Port Royal

[azhure]

The Sodom of the New World! -- touted as the richest and wickedest city in all creation! Port Royal was the center of 17th century Caribbean commerce, a notorious safe harbor for pirates, and the site of our third flagship store, which was, sadly, destroyed in the earthquake of 1692. Spiced rum and ship’s wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute’s perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down.

In the vial: Hmmm, something acrid. I can't even pick out any notes.

Wet: Argh - my skin amps up the acrid scent. I can't smell any individual notes, just this sharp, acrid scent that goes right to my head. Ow. I had to sadly, wash this oil off.

Drydown: I didn't get all the oil off, and so I got some of the drydown. Even more sadly, the drydown is gorgeous - soft musk. I kept on catching whiffs of it and wondering what it was that smelled so damn good.

[neuilly]

Warm wood with a dash of spice. It's oddly making me think of Christmas. It smells really good actually and I was fully expecting not to like it. I keept sniffing my wrist! I'm not really a woods girl so I'll probably pass it on but...I highly recommend it for people who enjoy wood notes!

[PilotKitten]

At first sniff this smells absolutely wonderful! A tropical sweetness (not a fruity though) with just a faint hint of wood and a perfumey incense wafting about. The spiced rum in this blend is sweet and spicy and just so yummy, I wish I could find me a bottle! A warm scent with a slight touch of sea air this blend is very piratey indeed. Yarr!!

[Electra]

Yep, this smells just about right for a pirate . Rum and wood - drydown on me is pretty much all spicy wood, as the rum fades away. I don't get much salt air, and the prostitutes have apparently turned in after a long night's work.

 

It's good. I like it. Very evocative, and I'm thrilled that there's finally a pirate scent that works on me - Grog was awful with my chemistry (butterscotch and plastic), and surprisingly enough given my fabulous track record with aquatics, Jolly Roger wasn't very good on me either. (I haven't tried Anne Bonny yet. I should do that.)

 

I don't think this is bottle-worthy for me, but I'll definitely keep the imp for days that I'm feeling pirate-y .

[lanablade]

In the imp: Mmm... I can't even pick out anything other than this smells like the ocean to me.

 

Wet: ...eucalyptus...? I swear I smelled it for a second, but then it was gone. Sea air warmed by rich woods.

 

Dry: Rum and spicy wood. Smells like pirate.

 

This is a completely perfect scent, and it just shot on to my 'must have a bottle' list. Smells like Captain Jack Sparrow. Yum!

[supremegoddessofall]

Spicy salt. Not really getting the rum or the perfume. Pretty and somehow Christmasy.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Salty aftershave

 

Wet on me - Salty leather

 

Dry on me - Leather smothered by a sea breeze

 

Overall - I like it, but I'd prefer it on a man to on me

[maijasu]

This is a gorgeous spicy, musky floral on me. I do also detect a hint of salty sea air and maybe a boozy note. I really wasn't expecting to like it at all, but it's a surprise winner. I'll definitely keep my imp around and may eventually need a bottle.

[steffanina]

Port Royal-

 

In Bottle: Sweet, a tiny bit floral, and rich-smelling.

 

Wet: A hint of clove, and maybe a hint of that rum? I wouldn't have called it that if you hadn't told me, though.

 

Dry: This doesn't last all that long and isn't very strong, and if it were stronger I might think it's too much, so, go figure!

 

Overall: Wish there were more to it; my skin ate it up.

[maribouquet]

This is awesome! Just like the description says: spiced rum, salt-soaked wood, sultry, rough, warm.

 

Too bad the rum is making my head hurt. Argh, matey.

[The_Witching_Hour]

In the bottle: ocean spray and salty ocean.

 

On my skin: sun-drenched woods, expensive spice racks and aged whiskey.

 

Drydown: a beauty! This can be descibed the best as 24 hours on a remote island------sunrise as cold and crisp as they get in the mornings with the seaspray hitting you in the face. But as the day wears on, the sun heats up sending golden warmth and spicey surprises your way.

 

Captain Jack Sparrow. Yup! Sexy as HELL!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Oh yeah, definitely sea air, with perfume and spice carried on it.

 

Wet: Same as in the bottle, salty sea air and perfume. It smells just like the seaside!

 

Drydown: The sea air dies down, which is a pity as it was my favourite part. The perfume takes the forefront, it's a spicy, slightly boozy and there's a lot of wood in it, as well as something a bit fruity and musky.

 

Overall: This is a very interesting blend, very evocative of how you imagine the Caribbean from fiction, booze, spices, the woods of your ship, sea breeze and the slightly gaudy scent of cheap perfume. I don't think I would wear it, because the perfume part just isn't me, but it's a very nice blend.

[wolfie13]

In the bottle: Smells like bay rum

 

Wearing: Still smells like bay rum, with the addition of an ozoney note (the "sea air", I suppose, though it's always more dryer sheet on me than not) and a touch of wood and a touch of a floral I can't quite pin down.

 

This is reminiscent of Jolly Roger ("bay rum and salty, dry woods"), sans the leather, with the addition of a smidge of lavender maybe?

 

But here's the interesting thing: while Jolly Roger was horrible on me, and the "sea" note here STILL never smells like the lovely salty sea air that everyone else seems to get, that note is much mellower than in it is in JR (where it was fake-perfumey-ocean-hell)

And the wood note comes out, but this note, too, is softer than in JR (which had a creosote-like quality on me).

