WSP Aftershave Review
WARNING - This is a long review. If you just want to see the scents, scroll down to the bolded text and look for the scent you're interested in. Also, sorry for any grammatical mistakes I made.
*I am in no way affiliated with Wet Shaving Products
I recently bought some 1 mL samples of aftershave from WSP. I got 8 scents. All the samples performed excellently (except Neroli which I didn’t use). They left my dryish skin feeling as moisturized as my Proraso White AS balm but less greasy, but it very well may have been helped with the Formula T soap. So they’re good in that respect, but if you have really dry skin, you might want to add some pre-shave oil or glycerin to the bottle, or apply some pre-shave oil before a shave to moisturize your skin more.
It is alcohol based, and it was my first time trying an alcohol splash, so I anticipated a slight stinging, but it is a full on burn. It felt pretty good and really hot (not sitting in the sun and sweating kind of hot; more like fire in front of your face kind of hot), so for those of you who don’t like that much burn but still want a splash, I’d suggest going for their mentholated formula. I’m not sure if it will subdue the burn, but I’m guessing it will. They have a balm, too if you want that.
This isn’t a too much of a long lasting AS, so if you want a longer lasting scent, I’d suggest either applying the splash twice (one application after the other) or getting their EdP. Or both. The 1 mL was just enough for one application, so the longevity may vary for you depending on how much you use.
These are my interpretations of the scents. I’m describing what I smell and the performance of the scent on my skin. YMMV especially with AS/cologne, so buy samples if you aren’t sure about the scent. Keep in mind these are EdC strength, so the longevity and projection (mostly longevity) shouldn’t be expected to stand out. Also, the soaps I used (both shaving soaps and my Mahogany bath soap sample) often added to the scent, but they didn’t skew it, because they are so faint after you wash them off, so the descriptions are as accurate as I can get them.
Also, the scents probably last longer as a skin scent after I can’t detect them. What this means is people will be able to smell it very close to you, but you won’t be able to smell it any more. At least this was the case for me.
Now, for the good stuff. The descriptions in no particular order:
All are great performers and do an amazing job moisturizing my skin. After changing my technique, I also learned that the alcohol burn is minimized when you don’t put too much (or any) pressure on the razor, since my razor is pretty aggressive, and I get razor burn if I put pressure on the razor, though I don’t feel it until the AS.
These aftershaves were wonderful, and I definitely recommend them. Thanks for reading. Don't hesitate with any questions. Feel free to ask.
WARNING - This is a long review. If you just want to see the scents, scroll down to the bolded text and look for the scent you're interested in. Also, sorry for any grammatical mistakes I made.
*I am in no way affiliated with Wet Shaving Products
I recently bought some 1 mL samples of aftershave from WSP. I got 8 scents. All the samples performed excellently (except Neroli which I didn’t use). They left my dryish skin feeling as moisturized as my Proraso White AS balm but less greasy, but it very well may have been helped with the Formula T soap. So they’re good in that respect, but if you have really dry skin, you might want to add some pre-shave oil or glycerin to the bottle, or apply some pre-shave oil before a shave to moisturize your skin more.
It is alcohol based, and it was my first time trying an alcohol splash, so I anticipated a slight stinging, but it is a full on burn. It felt pretty good and really hot (not sitting in the sun and sweating kind of hot; more like fire in front of your face kind of hot), so for those of you who don’t like that much burn but still want a splash, I’d suggest going for their mentholated formula. I’m not sure if it will subdue the burn, but I’m guessing it will. They have a balm, too if you want that.
This isn’t a too much of a long lasting AS, so if you want a longer lasting scent, I’d suggest either applying the splash twice (one application after the other) or getting their EdP. Or both. The 1 mL was just enough for one application, so the longevity may vary for you depending on how much you use.
These are my interpretations of the scents. I’m describing what I smell and the performance of the scent on my skin. YMMV especially with AS/cologne, so buy samples if you aren’t sure about the scent. Keep in mind these are EdC strength, so the longevity and projection (mostly longevity) shouldn’t be expected to stand out. Also, the soaps I used (both shaving soaps and my Mahogany bath soap sample) often added to the scent, but they didn’t skew it, because they are so faint after you wash them off, so the descriptions are as accurate as I can get them.
Also, the scents probably last longer as a skin scent after I can’t detect them. What this means is people will be able to smell it very close to you, but you won’t be able to smell it any more. At least this was the case for me.
