The title says most of it for me. We are near to the point of zenith for shave lathers. Within a few months to maybe a two years we will likely see the best of the best in shave soaps. This is a grand thing. The differing lathers and particularly the custom scents will allow us cognoscenti to enjoy the apex of shaving. Now I want the apex in after shaving.
Look, I understand we already have a plethora of aftershave products to use. Frankly, only a small handful have ever truly impressed me as being much more than scented alcohol and water. The noted exceptions are Musgo Classic(likely the best extant) Alt Innsbruck, Speick, and some others I am missing I am sure. I know, I know. What about Myrsol? What about Taylor of Old Bond? I have not used the former but have worked through a number of bottles of the latter. Scented alcohol. Period. No real conditioning. By the way, what I speak of here is the alcohol based lotions. I am not a balm user as such but would not mind trying an aftershave milk. As in milk consistency and nothing thicker than say, 2% milk at that. Otherwise transparent lotions.
Okay so where to start? I do not want to flood our small vendors with tonnes of emails asking for this and that. I am thinking more along the lines of what do we like in the lotions? For me aloe juice is a real plus. A base of aloe juice with some alcohol for antiseptic and preservative properties would be a great start. What other skin ingredients do we need to look at?
Scent. This may be an equal partner for me anymore. With this type of product performance should always be first but I am REAL tired of losing great aftershave scents to silly companies. Right now I am speaking of the traditional British scents. This is my scent family of choice but I am willing to expand beyond it. Remember, the English were the kings of floral and herbal scents in the Edwardian era. I would love to move that direction but others may not care for it. The two aftershave scents I really like have been foolishly discontinued by Trumper and Penhaligon's. Those would be Wild Fern and English Fern respectively. A dupe of those would be fantastic. Another would be an approximation of Penhaligon's Douro. A nicely made Eau de Portugal would be a surefire purchase for me. Okay, enough of what I want. What do you want?
Cheers, Todd
Look, I understand we already have a plethora of aftershave products to use. Frankly, only a small handful have ever truly impressed me as being much more than scented alcohol and water. The noted exceptions are Musgo Classic(likely the best extant) Alt Innsbruck, Speick, and some others I am missing I am sure. I know, I know. What about Myrsol? What about Taylor of Old Bond? I have not used the former but have worked through a number of bottles of the latter. Scented alcohol. Period. No real conditioning. By the way, what I speak of here is the alcohol based lotions. I am not a balm user as such but would not mind trying an aftershave milk. As in milk consistency and nothing thicker than say, 2% milk at that. Otherwise transparent lotions.
Okay so where to start? I do not want to flood our small vendors with tonnes of emails asking for this and that. I am thinking more along the lines of what do we like in the lotions? For me aloe juice is a real plus. A base of aloe juice with some alcohol for antiseptic and preservative properties would be a great start. What other skin ingredients do we need to look at?
Scent. This may be an equal partner for me anymore. With this type of product performance should always be first but I am REAL tired of losing great aftershave scents to silly companies. Right now I am speaking of the traditional British scents. This is my scent family of choice but I am willing to expand beyond it. Remember, the English were the kings of floral and herbal scents in the Edwardian era. I would love to move that direction but others may not care for it. The two aftershave scents I really like have been foolishly discontinued by Trumper and Penhaligon's. Those would be Wild Fern and English Fern respectively. A dupe of those would be fantastic. Another would be an approximation of Penhaligon's Douro. A nicely made Eau de Portugal would be a surefire purchase for me. Okay, enough of what I want. What do you want?
Cheers, Todd
