Let's get a nose on it...

[ScentChaser]

I've had my inaugural shave with a safety razor, and figured I'd start up a journal. Not the closest shave I've ever had, but I sure am happy with it. I need to get some reps in to really get comfortable and find my blade of choice. I'm happy to ditch the Mach 3's, though. I picked up a Razorock Plissoft brush, a Linkidea bowl, a Leaf Thorn, a sample pack of razors, and after watching 200 episodes of Barbershop Duet on the youtubes, I landed on a couple soap sets - Stirling Oro Valley shave soap, splash, and balm and Hendrix Classics & Co Year of the Dragon shave soap and splash.

If you can't already tell, I'm here to get a nose on it!!! Well, I guess I have to shave too. I am gonna go hog wild with sample packs here in due time, but for now, just getting used to the Thorn one shave at a time. I have several blades to sort through, and I started up a little spreadsheet. I'm shaving every 2 days at this time. Chime in, interruptions are welcomed! Let's whiff all together now! If there's any question at all, YES I want to hear about your favorite scents.

I'll be rating any soap, splash, balm, or whatever as I use it, unless it doesn't make sense to i.e. razors, brushes, or blades as I have zero experience. I do have a nose though!

 

[thombrogan]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your olfactory-themed journal with us!

Looking forward to reading where it goes

 

[Eric_75]

@ScentChaser

Hello from Nashville, TN.

Welcome to B & B!

 

[ScentChaser]

@ScentChaser

Hello from Nashville, TN.

Welcome to B & B!

Howdy neighbor! Thanks for the welcome and for stopping in!

 

[cajunrph]

Welcome to the forum, for scents, I recommend checking out Bootleggers under the WiKi here, El Dorado is a great one.

 

[Eric_75]

Welcome to the forum, for scents, I recommend checking out Bootleggers under the WiKi here, El Dorado is a great one.

I second that. A favorite of mine.

 

[ScentChaser]

Went 2 passes head and 2 passes face in the shower by braille and touch ups at the sink. Really feelin' out my angle. I get less blade feel than a cartridge which makes it interesting. Much better shave on the 2nd whack at it here than a few days ago, simply due to form. I already want a shavette and a traditional DE... I need more blade feel. I'm hoping I can squeeze a touch more (blade feel) with some of the sharper blades in the sampler. Not sure if that's how it works though. I'll find out!

Oro Valley is such a powerhouse. It could be a little polarizing with the amount of spice and leather, but man... when it dries down a bit ! I've never gotten a nose on Ombré Leather from Tom Ford, nor do I own any designer (or niche) fragrances other than one EDT, Armani Code, an older one. I'm going to ride this out and wet my nose-whistle with the dupe oil wetshaving world before building an expensive stank dungeon. I'm a redneck at heart anyways.

 

[Jay21]

Welcome to the journals. This is where the real fun is.

 

[ScentChaser]

Still plugging away, getting better each shave - enjoying the snot out of both Oro Valley and Year of the Dragon soaps, getting good lathers. 2 pass head in the shower and taking my time on my face at the sink. I do have a question. It was Derby Extra's turn on the blade choice and I snapped one, put it in, and it had a bow like it was slightly too long. I cinched down the razor and it flattened out to the naked eye, but I didn't use it, and just went to the next one in line (Gillette Green). I'm going to stick with the plenty of options that fit perfectly. Anyone ever run into this? Should I just skip the Derby Extras if the others in the pack fit just like this one? Thanks for the input.

 

[thombrogan]

I would definitely skip that.

 

[ScentChaser]

I had a significant change in shave quality for the better. I believe it was reaching a better blade for me, the Gillette Nacet. So far the Supermax Titanium, Yellow, Green, Black, and Silver Blue Gillettes have not been the best for me. Though the sample size is quite low, I can give a preliminary nod to the Nacet. I am eager to try the other blades as I move through the sample pack (roughly going low to high on the Razor Emporium aggressiveness rating). The jury is still out on the Leaf Thorn, but I'm going to stick with it a while before chasing more razors.

