The Kiss of Death

[Cains Boy]

This is the phrase a member used not long ago to describe what happens when your woman doesn't, shall we say, react kindly to a scent you happen to like.

(sorry - can't remember the name of the B&B-er I'm referring to!)

A couple of my aftershaves got the kiss of death last night. After I found out that my wife likes Pinaud Clubman, I thought I'd take her on a tour of the aftershave department on the bathroom counter to hear her opinions (so yeah - I handed her the death warrant, so to speak). It went down like this:

Hoyt's
- "Eh, it's OK."
- "I've worn it since I've known you!"
- "Yeah, I don't think I like it as much as I used to. It's not........BAD..."
M&L Florida Water
- *scrunches up nose and backs away* "Smells like cinnamon candy."
D.R. Harris Arlington Aftershave Milk
- "That's really nice - it's really light"
- "That's the one that costs $40. So, you like it, huh?"
- "It costs WHAT?!?" *sigh* "Well, it does smell great."
Aqua Velva (original)
- *pushes bottle away before smelling it* "NO!! I know what that smells like."
Ivory Club in Shulton bottle
- "I like Old Spice a lot. Smells like Grandaddy."
Pinaud Lilac Vegetal
- "Adam! It smells like a skunk! That's the first thing I thought of: a skunk."
- "Remember? This is the one you like after about twenty minutes."
- "Yeah, it's nice after the vegetables [sic] die down."
Pinaud Clubman
- "That's the one I like. Wear that. It smells like a man. A classic man."

Anybody else ever "encouraged" their wife/girlfriend to opine on their aftershaves like this? (EDIT: My wife promises me that I'll never have to force an opinion out of her...she'll let me know without my asking )

 

[FLTiger]

Anybody else ever "encouraged" their wife/girlfriend to opine on their aftershaves like this? (EDIT: My wife promises me that I'll never have to force an opinion out of her...she'll let me know without my asking )

Oh absolutely. I'm less likely to wear something that she doesn't like, though I am not going to let a "meh" reaction turn into a veto if I really like it. I've been going through my Superlather decants over the past couple of weeks, and I've been reapplying each AS before I see her so that I can get her opinion. So far, scent-wise, she and I both agree that Hâttric Classic is a winner!

 

[masonjarjar]

she's uninterested in the whole thing.. *shrug*

 

[Bobtrumpet]

Anybody else ever "encouraged" their wife/girlfriend to opine on their aftershaves like this? (EDIT: My wife promises me that I'll never have to force an opinion out of her...she'll let me know without my asking )

Yeah, I do. She hasn't disliked anything I've bought yet. I get a few "meh" comments when she's not too excited about something, but nothing makes her gag reflex kick in - although she hasn't like any of the department store stuff I've sampled. There are a few things she likes (Old Spice, Tabac, Speick, Number Six, Bowling Green). I don't recall if I've sought her opinion on AV Musk yet.

 

[M. McCord]

Pinaud Clubman
- "That's the one I like. Wear that. It smells like a man. A classic man."

At least she's not all bad.

I've gotten to where I don't tell her what I'm wearing. That way I get, "that smells nice what is it?" Brut. "Dad wore that, it's nice and reminds me of childhood."

 

[mdunn]

luckily, my girlfriend is yet to give anything the kiss of death. In fact, she really likes Tabac and told me I should wear Brut more often!

 

[Luc]

I got a big no for Royall Bay rum but a "oh, that's nice!" for Royall Mandarine.

She also loved MG5 and I have yet to release Mandom!

 

[FLTiger]

I should also add that my wife is sometimes "scent sensitive," which is why I'm always up front with getting her to sample most everything I buy that has one.

 

[paulboeck]

My wife just when I start to talk about shaving.

 

[Cutter]

Whenever my wife starts "sniffing" around, I evacuate to the garage in a calm, orderly fashion.

 

[Topgumby]

AFTA - "You can come near me afta that wears off".

Tabac - "That smells like Aqua-Net...but I like Aqua-Net".

Old Spice - "Mmmm, you smell nice".

CO Bigelow Bay Rum - "You smell like Christmas".

Grey Flannel - "I like it, but I can see where the kids think it smells like cat pee".

Obsession - "Are the kids asleep yet?" (only problem is, I'm not crazy about it...but sometimes certain sacrifices have to be made )

 

[Cains Boy]

I should probably have mentioned that my wife is pregnant, and she tells me that her sense of smell is affected; i.e. coffee can smell like Fruit Loops and tomato vines can smell like chocolate...that kind of thing (those are extreme, fictional examples, but you get the idea).

Lets hope that her response to the Hoyt's is a fluke and the Clubman response is not.

 

[SilverB]

Is the Dr Harris Arlington scent really worth the hype? I've been curious to try it out but I'd like samples of it first

 

[Cains Boy]

Is the Dr Harris Arlington scent really worth the hype? I've been curious to try it out but I'd like samples of it first

Although scent is a very personal thing et cetera, et cetera, for me it's worth the hype. Guys talk about citrus and fern, but what I get is clean. I get more citrus in the shaving cream (I'm actually a "soap guy", but still have half a tub of Arlington left over from the SC days) than I do in the AS milk.

Actually, my first impression when I smelled the sample of AS milk I got from Jim at Vintage Blades was "Sure original aerosol deoderant" which, to me, is nice because it reminds me of my dad after a shower when I was little.

I can't think of another after shave product I would spend this much on (see my above list of aftershaves), but this one is like my "treat".

 

[Sharpj74]

Although I value my wife's opinions, It has never deterred me from wearing (or doing) what I like regardless. I've been in trouble more than once for the, "I'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission." attitude.

 

[Holton181]

Although I value my wife's opinions, It has never deterred me from wearing (or doing) what I like regardless. I've been in trouble more than once for the, "I'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission." attitude.

You're braver than me, my friend.

 

[Doc4]

I find that handing my little sweetheart a bottle of aftershave for a sniff test is a surefire way for two things to happen:

1. she sticks it right up under her nose and take a deep sniff, thus getting waaaay too much scent, and

2. that aftershave is forever in her mind thought of as having "too strong ... ugh!" a scent.

Although I value my wife's opinions, It has never deterred me from wearing (or doing) what I like regardless. I've been in trouble more than once for the, "I'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission." attitude.

You're braver than me, my friend.

don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

PS: SWMBO usually thinks "forever" is a good starting point.

 

[Cains Boy]

I find that handing my little sweetheart a bottle of aftershave for a sniff test is a surefire way for two things to happen:

1. she sticks it right up under her nose and take a deep sniff, thus getting waaaay too much scent, and

2. that aftershave is forever in her mind thought of as having "too strong ... ugh!" a scent.

This is true, and it's exactly why I was the one in control of the bottles in this little experiment (I kind of passed it "by" her nose, if that makes sense).

I'm guessing that a variation of this is the reason she (and others) don't like Aqua Velva. Except instead of a bottle right under the nose, it's guys in their junior high / high school days who got a hold of dad's bottle and used it as soap, shampoo, aftershave, colognne, and mouthwash that sort of soured them on AV for good.

 

[ClubmanRob]

I got a big no for Royall Bay rum but a "oh, that's nice!" for Royall Mandarine.

Same here. Add Royall Lime to the "nuh uh" list as well.