My new aftershave blend - out for testing.
- Thread starter TheVez2
- Start date
My apologies KJ,
I reviewed the samples sent and tried to post early because this was going to be a busy month, however with the thread mixup I did not get it in until now.
Before I knew the ingredients, on my first smell test I would have swore you had made an Avon mix. I used PAA Lo Haiku soap during my samples because I thought it paired well with scents.
I sampled "A" first...I definitely got the oriental fragrance so I was going to guess Tia Winds(oriental), Wild Country (powder), and possibly a third component like Avon No. 7. The first thing that puzzled me was that "A" did not have the longevity of a 100% Avon scent. It did however stay with me 3-4 hours or so. I really liked the scent, dry down and was not too overbearing to wear to work.
After sampling "B" I was quite sure Avon Bracing Lotion had been added to mix to give it a kick. "B" definitely had better skin bracing qualities. The scent was a bit stronger and the longevity was a bit longer than "A" and the extra kick was nice. However "B" would be a mix that I would have to use sparingly in order to wear it to work.
Now that I have seen the ingredients, it intrigues me how much the mix hides the two familiar scents which I thought I would have been able to distinguish.
Great mix my friend, I have transferred them into glass and plan revisiting them again mid May.
Again, sorry so late in responding with my review.
jc
- Thread starter
- #63
Did you prefer one over the other?
Sorry for the late post! I've been wrapping up finals week at school so I've been too busy to shave... Anyway, my first impressions of A and B are that I was getting a somewhat similar smell from both just out of the bottle. They were both strong and gave me a distinct barbershop smell/vibe similar to Pinaud, but with a sort of warmer, sportier, spice-y type flare. I noticed that I believe it was B smelled a bit lighter for lack of a better term... A was a bit "deeper" or "darker" in scent, and I liked the lighter (but not weaker) scent of B a bit more than A. After my post-finals-week shave I tried A and wow, it gave a very solid burn! I felt it, and I really liked it... Additionally, I think I should note that despite doing about four passes on my neck, I didn't have any irritation following use of the blend. It also didn't burn the one weeper I got too much more than the rest of my face, which was just something I was thankful for. Once it was on, I felt like the smell lightened up a tad and feel like I got some floral hints out of it. It wasn't the typical aftershave scent I go for but I definitely could appreciate it. I could smell it well for a couple hours after application, which was a decent longevity. What I really liked about it and about other great aftershaves that I've tried is a strong reminder of it the next time you shower... There's nothing like hot water hitting you and having the strong scent of your aftershave from the day before reminding you, "Hey buddy, you smelled great!" Anyway, I can't wait to get my impression of B when I try it tonight! Thanks for the great mix @TheVez2 !
- Thread starter
- #65
Which did you prefer?
- Thread starter
- #66
That's a different scent entirely!
AA
Lol'd
Definitely A for me!
Just tried B for the first time, and I'm not sure if it was because I didn't do as many passes but it didn't have as much of a burn as A did. Also, it seemed much more classic barbershop-y once it was on my face, with less floral or spice scent than I got from A. I am definitely leaning toward B right now, it's a little bit closer to the scent that I look for... Great mix! look forward to using it more
I liked A well enough to make it my travel splash for my two weeks in Puebla Mexico. That and the bottle size was perfect. I have not regret my choice with tomorrow being my last day. The rest of my travel kit contains my GEM 1912 Junior, pack of GEM PTFE SS blades, Omega 10083 boar and CO Bigelow / Proraso green cream.
I've scored some L'Occitane Cade cream in a tub, L'Occitane Pour Homme EdT, L'Occitane Cade and Cedrat ASB samples, Chanel Allure Homme Blanche edition EdP and an Cohiba cuban cigar while here!
I've scored some L'Occitane Cade cream in a tub, L'Occitane Pour Homme EdT, L'Occitane Cade and Cedrat ASB samples, Chanel Allure Homme Blanche edition EdP and an Cohiba cuban cigar while here!
- Thread starter
- #72
So, here is my wrap up of this experiment. On a whim, I mixed up some Skin Bracer and Brut. Amazingly, to me, this mix smelled a lot like Hai Karate and similar to Jade East. Both are oriental scents that were very popular a few decades ago, and are very hard to find now. Avon Tai Winds has a similar scent profile, but is also pretty strong. I used my mix for a month straight and fell in love with it. I knew I had something special, but I wanted the opinion of others. I told OkieStubble about my mix, and he tried it and liked it. In our discussions, we discovered that I had used the Brut Splash-On and he had used the Brut Aftershave. So we both mixed up what the other had used to see if there was a difference. I still preferred my original mix, and he still preferred the Aftershave version.
There are two main differences between the Brut Splash-on and the Aftershave. The Splash-On is meant as an all-over body splash, so by design it is a little weaker in scent than the Aftershave. It also is lacking any menthol, while the Aftershave does have it. So, Sample A has a higher menthol content than Sample B. The Splash-On is also cheaper (and easier to find, in my area at least) than the Aftershave.
To my nose, the Splash-On version is more balanced and the scents blend the best. I don’t smell brut or skin bracer in the mix….. I just smell Hai Karate! In the Aftershave blend, I smell a bit of the brut notes peeking out making it smell a little bit off. OkieStubble preferred sample A, so I was curious if there would be any consensus if I sent the blends out to the masses to sample.
I sent the samples out to 7 testers.
