What's new

Six Aftershave Decants From Superlather Arrived Today!

Good afternoon chappies. Today, I was the happy recipient of a package from Charles at Superlather. Contained therein were six nice sized decants of aftershave splashes I have been wanting to try for years but was afraid to purchase blind for fear of just not liking some of them. The list contains Irisch Moos, Floid of the Spanish persuasion. Both mild and Vigoroso. Italian Floid and Floid Blue. Alt Innsbruck rounded out the splashes. There was also a decant of Irisch Moos edt but we will limit this post to the a/s splashes. While I have not used them of course, I did give each one a healthy sniff from the bottle. I tried to work my way from what I thought would be the weakest to the strongest based on forum reviews. So with that in mind here is how they struck me in the sampler jars.

Irisch Moos. While I don't quite get the in your face of an Irish Spring like others do, I can see why it elicits that scent memory. It hit me as one of those old school/clean/favourite janitorial cleaner smell-as-a-lad-in-school/fresh sort of scent that really wouldn't offend anyone. I like it a lot. It does not hit me as some sort of pretentious wannabe "cool dude" scent. Much more of an old reliable sort of thing. I suspect I will like this one a lot if it agrees with my skin chemistry.

The Floids. Interesting. To hear some tell it, the menthol fairly leaps to your nose with these splashes. I barely smelled it in the bottles. Heck, I didn't really pick it up with any of the decants out of the bottles. Mayhaps it just doesn't open up till you apply it. That will tell the story I am sure. So far, I like the scent of the Spanish version best. Kind of sweet but not overly so and mild to the nose. The Italian version was VERY sweet to my nose out of the bottle. Almost cloyingly so. And the powder was quite noticeable. We will have to see about this one. Floid Blue was, to put it bluntly, like smelling a milder version of Aqua Velva Ice Blue. I actually like it better than Aqua Velva since that one's scent is a bit much for me. I was a bit surprised but shouldn't have been. These ice/blue type a/s splashes have been around in one form or anther for nearly eight decades. All of these will be tried and I wonder if I will be surprised at what I really like and dislike after the trial?

Alt Innsbruck. Ah, now we are talking. As far as scent, this was far and away my favourite of the bunch. I don't exactly know what "tobacco" is supposed to smell like in a cologne but if this is what drives the bottle note in Alt Innsbruck, I like it. A LOT. This was also the only decant where I sort of picked up the menthol note in the sniff but it was not heavy. At least not to the point that I pick it up out of an Aqua Velva bottle. I hope it does not numb me up like some menthol splashes do since I love the scent.

I very much look forward to trying these splashes over the next week or so. You can bet that on the morrow I will give you a first experience with Irisch Moos shave stick and aftershave splash. I have wanted to try this combination for some time now. Here we go!

Regards, Todd
 
DOH! Can I just make it through one day without you other B&Bers twisting my arm to buy something? FINE! I'll order a sampler. I don't even want to. I'm a victim here.:wink2:


Aww. The Italian Floid Amber is OOS. I shall wait to order samples until it's back in.
 
Last edited:
Of the 6, I've only tried a decant of the IM, and I have the 150ml bottle of the Spanish Floid Suave.
The IM is vagely reminicent of Irish Spring, but more complex and "earthier". I like it and have plans to eventually buy it.
Gone in about 2 hours on me.

The Suave, I'm still on the fence about. Upon application, is has an off-putting (to me) sickly sweet fragrance, but dries quickly to a pleasant, spicy masculine scent.
On me, it lasts about 5 hours or so. To me, it just "OK", and I probably won't replace it.

I want to try the Italians, but they are a PITA to obtain.

Trying aftershaves is alot of fun.
 
I, too, received some decants from Superlather about a week ago.

I received a decant of the Irisch Moos AS and I liked it. It smells a lot like the IM shaving stick. If anyone is a fan of the IM scent, I'd certainly recommend it.

I also received a decant of the Floid Blue - I agree that it's reminiscent of a milder AV. I'm still not sure if it's for me. I find AV to be a little too much for me and the jury is still out on this one.

