Santo Domingo

[Lynnez]

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

I got lucky and benefitted from Rackham's Vanity's disagreement with Santo Domingo. I think it's lovely. The florals and the rum come out most on me. It's quite light, which is a plus in my book. I think I like it enough to buy a bottle.

[feline.by.design]

This was a free imp sent to me by the Lab, and upon application, I thought to myself, "Golly, how could I have missed this?" The fragrance is a mix of heady tropical blooms and masculine intonations of rum and tobacco, intermingled with spice. It can't make up its mind whether it wants to be a feminine scent or a masculine one, so it oscellates between the two. Because of this ambiguous nature, it seems like it could work with either sex really well.

 

Santo Domingo manages to be sweet with the florals yet lacking the cloying properties I've experienced in other fragrances. The florals at times do threaten to turn powdery, however they don't quite make it there. My skin chemistry gives way to the floral notes becoming more noticable, with the tobacco and other darker notes lurking in the background. It's decided to express unbridled femininity on me, but a feminine trait that is a little rough-hewn yet genuine.

 

I'll definitely have to hold onto this imp for a while to determine whether I'd like it in a larger bottle or not. It's an earthy fragrance that reminds me of Anne Bonny, although Anne Bonny has patchouli and seems a bit brighter than Santo Domingo prior to its metamorphasis into floralville.

 

I really like this fragrance, and if it's something that works well on my boyfriend as well, I might be tempted to get a bottle.

 

-doreen

[theseagrows]

i think the bay rum is coming out mostly on me- i cant smell the tropical blossoms, AND its giving me a headache. i usually love scents with tobacco, and i thought i might even like the bay run, but i guess it doesnt like me! it's also a bit too masculine for my tastes.

[cranberry]

Santo Domingo was a gift from the lab in one of my recent orders. I'm making an effort to go through my imps, review them and then decide whether to keep them or not.

 

That being said, this is a very interesting scent. In the imp, it's sort of a neutral, slightly spicy scent. Not a lot of florals, no woods, a touch of spice. Reminds me of a medium brown color. Initially on, what I imagine to be the tobacco comes out. That, plus the bay rum. Maybe a touch of lemon. Initially on, it's as in the imp, just rather neutral for me, not evoking much reaction one way or the other.

 

But - once it dries, what a different story. It deepens and becomes rich and spicy. Not real sweet, but somehow it reminds me a bit of caramel. Don't know why as it's not really foody at all but that's what I get. I really get the bay rum, which I really like. Wow - the drydown is really nice. I find it very smooth and soothing despite the spice (which instinctively would get you going). We'll see how long the drydown lasts as I'm only a bit of the way through.

 

In closing, it's lovely - I don't know whether I'll get a bottle but I'll definately keep an imp on hand to enjoy when I want a deep, spicy yet soothing scent.

[Momijizukamori]

On me, this was entirely drying tobacco leaves and what I'm guessing is the rum - the wonderful lovechild of amber and vanilla, anyway. Warm and comfortable, although I got none of the floral at all.

 

This was a friend's, and I may have to get an imp of my own - it hung around a long time, too, and stayed nice and comfortable the whole time.

[arabella]

First Impression: Amber, rum, cardamom.

 

Dries down to: A light, slightly spicy scent - perfect for early fall.

 

Additional Comments: The description really surprised me. I could have sworn there was amber because it feels "rich" - must be the rum - and I don't get any floral notes whatsoever, unless there's tobacco flower along with the tobacco leaf. All in all, it's nice but too light for me and doesn't last, either. I'll save it for bedtime as I find it very relaxing and it evokes images of walks on the beach after dark in the Caribbean islands.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours at the most.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5

[quimerula]

It's a nice floral perfume balanced with a touch of tobacco.

I love tobacco because I think that it gives a warm touch to the blends it's a part of, and makes them rounder.

As it dries down it goes more floral, keeping an exotic edge.

