Master aftershave?

[Shave Ready]

Hi all - I posted in another thread about picking up the last bottle of vintage Pinaud Veg from my barber, but I wanted to also ask a question about Master aftershave that he had available. He offered to sell a bottle of the aftershave for $5, but knowing nothing about the brand or the scent, I politely declined until I could find out more. These too were in a glass bottle. Google searching hasn't brought back any images that look exactly like the bottles he has available - it kind of looks like the bay rum, but I don't recall the bottle having a "Bay Rum" label.

So I guess my questions are:
1. Is Master aftershave any good? I like Clubman and the Veg, so that's kind of my benchmark for good
2. Does Master come in glass bottles now, or are these also vintage?
3. If vintage, is vintage Master better than the new offerings?
4. Is $5 a good deal?

 

[PFP_Dad]

1. I like the Master Bay Rum just fine. It's no Captain's Choice but it's my second favorite.
2. Mine came in plastic - no idea if there are glass bottle currently.
3. No idea.
4. Yep, even if it's new.

 

[man00ver]

Master Well Comb makes many varieties of value-priced aftershave for the barbershop market:

I enjoy their Bay Rum, Topaz and Challenge flavors, Spice is OK, and I'm not terribly fond of Master Blue. The rest I haven't tried. I just noticed one I hadn't seen before called Checker Flag... I might have to go looking for that one. Local independent barber/beauty supply stores are good places to find these (or online, of course).

All of the current product comes in plastic, so a glass bottle would be a nice get!

 

[oldbluelight]

I used Master's this morning (Tues. EDT). I do like the scent but it doesn't linger. On the plus side: no burn and a nice feel afterward that is reminiscent (pun intended) of Clubman. I do wish it would linger a little longer. SWMBO likes it. What the hell, it's cheap and that means I can afford to double the dose with a refresher course after lunch if I want to. All I've seen has been in plastic and my plastic bottle is one of the "New and Unimproved" formulations. What have you got to loose? Five bucks -- Phooey! That would have been a lot for Grandad but "times has changed," as Grandad used to say . Go for it.

 

[dcobranchi]

1. Is Master aftershave any good? I like Clubman and the Veg, so that's kind of my benchmark for good Yes. Nice classic barbershop A/S.
2. Does Master come in glass bottles now, or are these also vintage? Almost certainly vintage
3. If vintage, is vintage Master better than the new offerings? Can't help you here. I've only used the modern stuff in plastic bottles.
4. Is $5 a good deal? It's a fair price. Master A/S is dirt cheap. But I'd gladly pay $5 for some vintage A/S in glass.

 

[Elder Scrolls]

My Master BR comes in a plastic bottle. Is it any good? Yeah! I like using it but I prefer Clubman BR...for $5, just try it.

 

[Shave Ready]

Bunch o' no-good dirty rotten enablers! You're right, for $5 I really can't go wrong. Actually, I could - if it is Bay Rum, I'll probably be sleeping on the couch .

Thanks for the feedback - hopefully I'll be walking out with another bottle of smell-good after my next barber cut!

 

[Graybeard57]

1. Is Master aftershave any good? I like Clubman and the Veg, so that's kind of my benchmark for good
2. Does Master come in glass bottles now, or are these also vintage?
3. If vintage, is vintage Master better than the new offerings?
4. Is $5 a good deal?

1. Master Bay Rum is good, but the scent is weak. I'm toying with the idea of adding a little bit of VIBR to it. Just a little. Master is also a little sticky, but only for a couple of minutes for me. It moistens well.
2. I've only seen it in plastic.
3. Cannot speak to vintage quality. In general, many on the forum lament any new formulation, so I take that with a grain of salt.
4. Mine cost $10, so $5 sounds good to me.

 

[bryan1980]

There's an small barber supply place here locally that has the whole line of Master products (oddly enough, they only have the Bay Rum in the gallon size). I think I'm going to pick up a bottle of Challenge the next time I'm there, it seems to be the most well-liked scent.

 

[urr-lord]

If it is in glass,grab it.If the a/s has turned you can always refill it with the modern formulation.
here is my 2 cents on the various ones.
Master Blue-Velva type scent but much stronger
Focus-Pine based,in the heighborhood of Brut.One of my favorites
Challenger-cedarwood and citrus.Very good
Lilac Vegetol-Lilac w/a bit of pine.No cat pee here
Spice-a gingery,"sunnier" spice blend
Bay Rum-nice but short lived
Iceland Breeze-the VEG of the lineup.Lilac,pine and menthol.Odd smelling in the bottle but nice on the skin.But the scent--well some days it settles down nicely, other days not so much.
Lord&Master-a scent from my childhood that is hard to describe.nice,but light
Topaz-a powdery spice with a little floral

The others I have no experience with.

 

[sanuginz]

Master aftershave is a wonderful, perhaps underrated, barbershop aftershave splash. I slightly prefer them over Pinaud because they seem to be little more gentle on the skin YMMV. Iceland Breeze is probably my favorite that I've tried so far, but I've got a few more to try. And you don't have to worry about being stingy when splashing it out on your hands (like expensive stuff) because you get 14 oz per bottle.

 

[Shave Ready]

Follow-up: I was at the barber yesterday getting my son a haircut, and picked up a bottle of "Topaz." It's in a plastic bottle, and was the only variety carried by the barber. Tried it this morning - it's not too shabby; definitely has that classic barbershop smell. It also reminds me slightly of the Veg with its powdery, slightly floral smell. It's not the best I've ever used, but it's by far not the worst, and at 5 clams is a pretty dang good value!

Thanks all, for your feedback and assistance!

 

[lt114]

Follow-up: I was at the barber yesterday getting my son a haircut, and picked up a bottle of "Topaz." It's in a plastic bottle, and was the only variety carried by the barber. Tried it this morning - it's not too shabby; definitely has that classic barbershop smell. It also reminds me slightly of the Veg with its powdery, slightly floral smell. It's not the best I've ever used, but it's by far not the worst, and at 5 clams is a pretty dang good value!

Thanks all, for your feedback and assistance!

Topaz is my favorite Master as scent. I like to mix some 444 balm to it, which adds some skin friendly ingredients.

 

[Mick]

Master and Pinaud are the two most often used after shaves around here.

Best online selection of Pinaud and Master is through Appelton.

http://www.appletonbarbersupply.com/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1&cat=Aftershaves+and+Colognes

I don't have all of the scents from either by any stretch of the imagination but I have enough of them to keep me happy