Calling expert noses - help me find a modern alternative to Vintage Gillette Sun-Up

[jamesspo]

Hi there Gents. I love the smell of Gillette Sun-Up aftershave, and I'd like to find something modern (both AS and Cologne if possible) that's as close to it as possible. It's the fragrance I'm interested in, not its other qualities. I can always roll my own AS from a similar cologne. I could go buy every aftershave/cologne on the market, but I imagine quite a few folks here have sampled a good number of then via directly buying, or pass-arounds already, so I'm trying to leverage that collective knowledge. Don't ask me to describe how it smells.. I can't do that, that's why I need an expert nose for hire. I'm looking for a couple of folks that given a sample, can point me in the right direction. For extra credit, maybe break it down into its various fragrance notes so I can do better searches on Basenotes, etc.

If you're interested, have a great sniffer (and memory of scents), and have sampled a lot of stuff, post here and I'll select a couple to receive samples to check out.

 

[mblakele]

Take a look at these past discussions if you have not seen them: inconclusive, but still worth reading.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/273501-How-to-describe-Gillette-Sun-Up

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/251826-A-suitable-replacement-for-Gillette-Sun-Up

 

[jamesspo]

Yep, I've seen those (and commented in one), but thanks - Ironhammer and I are on the same quest. AV Ice Sport has some similarity, but I'm trying to get closer if I can (fully acknowledging that there may be no such thing). We've asked Gillette to bring it back, but that doesn't seem terribly likely .

Take a look at these past discussions if you have not seen them: inconclusive, but still worth reading.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/273501-How-to-describe-Gillette-Sun-Up

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/251826-A-suitable-replacement-for-Gillette-Sun-Up

 

[rebos]

I'll be staying tuned. Maybe we have a couple chemists or scent experts who could take a crack at formulating something with sun-up affinities . . . or maybe this ephemeral concoction is simply a product of its time, the essence of which is never to be repeated. . .

 

[mblakele]

My apologies for not noticing your participation in those threads - and best of luck with your quest. I think my nose is fairly good, but my memory for scents is not. So I will not volunteer, but I look forward to the results. We have several good soapers on this forum, but I have not noticed as many perfumers.

Maybe dcobranchi could help? http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/279212-Will-the-real-quot-Old-Spice-quot-please-stand-up was revealing.

 

[dcobranchi]

Duplicating an out-of-production AS would be a whole lot more difficult than comparing two existing ones. The chemists who specialize in flavors and fragrances have some pretty specialized equipment (and trained noses). I checked BaseNotes and there's no description of the scent. Maybe if someone could describe the scent (similar to the way they do at BaseNotes) I could attempt to find a blend of current AS and/or colognes that approximate it.

 

[jamesspo]

Thanks Daryl. I understand the complexity on this. I'm not really shooting for a duplication, just trying to get in the ball park. I will try to make a concerted effort to deconstruct the scent, but I'm just lousy at that. As I mentioned, if you (or anyone) are good at breaking these down, I'll be happy to send you a sample.

Duplicating an out-of-production AS would be a whole lot more difficult than comparing two existing ones. The chemists who specialize in flavors and fragrances have some pretty specialized equipment (and trained noses). I checked BaseNotes and there's no description of the scent. Maybe if someone could describe the scent (similar to the way they do at BaseNotes) I could attempt to find a blend of current AS and/or colognes that approximate it.

 

[jamesspo]

Hey, here we go...

http://www.scentmatchers.com/home.html

I'll check these folks out. It's not cheap, but if a few are interested, a group buy might be possible. I'll investigate.

 

[dcobranchi]

Here's a thread that might provide a hint: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/273501-How-to-describe-Gillette-Sun-Up

Lavender, Rosewood, Sandalwood. And modern Foamy goo is supposed to smell the same.

 

[mblakele]

That thread is one of the links from my earlier post. James must love us.

Anyway, I would not be surprised if rosewood is key to the scent. At http://www.aroma-pure.com/rosewood.htm they say it is high in linalool, which is a pretty common scent component. But http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood makes it sound more complex than just linalool. And rosewood does not seem to be such a common scent ingredient.

The Gillette Foamy ingredients do not help:

Water, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Isobutane, Laureth 23, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Propane, Fragrance, Butane, BHT

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Atkinsons_English_Lavender might be worth trying:

Lavender, Bergamot, Rosemary, Clary Sage, Rosewood, Tonka Bean, Musk, Moss

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Lorenzo_Villoresi_Vetiver_Fragrance is also supposed to have some of those notes.

Honeybee Shaving Soap Fragrances lists rosewood as an option, and other Honeybee products use lavender and sandalwood. Sue is not registered as a vendor here, but if you PM her (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/member.php/935-NE_Sue) she might be able to help. Or her email address is on her web page at http://www.honeybeesoaps.net/. She makes good soaps, and I also see some colognes listed on the web site. Asking her to create a custom cologne based on your sample might be cheaper than the scentmatchers option.

 

[dcobranchi]

I sent Gillette an email asking if they'd sell me some of their Foamy EO blend.

