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@MilkCrate
Roger Dodger. I shall give feedback based on the splash experience.
I don’t think you’ll have a problem splashing it on. The scents seem strong in the vials, but the dabs I put on my wrists became mild relatively quickly. I’m excited to splash one on tomorrow to get a better idea of strength and longevity.
 
Today I tried sample A after my shave. I like the scent of A, it's tropical but not overpowering. There isn't much longevity--I shaved about 3 hours ago and the scent has pretty much dissipated. Projection isn't overpowering, either--no one is going to wonder what kind of tropical drink you spilled when you walk into a room. :biggrin1:

I had my 17 year old daughter smell the vials. Vial A she thought was pineapple and something she couldn't put her finger on (her guess was lime). Vial B she immediately said "Pina Colada!" and "I'd wear that one!" I'm not sure if the Captain was looking for market research including teenage girls. :lol:

Tomorrow I'll wear B, then I'll mix the two on day 3.
 
Those both sound delightful from descriptions so far. Definitely a fan of fruity and tropical scents here, curious to see what the final product release will be...
 
For tonight's shave, I again lathered with Captain's unscented soap sample and splashed Sample B. Immediately I found out that Sample B had a much stronger and less complex scent. There was definitely more fruity scent than Sample A. When I splashed it on, there was a slight refreshing tingle making me think that maybe mint, but definitely not menthol or synthetic menthol. In addition to fruits, there might be some rum underneath. Unlike Sample A, which was almost gone nearly an hour after my shave, Sample B is still lingering and still strong. As I smell it more now after an hour, the scent is finally starting to clear:

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Tomorrow I will return to Sample A and after that Sample B one last night before writing up my final impressions.
 
Today I used sample B. First, the staying power of sample B is much longer than A. After 3 hours, I can still smell it. B seems sweeter and less complex to me, although there is something under the pineapple that I can't quite name and didn't notice until after an hour when the pineapple started wearing off. I'll keep using these over the next couple of days and update my thoughts accordingly.
 
Thanks to living just a few towns over from the Cap, I actually got my samples last Friday and have had a chance to do 2 shaves with each A and B.

Interestingly, I seem to be going against the tide here in my interpretations. To my nose, Sample A screams piña colada, both out of the vial as well as after application and dry down. Big time sweet pineapple and coconut notes. Reminds me of a tropical vacation no doubt. This was the less complex of the two to me.

Sample B also reminds me of a fruity tropical drink, but has more depth, especially on dry down. Still get pineapple and coconut but the staying power of this one was much longer, and after a bit I picked up on a tropical wood note. Teak maybe?

Haven't had a chance to mix them yet. But I definitely enjoy the complexity and staying power of B over A.
 
I always find it interesting how we see and smell things differently. I got my samples in yesterday afternoon and didn’t even give them a sniff until today. It was a 15 hour work day. Anyway ...

My wife couldn’t wait and she sniffed them yesterday. She smelled the B sample first and said Coconut. She said there was something else, but couldn’t narrow it down. She then sniffed sample A and she absolutely loved it. I asked what she smelled and she said the beach. When I pressed her for details, she couldn’t identify single notes but she said she would buy it.

I shaved this morning and used sample A. Off the vial, I pick up a fruity scent that I can’t identify. It’s not citrus or sharp, but more mellow, not overly sweet either. I also thought I picked up a rum note. When I used it. I got that same fruit note, but not as pronounced. To my nose, it seemed complex and well blended. I couldn’t identify any other notes, but I really liked the scent. The only knock is that it is very fleeting.

I will try the B sample tomorrow and report back.
 
I finally got a shave in today and used the "A" sample. It is pretty nice and felt good. I know that these aftershaves are meant to pair with a cologne and not interfere with it, but I really think A needs to be stronger. It had some nice Pina Colada-like top notes, which quickly faded away into a more clean, sugary rum scent. The scent is not that complex. It felt great on my face after using my 6s, Voskhod blade, and Catie's Bubbles soap. Just a slight "zing" when I splashed it on and then a nice dry down. The scent does not last that long, but overall it's good. I just would like to see it stronger. I'll have to try B in a few days and post again.
 