I am going to get a nose on a couple of Emporio Armani Stronger With You clones coming in the next 2 or 3 days (SWY Leather & SWY Oud). They were super cheap at $22 and $32, so expectations are quite low. If it's not a total mess of a dupe I'll be surprised.

 

[ScentChaser]

Another decent shave, this time with the Thorn and a Gillette Platinum; a good enough blade to be in the running with the Nacet.
- - - - -
The 2 fragrance purchases are very interesting... a double bust. No clone of SWY, but a good experiement nonetheless. I think I'm identifying the synthetic oud note which both of these share.

A quick first impression before reading scent notes followed by listed scent notes.

Ard Al Zaafaran Oud 24 Hours Majestic Gold: Standout synthetic oud, spicy, mixed floral, and mixed citrus that is quite out of place for this scent. The sweet does have some vanilla, powdery, citrus like lemon zest + orange, followed by a peppery, synthetic leather. Improper balance, nothing tying it all together. Lacks a unified direction by going to many routes. Has no SWY DNA, and none of that beautiful sweet chestnut that SWY leather has. Feminine top notes, masculine base notes, certainly a more polarizing scent.

Listed notes - Top: Ylang-Ylang and Black Orchid Heart: Plum and Agarwood (Oud) Base: Patchouli, Agarwood (Oud) and Citruses

Paris Corner Veteran Oud: Spicy, smoky, and a touch sweet, oud with a more appealing, balanced dry down. A bit of vanilla, a touch of floral, but sticks to the darker side of a spicy sweet, woody, almost leathery dry down. More well balanced than the Majestic Gold. Nearly a proper wearable fragrance. Slight masculine leaning, polarizing scent.

Listed notes - Top: Saffron, Oud, and Lavender. Heart: Cedarwood, Leather, and Chesnut. Base: Vanilla, Oakmoss, and Amber

I will keep both for the time being and revisit them to monitor for changes, as I've heard the Arabic cheapies like to migrate scent notes a bit as they sit and are sprayed and shaken. Veteran Oud is quite close to something very nice. Majestic Gold is a like a visit to the museum of modern art... just weird. I'm glad I got these, as my foundational paradigm is being created regarding the cheap market. I'll be going for the real Emporio Armani next and comparing it to Pete's EDP of Year of the Dragon.

 

[ScentChaser]

Coming soon... lots of samples to get a nose on. Mostly soaps and some sample sets from Chiseled Face. Oh ya, and decants of nearly the whole Armani Stronger With You line.

 

[Balin]

I had a significant change in shave quality for the better. I believe it was reaching a better blade for me, the Gillette Nacet. So far the Supermax Titanium, Yellow, Green, Black, and Silver Blue Gillettes have not been the best for me.

I am really enjoying your journal. I am not good on scents but the way you describe them makes sense ( is this a double entendre ) to me. Its funny how blades can be so different in experience to different people. I love Nacets, but they are second to GSB's in my ranking.

I look forward to more of your reviews!

 

[ScentChaser]

Thank you for coming by @Balin !

I came home to a bag of samples, and I ordered more! Aftershave samples from PAA and more soap samples from Monica @ Van Yulay. So, there'll be no shortage of stuff to sniff.

I'm not putting too much effort into ranking blades as my technique is the real variable at this time. I think the second pass through the blades will tell a more complete story, especially as I tighten up the routine.

Stronger With You Leather came in today too, but the scent was very odd (maybe scam) - I checked the Amazon listing I got it from and it was taken down, even though there were 9 available when I purchased. I hopped on a chat with Amazon and they refunded me instantly. Maybe they knew something I didn't... Now I need another source for the SWY Leather. I see a couple at FragranceNet.com and PerfumeOnline.ca. But I'm going to wait for the decants I ordered to come in and make sure I'm not loco... Well I know I'm crazy, but y'all know what I mean

I am soon picking up, in person, a full set of Shave Dad/HC&C Kid's Art Series #1 (SWY Intensely Homage) and the EDP to Year of the Dragon. Can't wait.

