It was a circuitous journey that brought me to this product and I won't bore you all with it, but the blame rests squarely on another member, EVBO, who first posted on this. I'd followed his advice on some other matters which proved excellent though hideously expensive and so when he recommended Eau d'Emeraude (Emerald Water) as an aftershave, it seemed like a low risk proposition.
Emerald Water is made by Benedictine Nuns in Bouzy-la-Forêt, France and has been made continuously since the 17th Century. It isn't specifically sold as an aftershave, but rather as a medicinal tincture for many ailments such as bruising, soreness, psoriasis, acne and diluted as a mouthwash. I wouldn't endorse it for any of those things in the absence of any real evidence of efficacy, but in the matter of a post shave lotion, I can now weigh in.
I find the smell mostly vegetal with the sage coming through the strongest. Some might also say it has a medicinal overtone, but that is not particularly strong to me. It's a pleasant scent, but nothing I would have chosen on its own. The nice thing is that the scent lasts only a little while. For me, under an hour. Maybe under 30 minutes. On the skin, the suprising thing is how little burn there is. For a concoction of approximately 50% alcohol, it's shocking how mild it is. I've tested it after several three pass shaves (I normally only do two) and the burn is astonishingly mild. It's there, but attenuated. More like witch hazel in feel than like any of the firebombs like Pinaud or Old Spice or even my beloved Floris Santal.
Afterwards, there's no residue on the skin, but it's obvious that something medicinal or soothing is going on because I have yet to feel the need for an ASB after using the Emerald Water. Normally, I shave, Alum, aftershave and then balm or if I'm feeling that the shave was particularly rough, go straight for the ASB. With the EW, I stop at the aftershave. Just forget to use the balm. Really quite remarkable.
Another thing I've noticed is that I was getting some minor acne, but since using this as an aftershave that has been reduced to almost nothing. That's no proof of anything since that can be influenced by diet, stress, activity etc., but it's worth noting. Correlation is not causation, but if any of you try it, maybe you can weigh in.
The proper comparison of this stuff, I think, would be to witch hazel which I used as an aftershave for probably 20 years up until a few years ago. It blows that out of the water. Way better. I have a bottle of Thayers that will now have to be given away because as long as I have this, there'll be no need for the Witch.
The only downside to the EW is the shipping cost. The actual product price is not bad. Online you can find the 100 ml for 7-10 Euros and the 250ml for around 15 Euros. Shipping, however, more than doubles the cost because of the high tariff on products with alcohol in them. As detailed elsewhere, I got lucky. On a conference call with one of my co-workers, I realized he was in Paris and he accommodated me by picking up a couple of 250ml bottles and bringing them back. Total cost was 30 bucks and I gave him 40 for his troubles. He wouldn't be more specific about the price and so I had to overpay him to make sure he wasn't absorbing any cost. Had they been bought online and shipped, the total would have been closer to 70 or 80 dollars. If anyone can find cheaper shipping, then please let me know.
Here's a picture of the two bottles I received. From the pics online, I thought they were plastic, but it's a sturdy, high quality glass battle with a unique cap that seems to "seat" when it's screwed down tight.
View attachment 258434
Here's a closeup of the list of ingredients. If it wasn't around in the 17th century, then it ain't in it.
View attachment 258433
Finally, the only downside to the bottles is that as dispensers, they're not so great. So, I decanted the green stuff into a bottle I got with a shave kit off eBay when I first got into DE's. It's a great vintage bottle with a glass stopper and a metal screw on top over that. I've been looking for a use for it and this is perfect. The amount you see missing from the bottle equals about 3 or 4 shaves. You don't need a lot.
View attachment 258432
For those of you interested in buying it online, here's a link: http://www.manufactum.com/emerald-water-p1402105/?a=55527 . You may want to search a bit more, however, in case there are better deals. I've not done business with these guys so can't vouch for them.
Would love to hear if anyone else has experience with this product.
Emerald Water is made by Benedictine Nuns in Bouzy-la-Forêt, France and has been made continuously since the 17th Century. It isn't specifically sold as an aftershave, but rather as a medicinal tincture for many ailments such as bruising, soreness, psoriasis, acne and diluted as a mouthwash. I wouldn't endorse it for any of those things in the absence of any real evidence of efficacy, but in the matter of a post shave lotion, I can now weigh in.
I find the smell mostly vegetal with the sage coming through the strongest. Some might also say it has a medicinal overtone, but that is not particularly strong to me. It's a pleasant scent, but nothing I would have chosen on its own. The nice thing is that the scent lasts only a little while. For me, under an hour. Maybe under 30 minutes. On the skin, the suprising thing is how little burn there is. For a concoction of approximately 50% alcohol, it's shocking how mild it is. I've tested it after several three pass shaves (I normally only do two) and the burn is astonishingly mild. It's there, but attenuated. More like witch hazel in feel than like any of the firebombs like Pinaud or Old Spice or even my beloved Floris Santal.
Afterwards, there's no residue on the skin, but it's obvious that something medicinal or soothing is going on because I have yet to feel the need for an ASB after using the Emerald Water. Normally, I shave, Alum, aftershave and then balm or if I'm feeling that the shave was particularly rough, go straight for the ASB. With the EW, I stop at the aftershave. Just forget to use the balm. Really quite remarkable.
Another thing I've noticed is that I was getting some minor acne, but since using this as an aftershave that has been reduced to almost nothing. That's no proof of anything since that can be influenced by diet, stress, activity etc., but it's worth noting. Correlation is not causation, but if any of you try it, maybe you can weigh in.
The proper comparison of this stuff, I think, would be to witch hazel which I used as an aftershave for probably 20 years up until a few years ago. It blows that out of the water. Way better. I have a bottle of Thayers that will now have to be given away because as long as I have this, there'll be no need for the Witch.
The only downside to the EW is the shipping cost. The actual product price is not bad. Online you can find the 100 ml for 7-10 Euros and the 250ml for around 15 Euros. Shipping, however, more than doubles the cost because of the high tariff on products with alcohol in them. As detailed elsewhere, I got lucky. On a conference call with one of my co-workers, I realized he was in Paris and he accommodated me by picking up a couple of 250ml bottles and bringing them back. Total cost was 30 bucks and I gave him 40 for his troubles. He wouldn't be more specific about the price and so I had to overpay him to make sure he wasn't absorbing any cost. Had they been bought online and shipped, the total would have been closer to 70 or 80 dollars. If anyone can find cheaper shipping, then please let me know.
Here's a picture of the two bottles I received. From the pics online, I thought they were plastic, but it's a sturdy, high quality glass battle with a unique cap that seems to "seat" when it's screwed down tight.
View attachment 258434
Here's a closeup of the list of ingredients. If it wasn't around in the 17th century, then it ain't in it.
View attachment 258433
Finally, the only downside to the bottles is that as dispensers, they're not so great. So, I decanted the green stuff into a bottle I got with a shave kit off eBay when I first got into DE's. It's a great vintage bottle with a glass stopper and a metal screw on top over that. I've been looking for a use for it and this is perfect. The amount you see missing from the bottle equals about 3 or 4 shaves. You don't need a lot.
View attachment 258432
For those of you interested in buying it online, here's a link: http://www.manufactum.com/emerald-water-p1402105/?a=55527 . You may want to search a bit more, however, in case there are better deals. I've not done business with these guys so can't vouch for them.
Would love to hear if anyone else has experience with this product.
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