Tonight I ended up using Sample B for the second day in a row. Once again, the scent was very strong and the primary note was pineapple. Tonight though, I did detect some kind of liquor underneath, possibly rum. There was definitely a lot of other fruits in there and very sweet scent. I still picture Hawaiian Punch when I use it.
 
Both scents are exceptionally nice. Around here a lot of weight is given to what the lovely wife has to say about fragrances. Makes sense; she has to smell it.
Sample “A” is the winner for a bright, pleasant summer scent. Very citrus-y. A good choice for warm weather.
Sample “B”. A tad heavier and more spice than “A”. A legit choice for summer that could wander over as an autumn fragrance as well.
I’ll say “A” gets the nod but “B” is surely a good choice too.
 
On the Sample B. This vial had a coconut and pineapple scent and I thought I smelled rum. This one was a bit stronger and seemed sweeter, more of a tropical punch smell. I'm not sure about the longevity, because I lost the scent relatively quick. This scent I didn't like near as much as the sample A. I will circle back to the A vial tomorrow and then the B vial on Saturday and see if my opinion changes. Stay tuned.
 
Okay, so tonight I went back to using Sample A. Same as the other nights, I lathered with the Captain's unscented soap. This time around, I doubled up on the splash at the end of the shave. The scent was definitely stronger, however it really did not last longer than it did the first night. This time around, there was definitely a strong pineapple and coconut scent, and as it began to fade, again I pictured a tall glass with a small umbrella and a skewered pineapple hanging off the rim. One more go around with each scent and then I will do a final write up this weekend.
 
I got my samples today and tried sample A after shaving with osp ukwss. I felt the scent was similar to a piña colada and pineapple, very tropical and fresh. The scent did fade relatively quickly just as everyone else has said, so I’m going to try B on Saturday and see if that lasts longer. In terms of scent, I found B to be a bit stronger, but leaning more so on the rum and spice. My sister preferred scent B, and I agree that it has a “deeper” scent to it. However, I have to say that scent A does feel a tad more tropical to me, that is all until I try out B.
 
My Choice is A

THE METHOD
4 Shaves, A, B, A, B
Same set up for each shave.
Wacker 6/8 on Escher, Mystic Water Bay Rum Soap, 2 Pass, Cold Rinse, Captain's Choice Aftershave, Vitamin C Oil.


Disclaimer: I am admittedly not an aftershave man. I've used some box store aftershave gifted to me - Ralph Lauren Polo and Giorgio Armani. You could say that I represent the untapped population of un-aftershaven men that will start using one if the conditions are right.

SMELLS LIKE
A: Strawberry on Coconut
B: Peach

FIRST IMPRESSION (opening vial and putting my nose to it):
Very potent.
Yeah. I like Peach. I'll definitely vote for B.

FACE FEEL
Very clean.
The other box store aftershaves I've used left slick or tacky residue (probably has some kind of skin conditioner or lotion).
Captain's choice leaves the face feeling surgically clean, almost sterile.
IMHO, this is the best part about this aftershave.

THE STING
Very little sting. I had a small nick on my chin. Splashing on the aftershave did not produce the kind of sizzle I was expecting. Personally, I like the feeling of intense sting so if it were up to me, I'd like higher concentration of alcohol (or whatever it is that causes the sting).

THE COMPARISON
Both are tropical.
Floral, wild, sugary, indulgent, and a bit child-like.

A smells more like berries with a strong foundation of rich coconut.
Definitely more of a youngster vibe. Reminds me of my time in Santa Cruz hanging out with the local surfers at the beach.
Comes on strong, but dissipates fairly quickly.
After about an hour or so I forget I'm wearing an aftershave, but I still get a whiff of the strawberry when I put my hand near my face.

