Fine is the most overrated aftershave I have ever had

[NJshaves86]

I had something similar happen. I wanted the Fine shirts because in the web pic, it's clearly American Apparel. Gildan shows up. I emailed and showed pics of the different tags. Answer was "nobody has complained before. Here's a free shipping coupon." I'm kind of peeved because this doesn't fit well at all. It's not what the website showed and it's not what I wanted. Shirts were unopened when I emailed. I would've shipped them back on my dime. Now I'm stuck with some shirts that don't fit well.

I'm actually going to start a thread with my experience. Poor customer service in the day of the internet is just not smart. I'm not going to speak ill of Fine or their products, only my experience. I'll send you the link so you can post ypur experience as well. Thanks

 

[It's Hedley]

I was fortunate to have a fellow B&B brother, Luecke2326, PIF a few samples of Fine AS. He provided me with L'Orange Noir, American Blend, Platinum and Italian Citrus. I will review them as I try them so I have an immediate impression and something to share. I may space them a few days apart to enjoy other recent purchases. I must warn everyone/admit, I am the last person who should be reviewing anything with a scent, but I can share initial impressions of face feel.

First up, L'Orange Noir. I am not familiar with the original product L'Orange Noir is trying to emulate, so don't expect direct comparisons to the original. My first thought when putting the AS in my hand was alcohol (chemical as someone else mentioned) and this was also the first thing that I noticed when splashing on my face. It had a nice feel, not greasy or too dry. Once the initial scent of the alcohol dissipated, it took a few minutes to get an impression. I find it to be too floral for my liking. I prefer manly aftershaves and this is not it for me. If i was going for a night out in Vegas, this might be the aftershave I would consider. Not necessarily a day at the office. BTW, I am way past going to the Vegas nightclubs!

I will not be purchasing Fine L'Orange Noir.

Back in a few days for the next Fine AS installment.

PS... my wife just walked in and said she LOVES IT! Go figure.

 

[Luecke2326]

I was fortunate to have a fellow B&B brother, Luecke2326, PIF a few samples of Fine AS. He provided me with L'Orange Noir, American Blend, Platinum and Italian Citrus. I will review them as I try them so I have an immediate impression and something to share. I may space them a few days apart to enjoy other recent purchases. I must warn everyone/admit, I am the last person who should be reviewing anything with a scent, but I can share initial impressions of face feel.

First up, L'Orange Noir. I am not familiar with the original product L'Orange Noir is trying to emulate, so don't expect direct comparisons to the original. My first thought when putting the AS in my hand was alcohol (chemical as someone else mentioned) and this was also the first thing that I noticed when splashing on my face. It had a nice feel, not greasy or too dry. Once the initial scent of the alcohol dissipated, it took a few minutes to get an impression. I find it to be too floral for my liking. I prefer manly aftershaves and this is not it for me. If i was going for a night out in Vegas, this might be the aftershave I would consider. Not necessarily a day at the office. BTW, I am way past going to the Vegas nightclubs!

I will not be purchasing Fine L'Orange Noir.

Back in a few days for the next Fine AS installment.

PS... my wife just walked in and said she LOVES IT! Go figure.

It's interesting how two people can find different things in scents. The scent is meant to emulate Terre D'Hermes Eau de Toilette. Personally I smell primarily Citrus and Cedar which are too of my favorite scents, but I do agree it has a little bit of a flowery note, likely patchouli. Between this scent and American blend its a toss up for which one I like the best.

Glad your wife likes it, you gotta give the ladies what they want lol.

 

[It's Hedley]

It's interesting how two people can find different things in scents. The scent is meant to emulate Terre D'Hermes Eau de Toilette. Personally I smell primarily Citrus and Cedar which are too of my favorite scents, but I do agree it has a little bit of a flowery note, likely patchouli. Between this scent and American blend its a toss up for which one I like the best.

Glad your wife likes it, you gotta give the ladies what they want lol.

Ha! And what the wife wants, the wife usually gets, but I have to draw the line on the Fine L'Orange Noir!

I told you my scent skills are lacking, but now that you mention it, I do get the citrus and cedar. Cedar always reminds me of a guinea pig kennel (I begged my parents when I was 5 years old for a guinea pig), shoe trees, cedar chest etc, so not my favorite scent. At least not one I want to wear. Have you ever eaten cuy?

 

[Luecke2326]

Ha! And what the wife wants, the wife usually gets, but I have to draw the line on the Fine L'Orange Noir!

