The shave was great with the Crown King formula soap, as usual. The Bay Rum scent is the best Bay Rum I have ever smelled. Even better than my C.O. Bigelow Apothecary No.32 Bay Rum cologne (which has a great black pepper note), however despite there being no real black pepper in PAA's, the fruity, spicy blend he's got is perfectly balanced and the boozy quality of the splash is completely unique to PAA.
I've tested out nearly all of the popular Bay Rums and PAA's is the best IMO. I admit I watched a few of his videos on how he makes his bay rum (that's what got me to order a sample vial of the scent). I am a fragrance enthusiast as well as a wet shaving enthusiast, so when it came to this stuff, I wasn't judging it on the quality of the shaving gear (soap/splash)/(because I own PAA stuff already, I know it's solid quality stuff), but just judging it on the scent.
This is my first full wearing of it and so far, you're right, the scent-longevity of the splash is great. **Edit, forgot to say that the splash has only a tiny amount of 'sting' for an alcohol-based splash, so you're not going to feel a massive burn for minutes on end. It's a momentary sting, then you're good to go.
And from a product perspective, this is the first aftershave balm I've used from PAA (I 'HATE' balms in general because they never 'feel' correct on my skin) and I've got to say I'm incredibly surprised. It's got the perfect moisturizing-water-oil level for my skin. Not greasy, not 'fake', not even 'oily', but rather it feels like my natural skin oils. I've bought corporate-produced products that likely had teams of scientists developing their skin products but nothing on the market feels as true on my skin, moisture/oil-wise, than this balm, IMO. So, if you hate balms for the same reason I do, you might want to give this formula a try.
I'm enjoying this bay rum scent this morning. Just like you EzraCobb, they have an Eau de Parfum strength spray of this Bay Rum and I have no idea how I could use that without filling a stadium with the scent since this aftershave/cologne splash has such good staying power and scent trail. I could imagine carrying a portable pocket sprayer to 'refresh' the scent after 6-8 hours (or whenever the cologne starts getting weak). The EDP bottle they sell I think would be overkill with this particular scent. I can understand a scent like Sangre de Drago getting an EDP concentration (and I indeed bought his EDP because the Sangre scent is fantastic).
Anyway, thumbs up on the Atomic Age Bay Rum aftershave/cologne scent and strength and thumbs up on the PAA aftershave balm for impressing me when no other balm ever did.
The scent is like taking Gabels Bay Rum as a 'base', then giving it a somewhat similar 'spice' profile that my nose detects in Ogallala, but not 'quite' as spicy as Ogallala, just similar spice profile, then add on top of this a signature boozy rum experience. That is Atomic Age Bay Rum's scent IMO.
***Edit - 5 hours into the cologne, it's settling down into more of a skin scent and wow, it smells even better and the spicy notes really shine at this stage. There is a kind of pink pepper with a mix of mellow, low key fruit and rum on a base of bay essence at the core. This is some really nice stuff. Worthy of a high-end fragrance. Very natural smelling too. IMO, every stage of this scent is the best Bay Rum I've smelled and a better cologne than many of my designer and niche house fragrances. All the other Bay Rum scents on the market lack any boozy accord and are 'linear' (smell the same for the life of the scent that day), but Atomic Age Bay Rum actually shifts and changes some just like an expensive and professionally perfumed fragrance.
I think, despite the sometimes silly marketing of Douglas Smythe, he's really made something here and I think it's worthy of the hype. Atomic Age Bay Rum along with Sangre de Drago, PAA has a couple of 'real' fragrance gems that are much better than the price he's charging. I also want to give an honorable mention to the scent "The Beach". I smelled a sample and it seriously has a 'beach' smell to it. Hard to describe but it's a very original scent that is pretty good and is worth what he is charging.
***2nd EDIT - My perception of the notes in this fragrance (this is not any official note listing, just my nose's analysis)
Top Notes:
Boozy-Rum, Cinnamon-Alcohol
Mid Notes:
Apple, Freshly-Grated-Cinnamon, Pink Pepper, Berries, Oils-of-Twigs-attached to the berries
Base Notes:
Bay Leaf, Vanilla, Nutmeg, Woody-notes, Burned-wood (campfire)
The opening smells of boozy-rum and cinnamon-alcohol and nutmeg and bay leaf. The second stage I find the booziness settles down, but the rum stays somewhat boozy and that reveals the apple, very 'faint' berries-&-twigs' and zesty cinnamon and pink pepper. This is how it smells to my nose and I have yet to reach the final dry down, which I predict will keep the rum, bay leaf, nutmeg, apple and cinnamon notes to the finish. There is also an almost kind of 'baked apple' effect in the mix, which I think comes from the 'char' inside the oak barrel that was used to 'age' the ingredients he used at a certain stage.
