Crabtree & Evelyn — West Indian Lime
Essence
West Indian Lime is a crisp, dry, slightly spicy lime cologne — a budget-friendly, gentlemanly “gin-and-tonic” citrus that earned a quiet cult following before Crabtree & Evelyn’s commercial decline took it off shelves. Launched in 2007, it was not wholly new: it revived the spirit of the house’s much older discontinued “Extract of West Indian and Sicilian Limes,” and it sits within a long British tradition of West Indian lime colognes alongside Geo. F. Trumper, Truefitt & Hill, and Bronnley. The appeal is value and wearability: a clean, tart lime that doesn’t collapse into sweetness, supported by grassy vetiver and a soft woody-spicy drydown.
Scent Profile
The opening is a blast of fresh, zesty lime — closer to freshly squeezed juice than candied lime soda. Crucially, and unlike many West Indian lime scents, it stays tart rather than turning sweet. As the citrus fades, grassy vetiver comes forward, and a quiet spice accord of coriander seed, ginger, and nutmeg adds a peppery sparkle; one wearer likens the ginger lift to the effect in Dior Declaration. Juniper contributes a conifer, gin-like brightness that, with the lime, genuinely evokes a gin and tonic — a comparison many reviewers reach for independently. The base is light woods, cedar and sandalwood, plus the grassy vetiver, which gives it more tenacity than a pure citrus. The coriander reads as seed, an aromatic gin-blend element, rather than leaf. The catalog note set matches the documented pyramid; some marketing copy adds mandarin, rosemary, and orris, which don’t all appear there — a minor record discrepancy in the heart and base.
Performance
Performance is modest, as is typical for both the cologne concentration and the house. Most wearers report roughly three hours on skin, while one logged “good lasting power (6 hours from 4 sprays)” thanks to the vetiver, “but the sillage is weak.” Projection is intimate, averaging around three hours. This is a refreshing, close-wearing splash that benefits from layering with the matching shower gel, aftershave balm, and shaving cream, all of which were well regarded. Reapplication is expected for all-day wear.
Wearing Context
This is a warm-weather daytime workhorse for summer, casual settings, the office, dinner, and dates. Marketed masculine but functionally unisex, several women reviewers call it the only citrus they can tolerate. Its tart, clean character makes it a safe, fresh reach with low offense risk in close quarters. The vetiver-and-spice drydown gives it slightly more reach into spring and fall than a pure citrus cologne would have, but it is fundamentally a hot-weather refresher.
Comparisons & DNA
Its most-cited reference is Paco Rabanne Sport, which one wearer found “near identical… both sadly now discontinued, both really good.” Reviewers also liken it to Penhaligon’s Lords, which has a woodier, spicier finish, and contrast it favorably against sweeter, fleeting lime offerings like Geo. F. Trumper Extract of Limes. For an in-production substitute, seekers are steered toward Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Limon Verde. It also reads as a spiritual successor to the house’s own vintage “Extract of West Indian and Sicilian Limes.” Among Crabtree & Evelyn’s own colognes it stands apart — fans of West Indian Lime did not necessarily warm to the house’s Indian Sandalwood or Moroccan Myrrh.
Reception
Reception is polarized at the extremes but broadly positive among citrus fans. The negative camp finds it thin and synthetic — dismissed by one as “synthetic, cheap laundry detergent” and by another as “unfocused, somewhat blurry and soapy.” The much larger positive camp prizes its price-to-quality ratio, calling it “a bit of a dark horse” that, “if you look at price to performance, it’s undoubtedly the best,” and noting it “smells like expensive bathrooms.” Juniper and conifer enthusiasts especially embraced its gin-like juniper-vetiver interplay. The net read is a well-liked, honest, inexpensive lime whose detractors are really objecting to budget materials and weak performance rather than the composition.
Versions & Reformulation
The main complication is the brand’s corporate turbulence rather than any reformulation of the juice. The fragrance was reported as returning around mid-2018, but the house went into severe decline near 2019, closing most US stores, and the cologne disappeared from the US site. A later full rebrand pivoted the company toward an eco, world-inspired identity, and the older line including West Indian Lime was retired. A cologne-and-body-wash duo lingered on the UK site and at some retailers after the US discontinuation, so availability was region- and time-dependent rather than a single clean cutoff. There is also a separate, long-discontinued vintage “Extract of West Indian and Sicilian Limes” that predates the 2007 cologne.
Acquisition Notes
Discontinued in its original form and now a hunt. When it was on shelves it was genuinely cheap — under $30 for 100 ml on sale, against a list price around $40 — versus much higher post-discontinuation asking prices. The matching bath line of shower gel, aftershave balm, and shaving cream is excellent and worth grabbing if found. Third-party “type” recreations are not the original and fall outside reliable sourcing. The target is the original cologne in sealed boxes from reputable resellers; UK stock outlasted US stock, so region matters.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The 2007 release was effectively a revival; the house had sold a West Indian and Sicilian lime back in the 1970s, “in lovely bottles, with cork stoppers that leaked EVERYWHERE.”
- The vintage “Extract of West Indian and Sicilian Limes” was reportedly among then-Prince Charles’s personal fragrances.
- The juniper-and-lime combination is so gin-evocative that reviewers repeatedly describe it as “a gin and tonic” or “London dry gin,” mirroring an actual gin botanical blend.
- Its closest dupe, Paco Rabanne Sport, is also discontinued, compounding the orphaned-fan problem.