I told you my scent skills are lacking, but now that you mention it, I do get the citrus and cedar. Cedar always reminds me of a guinea pig kennel (I begged my parents when I was 5 years old for a guinea pig), shoe trees, cedar chest etc, so not my favorite scent. At least not one I want to wear. Have you ever eaten cuy?

I have not eaten Cuy, but it looks delicious and would love to try it! I'm a fan of trying different ethnic foods which us westerners might not usually eat. I overcame some of these food fears after my trips to Belarus where I tried organ meats and things like Salo(cured pig fat). I rather enjoy trying new things now.

 

[It's Hedley]

I tried cuy in Ecuador and it was fantastic. I think my parents may have served us cuy once upon a time, if you know what I mean! Our pet guinea pig lasted about a week. That was all we needed to convince my parents a dog was a better option.

Salo sounds amazing. Pig truly is the magical beast for my dining pleasure.

BTW, I now feel like I am a walking shoe tree. Lots of cedar notes after a couple of hours with the Fine L'Orange Noir.

 

[Bbb34]

It's interesting how two people can find different things in scents. The scent is meant to emulate Terre D'Hermes Eau de Toilette.

So true, I remember trying DG Trismegistus, which is another "meant to emulate" type of scent of Terre D'Hermes and absolutely hated it. Most around here love it.

Like I said, with scents, it's impossible to have objective opinion/review as we all have our own preferences.

 

[guitarslinger]

Interesting, I own/love terre d’hermes, and I think l’orange noir smells nearly spot on. Closer than:
Dg Trismegistus
Rr son of Zeus
Stirling arkadia

(And I like all of those too!)

 

[MilkCrate]

Well, I can scratch those off my list. I don’t like the smell of cedar. It reminds me of rodent cages as well.

 

[Bogeyman]

Fine American- Smells excellent the only one that lives up to the hype.

Fine Platinum- This doesn't even come close to smelling like Creed Aventus, it smells mediocre/bad, something I have used maybe twice in the last 3 years

Fine Orange- Smells like a chemical orange, very faint as well/

Fine Vetiver scents- Both mediocre/bad, not even close to a natural vetiver smell

Fine Snakebite- no smell, mediocre for a menthol rush family of aftershaves as it isnt that strong compared to Klampert's .

Stirling aftershaves smoke these aftershaves for 66% of the cost.

If you disliked them so much then why did you buy so many?

 

[It's Hedley]

So, I had a chance to try the 2nd Fine AS sampled to me by brother Luecke2326 (Thank you Matt!)... today the Fine American Blend. First impression was how silky it felt in my hand prior to splashing and still feels on my hand. It felt like it had some moisturizing qualities I did not feel in the L'Orange Noir. The scent is much more in line with what I would consider a traditional AS, more barbershop, less department store cologne (sorry, I said I wasn't much of a scent specialist!). It has been an hour since the splash and I still have a strong scent. To me that is a long lasting AS.

Summary... I would buy Fine American Blend, but it would not be in my top 5.

PS. My wife liked it more than the Cat O' Nine Tails I wore yesterday, but not as much as the Fine L'Orange Noir, which I did not care for. Again, go figure!!

 

[MisterGrain]

Not surprising, there are a lot of reviews out there mentioning how much their gf or wife dig the Terre d'Hermes.

 

[painted_klown]

I'm really enjoying your reports on the Fine aftershaves. I have had my eye on American Blend and Platinum.

Please continue with your reviews. I am finding them very helpful.

 

[Luecke2326]

So, I had a chance to try the 2nd Fine AS sampled to me by brother Luecke2326 (Thank you Matt!)... today the Fine American Blend. First impression was how silky it felt in my hand prior to splashing and still feels on my hand. It felt like it had some moisturizing qualities I did not feel in the L'Orange Noir. The scent is much more in line with what I would consider a traditional AS, more barbershop, less department store cologne (sorry, I said I wasn't much of a scent specialist!). It has been an hour since the splash and I still have a strong scent. To me that is a long lasting AS.

Summary... I would buy Fine American Blend, but it would not be in my top 5.

PS. My wife liked it more than the Cat O' Nine Tails I wore yesterday, but not as much as the Fine L'Orange Noir, which I did not care for. Again, go figure!!

 

[BigJ]

I was fortunate to have a fellow B&B brother, Luecke2326, PIF a few samples of Fine AS. He provided me with L'Orange Noir, American Blend, Platinum and Italian Citrus. I will review them as I try them so I have an immediate impression and something to share. I may space them a few days apart to enjoy other recent purchases. I must warn everyone/admit, I am the last person who should be reviewing anything with a scent, but I can share initial impressions of face feel.

