Has anyone tried Royal Copenhagen?

[sharpstar90]

I just ordered a 1.5 oz bottle from ebay for about $8.00. I figured I would start there and maybe get the aftershave if I like it.

I am expecting it to be a Clubman type scent. One of my favorites is Hai Karate, but it's almost impossible to get these days. Hopefully this will make a good stand in. What do you guys think of it?

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I like it. Definitely a "old school" scent. I don't think it smells like Clubman, but Royal Copenhagen has that same barbershop vibe. Soapy, powdery. Great projection and longevity. Be careful not to over spray.

 

[sharpstar90]

But not like clubman? Interesting. Thank you. I will post my thoughts on it when I get the bottle.

 

[honeycutt]

Yes it's soapy and powdery. However like most of the older scents it has been reformulated. I used it in high school in the 70's and it was stronger.

 

[Cohiba]

I wish I could remember what it smelled like. I think it was more on the fresh side than spicy. The reason for my memory lapse.....I wore it in 6th and 7th grade....1976/77

 

[sharpstar90]

I wish I could remember what it smelled like. I think it was more on the fresh side than spicy. The reason for my memory lapse.....I wore it in 6th and 7th grade....1976/77

I will post a review once I get it. I love all these old school, so called "old man" scents. I get compliments on them even though they're supposed to be out of fashion.

I was wearing aqua velva and Fahrenheit at that age. One whiff of the stuff in 2018 took me right back to the past.

 

[sharpstar90]

So I got the Royal copenhagen cologne in the mail tonight. My first impression of it is that it's very sweet and powdery. I don't mind this, since Clubman, Jade East, Hai Karate and Canoe are some of my favorite fragrances.

My initial problem with it is this: it comes across a little one dimensional and not at all edgy. Clubman is edgy by comparison. Heck, Stetson is edgy by comparison! I was expecting something just a tad bit more ballsy and masculine. RC is just a little too much on the kindly, cuddly side for me.

However, I will continue to live with it for a while. I have the aftershave coming. Hopefully the two will come together to be something more than Coty Musk with talcum powder thrown on it. I really don't want to wear a scent that makes British Sterling look like Sex Panther!

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

My initial problem with it is this: it comes across a little one dimensional and not at all edgy. Clubman is edgy by comparison. Heck, Stetson is edgy by comparison! I was expecting something just a tad bit more ballsy and masculine. RC is just a little too much on the kindly, cuddly side for me.

The joy of blind buying....

Look at it this way, it takes a lot of balls to rock the Royal Copenhagen.

 

[sharpstar90]

The joy of blind buying....

Look at it this way, it takes a lot of balls to rock the Royal Copenhagen.

Lol! Indeed. Well, after applying it for the third time, it's growing on me. It's not quite the nursery scent I took it for in the beginning. My wife actually likes it.

 

[sharpstar90]

Okay, just ordered the vintage formula of RC from Swank. If I am gonna rock the RC, it's time to go big or go home. No half measures.

 

[ksblazer]

Curious how the vintage compares? Let us know.

I don't recall the scent profile catching my attention back in the days when you would see it on the store shelves.

 

[sharpstar90]

Curious how the vintage compares? Let us know.

I don't recall the scent profile catching my attention back in the days when you would see it on the store shelves.

I should get it in the mail today and I will follow up. The current formulation is a very light lavender and talc type of scent. Cynics would say "mothballs and baby powder". It took me some time, but I have warmed to it very much. It's great for a day when you wanna wear a fragrance but want to be very subtle about it.

 

[sharpstar90]

So I tried out the vintage Copenhagen. It starts out stronger, funkier, a bit like vintage Hai Karate. It could be the age of the cologne that makes it funkier. But I don't find it terribly different than the current formulation. It's stronger on the startup but the new cologne is a lot fresher. If you spritz on a few more sprays of the new, fifteen minutes later, I don't think you'd see much of a difference. I don't think RC was ever anything but a subtle cologne. It's no Hai Karate, more like it's quieter uncle.

You see a lot made of these reformulations. Everyone says the old ones are better, and get pretty bent out of shape about it 99% of the time. But this is the second side by side comparison I have done, the other being british sterling. And with both, the reformulations are 90% the same. A little weaker, maybe, but if you apply a little more, you get the same kind of thing and it's less likely to get offensive.

 

[sharpstar90]

Actually...I just did another comparison of the vintage and new formulation colognes. After it dries down a while, the NEW one is actually stronger than the Swank version.

This is not what I expected. The Swank has this mossy blast that the reform doesn't have, but after that's gone, it weakens. The new one has more longevity. Again, this could be due to the age of the vintage. My wife actually liked the new one better, and she's very savvy about these things.

My conclusion is that you can feel really good about the reformulation of Royal Copenhagen. It's a lot cheaper than it used to be, and though it's lost its oakmoss (like everything else), it's no worse for it. It's actually a bit fresher. There are still a few HUGE 8oz bottles of the aftershave on amazon right now for $3.99. I bought two. I highly recommend it.