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Considering Aftershaves

I’ve kind of been wanting to try a new aftershave. There are lots that have caught my eye as I read things here on B&B. In alphabetical order:

Cella
Floïd Vigoroso
Lea
La Toja
Lucky Tiger
Osage Rub
Razorock Irish Countryside
Speick

And then
A bay rum
A lavender
Something citrusy
Something by Stirling
 
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CzechCzar

Use the Fat, Luke!
I’ve kind of been wanting to try a new aftershave. There are lots that have caught my eye as I read things here one B&B. In alphabetical order:

Cella
Floïd Vigoroso
Lea
La Toja
Lucky Tiger
Osage Rub
Razorock Irish Countryside
Speick

And then
A bay rum
A lavender
Something citrusy
Something by Stirling
Do you want a splash or balm?
 
Speick would have the citrus-lavender combo and is a very soothing aftershave. The scent will last at most an hour. That is fine by me, I don't really want an aftershave to linger all day.

La Toja has a Drakkar Noir cologne type of scent that starts strong and then tones down. It will stay around maybe a couple of hours. It is also good at soothing irritation.

Stirling has Sharp Dressed Man which would get close to the Green Irish Tweed type scent in a good aftershave.

For Bay Rum, there are a lot of variations on that theme. Captain's Choice is pretty popular around here. For a more barbershop type aftershave, you could go with Stephen or Gabels from the barber supply store.

Proraso Red is an amber/woody type of aftershave that is really nice in cold weather. Not too far away from Clubman Vanilla or some of the Floids, but no menthol.
 
Speick would have the citrus-lavender combo and is a very soothing aftershave. The scent will last at most an hour. That is fine by me, I don't really want an aftershave to linger all day.

La Toja has a Drakkar Noir cologne type of scent that starts strong and then tones down. It will stay around maybe a couple of hours. It is also good at soothing irritation.

Stirling has Sharp Dressed Man which would get close to the Green Irish Tweed type scent in a good aftershave.

For Bay Rum, there are a lot of variations on that theme. Captain's Choice is pretty popular around here. For a more barbershop type aftershave, you could go with Stephen or Gabels from the barber supply store.

Proraso Red is an amber/woody type of aftershave that is really nice in cold weather. Not too far away from Clubman Vanilla or some of the Floids, but no menthol.
Thank you very much for the descriptions. That helps. Yes, I’ve seen people seem to like the Captain's Choice bay rum. I haven’t heard of Stephen or Gabels (at least not to my recollection). I’ve seen other barbershop brands although I can’t think of them at the moment, either. (It’s after 1:00 a.m. My brain is winding down for the night.)

As for Stirling, I was browsing their website the other day, and a lot of them sounded good. Must be why a lot of people here buy them.

I tend to like an aftershave to linger for a few hours. I tried Skin Bracer the other day. I could still smell it the next day before I took my shower. Talk about long-lasting!

I actually have the Proraso red. I bought the soap first, and I liked the scent so much, I bought the pre- and aftershave to go with it.
 
I am very new to this, but I wanted to comment that I really enjoy the RazoRock Irish Countryside soap. It's got such a pleasant green/dairy scent to it, but I'm actively concerned about how well that scent combo would carry over to an aftershave.

I see the soap itself is a mere $6.99 for a bowl at Italian Barber at the moment.

Another penny from my pocket regarding Stirling's splashes. They are almost universally lovely and there's a lot of great citrus options to choose from. Stirling's Bay Rum splash is also quite nice. $10.50 nets you a sampler of four different scents, and in my experience, a 5ml sample bottle is enough for 6-8 generous shaves - probably more if you're not addicted to the stuff like I am.
 
As for Stirling, I was browsing their website the other day, and a lot of them sounded good. Must be why a lot of people here buy them.
They're great. I have a bottle of Duke which I use on special occasions. The scent lasts and they are heavy on the menthol, which I like.

Certainly try Osage Rub. Cold goodness. Scent does not linger too long. I do like the scent but it's not something I'd want to be smelling like 24/7. If you do not like menthol though stay away. It tears me up every time, although I practically bathe in the stuff.
 
They're great. I have a bottle of Duke which I use on special occasions. The scent lasts and they are heavy on the menthol, which I like.

Certainly try Osage Rub. Cold goodness. Scent does not linger too long. I do like the scent but it's not something I'd want to be smelling like 24/7. If you do not like menthol though stay away. It tears me up every time, although I practically bathe in the stuff.
No, I am a fan of menthol. I was asking about people's favorite menthol aftershaves in a different thread. Osage Rub came up numerous times. A couple people mentioned the Bootlegger's version with 1/2 Osage Rub and 1/2 something I forgot.
 
Osage Rub is fantastic as a finishing touch. I wouldn't consider it a long-lasting aftershave, just a brief menthol/eucalyptus blast. If it is too strong, just dilute with a bit of witch hazel in the palm of your hand. You can also mix with other aftershaves right before applying them.
 
A thing you might wanna know about Floïd Vigoroso. It provides a great post shave feel, BUT, it smells very powdery and the scent sticks around a little longer than most splashes. So you gotta be into that powderiness. I can live with it when it subsides quickly (like with Clubman), but always found Floïd a bit much.

An outstanding aftershave if you dig the scent profile.
 
A thing you might wanna know about Floïd Vigoroso. It provides a great post shave feel, BUT, it smells very powdery and the scent sticks around a little longer than most splashes. So you gotta be into that powderiness. I can live with it when it subsides quickly (like with Clubman), but always found Floïd a bit much.

An outstanding aftershave if you dig the scent profile.
I've seen people say that Pinaud Clubman is powdery. It doesn't seem that way to me. I love Pinaud Clubman. I have an old bottle of Jade East, and that definitely smells like baby powder. It's one I won't use very often.
 