First up, L'Orange Noir. I am not familiar with the original product L'Orange Noir is trying to emulate, so don't expect direct comparisons to the original. My first thought when putting the AS in my hand was alcohol (chemical as someone else mentioned) and this was also the first thing that I noticed when splashing on my face. It had a nice feel, not greasy or too dry. Once the initial scent of the alcohol dissipated, it took a few minutes to get an impression. I find it to be too floral for my liking. I prefer manly aftershaves and this is not it for me. If i was going for a night out in Vegas, this might be the aftershave I would consider. Not necessarily a day at the office. BTW, I am way past going to the Vegas nightclubs!

I will not be purchasing Fine L'Orange Noir.

Back in a few days for the next Fine AS installment.

PS... my wife just walked in and said she LOVES IT! Go figure.

And LOTH has great taste (at least in this house)!!

 

[It's Hedley]

And LOTH has great taste (at least in this house)!!

Ha!! BigJ, you know my wife all too well. She has much better taste than I, so I should probably not walk, but run out to buy the L'Orange Noir!

I will try and review the Platinum and Italian Citrus this weekend when the Mrs is home to give me her much valued opinion. She's a school teacher and out the door too early during the week to enjoy my daily AS splash.

 

[It's Hedley]

Luck would have it the LOML had teacher meetings this morning, so got to sleep in and give me her opinion on the next Fine AS given to me by Luecke2326. Today, the Italian Citrus...

Again, first impression was the silky feel when poured into my hand. I felt this with the American Blend as well, but did not notice this with the L'Orange Noir. I might have just missed this and will try the L'Orange Noir once again as I have a little left over. Second impression of the Italian Citrus, to no surprise, CITRUS... WOW! It has a very strong lemon scent and something else I, nor the LOML, could put our fingers on. The longer I wear, the more I detect lime and faintly, orange.

In summery, this is something I might splash on in summer (get it?... in Summery?). But, would not purchase this AS. It would not even crack the top 10. It is not barbershop, nor department store cologne, but somewhere in between. If you happen to be lounging in Portofino or Positano, you might fit right in.

BTW, the LOML, gives it a two thumbs down. So, for the first time out of three Fine AS's, we agree.

Ciao and arrivederci.

 

[Luecke2326]

Luck would have it the LOML had teacher meetings this morning, so got to sleep in and give me her opinion on the next Fine AS given to me by Luecke2326. Today, the Italian Citrus...

Again, first impression was the silky feel when poured into my hand. I felt this with the American Blend as well, but did not notice this with the L'Orange Noir. I might have just missed this and will try the L'Orange Noir once again as I have a little left over. Second impression of the Italian Citrus, to no surprise, CITRUS... WOW! It has a very strong lemon scent and something else I, nor the LOML, could put our fingers on. The longer I wear, the more I detect lime and faintly, orange.

In summery, this is something I might splash on in summer (get it?... in Summery?). But, would not purchase this AS. It would not even crack the top 10. It is not barbershop, nor department store cologne, but somewhere in between. If you happen to be lounging in Portofino or Positano, you might fit right in.

BTW, the LOML, gives it a two thumbs down. So, for the first time out of three Fine AS's, we agree.

Ciao and arrivederci.

I agree with all your comments on this one.... I was initially excited that about this Acqua di Parma Colonia esque scent, but it quickly faded on me.... I thought I would pair it with my old stock Razorock XXX soap and enjoy it, but that didn't really happen. I think the scent is just not for me either. Though my wife likes it, but she's from Belarus and likes men who wear knock off fragrances....... lol

 

[guitarslinger]

I agree with all your comments on this one.... I was initially excited that about this Acqua di Parma Colonia esque scent, but it quickly faded on me.... I thought I would pair it with my old stock Razorock XXX soap and enjoy it, but that didn't really happen. I think the scent is just not for me either. Though my wife likes it, but she's from Belarus and likes men who wear knock off fragrances....... lol

Lol. I told my wife a knock off scent (l’orange noir) was my signature scent. She bought me terre d’hermes for my birthday so my signature wouldn’t be a knockoff.

 

[BigJ]

Lol. I told my wife a knock off scent (l’orange noir) was my signature scent. She bought me terre d’hermes for my birthday so my signature wouldn’t be a knockoff.

Nice!! She sounds like a winner!!