Master Blue Aftershave

Master Blue is an excellent, high quality aftershave that does the job very well. I find it to have a better menthol freeze than anything I've tried thanks to the menthol crystals (yeah, I know, what about Osage Rub, but this one freezes me even more than OR!), and has a long lasting aroma that is much better than Aqua Velva, if you want to compare it to that. The glycerin moisturizes well, the wonderful aroma hangs around lightly all day, and for the price ($5.95 for a 15 ounce bottle) I don't know if there's a better value out there. The Master line of aftershaves is a quality product, and this one definitely falls into the upper echelon of the Master brand of aftershaves.

My local barber had a few bottles in for the first time, so I bought one. He said it's their version of Aqua Velva. I paid about the same from him as I would have getting it online + shipping, so I consider the price to be break even.

I shaved yesterday so didn't need to use any (hence all my N/As), but splashed some on anyway about 3 minutes ago. Also splashed some on back of hand 30 minutes ago while he rang it up.

Alcohol punches you in the face first. Next thing you smell is menthol - lots of it. No discernible scents other than menthol, at least to my nose, or maybe it's too soon and they've not showed up yet. But that may be a good thing if you're not crazy about AV's scent, which I'm not.

It's already very cooling - not as cooling as Osage or Alpine but, again, I'm not fresh shaved either, so I can't comment on the soothing factor.

Six minutes later, the menthol scent has died down, but a moderate cool remains wherever the stuff was applied. And the back of my hand, while tingly, has been totally scentless for some time now.

Even though I don't yet know how much agony will result on a freshly shaved face (it's Master, so I can guess), this will be a good one to hang on to for those occasions when I really need an A/S with no residual scent, or as little as possible, and don't want to feel like I'm rubbing ice cubes on my face.

EDIT, 8:30 PM: The review was written this morning; scent did vanish pretty quickly. However, I just had a good SE shave and reapplied. Burn was fast; didn't last as long as I recall Master's BR lasting. Three seconds in, it gets MUCH cooler feeling than this morning on unshaved skin. Still, coolness is mild; not quite equal to Alpine Menthol and doesn't approach Osage Rub levels, but it's still there. Scent: ditto this morning. New application was 10 minutes ago; scent already fading again, and for once I'm counting that as a good thing. Skin doesn't feel straight alcohol dry, so I guess the moisturizing does work, too.

Overall, good stuff. A really unobtrusive A/S that does the cooling job well, so I'd recommend it.

Note - My bottle says "Master Blue", not "Master Ocean Blue". As far as I can determine they're the same thing.

No surprises here - a nice Master take on Aqua Velva. Same great glycerine and menthol, a very slightly different fragrance - not quite as strong and a little less complex than Aqua Velva, but definitely reminiscent.

Soothing and moisturizing (thanks to the glycerine), this is a great choice.

ALSO, a plug - I got mine from Atlanta Barber Supply; in fact, they sent me a bottle by accident (I had ordered Lord and Master). I sent them an email and they responded within minutes. They very graciously offered to send me the correct item gratis - highly recommended.