I agree with your points about Spanish and Italian Floid. I have full bottles of both and initially the Italian Floid was my favorite. Over time, I've become less fond of it, though. I agree that there's something a little too sweet or cloying about it. It goes on OK on me, but it goes through an odd middle-phase on dry-down where an odd almost sickly sweet scent comes through. After a while it settles down to a powdery scent that I actually like. The Spanish Floid is just great - it goes on nice and dries to a wonderful old-world barber shop type of scent. It's my favorite AS period. The Floids don't really smell of menthol, but they have a nice, slight kick to them once applied.

I also received an Alt Innsbruck decant from another vendor (Bullgoose) and the jury is still out on that one. I like the scent but haven't actually used it yet. I think it might be a little too strong for me in spite of my actually liking the scent. I'm oddly sensitive to scents due to migraine headaches - ironically, I sometimes can't use some aftershaves even if I like the scents because they're too strong and trigger a headache. I'm definitely going to give the Alt Innsbruck a try, though.


Good afternoon chappies. Today, I was the happy recipient of a package from Charles at Superlather. Contained therein were six nice sized decants of aftershave splashes I have been wanting to try for years but was afraid to purchase blind for fear of just not liking some of them. The list contains Irisch Moos, Floid of the Spanish persuasion. Both mild and Vigoroso. Italian Floid and Floid Blue. Alt Innsbruck rounded out the splashes. There was also a decant of Irisch Moos edt but we will limit this post to the a/s splashes. While I have not used them of course, I did give each one a healthy sniff from the bottle. I tried to work my way from what I thought would be the weakest to the strongest based on forum reviews. So with that in mind here is how they struck me in the sampler jars.

Irisch Moos. While I don't quite get the in your face of an Irish Spring like others do, I can see why it elicits that scent memory. It hit me as one of those old school/clean/favourite janitorial cleaner smell-as-a-lad-in-school/fresh sort of scent that really wouldn't offend anyone. I like it a lot. It does not hit me as some sort of pretentious wannabe "cool dude" scent. Much more of an old reliable sort of thing. I suspect I will like this one a lot if it agrees with my skin chemistry.

The Floids. Interesting. To hear some tell it, the menthol fairly leaps to your nose with these splashes. I barely smelled it in the bottles. Heck, I didn't really pick it up with any of the decants out of the bottles. Mayhaps it just doesn't open up till you apply it. That will tell the story I am sure. So far, I like the scent of the Spanish version best. Kind of sweet but not overly so and mild to the nose. The Italian version was VERY sweet to my nose out of the bottle. Almost cloyingly so. And the powder was quite noticeable. We will have to see about this one. Floid Blue was, to put it bluntly, like smelling a milder version of Aqua Velva Ice Blue. I actually like it better than Aqua Velva since that one's scent is a bit much for me. I was a bit surprised but shouldn't have been. These ice/blue type a/s splashes have been around in one form or anther for nearly eight decades. All of these will be tried and I wonder if I will be surprised at what I really like and dislike after the trial?

Alt Innsbruck. Ah, now we are talking. As far as scent, this was far and away my favourite of the bunch. I don't exactly know what "tobacco" is supposed to smell like in a cologne but if this is what drives the bottle note in Alt Innsbruck, I like it. A LOT. This was also the only decant where I sort of picked up the menthol note in the sniff but it was not heavy. At least not to the point that I pick it up out of an Aqua Velva bottle. I hope it does not numb me up like some menthol splashes do since I love the scent.

I very much look forward to trying these splashes over the next week or so. You can bet that on the morrow I will give you a first experience with Irisch Moos shave stick and aftershave splash. I have wanted to try this combination for some time now. Here we go!

Regards, Todd
 
I look forward with interest to the progression of this thread. To those who are curious about the aftershaves available at Superlather, I strongly recommend availing yourselves of his decant service.
 
