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Clubman "Special Reserve"

Guys -

I REALLY wanted to like this one. Seriously. You're talking to a guy here that, upon occasion, splashes the Veg with reckless abandon. I LOVE classic Clubman. I saw it there in the store... I HAD to do it.

I had to know.

First of all, why is this stuff the color of untreated sewage? I mean, it really IS the color of untreated sewage.

It smells like pure alcohol in the bottle, which is strange because it didn't really burn my neck like I thought it would. And that SMELL! I know things smell differently on different people, but this smelled like the powdery-est powder of powders, with a strange odor behind it that's sort of like coal tar, or some strange petroleum distillate. Or maybe like that black drawing salve that my mom used to put on deep splinters.

As the day wore on the weird tar smell went away, and all I could smell was the powder. I reeked of it. I felt like I was in a baby nursery or something.

I'm not so sure I'll be using any more of this stuff.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
Guys -

I REALLY wanted to like this one. Seriously. You're talking to a guy here that, upon occasion, splashes the Veg with reckless abandon. I LOVE classic Clubman. I saw it there in the store... I HAD to do it.

I had to know.

First of all, why is this stuff the color of untreated sewage? I mean, it really IS the color of untreated sewage.

It smells like pure alcohol in the bottle, which is strange because it didn't really burn my neck like I thought it would. And that SMELL! I know things smell differently on different people, but this smelled like the powdery-est powder of powders, with a strange odor behind it that's sort of like coal tar, or some strange petroleum distillate. Or maybe like that black drawing salve that my mom used to put on deep splinters.

As the day wore on the weird tar smell went away, and all I could smell was the powder. I reeked of it. I felt like I was in a baby nursery or something.

I'm not so sure I'll be using any more of this stuff.
shrubble:
So sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with the Special Reserve (so many of us simply :001_tt1: love the stuff), but there are many other products produced by Pinaud for you to try. :blushing:

Pinaud Website Online
http://www.clubmanonline.com/shgr.html

Clubman Special Reserve reveiws
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=P&t=60514

Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum Reviews
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=C&t=130045

Clubman Classic Vanilla Reviews
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=P&t=173813

Clubman (classic), AfterShave Reviews
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=P&t=5661

Clubman Lilac Vegetal Aftershave
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=P&t=7703

Clubman Musk Aftershave
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?ltr=P&t=163854

Christopher
proxy.php
 
I see some people talking about "Leather" in association with Special Reserve, but "Powder" was all I got out of it as well.

I use Clubman, Lilac Vegetal, and Virgin Island Bay Rum on a regular basis.
 
Special Reserve isn't bad....just different. Don't get rid of it yet. Use up about a quarter of the bottle before passing final judgement. As you know the stuff is strong so try applying it very lightly. You might grow to like it. Worked for me with AV Ice Blue. God I hated that stuff at first. :001_smile
 
Special Reserve isn't bad....just different. Don't get rid of it yet. Use up about a quarter of the bottle before passing final judgement. As you know the stuff is strong so try applying it very lightly. You might grow to like it. Worked for me with AV Ice Blue. God I hated that stuff at first. :001_smile

*GASP!* AV is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I don't have a huge assortment of aftershaves, but that was love at first splash. My skin leans towards being oily, so Nivea sensitive ASB makes me feel greasy. AV seems to have just enough glycerine in it though. And the menthol bomb is heavenly.

Back on topic, I am about to go on a bonanza of Clubman stuff. Planning to get Special Reserve, regular Clubman, Vanilla and some Lime Sec edc. Trying to knock out the less expensive stuff first. My ADs have flared up so much that I have a 5-sheet spreadsheet to keep track of my wants.:laugh:
 
I am about to go on a bonanza of Clubman stuff. Planning to get Special Reserve, regular Clubman, Vanilla and some Lime Sec edc. Trying to knock out the less expensive stuff first. My ADs have flared up so much that I have a 5-sheet spreadsheet to keep track of my wants.:laugh:

Clubmanonline.com has decent size samples of all the clubman products for a reasonable price. I just bought THE VEG, Special reserve, citrus Musk, and Lime Sec. I'm still working through them.
 
I posted about this in a thread long ago, but I'll throw it out there again. The first time I bought Special Reserve, it was a brackish brown color--like strong tea. I didn't like it at all and PiF'd it when I was putting together a package. Later, I was at my favorite Pinaud vendor and found it again, only now in a dark green color--deeper than, let's say, Hi Karate (don't hate me for saying that).

The fragrance, both out of the bottle and on me, was completely different. Woody, leathery, with the faintest touch of vegetal. I think it's fantastic. In fact, I wore it today and got a couple of compliments from people.

There are also older versions--I think that it's been marketed as Napoleon. I see it on eBay sometimes in glass bottles.

Anyway, my suggestion would be to try the green version if you see it somewhere. You're only out five or six bucks and you can always get rid of it on the BST.

Pinaud is an unbelievably good value. If only they were a little more serious about quality control and used glass bottles again, I'd be the happiest guy in the world. Even so, with regular Clubman, LV, Bay Rum, Classic Vanilla, Special Reserve and Citrus Musk, they're hard to beat. I'll even forgive them the abomination that is Tres Flores.
 
i've only bought two bottles of SR and both were brownish in color.strong and working leather scent.had to cut it with witch hazel and glycerin,otherwise i was still smelling of it the next day.never got a whiff of powder out of it.never seen the green version.
 
I get a smoky, leathery, powdery vibe from my SR. Its not my everyday choice, but I always like it when I wear it.
 
shrubble:
So sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with the Special Reserve (so many of us simply :001_tt1: love the stuff), but there are many other products produced by Pinaud for you to try. :blushing:

Hey guys, don't get me wrong here... I'm a HUGE fan of Pinaud. I've got the Clubman, the LV, the Bay Rum, the Talc, and the styptic. And I eyeball the Country Club Shampoo every time I go to the beauty store. I would never bad-mouth the producer of my beloved Clubman- that's why this experience was so bittersweet for me, which brings me to Nid's post (abridged a bit):

The Nid Hog said:
I posted about this in a thread long ago, but I'll throw it out there again. The first time I bought Special Reserve, it was a brackish brown color--like strong tea. I didn't like it at all and PiF'd it when I was putting together a package. Later, I was at my favorite Pinaud vendor and found it again, only now in a dark green color--deeper than, let's say, Hi Karate (don't hate me for saying that).

Pinaud is an unbelievably good value. If only they were a little more serious about quality control and used glass bottles again, I'd be the happiest guy in the world. Even so, with regular Clubman, LV, Bay Rum, Classic Vanilla, Special Reserve and Citrus Musk, they're hard to beat. I'll even forgive them the abomination that is Tres Flores.

This has my curiousity peaked a bit, now I MUST find a proper bottle of the stuff.

Den said:
Special Reserve isn't bad....just different. Don't get rid of it yet. Use up about a quarter of the bottle before passing final judgement. As you know the stuff is strong so try applying it very lightly. You might grow to like it. Worked for me with AV Ice Blue. God I hated that stuff at first.

I will try it again, heck maybe I'll like it better when the warmer weather rolls around.

One thing I will say is that SWMBO liked it on me, so that's a +1 if there ever was one.

As always gentlemen, thanks for the input.
 
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