Santo Domingo

[Djaeno]

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

In imp: Oh, wow. It smells dark and strong; I think of really dark wood. I can't tell the difference between the tobacco leaf and the rum, but those are the two notes that are really standing out to me.
Wet: It smells a little spicy -- or spiced, I suppose, since it has bay rum in it. It's actually a really lovely scent. Maybe it's because of the description, but I can sort of picture this fitting in with, say, the PotC movies or something.
Dry: I can smell the Caribbean blossoms now! I assume that's what they are; I'm getting a ripe fruit/flower scent that I can't quite name. And yet it's still mixed in with the dark spiciness of the tobacco and rum; I don't feel that any of the notes are fighting (as they say on the forums). It's sweet, a little smokey, a little spicy. I'm surprised -- I love this one. The blossoms, I think, keep it from being a "masculine" scent on me. Also, I don't feel like a drunkard or a smoker. It's -- wow. This one is a winner. I am thinking of buying a 5ml of it.

Later: it has a really long staying power. It's been almost three hours, and it still smells as strong as when I applied it. I'm getting a rather sweet scent I associate with tobacco, but it's lacking the smoky smell that makes me think of cigarette smoke. It is a little heavy, a little cloying? I will be sure to use it sparingly. Nothing I smell makes me think "soapy"? I guess it is my skin chemistry!

[ami226]

Huh, this is actually kinda sweet. Not at all what I was expecting. Mostly floral. Turns really soapy in the end.

[grnwoodtree]

A completely men's cologne scent. At first its an airy light citrusy scent, but turns to the spicy bay rum...Old Spice all the way, tho a more refined version.

 

Not for me...but definitely for a man.

[milo]

Hmm, this one is all tobacco leaf in the imp. As it dries on the skin, it is a lovely tobacco with understated rum. This *really* reminds me of Hellhound On My Trail, only it is more masculine. An awesome dude blend, I'm sure I'd be swooning if I smelled it on a guy. Sigh.

[SophieCedar]

in imp and first wet: whoa bay rum! Bit cologney because of the tobacco leaf and floral mix.

 

Wet: same!

 

Drydown: this would be a great sweet men's fragrance. turns a bit powdery and traditional on me but I think that wouldn't happen as much on men.

 

ETA: ok I just tried this again and wow.. it's great. sweet tobacco and bay rum. something that smells a bit like dates but I think that's just the tobacco. Sweet sweet flowers. YUM.

Edited March 8, 2011 by SophieCedar

[saralaughs]

Bay rum is right. It is kinda 'old man' cologne at first. The tobacco leaf comes into play and deepens it, taking it out of half soapy/clean old man rhelm. I get just a *hint* of floral that makes it lush and vibrant. I like it but I dunno if I'll buy a bottle.

[tajana]

Wet: Sweet and floral, with a tiny hint of fruity tropical drink. As it starts to settle down, it gets a bit smoky and spiced-rummy.

 

Dry: The tobacco leaf isn't as bad as I was expecting: usually tobacco really amps up to unacceptable levels on my skin. It's still rather strong, though, a fair bit of throw from the tiny dot I applied to my skin. It dries down to sweet, spicy, smoky rum. The clean florals that were dominant when this was freshly applied are all but gone, but they left behind a non-specific "clean" note. Not much else to say.

 

Overall: Sorry to say, this smells like cheap men's rum cologne on me. YMMV: tobacco and booze are rarely my BPAL friends.

[voorishsign]

Was frimped this The tobacco and bay rum sound delightful but the blossoms scare me. They aren't as heady as the warning says, but they do ruin the tobacco and rum This smells like a Caribbean market, bawdy, boozy and exotic - not a scent for me necessarily but it certainly is an experience

[talula_fairie]

I have no idea what went wrong here, but I can't stand this scent. It's compared to a lot of blends I like -Black Lace, Perversion but it somehow doesn't work. I'm guessing it might be the florals. Honestly, it smells like a sachet to me. I think there's rose in this blend.

[Sabir]

Got this as a frimp and I'm glad I did, because I don't think I would have tried it otherwise. I'm always leery of scents that contain undescribed florals.

