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Barrister & Mann – Praise for the Barber of Seville

The Barbershop scent is considered a staple of the wet shaving world. A classic. A soap every wet shaver should have in their collection.

The funny thing is there doesn’t seem to be a standard definition of exactly what constitutes a “Barbershop”, or even which scent notes it should include.

For some, a Barbershop scent should be evocative of visiting a barber shop. And many of us have memories of visiting small town barbershops which smelled of talc, the kind they patted on your neck when you were done, or Pinaud Clubman, which seemed to always waft in the air. That memory may ring true if you grew up in New Jersey or Alabama, but what if you grew up in Torino or Marseilles? Were the smells the same? Or were you more likely to smell Proraso, Floid, Speick, Cella or something else?

Most of the more well known Barbershops seem to share some DNA with “Fougere” scents, which means Fern in French. A Fougere, as per Wikipedia, usually includes the scent notes of lavender, coumarin, and oakmoss, with the subset of Aromatic Fougere including additional herbs, spices or woods. A further subset is the Chypre, French for Cypress, which has a citrusy top note (maybe bergamot or lemon) and includes labdanum and also oakmoss

My experience is that in the attempt to capture a clean and fresh feel, which very often leans heavily on talc, some Barbershop fragrances can quickly descend into a very strong soapy odor and end up smelling reminiscent of laundry detergent. Of course, YMMV, but for me this was particularly true for A&E Barbieri Classico and Shave Dad/HC&C Yellow Submarine.

Barrister & Mann’s Seville has earned a reputation as the King of Barbershops. Whether or not this is true I can’t say because I’ve only tried a handful. But what I can say is Seville is delicate, intricate, deep, and rich, and has a floral and citrusy bouquet which is both sweet and warm and manages to be present but not overpowering. It contains some of the classic Fougere notes of lavender and oakmoss, but blends in patchouli, bergamot and lemon, to make a heady brew. In addition, the B&M base whips up a thick, yogurty, lather which few soaps can rival. Another equally delightful offering is Le Grand Chypre, which is more lemony, but equally complex and intoxicating, and arguably another take on the Barbershop scent. For those who haven’t tried them, I recommend both.
 
As soon as I laid nostril on the 1oz sample, I knew it was an instant buy. It remains one of my favorite scents.

It is nothing like any other barbershop scent I have tried. If you like the cleaner barbershop scents like CF Ghost town barber, you may not enjoy Seville. They are night and day to my nose.
 
If I may add an additional detail: "Chypre" in French does not mean Cypress, It means Cyprus, the name of the Island in the eastern Mediterranean sea but everything else checks out. I just read that the Island of Cyprus was apparently central to the perfume trade in antiquity and many of the aromatic plants used in perfumes grow there.

Before reading your post, I already knew what a Fougere is but as far as the "Chypre" word, I only knew it meant Cyprus (I'm French), I was not aware it was used to describe a category of fragrances. I guess we learn something new every day. I have never tried Barrister and Mann soaps, it's been on my list of to do. Great write up, thanks for the read.
 
If I may add an additional detail: "Chypre" in French does not mean Cypress, It means Cyprus, the name of the Island in the eastern Mediterranean sea but everything else checks out. I just read that the Island of Cyprus was apparently central to the perfume trade in antiquity and many of the aromatic plants used in perfumes grow there.

Before reading your post, I already knew what a Fougere is but as far as the "Chypre" word, I only knew it meant Cyprus (I'm French), I was not aware it was used to describe a category of fragrances. I guess we learn something new every day. I have never tried Barrister and Mann soaps, it's been on my list of to do. Great write up, thanks for the read.
Thanks @SaguaroSmart. Actually I meant to write Cyprus, that was a typo on my part. Anyway, glad you liked it 😀
 
'barbershop' is a broad field!
proraso green probably isn't the archetype barbershop scent, but i enjoy it!

proraso green truefitt hill feather january 2 2018.jpg
 
"Barbershop Scent" is definitely a large blanket ..... varying by international locale, historical time slot and social standing.

I just got Seville a couple days ago, think I'll try it tomorrow....smells great off the puck !
They were out of the A/S so still need to pick that up.

Also received Nordost....the richest Orange scent I've ever smelled.
 
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