Now, for the good stuff. The descriptions in no particular order:
- Gaelic Tweed—paired with Gaelic Tweed Formula T soap—Someone summed this up as green, clean, and masculine. I’d have to agree. It’s a terribly difficult scent to describe, but to me, it’s like a sweet, floral grass with some sandalwood underneath (predominantly herbal, slightly sweet wood; not like Home Depot sprayed with vanilla Febreze kind of wood). The sweetness is definitely well below becoming cloying and the only way I can describe the sweetness is floral. It’s not sugary sweet or fruity, and it’s definitely not overdone. It slightly morphs over time into something more woodsy but the green florals still dominate. The aftershave smells a bit more natural than the soap, because the soap smells sweeter and more like Cool Water to me than the AS. This smells amazing, but it does smell more mature and natural than your usual designer cologne, so keep that in mind. Because of that, it’s best when it’s a little dressed up in my opinion. Not necessarily a suit and tie, but I’d say you should at least wear a collar and pants with this. Also, I think it fits better with warmer weather, but it’s not out of place in the cold.
- Longevity—around 5.5 hours on me before I couldn’t detect it
- Projection—6.5/10
- Barbershop—paired with Sandalwood Formula T soap—This is one of my favorites. It’s hard to describe, but it doesn’t smell too powdery to my nose. To me, it’s a blend of prominent orange zesty top notes with a bit of lemon. There are some floral notes that aren’t too noticeable or over-powering but still present. Underneath, something dark but sweet kind of like a dark vanilla with some powder. I’d assume this is the powdery musk base, and it is not overly sweet by any means. To me, the powdery base is perfect in rounding the scent out. I’ve yet to try Clubman, but if Clubman is too powdery to you, you should definitely try this. This is a beautiful, clean scent that is one that most men would be able to wear with confidence. I think this is a truly all occasion, all weather scent, except for maybe a formal dinner or party.
- Longevity—around 4.5 hours on me before I couldn’t detect it
- Projection—5/10
- Tobacco—paired with Sandalwood Formula T—This one disappointed me a bit. From the top, I got a very strong cologne-type smell and it smelled like I put on too much cologne. As it dried down in around 20 minutes, I got a green tea smell before you put it in water. I assume this is the bay leaf, but at not point did I smell tobacco. I was expecting a dark floral scent with hints of tobacco and bay leaf, but I was let down. It wasn’t for me I guess. I like the Mahogany scent from the bath soap much better.
- Longevity—4 hours
- Projection—5/10
- Neroli—didn’t use as AS but it got on my fingers—This is something I would avoid if you want a masculine scent. This is most definitely on the feminine side of the unisex spectrum to me. It smells like a citrusy feminine perfume. It’s predominant scent is orange peel, but it is well rounded out with a flowery orange, but something about it just reminds me of a woman’s perfume. I just can’t place it. I could see a only see it being worn by a man at the beach, but I still don’t think it would quite masculine there. I’m sure it’s probably just be a note that reminds me of a woman’s perfume I’ve smelled (I think the bergamot), but it isn’t for me.
- Longevity—around 2.5 hours on my hand; keep in mind that only a tiny bit got on my hands. It would be a powerhouse if you actually used the AS or the EdP
- Projection—7/10
- Joe’s Distinguished Gentleman—paired with Sandalwood Formula T—This one is really nice but hard to describe (yeah we get it, they all are hard to describe). From the top I get a strong lemon/lemon zest and some sweetish, spicy alcohol smell (rum?) that pairs very well with the lemon. The lemon is prominent, but far from artificial like urinal cakes. Underneath, sweet and slightly woody notes come through. There is vanilla underneath the top notes, but it isn’t too sweet, and it gets stronger as the scent goes on, pairing with woodsy, cinnamon-y notes. The spicy alcohol smell slightly dies down over time, but it is definitely still there, as is the lemon. The initial lemony rum gets subdued by the sweetness over time, but it is by no means cloying at all. I feel that this is a scent most at home for going out, and I don’t feel it would be the best choice for school or work, because of the rum. I think, however, that it’s much nicer than the overwhelming amount of synthetic colognes that everyone is wearing, so if you want to be different (this is, after all, Joe’s Distinguished Gentleman), this is a good choice.
- Side note—I just wanted to mention that my dog liked this scent, and licked my hand for about a minute an hour after application, so I’m not sure if that speaks to how natural the ingredients are, or if my dog’s just an alcoholic who likes rum.