 

Santo Domingo is certainly exotic and sultry as the description says, but it's not overpowering or in your face about it. It's neither subtle nor obvious, just somewhere comfortably in the middle. On me it's kind of spicy, which I think is the bay rum. I don't get much of a floral note at all, it's more like a really subtle feeling of walking through a Caribbean village and having a hint of blossoms in the background. It's hard to describe. Nothing really jumps out, but I can feel it there in the background.

 

Overall I'm really pleased with this scent, especially because I was so disappointed with Havana.

[Aisha]

Got this as a Lab frimp, and oh MAN I'm glad I did!

 

In the imp: Warm spices (I'm assuming that's the rum) and tobacco, tobacco, tobacco! Not in the icky cigarette way, but rather in a sweet, smooth, exotic pipe-smoke way. The florals are present, but definitely in the background.

 

Wet: Spicy! And the florals wake up. Like sipping rum in a greenhouse full of exotic blooms...

 

Dry: The tobacco comes back in full (delicious) force. The florals and spices end up being more of a background breeze.

 

This stuff lasts a LONG time. After about 5 hours it mellowed to a gentle blend of tobacco and--surprisingly--vanilla. I'm in love.

 

A lot of reviewers seem to feel this would be better on a man, but I'll definitely be buying at least one bottle for myself. This stuff makes me feel like a pirate princess, and my boyfriend loves it on me!

[toomuch]

Too tobacco-y on me. (Though if cigarettes smelled like this I wouldn't so much mind people smoking around me.) The tobacco mellows down after a while and then the Caribbean flowers come out faintly in the background like the scent is wafting to you on a breeze. If you are good with tobacco scents you'll like this, I just can't get past the initial strength of the tobacco.

[Altaira]

This has a huge throw on me. The tobacco and bay rum are a strong masculine cologne and the flowers are a strong feminine perfume. This is both too masculine and too feminine at the same time. And way too strong for me.

[CiaoBonefish]

What an interesting scent!

 

Wet and in the imp I get a particularly sharp tobacco leaf I believe with some bay rum. Not super appealing and definitely masculine. Wet on my skin it instantly starts to morph. The tobacco leaf starts edging its way into the background while the bay rum moves forward kind of balancing the blend. I still feel a sort of earthiness to the blend may be but it's sweet too. At dry down the caribbean blossoms start holding their own and the scent becomes perfectly balanced! WOW! This scent morphed really beautifully! A lovely blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum, and blossoms. That being said it took some time to get there for sure!

 

As it fades (which is surprisingly quickly) the caribbean blossoms become more present and add sweetness, but never really get overpowering but stay lush and warm. The scent description is RIGHT ON. It becomes surprisingly sensual, feminine, and light after the dry down as well. That being said it also does not last very long and stays REALLY close to my skin. The scent is gorgeous but I don't like the wet stages enough to justify getting a bottle, especially because the throw and wear time are so light on me! That being said I will definitely use up my imp!

[Suu4LC]

Tobacco and bay rum to me in the imp. Sort of a clean tobacco scent. Very masculine, though not necessarily "manly" if that makes any sense.

 

Hmm, at first it is tobacco and bay rum, but on my skin it goes sort of odd and chloriney-this occasionally happens to me and I still haven't figured out quite which notes do it. Without the chlorine note this would be a lovely clean tobacco/bay rum scent.

 

You know what the tobacco in this reminds me of? Dia, from one of the Luper Aphrodite collections a while back. This is like, the boy version of that scent.

 

On drydown this smells SUPER a lot like Dia The weird chloriney note went away. I wouldn't need a bottle of this because I have Dia, but if you always wanted to try Dia or want a slightly more masculine version, this is a good substitute!

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: A tropical floral with just a hint of bay rum.

 

On: A hint of rum, tobacco and sweet flowers. A big surprise for me; a bit sweeter than I expected, but overall very nice and something I would wear on a semi-regular basis, yet not something I would have ordered based on the description.