 

[ScentChaser]

Face shave with Van Yulay Spooky Holler and head shave with Van Yulay Puros La Habana about 30 minutes apart. Both of these were in my top 5 from 40 VY samples. Spooky Holler is like a creamy damp earthy almost cosmetic (makeup) scent. Unique and has a spooky quality off the puck for sure, but when lathered up, which I do about half of lathering in the bowl, then bring it to the face sort of like a hybrid to really work it in with the brush. The scent was indeed quite muted in the lather. Very light.

With Puros la Habana (HELLO cigar! Like, stick your head in the humidor), another of my top VY preferences for scent, the scent was slightly more consistent from puck to lather albeit with a similar and significant lightening/lessening effect of what I assume to be, after lathering a few up, to be the base's scent. The base scent seems to work well for some, but not as much for others. If I could describe the common theme it would simply be "soapy". Not like a generalized clean smell, but like a bar soap.

I did get one full sized set of Achilles soap, splash, and balm and I tried a test area of the splash on my face well after the shave, and unfortunately it's an irritant for me with a lasting burn (not the good kind - and there's no alcohol in it). The scent is like a sweet-cream toffee bourbon that dries down into a sweet woodsy leather (toffee drops off). The lather was slick and provided a good shave, no complaints there. And my head, where I didn't apply any aftershave, feels great.

I lathered up a couple more soaps and the preliminary result is clear. The Van Yulay base, whilst shaving well for me, doesn't tick my primary box, scent. I am quite OC about having the ability to pair a splash with a scent, and with VY Achilles AS burning my skin, I'm hesitant to try another, though it very well may be the scent oils rather than the witch hazel base AS ingredients. I'm just not willing to find out.

With that said, from the ones I got a nose on so far, my top 12 Van Yulay scents *from the puck* in no particular order: Spooky Hollar, Puros la Habana, Rack Em Up, 221 Baker Street, Black Tea and Amber, Tuscan, Club Humidor, Haberdashery, Tobacco e Alloro, Tobaco Polvoron, Calabash.

When I can post in BST, should be soon when I hit 50 posts, I'll offer them up for half of what I got them for to help fund some more samples. And I got them half-off, so they'll be 75% off. Only scooped 5 of the samples for testing.

Below are my initial puck-whiff impressions, without looking at scent notes.

Van Yulay
Achilles	Sweet toffee boozy opening that dries down to a dry sweet leather
Chupacabra	clean, fresh, green, cosmetics note
Muerte	Soapy, fresh, damp, dapper, slight green
Resurrected	Soapy, green, floral
Spooky Hollar	Creamy damp dirt, near leather, spooky!
Cactus Rider	Soapy, Floral leather, super fresh, not too sweet, quite dry
Classic Ride	Leather, cucumber, vintage, carwash, bright… super bright floral
Rack Em UP	Soft, gentle leather, entering the billiards club with a beautiful woman across the room
Spicey Bomber	Soapy, spicy leather, slightly sweet
Grand Lodge	Soapy woodsy leathery hunting lodge lobby with no spicy or sweet, transportive
The Spy who Shaved Me	Clean, fresh green, leather, very bright
Tuscan Shaving Soap	Smokey spicy wood leather smoothly melded with a sweet lightly floral, soapy clean
Atomic Rose	Soapy rose bar soap
Poseidon	Dark Soapy Aquatic
Down Under	Soapy aquatic
Calypso	Perfumy aquatic, soapy
221 Baker Street	Rich creamy leather, clean, fresh, dry, transportive
Black Tea and Amber	Soapy Orange slight spice sweet
Royal Oudh	Floral leather woody, clean, less spicy, soft and a touch sweet
Bacchus	Very clean, Cowboy hat store, silk lined, heated press hat shaper, soapy clean
All 20 Tobacco Samples
Achilles (Repeat)	Toffee opening that dries down to a dry sweet leather
B2B	Soapy cologne homage
Bee Sting	Honey, honeysuckle, Sour candy, lemon, cough drop with no menthol/medicine smell
Black Cavendish	Soapy, anise/licorice, no real tobacco
Cherry Tobacco	Soapy, unsweet cherry, waxxy, no real tobacco
Club Humidor	Soapy, spicy, sweet, cigar bar before opening (no smoke), cigar tobacco more of a background constant
Durham Green	Soapy, fresh, green, tobacco, light mint
Haberdashery	Soapy leather
Kopenhagen	Wintergreen
Mr. Debonair	clean, light leather tobacco
Oh Baby!	Clean leather lavender spicy
Papi's Pipe	Soapy cherry light tobacco
Puros La Habana	Part one - sweet dry pepper clean town just when you think it will go soapy, Part two - stick your head in the humidor - every whiff is a 2-parter 7/10
Spicy Bomber	Soapy, spicy leather, slightly sweet
Tobac de LaVal	Cinnamon, spice, sweet, light tobacco
Tobacco e Alloro	Deep sweet blue smell - very interesting no tobacco, not cologny
Tobaco Polvoron	black cherry fruit punchy sweet
Tabak	Soapy!, green
Tabakblume	Soapy, green, floral
Texas Sunset	Sweet dry floral honey,Concentrated Beeswax, Sweet Tea with lemon, Suede, Leather, Clean carpet
The Explorer	Soapy Floral Sweet
Calabash	Soapy, distinguished tobacco, leather
Rated X-mas	Soapy cherry
Coffee Pumpkin Latte	Soapy light coffee note, lighter pumpkin note