Very nice.

[foxroses]

my first true bpal love!!

 

oh god, this smells SO GOOD.

 

in the bottle, it's blossoms and bay rum, a tang of something sharp underneath, but nothing weird floral or headachey. i worried that the tobacco would be awful, but its nice in the bottle, a little faded, and not at all like cigarette smoke.

 

once it goes on, it stays pretty true while wet and in the first 30 min or so, very tropical. but as i wear it, the tobacco comes out, and after about an hour, its pure, gorgeous, amazing tropical flower fire smoke and just.. mmmmm. it smells like smoke from a beach fire with drinks, at night, with big, delicious caribbean flowers..

 

gimme a bottle of this!!

[TroubleDoll]

This smelled like a humidor to me-mostly tobacco. It is a sweet tobacco, and the drydown is creamy and heady as the flowers peek out.

[SeaMonkey]

*drools*

 

Tobacco, which is my FAVORITE note, then the florals come out. I was worried about the florals, as they give me a headache, and the rum, which always SCREAMS on me but they mixed with the tobacco well. I have a bottle of this and its beautiful

[cupide430]

There's a sort of greenish wet smelling note at first. As it dries, I get an almost bug spray note over a powdery floral. The powdery bit is nice enough, but the bug spray overtone doesn't quite work for me.

[herdivineshadow]

This starts off very tobacco scented with a light hint of something floral. Then, sadly, it nosedives into a powdery soap tobacco scent which doesn't really agree with me. :/

[malanna]

I get lots of blossoms with tobacco leaf at first. It smells like walking through a tropical jungle, with all the flowers about. However, this jungle isn't an idealized version, the type of jungle you first think of. This is a real jungle, one located near the equator, and you're walking through it, sweaty, hot, and humid. You can barely take the heat, your sweats coming down in buckets, and you feel as if you're being suffocated. The tropical blossoms in Santo Domingo would belong in that forest. Later, the tobacco leaf and bay rum come to dominate, with the tobacco leaf in the foreground. This is nice for evoking a certain sort of imagery, but not my sort of thing.

[ktesedale]

In the bottle, it smelled very floral to me. Kind of overpowering.

 

Wet, dry, later, whenever, it was pure powder. Nothing underneath, like I get in some other scents that turn to powder on me - just a baby powder smell.

[girlmadasbirds]

floral bay rum soap. didn't work for me.

[sookster]

i get the bay rum and some sort of exotic flowers....masculine......

nice......this one needs to be tested by the boy to give it a whirl......i have a sneaking

suspicion it might smell like we're off on a tropical vacation ... and that, my friends,

is enough for me.....

[Voleuse]

This is an incredibly sweet floral on first application, and then it becomes a nice, sweet tobacco. After one minute, however, I get wet mop. ACK. Not as bad as my experience with Sybaris, but still extremely unpleasant. I had to wash it off right away.

[Neely]

This was another generous frimp!

 

In the bottle: Soapy

 

Wet: Soapy floral, with an underlying unpleasant odor, which I cannot put my finger on.

 

Dry down: OK the nasty underlying smell is stronger, and I know what it smells like to me... public toilet. You know, those plastic porta potties that have been sitting in the sun on a hot summer day. Or a slightly dirty diaper, not really full of poo, but needs to be changed. There is a baby powder smell to this along with a diaper that needs to be changed. Oh my!!!!! Where is the tobacco? the bay rum? Stupid chemistry!!! I get no boozeyness, no tobacco, or maybe I do, and that is what I am smelling.

 

30 minutes: OK didn't really make it this far. It was sooooo bad on me I had to wash it off. This was not pleasant. Of course , they can't all be.

 

Conclusion: This was not for me. If you are reading this, please don't be daunted. BPAL scents, all of them, are pure genius. It is my chemistry that messed this one up, not the oil. I am glad I got to try it. Quite frankly, I am in love with BPAL, even if something doesn't work. I am entranced by the differences in our chemistries. This one will just go to the swaps, and my meet n' sniff. I hope to get it to a good home.

