Been craving some fresher scent profiles. I’m a bit over the sweet scents currently. Grabbed this one from Maxaroma. This one is excellent. Opens up with a lime and citrus, with mint and Ginger. Smells very similar to a Gin & Tonic to my nose. This is going to be an excellent summer scent. Only draw back for me is that it lasted about 4-5 hours on my skin. Projects well for the first hour or so. This one is a spring summer/ daytime/ casual. Work safe be aware that it could be considered a boozy scent. This is my 3rd Micallef scent, I am very impressed so far with quality and the scent profiles. 8.5/10

So one of the very first posts when I started my journey in this group was about where to find Niche or designer Bay Rum fragrances as at the time this was one of my wife's favorite scent profiles on me. I think it still is, although we've both been on the journey together. Her collection while not nearly as sizable as mine is very respectable and she definitely knows what she likes! Anyways, enough digressing, one of the recommendations I got from a group member was to check out Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements - a shaving and grooming company that also makes quite a sizable number of fragrances and variations, especially on classic barbershop or barbershop adjacent fragrances like bay rum. Definitely worth checking out their fragrance offerings as they do dupes of classic fragrances that are out of print as it were. Anyways, based on that recommendation I ordered two from them, one of which was Atomic Age Bay Rum. This one has an intense blast of spices, mostly cinnamon that is quite pleasing and I wore it last night as my wind down fragrance. It did not disappoint and I could still smell it on my skin when I woke up this morning in a very pleasant way increasingly I'm thinking that applying a fragrance before bed is an excellent way to kick-start your day the next morning, when you still have the lovely base notes to enjoy. It's like an unexpected scent surprise first thing and it's not too intense because it's the lingering skin scent from the night before. Anyways this review is starting to drift into memoir and memory which is maybe the best way to describe this scent: as nostalgic for an imaginary memory. Top Notes: Authentic West Indian bay leaf, bright citrus. Heart/Mid Notes: Warm spices and subtle, earthy herbs. Dry Down/Base: Smooth notes of vanilla, oak, and a hint of coconut, resulting from the aging process. Key Characteristics: Zero clove, bold yet mellow, and smooth. While I love cloves in my food I find it difficult note in fragrance (looking at you Toy Boy) but maybe one day!