 

[ScentChaser]

Comparisons of Hendrix Classics & Co. and the original SWY line coming soon, after I live with them for a bit longer. In the mean time, here's a comparison between the line itself. FYI SWY Intensely is getting a 2024 reformulation per GentScents on YT. The (Y/N/M) next to each flanker is the answer to the question, "Do I want a bottle?". Yes/No/Maybe.

Wasn't able to pick up the HC&C in person as the storefront isn't quite open, but certainly looking forward to that.

Leather (Y and I found one!)	Very sweet Vanilla Chestnut, touch of oud, has a bright metallic quality similar to intensely near candy-like citrus almost a fruit punch on dry down that serves the purpose of making the chestnut pop. In contention for #3 spot.
Intensely (Y)	Very sweet Vanilla Chestnut The citrus note seemed out of place until it evens on dry down and makes it project harder, more mature in a sweet and immature world. In contention for #1 spot.
Absolutely (M)	Sweet Vanilla Chestnut Powdery Drydown - Simple. A bit less character and longevity than Intensely but very close. In contention for #3 spot.
Oud (Y)	Sweet Dry Darkness, Brown, woody, Smoky melded Oud. Quite a bit smoother than, but very close to Paris Corner/Pendora Veteran Oud. SWY Oud's sweetness drops on dry and becomes more dry woody with the backdoor oud - not animalic and just the right amount. Most character, less sweet than everything except tobacco in the best of ways. In contention for #1 spot.
Tobacco (N)	Less Sweet, peppery, darker, unique, smoothed and melded on dry down with a harsh synthetic overly-dried tobacco poking through, The most polarizing in the line. Takes the last spot in the line because I wouldn't wear it. It's a tobacco stick prodding you rather than inviting you to whiff more.
Amber (N)	The most redundant - not enough standalone character. If I had only smelled this one, I'd be in love with it. Amazing fragrance, just not as excellent amongst the clique. Most feminine. Takes the second to last spot but it's amazing, and I still love it.

