Tommy Bahama St. Barts (2023) Full Review – $30 Summer Scent
Summer.
Tommy Bahama Set Sail St. Barts is all about summer in a bottle, specifically, a Caribbean vacation.
This Tommy Bahama St. Barts review will describe its smell and performance and if it’s the right choice for you. You’ll understand why it’s a vacation in the bottle by the end.
With that, let’s sail into this review.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary
- Exclusively a summer scent
- All about citruses and aquatics
- Affordable on discounters
- A decent buy for the right price
- A similar fragrance to Creed Virgin Island Water
What Does Tommy Bahama St. Barts Smell Like?
The opening is exclusively bright citric lime with equal parts boozy tequila and aquatics in the background. In the first few minutes, the aquatics are faint and only amplify the lime’s freshness.
Lime mellows as the wear continues but retains dominance for the first 15-20 minutes. For a fragrance of this affordability, it’s considerably high-quality and authentic.
After this period, St. Barts has a very fresh aroma. The previous aquatics got significantly stronger, giving the scent a deeper salty oceanic tone. The booziness of tequila dissipated, and prominent green notes took its place.
The first few hours are mostly these fresh oceanic notes smoothed over by green accords.
The dry down starts with the faint addition of warm musk that lends a masculine touch. The rest of the wear is fresh, salty oceanic, greens, and musk nuances.
This simple scent has little scent development but always retains the aquatic and summery citrus backbone.
TOP NOTES
- Lime
- Tequila
- Sea Notes
- Agave
MID NOTES
- Salt
- Guava
- Green Notes
BASE NOTES
- Palm Leaf
- Vanille
- Musk
Performance
Performance is not Tommy Bahama St. Bart’s strong suit. On the skin, it lasts 4 – 5 hours with light projection that pushes out for the first hour before receding closer to the skin. It’s one of those fragrances that’s hard to overspray because it’s so light.
If you apply this in the morning, you can bet that you’ll have to reapply by lunchtime.
The seasonality and occasions are the same story. It is extremely light and lacks depth. Thus, it’s exclusively for warm weather, specifically summer.
As for the occasions, it has no special note that jumps out at a formal event. As well as the tequila note that is more laid back and emphasizes St. Bart’s casual wearability. So yes… only casual summer events.
Do you want to know the best part of the performance? Well, it’s a very likable fragrance. The laid-back nature is alluring and interesting, and it is hard to offend anyone.
Is Tommy Bahama St. Barts Worth It?
Currently, on discounters, a 100mL bottle costs $30. Compared to other fragrances like this, it has an equal or better aroma with a worse performance for a higher price.
It won’t be a bad buy if you get this under $25 because it smells excellent. But for $30, I’m not sold.
HOW DO THE PEOPLE RATE Tommy Bahama St. Barts?
Don’t just trust me; what do the masses think? This information is pulled from fragrantica.com. Providing a general estimate of what others think.
At the time of writing, St. Barts has 1,573 votes with a rating of 4.19 stars out of 5. Based on the cost-for-value metric, it is rated as good to great value.
Here are the top three pros and cons:
PROS
- Affordable price
- Perfect for summer daywear
- Captures the essence of summer in a bottle
CONS
- Scent may not last as long as desired
- Vanilla and leafy green notes may not be detectable to some
- Not a perfect match for Virgin Island Water
*The last con has more dislikes than likes.
Presentation
The 100mL bottle being reviewed was bought from FragranceX.com. The bottle is blue and curved, with the name on the front and palm tree on the back. The cap is gold with a white rope around it and partially clicks into place.
The box is white and blue with the name and concentration on the front. The batch code is on the bottom of both the box and bottle. Mine is 22158 FV2.
History
Tommy Bahama is a lifestyle brand. They are most notably known for their clothing.
Tommy Bahama St. Barts was released in 2007 and was the first of the set sail line. The other two notable fragrances are St. Kitts and Martinique. There are a few others on both the men’s and women’s sides. But St. Barts is by far the most popular.
FAQs
How Many Sprays Should I Apply?
Five to start. This is a light fragrance, so you can apply a full spray routine. However, if you ever need more, just double up around your neck.
If you need to know how to apply, try this article. It covers everything you need to know.
What is a Similar Fragrance?
Creed Virgin Island Water is a similar fragrance. St. Barts is actually a dupe of Virgin Island Water.
Final Words
Tommy Bahama St. Barts cologne has an excellent smell and is potentially an affordable option to the $400 summer king, Creed Virgin Island Water. The two have vastly different qualities, yet the resemblance is there.
St. Barts is a decent buy if you purchase, but I recommend waiting – if need be – to get the right price. Lastly, I currently own a 100mL bottle and am confident I won’t buy another one after this one’s gone, so do what you want with that information.
If you try St. Barts, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Do you not want to drop money on a cologne you’ve never smelt before? I don’t blame you. Check out Besuited Aroma’s decants. They are the cheapest and easiest way to experience new fragrances.