Okay chaps, first shave in this morning with the Moos. I have to mention the shave stick. It is my first tallow/milled stick and as such I had a tough time getting the soap loaded into my beard. I should have done it like you would any hard milled soap. A hot water soak on the top of the stick would have sufficed nicely. So it took some effort to get enough on my visage to do the trick. And what a trick it was. I know better than to violate my self imposed 3-5 shave rule before making a judgment about a shave lather. However, unless I miss my guess I will have a quite positive mini review to share with you in a week or so.

As to the Irisch Moos aftershave, it was just a bit of a let down. I like the scent and can actually pick up traces of it ten hours later. I used about 1/3 of the 4ml decant this morning. I don't know if that is considered a large amount but I didn't sense it was. Upon first application I was struck by the scent and nothing else. No menthol. No cooling effect, and ZERO burn. Now mind you, I have been shaving my whiskers for just over three decades now so I kind of understand how to keep from butchering myself. However, you are still running surgically sharp stainless steel cutters over you skin and cutting away something from living skin. Tinglies at least are the norm. So a bit of sting or mild burning is not uncommon. Not with this one. I mean I experienced zero burn. A big plus for me. I don't know if it is my unsophisticated sense of smell but I simply pick up no menthol in the scent nor do I detect its feel on my face. Very interesting that. I do not sense that this splash provides anything more than a comfortable way to apply scent. In itself that is not a bad thing but somehow it left me underwhelmed. Certainly not disappointed or let down from great expectations (I had that for the soap) but just sort of...ho hum. As always, a full trial of the sample is in order before making judgment but it will have to leap WAY up in wow factor for me to drop $35 U.S. for it. We shall see. The morrow brings a trial of Spanish Floid Sauve. Details to follow.

Regards, Todd
 
Well, at least you had the good sense to try the decants, Todd.

I bought a bottle of the Suave Floid from Charles without even trying it, and, I was hooked! I LOVE it; it is a superior aftershave, a classic scent that I was more than happy to add to my small list. A week after the first bottle, I ordered one each of the Suave and the Vigaroso. I'm stocked up for a while, anyway!

Don
 
Okay, day two's report. After a great shave with AOS lavender this morning, I used the Spanish Floid Suave to follow it up. The menthol kick hit about five seconds after I applied it and my first thought was it was going to be too much. At least in the menthol department. Thankfully it never reached the numbing stage like Aqua Velva did. That one numbed me right up and was most unpleasant. The sensation of cooling lasted less than five minutes and was not bad at all. I can live with the performance. Now the scent. Hmm. This is not likely to be a favourite I suspect. I caught a definite powder note behind a nondescript sweet top note. It was not bad but certainly did not wow me. I honestly don't know how to describe the overall scent combination. After the dry down it settled into a less sweet musk type scent that was vaguely similar somehow to Pashana Classic hair tonic though it does not have anywhere near its projection or staying power. It quickly faded into the background but lasted a number of hours. I could catch little whiffs of it from time to time. SWMBO could not detect with a close sniff ten hours later.

Regards, Todd
 
Alright, day three is in. Alt Innsbruck was the choice today. As someone mentioend somewhere, the entire top note is menthol! This was disconcerting to me at first because stout doses of menthol overwhelm my senses like getting a nose full of rubbing alcohol. None to pleasant at times. The other issue is numbing. Aqua Velva numbed me right out. No kidding, it was almost painful. So when I slapped on the Alt and got hit with that top blast, I was expecting the worst. Not so. It was more a true cooling sensation rather than the icy/numb thing I got from AV. It lasted only about five minutes and then subsided nicely. Even with the late season snow storm and cold wind we got last night (about six to eight inches of new snow) I was not hit with a new cooling sensation when I stepped outside this morning. I liked that a lot. What I really liked ws the scent. After the dry down I could finally catch the tobacco notes and they have a slightly powdery, floral hint to it that I really enjoyed. SWMBO likes it and that is important. She actually asked me how much a bottle would cost which means she is giving unspoken approval to buy it! I will go ahead and use the decant and then make a solid decision about purchasing a full bottle. This one may be a keeper.