 

[ScentChaser]

Phoenix Artisan Acc.	First Impression
Atomic Age Bay Rum	Sweet Orange, Spices, Anise or Licorice, Black Pepper
Boomtown Bay Rum	Ghost Town Barber into AABR
Cad	Woodsy, Musky, Peppery, Old Man
Cavendish	Synthetic Note ruins the tobacco, not warm or dark, powdery
Ciderhouse 5	GREAT except for the apple , not an apple kind of guy, the other notes are interesting if the apple were removed
Coconut Bay	Spicy Coconut, Licorice/Anise, Clove, Bay Rummy
Coconut Oud	Coconut with a warmer darker note, the good sun tan oil, the beach with depth and less fem, Top 5
Cold Spices	Old Spice is not my speed
Controversy	Clean new car leather, car scent at the car wash, first part of cherry into floral
Doppelgänger - Black Label	Nice men's cologne, distinguished, sweet, powder, musk, Just outside top 5
Doppelgänger - Dbl SOB	Very nice men's cologne, fresh, bright, citrus, sprite, a bit too standard on dry down, Just outside top 5
Doppelgänger - F-Bombs	Powder, Lavender, Old Man Floral, Not for me, unique
Doppelgänger - Gold Label	Powder, Rose, Floral, non-standard, fresh, slight feminine
Doppelgänger - Green Label	Fresh, Green, Polo'y vibe
Doppelgänger - Grey Label	Very nice men's cologne, citrus forward, floral, musk, Just outside top 5
Doppelgänger - Oxblood Label	Nice men's cologne, wood, musk, sweet, spicy, mature, unique
Doppelgänger - Plum Label	Very nice men's cologne, black cherry like, floral, too near feminine, unique
DROID Black	Fruit punch cologne, Fabulous Sweet Cologny, Just outside top 5
Gondolier	Banana Republic Store, Italian sweet soft cologne, spicy wood dry down, standard cologny
Good Vibrations	Clean, Citrus Cologny Sweet, Top 5
Harvest Moon	Blue, crisp night sky, berry, doesn't go cologne, Unique Sweet Partial Blueberry Top 5
Hotel Cecil	This puts me in the hotel lobby, clean, powder, carpet cleaner, a bit of aqua velva without urinal cake
Sangre De Drago	Orange, Spicy, Clove, Anise
Speakeasy	Bookstore café, floral, citrus, woodsy, a wearable Hotel Cecil, lobby vibe without the carpet cleaner, Top 5
The Battle	A touch of the tombstone gunpowder that resolves into a sweet leather balanced cologne, Top 5
The Beach	Citrus, Pineapple, Coconut, Sun Tan Lotion, feminine Hair Conditioner, nice hot summer weather
The Watcher	Sweet, Musk, Woodsy, Super unique to me, airy
Thought Forms	Sweet, Dry, Floral, Soap, Powder
Tokyo Rose	Rose present but not floral, rose cologne but not cologny, dry rose, powder
Tombstone	Gunpowder, Leather, Ghost Town, a bit much

Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements top 5 in no particular order: The Battle, Speakeasy, Good Vibrations, Coconut Oud, Harvest Moon. Honorable Mention: Droid Black, Doppleganger Grey, Doppleganger Black

 

[ScentChaser]