 

-Rating 1-5, on me I would have to say a -1 with my skin.

Edited January 9, 2006 by atropos

[slave1]

In Bottle: Tobacco and some type of resin.

 

On Skin: This is a strong heady scent. It seems more masculine to me. The tobacco and bay rum remind me of another men’s cologne I’ve smelled before, but blossoms begin to develop and it becomes more festive. The rum isn’t too boozy which is nice. If I wore Blood Pearl, I’d love my husband to wear this, they’d go great together. Seriously, perfect vacation scents that transport you right to the islands.

[Rock Goddess]

On first application, I got a sharp, wet floral and tobacco, quite strong. But on dry down, it quickly went floral soap on me. I didn't get rum at any point, and my skin usually works wonders with rum scents. I think the Caribbean blossoms just overpowered everything on me. Florals in general tend to go soapy on me though, so I'm sure this one would be lovely on someone else.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i can just barely smell some flowers. this is very light.

on: heady flowers and a dry, leafy scent. very tropical.

1.5 hours later: very soapy with a bit of raw potato to it. what is up with my skin lately?

4 hours later: super soapy.

overall: this just didn't work on my skin.

[strawberry_star]

I am very silly. I didn't know that bay rum is not rum. Or it is, but isn't? I have no idea but I heard that it's an herb and it smells similar to cloves. *headdesk* I realized my mistake as soon as it arrived.

 

I tried a tiny bit on and it smelled like wet dog. I thought I was imagining things, so I tried it again the next day and it was very spicy and made me a bit sick to my stomach. BUT that is not the bad part, the bad part is that my skin started burning! My arm felt like it was on fire and this is the only bpal scent that has done that to me thus far.

 

I ran to the bathroom to wash it off and as I was washing, it smelled like wet dog again. I normally don't smell like wet dog while bathing, I swear! Luckily the smell went away but the burning remained for a little while. I'm afraid this one takes the not so lovely prize of worst bpal scent I have ever tried.

Edited February 6, 2006 by strawberry star

[LiberAmoris]

Santo Domingo is very smoky and sultry---like what traditional bay rum cologne would smell like in heaven if angels were mixing it up in vats with a flaming sword. The tobacco here is absolutely mind-blowingly smooth. This definitely does seem like a warm weather blend, like bare skin and smoke from an herbal cigarette, a touch of tanning oil, and a dirty thought.

 

For some reason, and I chalk this up to my wacky nose, Santo Domingo reminds me of a rugged and manly Vinland. Not sure where I'm getting that from, as there seems to be nary a note in common, but that's how it's hitting me.

 

I'm definitely keeping my imp for the dog days of summer. I think this would be so sexy with a halter dress and a great pair of heels.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This is a little heavy for my taste. I think it's the tobacco leaf that's overpowering the other elements. Otherwise I'd like it - it has the rum smell I like so much in Jazz Funeral. Or maybe it's the flowers? It does feel quite masculine to me, even with the flowers. There's an underlying bitterness and seriousness to this scent.

[Rhowan]

In the bottle and wet on my skin this is not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting a warm sultry delicate scent. What I am getting is a really alcohol/floral smell that burns the back of my throat.

 

Dried down this just gets worse. I don't know if it it the tobacco leaf or what but the dry down reminds me of Stardust - it is overpowering tobacco and hairspray.

 

Conclusion: I had to wash this off after about 20 minutes - my nose and throat were burning, I had a really bad taste in my mouth and it was making me very nauseous! When I washed it off, I smelled like I had taken a really cheap hairspray and just sprayed the hec out of my wrist! The throw was INCREDIBLE! Even though this was a drop on my wrist you could smell it half way across the room. And even after washing it off, my throat is still burning and I have a terrible taste in my mouth. Not good.