I've seen people say that Pinaud Clubman is powdery. It doesn't seem that way to me. I love Pinaud Clubman. I have an old bottle of Jade East, and that definitely smells like baby powder. It's one I won't use very often.

The “powder” note seems to be tricky, and highly subjective. Some people will experience iris as powdery, lavender as powdery, some people don’t smell any powder in anything. I’m guessing it has to do with personal associations (just like Arko and urinal cakes haha).

If you don’t smell a powdery note in Clubman, there’s a solid chance you won’t smell one in Floïd. Which is a good thing I guess (unless you love powdery notes). For me, some powderiness is alright, feels clean. But it can quickly become too much and eclipse all the other nice notes in there.
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
I love the Cella red splash, great face feel afterwards.

I second @Atlantic59 on the Sterling Sharp Dressed Man. I use their soap and matching splash, it is hands down my favorite scent. So glad I found them. I used to do Queen Charlotte GIT type until they closed up shop.

The Barrister & Mann Reserve Lavender splash is also very nice, and great face feel.

Those are the only ones on your list I have, but I just got the Floid The Original re-release. I don't know what Vigaroso is but the Original is awesome, although a bit pricey. If you're familiar with Clubman and like it, you'll love Floid The Original.
 
I love the Cella red splash, great face feel afterwards.

I second @Atlantic59 on the Sterling Sharp Dressed Man. I use their soap and matching splash, it is hands down my favorite scent. So glad I found them. I used to do Queen Charlotte GIT type until they closed up shop.

The Barrister & Mann Reserve Lavender splash is also very nice, and great face feel.

Those are the only ones on your list I have, but I just got the Floid The Original re-release. I don't know what Vigaroso is but the Original is awesome, although a bit pricey. If you're familiar with Clubman and like it, you'll love Floid The Original.
I've only tried a few aftershaves so far. Pinaud Clubman is my favorite, but like in your conversation with Marco, why pay more for something that is very similar (especially when I already know I really like Pinaud Clubman)?

The only other AS (splash not balm or gel) I have *purchased* is Proraso red. I liked the scent of the soap so much I bought the other "red" products (pre- and aftershave). I have what remains of my Dad's old Skin Bracer. I have, what probably belonged to one of my brothers, Faberge Brut 33 and Swank Jade East (bottles half full or less). I recently received a gift of a sample of vintage William's Aqua Velva (yellow, not blue) from @AnimalCatcher. These are all my AS splashes.

To list again: Pinaud Clubman, Proraso red (both of which I purchased), Skin Bracer (which was Dad's), Brut 33 & Jade East (I'm guessing belonged to a brother), and yellow Aqua Velva.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I have a few favorites that work for myself.
Razorock Emperor- Creed Adventus knock off, has some staying power.
Ogallala Bayrum with sandal wood, has some clove but when it dry's down it slowly changes to a sweet clean Bayrum scent with some remnants of clove(I like clove myself) . Good staying power.
Fine fresh vetiver- might be discontinued, real nice scent that lingers for hrs. Good staying power.
Razorock XXX- When you applied wet it might not turn your crank but as it dries down it has mellow clean scent with a twist. Good staying power.
I like to dap a little mid left arm and test scent every once in a while to see if it is still emulating scent. When applied to the face you nose sensors will tune it out after 10- 15 minutes and only the odd whiff of scent.
 
Some great splashes on the list. Here's my thoughts on the ones you have listed.

Cella - a nice scent and good performance. Kind of like a citrusy italian scent perhaps a touch of barbershop. I am terrible at describing scents, but I was a fan of this one.
Lucky Tiger - this is my go to no-scent or evening shave splash. Scent lasts about 1 minute and is a fresh orange scent. I highly recommend it and will always have it in the den for evening or unscented shaves.
Speick - I really enjoy Speick, the lavender-ish scent is great and performs well. Not too much of an alcohol blast or sting, just a good all around'er, but scent lasts 1-2 hours for me.

Something by Stirling - I like Stirling splashes, they are powerful to me, from a good alcohol sting to long lasting scent. I have Dunshire (Aqua de Gio scent) that lasts all day for me. I have Sharp Dressed Man (so so so good), Mountain Man (also good but scent is likely more subjective). Stirling has a wide variety of some great scents at affordable prices. Highly recommended.
 
Things that are looking appealing to me after reading your comments are:
Speick for the lavender
Osage Rub for the menthol
Stirling Sharp Dressed Man seems to have universal thumb's up. The Razorock Irish Countryside I mentioned is supposed to have that Green Irish Tweed scent, also. Has anybody smelled both the Stirling and the Razorock to compare?

A couple mentioned you like Cella. If it has a citrusy scent, I'd probably like it. I like the citrus scent of Cremo Cream Original brushless cream.

I thought Lucky Tiger had a scent. Does it have no scent, or does it just disappear quickly?
 
Lucky Tiger has a citrus-orange scent that fades very quickly. A lot of people like it for that, so they can put on an EdT with no scent clashing.
I just use "eau d'après-rasage," so I prefer my scent there. I'll cross Lucky Tiger off the list.

Updated list:
Cella (citrusy) (Price is wildly different depending on store. $14 at one place, $23 at another. Both for 100 ml bottle.)
Osage Rub (menthol) or Floïd Vigoroso (menthol)
Stirling Sharp Dressed Man or Razorock Irish Countryside, both modeled after G.I.T.
Speick (lavender)

And then
A bay rum

Just how different is one bay rum from another? Is it simply a name with no definable scent or is there a basic scent and different companies accentuate this or that ingredient over the others?


[The Men's Room Barbershop has the 400 ml bottle of Vigoroso on sale for $26 if you're interested.]
 
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