- Longevity—around 4.5 hours before I couldn’t detect it
- Projection—5.5/10
- Citrus Blast—paired with Sandalwood Formula T—This is a truly unisex scent but leans more towards the feminine side. The opening is just as the name suggests. A blast of citrus. It's a mix of mainly orange with maybe a tiny bit of lemon to give it less sweetness. However, it is pretty sweet, and some who don't like sweet scents might find it cloying. The only cologne out of the few (around 13) I've tried that is truly cloying is Armani Code Profumo. This is not at that level of sweetness at all, and it is definitely not nearly as synthetic as Profumo. It has some florals underneath but not much, and over time, a sandalwood-ish base comes through a bit more, but it's not as dark of a wood scent as cedar or mahogany. It's an herbal, slightly sweet wood that's lighter than something like WSP's Mahogany. Overall, this is a very fresh, light scent, and while I found it a bit too sweet and feminine (I would've liked more lemon and less orange to round out the sweetness), I would definitely recommend it for very casual occasions like the beach or for a sweet, refreshed scent and feeling. I didn't completely dislike it like I did Neroli, but I didn't find it to suit me or the places I often go. If you like citrus though, specifically orange, and don't mind more feminine scents, you might really like this scent.
- Longevity—around 4 hours before I couldn’t detect it
- Projection—6.5/10
- Vetiver—paired with Sandalwood Formula T—Vetiver, to me, smelled almost exactly like WSP described it. Fresh cut grass and a cool of lemonade. Not exactly those smells, but close. Note—This doesn’t smell like dirt of have an earthy scent; the grass smells like if you had grass without dirt underneath or if you plucked the grass out and smelled it, not like grass on dirt—From the beginning to end, I smelled a kind of dry grass smell with lemon peel and a hint of mint, and a faint, barely noticeable undertone of wood. By dry grass, I mean like when you cut yellowing grass. As time goes on, the grass becomes a bit sweeter and the lemon peel goes away so only sweet grass and lemon are left with that same slight hint of mint and wood. This may not be the most enticing description, but it’s as good as I can describe it. This is a scent you have to try for yourself to experience, because my description might turn you off even though I liked the scent. Was it my favorite? No, but it was fresh scent I liked, and it’s suitable for all occasions but formal ones and I would wear it for warmer days.
- Longevity—around 5 hours before I couldn’t detect it
- Projection—5/10
- Spruce Up—paired with Sandalwood Formula T—A really fresh masculine, earthy scent, this one is, to me, reminiscent of smelling pine trees after it rains. It smells like pure pine, and a hint of wood, but it doesn’t smell overly earthy or like dirt. It is a linear scent, and it smells like it only has one note. It’s definitely masculine, and it doesn’t have anything to round out the pine, so it’s kind of like their Sandalwood. Pure, one note, and masculine. One thing I really like about it is that it smells extremely natural. Nothing artificial in this one, as in most of them. It doesn’t smell like Pine-sol. It smells like real pine. I’d say this is not out of place anywhere, any time, or any season. It’s a scent that’s clean and fresh (but not bright) so it’s perfect for casual occasions, but it’s sophisticated so you can pull it off for more formal occasions or for going out. It’s a great scent to me, and you will like if you are into pine.
- Longevity—around 4.5 hours before I couldn’t detect it
- Projection—4/10
- BONUS: Mahogany and Sandalwood Scents from Soaps
- Mahogany—bath soap—This scent is incredible. It's really complex, it's definitely sweet, spicy and woody. It's a masculine scent, and to me, it smells like a less sweet cinnamon (which I think is allspice, but I don't know how allspice smells like), vanilla, and wood perfectly mixed into one scent. There's also the tiniest bit of citrus. It's a great cold weather scent, and a great undertone to use as a soap before using a fresher aftershave. It's not overly sweet, and not overly spicy, but it is more sweet than spicy. The wood is definitely present, and really gives a nice base for the spices and sweetness. It's definitely a scent I liked, and I got the full bottle of aftershave.
- Sandalwood—Formula T shaving soap—A predominantly herbal/medicinal, slightly sweet wood; not like Home Depot sprayed with vanilla Febreze kind of wood. It grew on me after a while, and though I wouldn't wear it as an AS or cologne, it's a great undertone for all scents, since sandalwood is already used as a base note for lots of colognes and AS's. I'd get a sample for this though, but you might like it if you like Proraso Red, which I've heard is similar in that it's a one note, pure sandalwood like this one.
All are great performers and do an amazing job moisturizing my skin. After changing my technique, I also learned that the alcohol burn is minimized when you don’t put too much (or any) pressure on the razor, since my razor is pretty aggressive, and I get razor burn if I put pressure on the razor, though I don’t feel it until the AS.
These aftershaves were wonderful, and I definitely recommend them. Thanks for reading. Don't hesitate with any questions. Feel free to ask.
