As we all know, popular consumables are typically tiered in levels of quality and cost. Having spent the better part of 2 decades learning the "buy once, cry once" rule, I find it helpful to sort out these tiers for any specific product I may be interested in purchasing. As such, I have come to the crossroads of aftershaves but havent been able to easily suss out the run of the mill from the high end artisan products. So I pose this question to you: What brands/makers are typically considered "high end" in the realm of aftershaves and balms? The answer need not necessarily be based on price alone, so I'll leave it to your expertise. What say you B&B comrades? Who is top dog here? Also, if it helps, I'm currently shopping bay rum offerings but am not locked into any one specific scent.
Who are the "high end" aftershave makers?
- Thread starter Ruination
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Art of Shaving is on the pricey side, but is really nice. After I received their sandlewood as a birthday present, I liked it so much that I bought their other scents.
At the higher end you’ll find Aqua di Parma and Antiqa Barbieria Colla coming in the upper $70 range for 100ml. I have good success with aftershaves from Stirling, B&M and PAA. PAA tends to fall in the upper range of cost for me at around $25 a bottle. But I find the quality to be excellent.
What are you looking for in a “high-end”? Our answer may vary depending on what you’re after. Face feel? Moisture? Scent?
Face-feel, I’d say Antica Barberia Colla or Weleda have been the best for me in balms. I like Chatillon Lux and Myrsol in splashes although I also love the feel of Proraso Green. Others recommended by people I trust are Sebum, Maol Grooming and Castle Forbes.
Moisture: I’ve tried samples of Wickhams and also like Grooming Dept Moisturizing Serum.
Scent is very YMMV. Of course some higher end perfumers also do AS - Creed, Penhaligon, etc. I don’t appreciate longer lasting scents so I’m the wrong person to give you advice here.
Face-feel, I’d say Antica Barberia Colla or Weleda have been the best for me in balms. I like Chatillon Lux and Myrsol in splashes although I also love the feel of Proraso Green. Others recommended by people I trust are Sebum, Maol Grooming and Castle Forbes.
Moisture: I’ve tried samples of Wickhams and also like Grooming Dept Moisturizing Serum.
Scent is very YMMV. Of course some higher end perfumers also do AS - Creed, Penhaligon, etc. I don’t appreciate longer lasting scents so I’m the wrong person to give you advice here.
I'd consider D.R. Harris a higher end product so to speak. Low alcohol content so it's a gentle splash. The Pink is the only one I have and it's an excellent rose/floral scent. It runs around $40 for a 100mL bottle.
Captain's Choice and Taylor of Old Bond Street's sandalwood aftershaves are highly regarded and pretty expensive.
Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with anything artisan made no matter what the price. Ever try Barrister and Mann's Reserve aftershave splashes? No sting.
Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with anything artisan made no matter what the price. Ever try Barrister and Mann's Reserve aftershave splashes? No sting.
I had some samples of Antiqa Barbieria Colla years ago, and I thought they were superb. That probably gets my vote. Oh, and I agree that the Art of Shaving balms are top notch.
Check out Sebum Gold. Probably the best performing option out of the pricey stuff.
Truefitt & Hill 1805 Aftershave Balm.
The scent is divine, and the aftershave feel is awesome.
The scent is divine, and the aftershave feel is awesome.
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The highest end AS I have is one I've made. Really nice stuff with a good scent. However, I get excited over the cheap stuff. If I find something I haven't used before and it's a "pharmacy" brand I get all excited and buy.
Agreed. I love the cheap stuff. Aqua Velva and Clubman are two of my favorites.
I use Sisleyum by Sisley....
For balms, I really like L'Occitane Cade.
For splashes, I like Chatillon Lux. (still only like $15 for a small/medium bottle.)
For splashes, I like Chatillon Lux. (still only like $15 for a small/medium bottle.)
As far as I'm concerned, these are the top notch ones regardless of price.
Balms:
Antiqa Barbieria Colla
L'Occitane Cade
Splashes:
Maol Grooming
Tallow & Steel
Balms:
Antiqa Barbieria Colla
L'Occitane Cade
Splashes:
Maol Grooming
Tallow & Steel
Truefitt & Hill
Geo. F. Trumper
Taylor of Old Bond Street
Dr. Harris
Penhaligans
Czech & Speake
Geo. F. Trumper
Taylor of Old Bond Street
Dr. Harris
Penhaligans
Czech & Speake
from my experience, top tier aftershaves are truefitt & hill, as well as penhaligon's.
good aftershave performance, good range of scents, relatively long-lasting.
good aftershave performance, good range of scents, relatively long-lasting.
I've got about 150 aftershaves and balms, some of which are duplicates. I don't really use balms anymore, as the "balmy" face feel of Chatillon Lux and Maol Grooming (my two favorites, by far) work well to moisturize, though both are alcohol-based. Sebum Gold is a nice product, but I don't use it as an aftershave; rather, it's an oil I use to moisturize in the afternoon during wintertime before heading outside.
I have been using Noble Otter's aftershave splashes and find them to be excellent for their price range.
I’ve used dozens of AS splashes. The best I’ve ever come across are Speick and B&M Reserve. Period.
Excellent question. Alas, I have a $5 bottle limit. 
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