No Bay Rum for me after all

[WhosYerBob]

Cindy and I had a frank discussion this morning about all the Bay Rum scents I've been testing, after I had asked her if she had any concerns about me buying a bottle of the Dominica.

She asked me not to buy any Bay Rum scents at all.

Even though she gave the Dominica the only good marks of the whole sample set, the issue with cloves has become a major deal with her as I've been filling the house with the Bay Rum scent during the testing. She just didn't want to say anything until I reached the end of the samples - a) she wanted to honestly see if any were devoid of the dreaded cloves, and b) she didn't want to hurt my feelings.

Knowing how she reacts to some scents, I thought that was extremely accommodating of her. However, she *did* say I could put the same amount of money toward a scent I (we) really did like, so not all is lost.

Soooo, keep your eyes peeled on the B/S/T after Christmas Day, as I'll be unloading a number of scent bottles there - including the Ogallala Special Reserve and Royall Bay Rhum that I have.

 

[Wingnut]

NO bay rum?! AT ALL?!!! Mitch, my heart goes out to you, buddy... I don't think I could live without bay rum in my shave den. I only hope that Cindy realizes just how accomodating a husband she has, and how rare a guy you are. If not, I'm sure having her read some B&B posts of the "Time for a divorce" type will enlighten her.

...And if you're interested in a buyer for that Ogalla SR, I'm one...

 

[MrMoJoe]

My wife hates the clove scent as well. Her sister, on the other hand, likes it, and the Bay Rum (juss sayin').

 

[JPM]

Ouch! I can't go without my Bay Rum. Too bad for you, but I'll be looking for that post.

 

[jdudley76]

FWIW I have spent the last few months looking for Bay Rum colognes that are devoid of cloves. I love the warm smell of bay rum but cloves grate on me. This is what I found.

St. Thomas Bay Rum (Caswell Massey) - clean and light, very unlikely to offend.

Ogallala Limes & Peppercorns - sweet/syrupy bay rum, pretty long lasting for a bay rum - no clove oil in this Ogallala offering.

SCS Bay Rum w/ A Twist - opens with a beautiful lime/bay rum scent, this is the only one IMO that changes after dry down turning into a light bay rum/cintronella scent on me (It almost smells a little like bug spray after 30 minutes, but not unpleasant)

Bonny Doon Farm Bay Rum - probably the strongest of all these, almost a dilled pickle scent with this bay rum, not my favorite but it is still an appealing scent.

Again, I find no clove notes in any of the colognes above. You can find samples of most of these at barclaycrocker.com. Of course, the SCS bay rum is only available from SCS.

 

[hypo_style]

My wife is also not a fan of Bay Rum, at least not of the Bigelow's Bay Rum aftershave lotion I picked up last week.
But she has a very strong sense of smell, much stronger than my own.
That's OK, I will concentrate my Bay Rum interests in shaving soaps, whose smells tend not to linger past the shave itself.

 

[Gray Wolf]

My wife does like Bay Rum, I'll be looking for your post!

 

[The Knize]

WYB,

I was actually going to drop you a note on this on the other thread.

Are you now thinking that Dominica has cloves in it, too? I used some this morning and I think it probably does, and cinammon, too. The web site references I have seen say, as you said, contains "purest of alcohol and the leaf oil extract from the Caribbean bay tree (Pimenta racemosa)" and "no artificial dyes, fragrances, or synthetic enhancers of any kind". I think that is carefully worded to stop short of saying that the only fragrance is bay tree leaf. And I definitely detect notes of cloves or cinnamon. Nothing as strong as some BRs in those componetnts, but still there. Also Dominica has a pretty good burn, which I like, which I associate with cinammon (and Pinaud, which I really like).

You might try Superior 70 which I think really does have pure bay tree leaf as the only fragrance. Even though it is high alcohol it has much less burn than Dominica or Pinaud and I get no true clove or cinammon (or cassis) notes--although bay tree leaf is not totally dissimilar from those spices in aroma.

The fragrances Superior 70 is utterly fleeting after applied. So Cindy may like its smell anyway and even if she doesn't, it does not hang around as a scent at all!