B smells of peaches, maybe apricot.
Smells quite artificial, like candies.
Very strong, and for me, much too strong. And lingering.
Both days I could smell the fragrance well into the 6th hour.
Every few minutes I'm thinking, "man that is some strong sauce!"
If I had to pick words, it would be assertive and unfortunately, clingy.
It's the kind of fragrance that says, I'm in your face, now notice me.
Might work on a date, but I'd avoid wearing it to work. You'll get some stares.


RETROSPECT
You can only take so much of the peach. I'm definitely not voting for B.
But the face feel is amazing. So fresh and so clean, clean.


FWIW, I do like smelling certain things.
I frequently light a feather stick of cherry or apple wood in my house to remind me of going camping or manning a barbeque station. Until I find an aftershave that is more smoky/woodsy than fruity/flowery, I think my aftershave celibacy will continue.


Thank you again to @Captain Pre-Capsize
I've enjoyed experimenting with new things thanks to you.
Wishing you all the best and success in health and business.
 
Tonight, I went back to Sample B again as the scent was definitely stronger and lasted longer than Sample A. After alternating the two samples, I find the scent of both to be similar with a pineapple and coconut notes a little on the sweet side. I prefer my AS scents to be slightly stronger and last a while, probably why I prefer Sample B over A, although I must say that A was a little more complex, but very fleeting (like a couple of minutes after the shave).

My big problem with both, and this is not limited to the fine samples that Captain developed, is that when many shaving folks mention Tropical, it always comes out to something resembling a fancy tropical drink or Hawaiian Punch. I was born in Hawaii, grew up there, and lived there for most of my life. For me, tropical takes into account all the beautifully scented flowers, fruits, woods, and ferns. When you hike into a forest, you get a blend of many of those scents all at the same time.

It would be nice to see a tropical scent having notes of gardenia, orange blossom (neroli), jasmine, ginger, lavender, lemon, sandalwood, cedar, and fern. Just something to think about.

I want to thank the Captain for allowing me to once again participate in evaluating a new product. Once again, both samples were very top notch products. I am sure many will buy whichever sample comes to market. I, however will be holding out for the tropical scent I suggested above, as that will remind me of home.
 
Captain:

Thank you for including me in this fun opportunity! Here are my two (s)cents ;) :

First, I should note that am not typically into fruit-flavored aftershave, but maybe my perspective could be more interesting as a result.

I strongly preferred and even liked Sample A and somewhat disliked Sample B, especially at first. To my nose, and it's probably idiosyncratic to me, something in Sample B - maybe it's peach (?), or more like a peach pit smell - has a little bit of a faint "barfy" whiff in it, but that largely disappeared after maybe 20 minutes.

Sample A smells more like pineapple and perhaps strawberry, to my nose - maybe coconut, too? I imagine the non-scent base components are the same between both samples, but for some reason Sample B seemed to have more burn than A (I don't mind burn but don't look for it). Both samples faded fairly quickly but were detectable as a skin scent later on. If you ask me, that's a good thing in scents of these profiles. Sample B has a bit of a suntan lotion smell. Sample B improved with time, but initially, as I said, I found whatever the top note was rather unpleasant to my nose.

Despite not being into this style of scent generally, I could actually see myself buying Sample A and using it on a summer day after mowing the lawn or before heading to a bbq. Sample B, again, there's something in it, and I think it some kind of peach pit smell, I just didn't care for.

At the drydown they seem closer to one another, but I still prefer A, while B is "not terrible."

B seems stronger and longer lasting, but that could be possibly offputting.

Hope that helps!
 
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Just tried scent B today, and I think I've reached a verdict. Sample A seems more "tropical" to me with a fruity scent and very pleasant, it appeals to my tastes greatly. When I tried sample B, it felt a bit too 'strong' for my taste and I didn't really like it. Sample A definitely exudes an aura of a nice tropical vacation, and I would use it over and over again, especially in the summer. The pineapple, coconut, and the overall fruity scent make it easy on the nose, and my mom agreed with this when I asked her to smell it. (She found B too strong and immediately retracted her nose, hah) Overall, Sample A wins by a landslide for me and I would be much more likely to purchase it as a tropical scent.
 
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