Regards, Todd
 
Day 4. Italian Floid. This one has a sweet note in the bottle and upon application. It almost immediately starts releasing a powder note that is not unpleasant but more than I like. It subsides quickly and after only a half hour or so all I could smell was a faint powder with a slight fruit/sweet note WAY in the background. Certainly this will be no favourite in the scent department. One thing that has struck me so far about these a/s splashes is that none of them have given me the deep numbing effect that Aqua Velva did. I was really expecting an arctic freeze with these Floid splashes. The cooling was very mild to my senses and only lasted minutes. A happy occurrence I assure you. I wonder if Velva or others may possibly contain another ingredient that causes some of the numbing effect? AV is the one that really nailed me with it. Don't get me wrong, a strong menthol scent blast in the application of a splash is still overwhelming to me. Any more with the Alt and it would have been a non starter for me. However, the Floids are fairly tame so far. Just a few more splashes to try. Tomorrow it will be the Floid Blue.

Regards, Todd
 
Day 5. Floid Blue. This one is a conundrum for me. I am not over fond of the scent. In the decant bottle it is like a milder Aqua Velva which is not one of my favourites. Upon application it was MUCH milder in aroma than even I would have guessed. It had a bit more a refined note to it than Aqua Velva if you could really used that word in this situation. I am not over fond of Floid Blue's aroma either but it is better to me than Velva. It has just a bit of warmth or musk or something to it in the background. Now to performance. As usual, I was hit out of left field by a tester sample. This Floid easily felt the best of the three I have tried so far. To include the Blue, Sp. Suave, and Italian. It cooled no differently than the other two in my opinion but just felt better somehow. This always seems to be the way of it when you start testing things. The one you suspected would be not to your liking surprises you. Now I know better than to take one use as representative but a first shot, seat of the pants reaction is quite good. Day six brings the last of the samplers which is Floid Spanish Vigoroso. After I post that up, I report back as I finish each of the samplers. Unless you chaps are already tired of my windy posts?:001_rolle:001_rolle:lol:

Regards, Todd
 
Thanks for the reports on the decants.

Coincidently, those 6 AS's you're reviewing are 6 that I haven't tried and ASAD was beginning to get the best of me for these 6.

You've definitely provided a roadmap as to which to try first.

:thumbup:
 
Alright gents, number six trial is done. This was the Spanish Floid Vigoroso. There is nothing to report about the scent. To my nose it is identical to the Spanish Floid Suave. It may be a tad stronger in projection but that could be due the Vigoroso's much stronger projection of menthol compared to the Suave. I felt it had more menthol kick and cooling than the Italian Floid or the Blue. It may have just been my imagination as well. I do not care for the ice cold feel of this splash and would prefer the Suave to it. Longevity was no different than the Sauve either. Okay, some last minute "best of" just to show you my initial reactions to this little experiment.

Best scent of the lot belongs to Alt Innsbruck. At least post dry down. Top note is ENTIRELY menthol yet it quickly succumbed to the tobacco notes and did not ice me out quite like the Sauve did. Close but not quite as much. Who knows? Maybe if you splash a good amount out an actual bottle of the stuff and liberally apply it could make a huge difference in icy feel. More on this at the end. Second place was an easy choice; Irisch Moos. The others were just nondescript for lack of a better word.

Best cooling. This won't be what you think here. Most menthol heads would glow over which one iced them out the most. And that is a very viable position. As I have mentioned, that is not a top priority for me and is almost undesirable at times. So with that in mind, my vote goes to Floid Blue. It was crisp, cooling without icy feel or numbness and the mild "sport" scent quickly faded. Very nice performer. Last on the list would be the Vigoroso followed closely by the Alt.

Best soother. I would have to give all of them about an equal score; neutral. None of them felt overly soothing but none of them felt particularly drying either. If you do your part with proper prep and shave technique, any of them are fine to use.