Sample A is 50/50 Brut Aftershave/Skin Bracer
Sample B is 50/50 Brut Splash-On/Skin Bracer
Overall 5 out of 7 preferred Sample A. But what I found interesting the most is that some felt that Sample A had more alcohol burn than B, and other’s though B had more burn. Also, some said that Sample A was stronger in menthol, and others though B had more menthol. The fact of the matter, as mentioned before, is that A does have more menthol!
Thank you all for your time in testing and writing up your reviews, and I apologize again for the delays on my end. Feel free to play around with these recipes and possibly get something even more amazing!
There are two main differences between the Brut Splash-on and the Aftershave. The Splash-On is meant as an all-over body splash, so by design it is a little weaker in scent than the Aftershave. It also is lacking any menthol, while the Aftershave does have it. So, Sample A has a higher menthol content than Sample B. The Splash-On is also cheaper (and easier to find, in my area at least) than the Aftershave.
To my nose, the Splash-On version is more balanced and the scents blend the best. I don’t smell brut or skin bracer in the mix….. I just smell Hai Karate! In the Aftershave blend, I smell a bit of the brut notes peeking out making it smell a little bit off. OkieStubble preferred sample A, so I was curious if there would be any consensus if I sent the blends out to the masses to sample.
I sent the samples out to 7 testers.
Sample A is 50/50 Brut Aftershave/Skin Bracer
Sample B is 50/50 Brut Splash-On/Skin Bracer
Overall 5 out of 7 preferred Sample A. But what I found interesting the most is that some felt that Sample A had more alcohol burn than B, and other’s though B had more burn. Also, some said that Sample A was stronger in menthol, and others though B had more menthol. The fact of the matter, as mentioned before, is that A does have more menthol!
Thank you all for your time in testing and writing up your reviews, and I apologize again for the delays on my end. Feel free to play around with these recipes and possibly get something even more amazing!
I wanted to used both Samples a few more times before deciding for sure.
To me there a slight but noticeable difference in the scents, however I can't say that I prefer one over the other there.
I like the face feel of A better. And strangely enough that is due to the menthol. I'm not a big menthol fan. Skin Bracer by itself is too much menthol for me. That is what is strange about the A mixture. You would think the menthol would be at least as strong as Skin Bracer, but it isn't, or wasn't to me anyway.
So final answer is A!
Thanks for allowing me to participate in this KJ!
To me there a slight but noticeable difference in the scents, however I can't say that I prefer one over the other there.
I like the face feel of A better. And strangely enough that is due to the menthol. I'm not a big menthol fan. Skin Bracer by itself is too much menthol for me. That is what is strange about the A mixture. You would think the menthol would be at least as strong as Skin Bracer, but it isn't, or wasn't to me anyway.
So final answer is A!
Thanks for allowing me to participate in this KJ!
I absolutely agree.
I agree here also. However, I felt the extra talc, in the Splash-On version along with the strong talc in the Skin Bracer, seemed to make the powder note during the dry down, over the top? I personally, like the 'old school' talc smell in aftershaves, but many don't. But the weakness in scent of the Splash-On and the lightness of the vanilla scent of Skin Bracer, allowed the stronger powder from both to dominate the scent profile.
I agree here also. I could smell the Brut more too. But I did prefer the more smell of Brut and the menthol in A over the really powdery dry down in B.
I think with your experience and knowledge in aftershaves, you could play around with these recipes and get something even more amazing. We both know from our experiences KJ, there is nothing more exciting than falling upon that certain ingredient or formula, that gives something good, the potential to be really, really special.
I think your mix has this potential. And with a little love, work & patience, it can and could be absolutely great.
I'm always here to help if you want it.
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Thanks again, KJ, for asking me to participate. I am one of those who felt like A had a more balanced scent, but that B had more menthol. I'm not sure where that one came from. In the end, I plan to make up a full bottle of Blend A. To me, it is a nice way to get some Brut without, what is to me, something too powerful. I would probably not use Brut by itself, but the blend brings out it's best, I think. I will pick up a bottle of Brut at my next visit to Walgreens. I have an empty hot sauce bottle that is just waiting for a next blend. I think I will also experiment with a blend of Brut and Bootlegger's Green Freeze. It could be a perfect summer mix. I'll let you all know.
A (still). 
I am out of Brut right now, but I had an idea. To me, there's something about Pinaud Musk that hits some similar notes to Brut.
I tried a little hand mix of Musk w/ Skin Bracer. Not a bad mix. I'm going to try these blends, though, and see what they're all about. It's been a long time since I've smelled Hai Karate (and it was never really a big player for me anyway), but I like to play along.
I tried a little hand mix of Musk w/ Skin Bracer. Not a bad mix. I'm going to try these blends, though, and see what they're all about. It's been a long time since I've smelled Hai Karate (and it was never really a big player for me anyway), but I like to play along.
- Thread starter
- #78
I recently bought a bottle of Master Focus aftershave. after using it a couple times, I could detect some familiar notes from Skin Bracer and Brut. So I added a third part of Focus into my mix and I think it blends really nicely. Pretty sure I'm done tinkering with it now. It works for me. As my dad says, I Vezmerized it!
Nice!
After the testing, I ended up mixing the two samples together and adding some menthol and have really been enjoying it. Wife still comments on it also.
Thanks!
After the testing, I ended up mixing the two samples together and adding some menthol and have really been enjoying it. Wife still comments on it also.
Thanks!
I threw together a small 50/50 mix of Ivy Club Classic Splash and Barbasol Brisk. The color looks almost the same as your samples, a very light green. I shall try this the next time I shave, to at least get an idea of what you all are experiencing, though I know the Ivy Club isn't as strong as the original Brut.
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