes out. This is just the most lovely spicy and warm scent. I'm very glad it arrived after I'd spent a few weeks outside swimming, because I could not imagine wearing this without a tan. I'm not sure if I'll wear this during winter or just save it for summer and vacations in warm places.

[urraca]

I do not get much in the way of Caribbean blossoms from this. It goes on bay rum and tobacco. It smells good but I'd rather smell it on a man than on me. In the category of "boozy guy scents" I liked Juke Joint much more. Late in the dry down it turns into whatI think is white musk --- this must be the powdery smell others have described. Even this stage is not horrible, but I'm not a huge fan of musk scents so, not for me.

[Sara]

I was hoping for more rum, but what I ended up with was floral. Blech, I really am beginning to loathe florals, no matter how hard I try to love them. I see "heady Caribbean blossoms and think "Sweet! That sounds loverly!", then I try it on my skin and it's all sickening florals... why don't they love me?

 

After a while this starts to become kind of plasticky like barbie dolls...but I didn't see clove listed, and it's usually the culprit. Hmm....

[pekeana]

Oooooh, I like this. Not enough to get a big bottle, but definitely use up the imp.

 

This is Formula 54 without the boozy over the top florals -- it's deep, smoky, and gently tropical floral. It blends in with the skin and is very much a second skin scent.

[brownbear]

I got this one as a freebie from the lab. Thank you!

 

In the vial this one smelled very strongly of bay rum.

On my skin the first time I tried it, I got lots of tobacco, this time it's still lots of bay rum with some tobacco.

 

After about 45 minutes the florals came out and mixed gorgeously with the tobacco and bay rum. It's a little dark and heavy, but mmmmmm it is sexy.

 

ETA: I bet this would smell good on a guy. Now I have to go find one to try it on.

Edited June 27, 2005 by brownbear