Burn factor. Irisch Moos. For me this means the LEAST burn possible. Again, I was pretty surprised at how mild they all could be. The same caveats apply as the last category. Do your part and it won't be an issue unless you are just sensitive to a particular product. I have this with ALL the Clubman splashes. No matter what I do, they burn me like the fire of Hades. I truly expected these drugstore products to light me up. A nice surprise.

Best overall. To include scent, soothing, and price. Yeah price since all these currently create some difficulty in locating them and the prices for some tend to be huge on the Western side of the Atlantic. Winner; Alt Innsbruck. It goes on with a BIG menthol blast but does not freeze me out too bad. I suppose on a cold winter's day it would be too much. I suspect other than that, you could wear this year round. It is easy on your skin and the scent is super. And last, it costs less than the others. I have not seen the Moos for less than $35 U.S. The Alt comes in at $28 which is Taylor/Harris territory, and is well worth it in my opinion. The Floids are starting to get kind of crazy for a true drugstore item. The ruddy import issue from Europa takes its toll on the costs.

Final thoughts. Overall I enjoyed these splashes but none of them wowed me. And none of them are in the same room as Musgo Real classic splash. That is my honest opinion and not just nitpicking at products that are not a favourite like my Musgo. None of them are overly soothing or moisturising yet none of them are drying either. I cannot say the same for my English splashes like Taylor of Old Bond Street or D.R. Harris. Both of those brands requires me to add a good dose of aloe juice to the bottles to help slow evapouration and make application easier. As I use these up I will post from time to time to let you know if I have changed my mind or discovered something interesting about how they perform for me. Feel free to post up any questions.

Regards, Todd

P.S. About that numbing thing. I get this from splashes like Aqua Velva and Mennen. I wonder if someone who has these would look at the ingredients and see if there is some numbing agent in there. I did not get this feel from any of these splashes even though two of them have a healthy menthol kick. They felt like a "crisper" cool rather than face numbing like the Velva did.
 
Last edited:
Thanks much, Todd. I'm sure you saved me a ton of cash in shipping from the Old World to get the Floids over here. I think I'll just opt to get the Alt...

For now... :biggrin1:
 
Todd-Thanks for thorough and evenhanded reviews. I'm not a tobacco scent fan, so AI won't be for me, but it's good to hear that Floid Blue is more than just hype.
 
Todd, thanks for the very comprehensive reviews. I think I can safely cross everything but the Alt Innsbruck off my list.
 
Thanks for the kind words chaps. I may run long on my posts but I try to make them 'no bull' if you get the drift. I have been at this traditional wet shaving stuff for nearly eight years now. I have learned to simply restrain myself getting to excited or dejected about any new product till I have given it a good evaluation. And while I haven't tried everything there is, I have tried a lot. And even more important I have LEARNED a lot from a bunch of guys who spent way too much money taking bullets for us in the testing department. Almost to a man they recommended decants for trial of any scent unless it was literally the $3-8 drugstore stuff. I have never had reason to doubt them and would make the same suggestion here.

I was surprised the most by the Floid Blue. To be frank, I expected it to be a hellfire burner that numbed me beyond even Aqua Velva. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not just ice out of the bottle and that the scent was mild. If I were to decide I needed what I best describe as a "sport" scent this would likely be it. Heck, I may squirrel away the rest of the decant and use it on the first hot week of June just to see how I like it in that kind of weather. The Alt is a different beast. I really thought when I got that menthol blast I was going to be washing it off pretty fast. I have learned to give things a fair shot and it settled down in minutes. And the big attraction was the scent. I do think however that it could be one of those love it or hate it things so again, the decant mantra applies. I would hazard though that any blind purchase of these products would be quickly recouped in the B/S/T forum. As to the other Floids, they are neither fish nor fowl to me for the most part. Pretty synthetic smelling and nothing special in the peformanc department. I can fully understand why these are sold in the Italian equivalent of Walgreens. It is where they belong. Mayhaps if they are ever sold in the States for the same kind of price I would revisit them. At current import prices, unlikely.

Regards, Todd
 
Top Bottom