House of Mammoth
Alive	So unique, green, lime pepper chive thing going, has a unique brightness like smelling salts, WAKE UP!
Dammusi	Eucalyptus Aquatic with a unique high end clean leather thing going Love it!
Embrace	Black Cherry Lime Leather, clean, but inviting and cozy Love it!
Indigo	Blue bubble gum followed by an amazing powdery clean - very nice
Shire	Creamy, caramel, Green Forest Toffee Floral Dirt Hut - very nice
Tobacconist	The Pottery Barn/Pier 1 Imports Leather couches, terra cotta, rugs, rich clean, caramel/toffee, cream - very nice
Chiseled Face
Ghost Town Barber	So Clean, fresh, floral, so pleasant. AS: more cologny wetter, sweeter, beautiful. - Love it!
Midnight Stag	A pickled greasy mechanic that slipped in some vinegar then washed his hands with some gasoline. AS: more fragrance-like and a tad more acceptable, loses the pickle, more gun cleaner, more woodsy - can't walk around smellin like this…
Sherlock	Complex, Library, clean polished floor, leather books, Harry Potter stuff going on here AS: lighter, slight citrus, complex, slight spice cologny - Love it!
Summer Storm	It rained on trade winds add sweeter citrus notes, beautiful, clean AS: fresh green, sweet, citrus - very nice
Trade Winds	Floral wind blown field, aquatic, cosmetic (makeup) AS: More shower gel'y, clean, soapy, slight cologny - very nice
Wholly Kaw
Cuero Oscuro	Clean carpet in a sweat shop show room making high end leather hand bags, heavy leather - very nice
Entropy Man (Siero)	Very Unique cosmetic makeup sephora store vibe, first part of cherry, into a very clean scent - Love it!
Jamestown Gentleman	Light, beautiful, dapper, clean, high dollar face serum - very nice
Merchant of Tobacco	Sweet Milk Chocolate, cinnamon, light tobacco
Project Leather	Menthol Green Suede Velvet clean, on the brighter/lighter side of leather
Zingari Man
Mousse Illuminee	Very relaxing Realistic green mossy forest plants, Fern Gully, touch of mint leaf or eucalyptus, crazy good balance Love it!
The Gent	Unique, Eucalyptus, Private Salon, Super Clean Bright & dapper, very slightly spicy, maybe melon, chapsticky menthol (could just be eucalyptus) - very nice
The Rambler	Oh My Goodness, Unique dry cedar cabin, slightly sweet, well balanced, slight tobacco, balanced with high-end salon/barbershop products - Jaw dropping! Love it! IMPRESSIVE!
The Watchman	Wow, blue violet crisp misty water, blueberry, sweet, mystic. Love it!
Noble Otter
Barrbarr	Super clean, white, light minty toothpaste, beautiful balance, slight citrus Love it!
Orbit	Blue, slight menthol, slight aquatic cologny vibe without really going there, airy, slight citrus, people would pay $50 if this were a candle, beautiful Love it!
Maggard's Razor
Tobacco and Leather	Clean cream 1950's leather car seats, cuban street barber, it's more balanced type of PAA Controversy or VY Classic Ride - very nice
Arianna & Evans
Vanille de Tobac	Cinnamon, clove, spice, sweet tobacco
Top Mentions:	Dammusi, Embrace, Ghost Town Barber, Sherlock, Entropy Man, Mousse Illuminee, The Rambler (fav of this sample lot), The Watchman, Barrbarr, Orbit
Honorable Mentions:	Indigo, Shire, Tobacconist, Summer Storm, Trade Winds, Cuero Oscuro, Jamestown Gentleman, The Gent, Tobacco and Leather

 

[ScentChaser]

Excellent first whiffs (no looking at scent notes) from RE sampler off the pucks.

Razor Emporium
American Amber	Nice safe brown amber with a beginning hint of citric acid or berry to start you off then land you on a clean clean slightly sweet amber. Very nice
Barbershop	Basil citrus floral type barbershop with strength and depth Very nice
Citrus	Cut open a lemon and add a bit of cleaner
Element 47	Clean, toothpaste but more like a fragrance/cologne, cosmetic note, slight fem (looked at it it's Creed Silver Mountain Water) Very nice
Fireside	Smokey, creamy, vanilla, cinnamon, spices, clean, Christmas, barbershop (I don't like cinnamon but it's a good scent)
Heritage	Sweet, clean, creamy, floral, linen, berry, American Barbershop, dapper Love it!
Lavender	Bright, floral, top end of lavender, minty, super clean, airy Very nice
Nordic	Bergamot, linen, clean, airy, like an open sail but close to shore Love it!
Old School	Deep, sweet, leather, berry, airy, aquatic, cherry, polish, clean Very nice
Sandalwood	Woodsy, clean, dapper - probably wears really well, but so stronk off the puck it almost goes vinegary, need to try it out Very nice

Rex Supply Co.	I like them in this order. Nice strong balanced scents.
1955	Talc, super clean, barbershop, powdery
1966	Citrus, clean, powder, bright, orange tangerine lemon pledge (wood cleaner)
1977	Green, sagey, clean, lime, cleaner

Top 2: Nordic (has eucalyptus), Heritage

Honorable Mentions: American Amber, Barbershop, Element 47, Lavender (has menthol), Old School, Sandalwood