I'm a big fan of lime aftershaves, especially in the summer. Royall Lyme, Captain's Choice Lime, Pinaud Lime Sec, and Stirling Lime are all in my summer rotation. This summer I thought that I would add St. Johns West Indian Lime After Shave to the rotation.
The price is $50, about double what I would pay for a decent aftershave. Given the premium price I had high expectations for this stuff. The bottle is beautiful; very classy and a definite summer/tropical island vibe. Glass bottle covered in woven palm fronds and a flow restrictor built in. The bottle is certainly a winner.
The scent is awesome. A natural lime with other citrus notes (bergamot?) which dries down with a hint of vetiver. It's a definite summer scent that does not overpower. It's a gentleman scent for casual or business wear.
The face feel is very nice. It has a decent alcohol sting but not a "burn". It addresses any razor burn fairly well. There are no "face friendly" ingredients listed on the label like glycerin or castor oil. In this regard it is similar to the Fine Accoutrements line of after shaves: water, alcohol and fragrance. There's no menthol in the St. Johns.
And now for the disappointment: the fragrance doesn't last. At all. To my nose it is pretty much gone within an hour or two. Now, there are a number of aftershaves like this which some actually prefer because they don't want anything to clash with their cologne. Or some prefer to not have any scent projecting at all. However, to me there should be some decent longevity here given the price. In any event, I acknowledged that this is an after shave and therefore may be justifiably short lived as far as the scent. So I spent another $50 and bought the matching cologne to get some more longevity out of this awesome scent. And guess what ...?
The scent of the cologne is equally weak. An absolute disappointment. It has no difference in strength as compared to the after shave, at least to my nose. I literally splash this stuff on after splashing a healthy handful of the after shave and the scent is nothing but a memory by the time I get to the office. Not what I expected after shelling out $100. Granted, every lime scented after shave that I've used is relatively short lived compared to other scents. But at least Royall and Captain's Choice will linger into the afternoon. And their price tag is not as painful. For the price, St. Johns is a huge disappointment in this regard.
The price is $50, about double what I would pay for a decent aftershave. Given the premium price I had high expectations for this stuff. The bottle is beautiful; very classy and a definite summer/tropical island vibe. Glass bottle covered in woven palm fronds and a flow restrictor built in. The bottle is certainly a winner.
The scent is awesome. A natural lime with other citrus notes (bergamot?) which dries down with a hint of vetiver. It's a definite summer scent that does not overpower. It's a gentleman scent for casual or business wear.
The face feel is very nice. It has a decent alcohol sting but not a "burn". It addresses any razor burn fairly well. There are no "face friendly" ingredients listed on the label like glycerin or castor oil. In this regard it is similar to the Fine Accoutrements line of after shaves: water, alcohol and fragrance. There's no menthol in the St. Johns.
And now for the disappointment: the fragrance doesn't last. At all. To my nose it is pretty much gone within an hour or two. Now, there are a number of aftershaves like this which some actually prefer because they don't want anything to clash with their cologne. Or some prefer to not have any scent projecting at all. However, to me there should be some decent longevity here given the price. In any event, I acknowledged that this is an after shave and therefore may be justifiably short lived as far as the scent. So I spent another $50 and bought the matching cologne to get some more longevity out of this awesome scent. And guess what ...?
The scent of the cologne is equally weak. An absolute disappointment. It has no difference in strength as compared to the after shave, at least to my nose. I literally splash this stuff on after splashing a healthy handful of the after shave and the scent is nothing but a memory by the time I get to the office. Not what I expected after shelling out $100. Granted, every lime scented after shave that I've used is relatively short lived compared to other scents. But at least Royall and Captain's Choice will linger into the afternoon. And their price tag is not as painful. For the price, St. Johns is a huge disappointment in this regard.