 

[DonOhio]

Stephan's is very inexpensive, nice scent and has barely any clove scent to it at all, compared to the bigger names around here. I hate cloves; wife is indifferent. Stephan's is the only BR I'll now wear (that and Avon's). If you try a bottle and don't like it, I'll buy it off you.

 

[GoldenMonkey]

Total bummer...I know I couldn't do without Bay Rum in my collection (Royall, Pinaud, Dominica, etc.).

 

[Wingnut]

FWIW I have spent the last few months looking for Bay Rum colognes that are devoid of cloves. I love the warm smell of bay rum but cloves grate on me. This is what I found.

St. Thomas Bay Rum (Caswell Massey) - clean and light, very unlikely to offend.

Ogallala Limes & Peppercorns - sweet/syrupy bay rum, pretty long lasting for a bay rum - no clove oil in this Ogallala offering.

SCS Bay Rum w/ A Twist - opens with a beautiful lime/bay rum scent, this is the only one IMO that changes after dry down turning into a light bay rum/cintronella scent on me (It almost smells a little like bug spray after 30 minutes, but not unpleasant)

Bonny Doon Farm Bay Rum - probably the strongest of all these, almost a dilled pickle scent with this bay rum, not my favorite but it is still an appealing scent.

Again, I find no clove notes in any of the colognes above. You can find samples of most of these at barclaycrocker.com. Of course, the SCS bay rum is only available from SCS.

Another lower-cost option for a clove-free bay rum is Master Bay Rum (available at your local Sally Beauty supply for around $7 for a 15 oz. bottle - but hurry, the word is that Master is discontinuing all but the 1 gallon size. I know a few of you out there for whom this won't make a difference, though...)

I find this to be a much more "pure" bay scent than the Pinaud version, and it even has a touch of glycerin for skin conditioning. It's ingredients are: Deionized Pure Water, SD Alcohol 40, Glycerin, Bay Oil, and a couple of FD & C yellow colors. The best news is that the bottle is sniffable in-store, so you don't have to buy totally blind. Give it a try and see what you think.

 

[WhosYerBob]

Again, I find no clove notes in any of the colognes above. You can find samples of most of these at barclaycrocker.com. Of course, the SCS bay rum is only available from SCS.

Guess you didn't see my massive Bay Rum review from yesterday - she nixed every single one you mentioned.

 

[WhosYerBob]

Are you now thinking that Dominica has cloves in it, too?

No, Dominica has no *added* clove oil at all. It DOES have a clove like scent to it, but that because the Bay oil has some natural scent similarities to clove itself. That's why clove is used to extend the scent so much in the cheaper formulations, because it's sooo similar to actual Bay oil.

The clove-like scent - no matter what the source - is what she has the objection to.

To try discerning the difference, buy some pure clove oil and compare it directly to Dominica. The clove is much oilier and heavier, more of a pungent scent than the Bay oil note.

 

[FLTiger]

The similarity to clove is enough to keep me from using any sort of bay rum.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I understand her, I cannot use Bay Rum myself because I am allergic to it and get breathing problems.

 

[WhosYerBob]

I understand her, I cannot use Bay Rum myself because I am allergic to it and get breathing problems.

The breathing issue is the same for her, so I'm not going to push it by purchasing some anyway.

 

[Hammer]

My wife has hardly any sense of smell. I can use just about anything and it's just fine with her.
Guys I feel your pain.

 

[Geordon]

My wife does like Bay Rum, I'll be looking for your post!

That makes two of us. Bay rum?

 

[delnative]

The clove/cinnamon discussion reminds me of my debut with Ogallala Bay Rum. Because I have concerns about high blood sugar, I empty one capsule of a cinnamon blood-sugar remedy onto my cereal each morning.
The first time I tried the Ogallala, I went a bit overboard. As I was eating my breakfast, my wife walked by the table, sniffed and said, "Boy, I really smell your cinnamon this morning."
BTW, last week I returned from a trip to the Virgin Islands, where I bought a bottle of St. Johns Bay Rum. Nice, but I think I prefer the Ogallala.

--Jim in Delaware

 

[kingfisher]

My wife hates Bay Rum scents, too. She even turned up her nose at Bay Rum with a Twist aftershave milk from Saint Sue, which is fairly mildly scented.

Oh, well.