And the "touch of perfume" that scared me in the description, is actually a nice addition. I like the complexity.

 

In conclusion: I actually really like this. I will keep the imp and will likely put this on the bottle contemplation list.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

vaguely fruity and yet rum like

 

On me:

This is a strange one for me because I get one thing when I sniff my skin, but when I pull my nose away, I keep getting whiffs of other notes sort of floating there.

 

Right away, it makes me think of a man's cologne. It's sort of bay rum like and yet backed by a very strong, salty wood note. Definitely makes me think of pirates and taverns by the sea! I think the slightly floral note I keep getting when I deeply sniff must be the "perfume" but you really have to try to smell that. It seems to remain the same for the most part - rum, salty woods - masculine smelling.

 

Final note:

I think this would be nice on a man - not just any man, I don't think just any man could pull this one off. But I will be keeping the imp just to get in a piratey mood when I deal with my pirate characters hehe!

[xoe]

for me Port Royal is at first very melony, maybe a honeydew or a canteloupe. strange. then it becomes more spicey and a little aquatic. quite nice, but not really to my taste.

[Kimocean]

Wicked, wicked, wicked...in a really good way! I love this stuff and I don't know why I didn't realize how much until recently. I've had the bottle for a while but I just recently started wearing it regularly. I love the hint of the ocean in it with the sexy depth of the wood and rum and I get a hint of patchouli in here too. It stays really warm and dark and sexy on me.

[porcelina]

Port Royal actually reminds me a lot of Caliban... it's got a similar sort of semi-aquatic salty spicy thing going on. The floral perfume is there but it fades quickly. Once it's dry, all I can smell is salt, spice, maybe a hint of rum (I wish there was more!) and a trace of wood. It has a lot of depth to it. I like it, but not as much as I expected to... I'm not crazy about it.

[stellabymoor]

at first thought I was like, "hrm, pirates!"

 

but once I took a big wiff, it smells just like my father. dark and tanned and a bit sweaty, who loves heavy fragrances and bay rum. would make a nice Father's Day present.

[taramarie]

Port Royal is definitely not one I would've bought myself, so I'm grateful to the Lab for this frimp.

 

In the imp and wet on my skin, I could smell the woods. There was a single whiff of nuts, but sun-warmed cedar is what came through the strongest. Now that it's drying, the rum's spices (though not the rum itself) is coming through. I'm fairly certain there's cinnamon in this, but not enough to irritate my skin. There was also a whiff of vanilla, which I guess is the perfume. I'm not getting any sea air, but I'm not complaining -- Port Royal is gorgeous without it. I think it's a gender neutral scent.

 

I definitely need a bottle of this!

[alicia_stardust]

I LOVE the way this smells, but it is even better on my husband. It is one of his favorite BPAL scents.

 

I smell a boozy quality to this; rum and spices, wood and sea air. It's exactly as the description says. I find that after this dries there's a definite pirate element: debauchery, playfulness, and seduction. Port Royal is the perfect blend of those things.

 

I give this 5 out of 5!

[camaro199183]

This is one of my favorites! Pirates! Pirates! Pirates! I wish I was on a boat in the carribean!

[starwild]

In the bottle: Floral, and decaying wood. Decay in general. This is what the Vieux Carre smelled like on hot summer nights.

 

Wet: Something bright, orangey and spicy, maybe a hint of tobacco. Just a bit of sweetness.

 

Drydown: Cinnamon and old wood. A touch of bitterness under the cinnamon--perhaps it's the sea air.

 

Later: Getting some warm sweetness of rum coming through, but it's still mostly cinnamon and wood.

 

I want to kidnap Captain Jack Sparrow and smear this all over him.

 

Very, very nice. Not a big bottle, but I'll definitely be using this imp and ordering again in the future.

 

Glad I tried this, apparently BPAL cinnamon is very strong on me.

[targeter]

I was convinced at first that I wasn't going to like this - but I ordered an imp of it anyway. Boy am I glad I did.

 

This scent is absolutely YUMMY. I didn't get any aquatics, but I got spiced woods and a faint hint of florals and rum and salty air. This is the perfect scent for a cold, wet day when you have to go outside anyway. It's warm and comforting and so amazing that I'm actually considering buying a bottle. It smells like cuddling up to a cute, slightly tipsy guy in front of a fireplace with a hot mug of the spiced drink of your choice.

 

The throw isn't really strong, but stays relatively close to my wrist. It's nicely long lasting, though, and at the end of my 12 hour day I can still catch some musk and spices from it.

[Mixxi]

In the imp: Nearly all rum (not particularly spicy rum to me though?) & a hint of perfumey sort of smell.

Wet on skin: Now spicy rum, salt and the wood is creeping forward & coming to the foreground oddly..

Dry on skin: Oh my.. I've never really tried any blends with wood in but my skin has amped this up big time but there is still spicy rum, salt and perfume behind it. I can't get the association out that I smell like a fragrant wooden fence . This is also very masculine to me & while it doesn't work on me with the right skin chemistry I think it could smell lovely. I'm inclined to keep this imp to try on unsespecting males!

[zimaeah]

A perfect day at the beach. Sea breeze on your skin and sun-warmed boardwalk under your feet. A nice balance of fruity/floral, a nice slushy mixed drink to top off the experience, perhaps.

 

...in a bottle!