My trip to Colonial Drug - Cambridge, MA
- Thread starter RUSHd
- Start date
I went to Colonial Drug last week, and they do have a ton of wet-shaving stuff there. If you want to walk in and get a safety razor, a variety of blades, pick from a selection of badger brushes, etc, this is the place to go. They did have some gaps in the shelves, I asked if they had some Proraso products somewhere that I wasn't seening, and I was told they are sold out, but would be getting shipments in may/june with the new packaging/products, etc. They offered to put me on a mailing list to be alerted when they get the products in, which was nice.
Prices were a bit higher than what you find online, but that is to be expected, and fine with me to get the opportunity to walk in and hold/smell/feel products in hand instead of just ordering online with just a picture to go on. Like I got a puck of Colonel Conk Amber Glycerine soap for $6.50, but it's $4.95 on Amazon. Totally worth it to be able to see and purchase it in person.
I picked up some italian shaving cream that was packaged like a block of cream cheese- a cardboard rectangle with wrapped block inside. The only word I could read was "menthol" on the package and I could see it was made in italy, with a drawing of a shaving brush with lather on it. Guess I can try that out... but I can't say I would have ordered it online without holding it in hand.
I asked the woman working there if her name was Kathy and she confirmed she was. She answered any question I had, and most importantly, she let me take my time and browse without bugging me or staring me down like an al queda shoplifter or something. They did have a ton of other products- dental hygiene, fragrances, mustache waxes, etc. They also had the high-end after-shave balms there too. I definitely recommend anyone who really needs to see things in person to check it out there and support them... not many brick & mortar places carry wet-shaving supplies, much less this much stuff! It's right next to the Upper Crust pizza place in Harvard Square.
I picked up:
Colonel Conk Amber puck & Almond Puck
Old Spice Shave Cream Tube - Musk
mystery italian Menthol shaving cream
She threw in some free samples of stuff... some shaving cream samples, some Jack Black beard lube, etc. I'll definitely go back when when they re-stock the Proraso stuff.
Prices were a bit higher than what you find online, but that is to be expected, and fine with me to get the opportunity to walk in and hold/smell/feel products in hand instead of just ordering online with just a picture to go on. Like I got a puck of Colonel Conk Amber Glycerine soap for $6.50, but it's $4.95 on Amazon. Totally worth it to be able to see and purchase it in person.
I picked up some italian shaving cream that was packaged like a block of cream cheese- a cardboard rectangle with wrapped block inside. The only word I could read was "menthol" on the package and I could see it was made in italy, with a drawing of a shaving brush with lather on it. Guess I can try that out... but I can't say I would have ordered it online without holding it in hand.
I asked the woman working there if her name was Kathy and she confirmed she was. She answered any question I had, and most importantly, she let me take my time and browse without bugging me or staring me down like an al queda shoplifter or something. They did have a ton of other products- dental hygiene, fragrances, mustache waxes, etc. They also had the high-end after-shave balms there too. I definitely recommend anyone who really needs to see things in person to check it out there and support them... not many brick & mortar places carry wet-shaving supplies, much less this much stuff! It's right next to the Upper Crust pizza place in Harvard Square.
I picked up:
Colonel Conk Amber puck & Almond Puck
Old Spice Shave Cream Tube - Musk
mystery italian Menthol shaving cream
She threw in some free samples of stuff... some shaving cream samples, some Jack Black beard lube, etc. I'll definitely go back when when they re-stock the Proraso stuff.
Blackbeard, I think your mystery soap is Valobra with menthol. Supposed to be a great non-tallow Italian soft soap.
I think you are right on the money. It's hard to read the writing on the packaging as it's all fancy cursive style, plus it's in italian. I still haven't tried it yet, but I am looking forward to giving it a shot. It definitely smells good. How does a soft soap differ from a shave cream? I always thought shave soaps were in puck form, by definition, and shave creams were softer. (P.S. I am a newbie, so I know my speculation is probably mostly wrong!)
I have been working through the other purchases for now. I am trying to go a week or two with the same products to see how they work out, how they react on my skin, etc. I think the Valobra with Menthol would probably make a nice superlather with my C.O. Bigelow eucoliptus shaving cream... which I am guessing will be nice and cool once summer starts to set in.
So this is how it begins... I have managed to use all the products I owned before getting new stuff.... but I still haven't used the Valobra with Menthol that I picked up on my last trip to colonial drug, or the Colonel Conk almond soap. Now I am probably going back tomorrow... who knows what I will come home with and stash into my slowly growing shelf-o-shave stuff in the bathroom! Maybe I'll use that Valobra soft shave soap with my morning routine so I won't feel too guilty...
Not sure what I want to pick up... I will be certainly checking out the brush selection there. I love that I will be able to look at then hold brushes before making the purchase. I want to upgrade one of my weak links... and my VDH badger brush is solid, but it does poop more hairs than I am comfortable with. So I will browse the selection. It seemed like from my last visit they only carry high end stuff.
Also I want to check out their AS balm selection... I'd like to upgrade from Nivea (which has worked in noble fashion) but I know there's got to be a superior performer than something off the shelf from Walmart... I know they also carry witch hazel, rose water, among other stuff. I'll have to do some research and read some reviews tonight so I have a vague idea of what I am looking at....
Anyway, let the wet-shave shopping part 2 pre-game begin!
Not sure what I want to pick up... I will be certainly checking out the brush selection there. I love that I will be able to look at then hold brushes before making the purchase. I want to upgrade one of my weak links... and my VDH badger brush is solid, but it does poop more hairs than I am comfortable with. So I will browse the selection. It seemed like from my last visit they only carry high end stuff.
Also I want to check out their AS balm selection... I'd like to upgrade from Nivea (which has worked in noble fashion) but I know there's got to be a superior performer than something off the shelf from Walmart... I know they also carry witch hazel, rose water, among other stuff. I'll have to do some research and read some reviews tonight so I have a vague idea of what I am looking at....
Anyway, let the wet-shave shopping part 2 pre-game begin!
I went and checked out this place over the weekend. Nice store had most merkur razors and lots of blades. They also carry all of the TOBS creams. I walked out with some coconut shave cream. Smells awesome and reminds me of a beach vacation when used with some bay rum AS. They also stock I coloniali products and castle forbes and a bunch of others. They are going to be getting in a bunch more soaps and shaving supplies soon they said. She gave me some samples and they are very knowledgeable. Nice to finally check this place out. They also have tons of colognes.
Is it clear to everyone that they have relocated to Newton?
350 Watertown St, Newton, MA 02458
(617) 864-2222
and here is a link to an article profiling their departure from Harvard Square:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/3/28/past-tense-colonial-drug/
350 Watertown St, Newton, MA 02458
(617) 864-2222
and here is a link to an article profiling their departure from Harvard Square:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/3/28/past-tense-colonial-drug/
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