I've heard they smell similar. Who of you has BOTH, and can confirm? I love my Fine Platinum soap & aftershave, but have zero experience with Razorock. I was waiting for the XXX splash to come back into stock before placing an order, but I'm now rethinking this, and may just go with FAB.
Fine American Blend Or Razorock XXX
- Thread starter Firefly0817
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I only own the RR XXX of the two mentioned, but I understand them to be very different.
The XXX is 'inspired by' Acqua di Parma Colonia Classica, and the American Blend by YSL Rive Gauche Pour Homme.
Do you mean RR American Barber, which is supposedly also inspired by Rive Gauche?
If not, I'd suggest there are better RR soaps. Personally, I think Dead Sea is their finest, and I also have a lot of love their lanolin line, especially Tuscan Oud and Santal Royale. (The Tuscan Oud splash quite rightly gets a lot of love around here; it's basically Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather - a beast of a scent that will last you all day long.) However, the Plague Doctor scent doesn't work for me, tho' the soap handles well.
The XXX is 'inspired by' Acqua di Parma Colonia Classica, and the American Blend by YSL Rive Gauche Pour Homme.
Do you mean RR American Barber, which is supposedly also inspired by Rive Gauche?
If not, I'd suggest there are better RR soaps. Personally, I think Dead Sea is their finest, and I also have a lot of love their lanolin line, especially Tuscan Oud and Santal Royale. (The Tuscan Oud splash quite rightly gets a lot of love around here; it's basically Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather - a beast of a scent that will last you all day long.) However, the Plague Doctor scent doesn't work for me, tho' the soap handles well.
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- #3
Can you expand on why it's the Dead Sea for you? I thought XXX was all the rave?
I have both and dont a similarity at all in scent or composition.
I love them both for different reasons. It would be tough to pick one
I love them both for different reasons. It would be tough to pick one
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- #5
My next purchases may then stay at Fine L'orange and Razorock xxx, which was where I was originally headed. Gawd I love Fines aftershaves! They make me want to dance disco style.
Sure. There's nothing wrong with XXX, but I personally rate it in the good-but-not-great category.
Here's the back story, as I understand it: the original batch of XXX was made for Italian Barber by Biochimica SPA, the manufacturer of Acqua di Parma soaps (among others). It looked, handled and smelled exactly like the AdP soap, leading many to believe it was simply re-branded and sold at a fraction of the price. Hence the hype.
I have the new version of the soap. It's tallow-based with cushion and slickness, and probably the strongest scent in any soap I own. It handles well enough but I've never really bonded with the scent, and it's limited in post-shave feel.
Personally, I'd place Tuscan Oud and Santal Royale ahead of XXX - I prefer the scents and the lanolin content. (Plague Doctor is a bust on scent, as to me it's potpouri and licorice, but at least it smells the least of the RRs I own, and I'll use it up over time.)
However, I think Dead Sea is the best performing of the limited number of RR soaps I've used - it's crazy slick and leaves me with a fantastic post-shave skin feel. It's ideal for winter, when I tend to get dry skin. There is less scent than the XXX, which is how I personally prefer it, as I don't like to be overwhelmed by smell first thing in the morning.
As with everything else here, YMMV. Many here highly regard the XXX soap.
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- #7
Thanks Duke! I'll look into possible switching that up to Dead Sea instead of xxx.
I have both and they do not smell similar to me. The XXX has a citrus base, while Fine American Blend has more of a classic cologne cent.
Fine American Blend without any doubt, I found RazoRock very weak smelling whereas the Fine lasts for hours.
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- #10
IMO, the Razorock Duro XXX is another story altogether. As described on ItalianBarber.com: [FONT=open_sansregular]Made in late Fall of 2015 and air cured for four months in special wooden boxes. This is a new formula never used in a RazoRock shaving soap before.[/FONT] This is a terrific soap!! It is definitely slicker than original XXX and its scent is better, for lack of a better descriptor, more "mature." I love this soap; my sole regret is that I bought only two tubs as it is sold out. If/when it comes back I'll be buying several!!
Unable to edit my above post: just checked Razorock; they have XXX Duro back in stock. I ordered two more tubs. With my other soaps, I'm set until about 2237...I'll be 274 that year . . . . . . .
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- #13
I just ordered a tub of the Duro XXX with matching aftershave through Italian Barber. They just restocked the aftershave. Pretty damn excited to finally try this stuff. I also ordered Fine L'Orange Noir & Aftershave through West Coast. I don't need either of these, but dammit, I'm a wetshave addict. I'll seek help when I hit Razorock bottom....
Fine is far superior IMO altought they both so good`
XXX is good stuff. It is different than Fine AB. The RR American Barber compares favorably to the Fine version. It's a ymmv choice there. I prefer RR to Fine. The matching RR splashes have face soothing agents, while the Fine stuff seems to be just alcohol and fragrance.
And yes, the RR Dead Sea is the bomb.
And yes, the RR Dead Sea is the bomb.
Fine American Blend and Razorock American Barber are the two that are close. I actually like the RR scent better. The Fine has a bit of the tallow scent mingled in. Performance wise, I think they are very similar.
Looks like IB has re-stocked and some new stuff.
Dead sea splash and XXX is now a tallow formula, along with some other updates and goodies...
Dead sea splash and XXX is now a tallow formula, along with some other updates and goodies...
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