 

Later: Faint bay rum and nothing else. I did like the start, but the somewhat disappointing later dry phase keeps me from putting this on the bottle list.

[senju88]

Oh Santo Domingo--you have skyrocketed to the top of my fave scents list!

 

I looove carribean-y, pirate-y scents so the name pulled me in straight away, and it did not disappoint!

 

It smells SO GOOD. Sexy, tropical, piratey, badass, feminine. Everything I want in a scent really

 

It reminds me of sweet rum, tobacco and a few tropical blossoms thrown in there (but not too many). I am hopeless at identifying notes, but all I can say is this baby is the goods.

[sunlitgarden]

Imp: This smells almost like licorice, but I think it's a combination of the tobacco and rum notes.

 

On my skin the rum comes out more. It's a spiced rum - smells like vanilla and spices like clove. I'm getting more spices than booze. It has the warm quality of blends like Spicebush Swallowtail and the spiced rum in Upa Upa. I'm not getting any florals, and the tobacco is fainter on my skin as well. It smells almost like banana. I like this, but I have other blends that fill the niche.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Cloyingly sweet florals, a bite of spiced rum, and a lot of VERY heavy, incense-y tobacco. Didn't like it on the first sniff, but a few more warmed me up to it. It's got potential? It's certainly strong!

 

Wet: Heavy, heavy blooms that are trying to go super-sharp and unpleasant. Deep, dark tobacco that smells... almost musty at first. Fortunately, the bay rum is coming up from the back to save it all on a breath of masculine, old-fashioned cologne. Considering how my skin behaves, I almost never say this, but... I wish this were sweeter and more feminine! Except that the flowers have such a strong old-lady presence that it's not unfeminine, exactly, it's just... very dull and heavy and not at all what I expected.

 

Dry: This dries down to a sweet but somber blend of musty tobacco, traditional flowers and herbal bay rum. I expected a lot of liveliness from this blend, but it's the hot, dusty backrooms of Caribbean shops instead. It's certainly interesting and a little bit dark. It could be fabulous on the right person, but that person is definitely not me!

[Coldfire]

Imp: woah tobacco and rum!

Wet on Me: more tobacco and rum. No blossoms yet

Drying Down: nut scent coming forward. Smells off

Dry: no blossoms, just a nut scent that is turning on me.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Piratey bay rum. Tingly, spicy, and cool.

 

Drydown: The tingly-spicy-cool-ness of bay rum plus a bunch of powdery flowers. Slightly sweet, but not overly so, and becoming more powdery by the minute.

 

Dry: The blossoms pretty much overpower the rest of this scent and they unfortunately smell reminiscent of baby powder. Quel bummer.

 

 

 

 

5 out of 10 bones

[brilliantcat]

Both in imp and wet on me, I get mostly lime and rum with a hint of tobacco and blossoms. I find this similar to my extrait of Hispaniola but for the lack of coconut. This makes me sooo happy as the extraits are impossible to find! I wind up with a spicy, smoky tobacco mostly with a hint of lime and just the barest notion of florals. I think layering this with my Arcana Fresh Coconut SN will be a more than adequate sub for my beloved Hispaniola!

[brilliantcat]

Whoops, double post!

Edited December 6, 2013 by brilliantcat

[Rip]

I was hesitant to try this because I'm not big on florals but I've been working my way through BPAL's Bay Rum scents and decided to try this for completeness.

 

Wet all I smell is slightly sweet Bay Rum. As it dries down the tobacco comes out and adds some spiciness. After that the scent doesn't really change. I can't say that I ever notice any florals which is just fine with me. This is actually quite close to what I'm looking for in a Bay Rum scent. Unfortunately Santo Domingo, like a lot of BPAL scents, doesn't have much of a throw on me. If I'm not holding my wrist under my nose I can't smell it.

[OctoberGwen]

Mmmmmm, I love this scent. Normally bay rum skews way too masculine for me, but here it is balanced perfectly by the tropical floral notes. Tobacco leaf is always a win on me.

 

So: a lovely blend of sweet tobacco and lush florals wih a splash of bay rum. Delicious