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There's No Such Thing as a Barbershop Scent

I wouldnt say theres no such thing, theres just different takes on a barbershop scent depending upon where in the world you are.
American barber shops are very different from Italian ones are very different from British ones. That doesnt make one right and one wrong, it just makes them different.
 
I wouldnt say theres no such thing, theres just different takes on a barbershop scent depending upon where in the world you are.
American barber shops are very different from Italian ones are very different from British ones. That doesnt make one right and one wrong, it just makes them different.
I get that there could be regional differences and variations on a theme, but in my limited sample of two purportedly American Barbershop scents, I don't find any similarities at all. Nor do either of them remind me of any American Barbershop I've ever visited.

My conclusion is that the category American Barbershop scents is too broad to be useful, and that only becomes more true if you generalize beyond American barbershops.

I would add, however, that both Sterling and WSP Barbershop Soaps are fine products that are well worth owning.
 
I get that there could be regional differences and variations on a theme, but in my limited sample of two purportedly American Barbershop scents, I don't find any similarities at all. Nor do either of them remind me of any American Barbershop I've ever visited.

My conclusion is that the category American Barbershop scents is too broad to be useful, and that only becomes more true if you generalize beyond American barbershops.
IMO, theyre all someone's perception of what a classic American barbershop would have smelt like. Im with you that barbershop scents from different companies can be wildly different.
 
American Barbershop scent: powdery lavender and oakmoss...maybe with some combination of anise, bergamot, vanilla, patchouli, and/or tonka bean. That’s it....pretty straightforward.
 

shavefan

I’m not a fan
American Barbershop scent: powdery lavender and oakmoss...maybe with some combination of anise, bergamot, vanilla, patchouli, and/or tonka bean. That’s it....pretty straightforward.

Have you tried Wholy Kaw's Man from Mayfair? Your scent description pretty much sums up the scent of MfM. Probably my favorite 'barbershop' scents, and a great performer.
 
Op, you are correct.

The problem = “barbershop” is not an official/classic scent accord. Therefore, nobody agrees on how it should smell.

In my opinion, a classic fougere like clubman or brut smells like a barbershop.

In my experience, items labeled “barbershop” end up loosely smelling like really cheap barbasol clones. Some are okay. Some are awful.

Then you get 50 people with 50 opinions of what a barbershop smells like. Everything from floid blue to proraso green to cella red to speick to old spice to bay rums to lime sec to aqua Velva. Etc.
 
American Barbershop scent: powdery lavender and oakmoss...maybe with some combination of anise, bergamot, vanilla, patchouli, and/or tonka bean. That’s it....pretty straightforward.

So, a classic fougere like clubman or brut. I agree. I wish everyone felt that way as well. They don’t.
 
Depends on the barbershop. Clubman reminds me the most of barbershops when growing up, but I haven't found a decent soap with the same scent.

+1! Yep!

My hometown barbershop in the 50s and 60s smelled of Clubman (talc and splash), leather and tobacco! :a29: :a29:
 
When I think 'barbershop' I tend to think of Clubman like mentioned above. I'm old enough to remember going into the prototypical barbershop with the cheap wood paneling, 2 or 3 chairs, a soda machine, car and hunting or fishing magazines, a straight shave on the neck, and 1 or 2 guys who just seemed to be sitting around to talk to the barbers while they cut someone else's hair. When I purchased Clubman 10 years ago because it was mentioned so much in the shaving circles I thought of 2 things when I opened it - 1. my grandfather 2. the old barbershop my dad took me to when I was 5.

That said Stirling's Barbershop lives in that arena, but with it's own take. It's close enough for me to get the relationship.
 
In my experience, items labeled “barbershop” end up loosely smelling like really cheap barbasol clones.

I think Barbasol smells exactly what a barbershop should smell like - to my scent memory. That being said, I think Stirling Barbershop is a great scent (and performer, of course).
 
My Grandfather was a Detroit High School teacher, who often taught business math in night school. A Grateful student (likely short on cash) offered Grandpa free haircuts for life. This was a sucker proposition, since Grandpa was mostly bald & only needed a few straggling hairs on the sides trimmed. My parents & I would visit (early 1960's) from So Cal & visits seemed to always coincide with Grandpa's "Haircuts". He'd take me along, but since Mom always made me get a haircut before our visits, I never needed a "free one". BUT I was always given a straight razor trim on the back of my neck, anyway. The soap always smelled like Stirling's Barbershop.
Back home in So Cal, my barber always used a dusting powder after my haircuts. It smelled like ShannonSoaps' Barbershop.
There are many Barbershop scented soaps out there - you just need to find yours.
 
My Grandfather was a Detroit High School teacher, who often taught business math in night school. A Grateful student (likely short on cash) offered Grandpa free haircuts for life. This was a sucker proposition, since Grandpa was mostly bald & only needed a few straggling hairs on the sides trimmed. My parents & I would visit (early 1960's) from So Cal & visits seemed to always coincide with Grandpa's "Haircuts". He'd take me along, but since Mom always made me get a haircut before our visits, I never needed a "free one". BUT I was always given a straight razor trim on the back of my neck, anyway. The soap always smelled like Stirling's Barbershop.
Back home in So Cal, my barber always used a dusting powder after my haircuts. It smelled like ShannonSoaps' Barbershop.
There are many Barbershop scented soaps out there - you just need to find yours.
It sounds like Shannon's will be next after I've finished the two Barbershop Soaps I have. I'm a big fan of her Haymarket Vetiver.
 
lots of great points in this thread. Definitely depends on where you're from. And what time period. Growing up here in the south, it was definitely Clubman splash, talc, and hair gel. Still is in the really old time places, and the hipster shops. Walk into a more modern shop, especially the Spanish ones, and you have an entirely different style and scent. I like them both. I'm fortunate to take my pick in town. But Clubman, Jeris, sea breeze, Barbasol, and American Crew my barbershop scents.

Once I nail down my Lime/citrus obsession, barbershop is my next stop. Should prove easier, lol.
 
I bet every city has a different barbershop with different scents....
I can say that Stirling is NOT one I like! too sweet. Well I do not like all 3 of their scents I have, and Margaritas in the Attic is more of a sidewalk in Las Vegas at 5am....
But Pinaud is good, for my nose. And haven't found something that smells like the barbershop where my gramps used to take me..... and have quit looking for it... done.
So I agree with the original post title.
 
lots of great points in this thread. Definitely depends on where you're from. And what time period. Growing up here in the south, it was definitely Clubman splash, talc, and hair gel. Still is in the really old time places, and the hipster shops. Walk into a more modern shop, especially the Spanish ones, and you have an entirely different style and scent. I like them both. I'm fortunate to take my pick in town. But Clubman, Jeris, sea breeze, Barbasol, and American Crew my barbershop scents.

Once I nail down my Lime/citrus obsession, barbershop is my next stop. Should prove easier, lol.
Have you looked into CBLs lime? I’m curious.
 
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