 

[rebos]

I think we would need to contact someone at gillette with knowledge of products this old. I don't know how willing they would be to divulge the formula. The group buy may be a good idea, depending on whether a close match could be produced. This is all fascinating.

 

[jamesspo]

That thread is one of the links from my earlier post. James must love us.

Anyway, I would not be surprised if rosewood is key to the scent. At http://www.aroma-pure.com/rosewood.htm they say it is high in linalool, which is a pretty common scent component. But http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood makes it sound more complex than just linalool. And rosewood does not seem to be such a common scent ingredient.

The Gillette Foamy ingredients do not help:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Atkinsons_English_Lavender might be worth trying:


http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Lorenzo_Villoresi_Vetiver_Fragrance is also supposed to have some of those notes.

Honeybee Shaving Soap Fragrances lists rosewood as an option, and other Honeybee products use lavender and sandalwood. Sue is not registered as a vendor here, but if you PM her (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/member.php/935-NE_Sue) she might be able to help. Or her email address is on her web page at http://www.honeybeesoaps.net/. She makes good soaps, and I also see some colognes listed on the web site. Asking her to create a custom cologne based on your sample might be cheaper than the scentmatchers option.

Thanks for all the tips! I actually already pulled the trigger on the scentmatchers, so we'll see how they do. It'll be cologne strength. It's kind of neat, actually..but not cheap. Your first bottle (3.4 oz) is 60 bucks. Subsequent bottles are 40. You get to choose among a few glass bottles, and you get a "label" put on the front of your choice. I called it "Bond", as a friendly gesture to IronHammer . If it doesn't pan out (or maybe just in parallel). I'll see what Honeybee can do as well.

Interestingly, they did not ask for a sample, or at least their automated search tool apparently knew that they could do Sun Up (had to type it in) without a sample. I can't imagine that they would have something like that in stock, so maybe someone else asked for it before and they have the recipe already worked out? If it turns out they do need a sample, it said they would contact me. It's got a full money back guarantee if not satisfied as well.

Interesting on the Linalool. I noticed that on the Arko label (love the scent of that), and wondered if that was a key scent component. It would be interesting if Sun Up has similar chemicals at work!

I sent Gillette an email asking if they'd sell me some of their Foamy EO blend.

Cool! I wouldn't hold my breath, but who knows. A few of us have written to them asking to bring back Sun-up. We got personal, but semi-canned responses, which was better than what I was expecting.

I think we would need to contact someone at gillette with knowledge of products this old. I don't know how willing they would be to divulge the formula. The group buy may be a good idea, depending on whether a close match could be produced. This is all fascinating.

Yep. we'll see how the scentmatchers thing goes. If others are interested, I can certainly buy for others, or maybe try to work a deal with them.

 

[oldspiceboy]

Holy hand grenade Batman there I was last week shaving with my fatboy and using Foamy just enjoying the scent and thinking. Man I love this scent! Too bad there isn't an aftershave to go along with it.

Then I find this thread.....

Here's hoping its a match!

 

[rebos]

Foamy is the old canned goo which is no longer made, correct? But those old cans still work and people still use 'em?

Anyone know how similar the smell of Foamy and Sun Up are?

 

[oldspiceboy]

Foamy is the old canned goo which is no longer made, correct? But those old cans still work and people still use 'em?

Anyone know how similar the smell of Foamy and Sun Up are?

Foamy is still around. At least down here in the states. In fact I still use it.
As far as the similarities between it and Sun Up goes. Some people say its the same.

 

[Cearball]

Thanks for all the tips! I actually already pulled the trigger on the scentmatchers, so we'll see how they do. It'll be cologne strength. It's kind of neat, actually..but not cheap. Your first bottle (3.4 oz) is 60 bucks. Subsequent bottles are 40. You get to choose among a few glass bottles, and you get a "label" put on the front of your choice. I called it "Bond", as a friendly gesture to IronHammer . If it doesn't pan out (or maybe just in parallel). I'll see what Honeybee can do as well.

Interestingly, they did not ask for a sample, or at least their automated search tool apparently knew that they could do Sun Up (had to type it in) without a sample. I can't imagine that they would have something like that in stock, so maybe someone else asked for it before and they have the recipe already worked out? If it turns out they do need a sample, it said they would contact me. It's got a full money back guarantee if not satisfied as well.

Interesting on the Linalool. I noticed that on the Arko label (love the scent of that), and wondered if that was a key scent component. It would be interesting if Sun Up has similar chemicals at work!




Cool! I wouldn't hold my breath, but who knows. A few of us have written to them asking to bring back Sun-up. We got personal, but semi-canned responses, which was better than what I was expecting.



Yep. we'll see how the scentmatchers thing goes. If others are interested, I can certainly buy for others, or maybe try to work a deal with them.

How did the sun up clone turn out in the end?

 

[MisterGrain]

Barrister & Mann Reserve Classic

Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Sun Down

Quite a bump; a lot of things have changed in six years.

 

[Bhugo]

Reserve Classic is spectacular!

 

[Villalobos]

Grab your bible, this looks like a revival wondering how the scentmatchers did with sun up!