Having problems finding a splash

thunderball said:

Get some Lucido unscented. You can get it in the states I think...maybe at webichi? The Nid Hog might be able to point you in the right direction...

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Now that's an interesting direction: unscented. That's an addition I probably would want in my shave den! I'll look into it.

The Nid Hog said:

Booster's is like the Canadian Pinaud (although, of course, Pinaud belongs to the world). They make lots of nice aftershaves as well as very good shaving cream (sold as J. M. Fraser's). The good folks at Rasage Poulin and Fendrihan can get it for you.

Webichi is your spot for good Japanese aftershave like Mandom and Lucido. Lucido is really an amazing unscented splash. They also have Bravas, which is extremely nice.

http://www.webichi.com/en/details/35106

http://www.webichi.com/en/details/10219

http://www.webichi.com/en/details/11380

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aaaand this is why you're steward! Thanks!

JPDyson said:

I'll throw Taylor's of Old Bond Street out there - I have the Mr. Taylors and I really enjoy it.

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Now I hadn't thought of them. I had been thinking of getting their cream in St. James or Avocado, so maybe I'll get the cream in Avocado and St. James or Mr. Taylors (just looked at the scent list!) AS. Actually, seems like Mr. Taylors might be a good alternative to Marlborough. Slightly cheaper too!

ouch said:

Everything.

You should also look into the very attractively priced SCS a/s's.

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I've got several SCS samples on the way, actually (hoping they arrive today)! I was disappointed by the smell of Mediterranean Citrus, but man did it leave my face soft and smooth!

My list keeps growing, but I feel I have way more interesting choices! This is awesome

I had forgotten that I liked brut! My wife is not entirely sure about it, but man did it bring back memories of being 13 and wanting to smell like a man. And here I am, almost 30, still on the same quest! Although brut is good, it's still not quite what I'm looking for (but close!!)

So it looks like I've got the following list going:
Marlborough
Mr. Taylors
Musgo
Speick
Mandom
Lucido
Arlington
St. James
MB Cucumber

To be honest, I'm probably going to buy most of them at one point or another

HokieGeek said:

To be honest, I'm probably going to buy most of them at one point or another

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Good plan!

Bought Marlborough, Mr. Taylor's, Musgo and Speick. Thanks for the suggestions, gents, and keep your eyes peeled on the BST in the next month as I fund a new scuttle recoup some loses with the *** that didn't quite do it for me!

Ok, so I received the 4 aftershaves and QED freakishly read my mind by adding a sample of the Arlington cologne! Here are some thoughts:

Speick: My least favorite of the bunch, I can't quite put my finger why I am not as much of a fan of it as the others. It smells a little soapy, I suppose. Not a bad scent, but I do prefer the others.
Mugso: It starts off sort of medicinal, but when it dries what pops into my head is clean. Like I just jumped out of the shower
Marlborough: Wow! They aren't kidding about the cedarwood in there! My skin smells like a freshly cut board of wood!! I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not
Arlington: I like it! I can certainly smell the floral aspect of it, so I'll have to run it by the head judge as her opinion matters a whole lot, but for now I like it!
Mr. Taylors: Now, this smells manly! Perhaps it's tickling childhood memories of my grandfather or other family members, but the first thing I think of when I smell this is "now this is a man's smell". I love it! I think this might be the winner, but I really want to use the other ones as well, they're all very interesting!

Thank you all for your help, you really made this easier as you made it harder. I now have 4 aftershaves that don't make me gag (even the Speick!) but now I have 4 aftershaves . I suspect narrowing it down to just one or two won't be that difficult now (Mr. Taylors and Musgo are the front-runners!) once I determine efficacy.

Next batch I am buying Tabac, Taylor's St. James, Mandom, 4711 and Lucido (if it's in stock)!

If you use Tabac soap, lemme say this: skip the Tabac aftershave and get Alt Innsbruck. You'll love the away these layer.

JPDyson said:

If you use Tabac soap, lemme say this: skip the Tabac aftershave and get Alt Innsbruck. You'll love the away these layer.

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Glad you brought this up. I pulled up my Tabac bowl from the bowels of my sink (as I have been trying other soaps). I love the scent, but for some reason I didn't notice how soapy it is. Now I think maybe a tabac AS might not be ideal. That being said, I have a sample of Alt Innsbruck and I tend to find it too sweet. Like a too-sugary stick of licorice!

I can understand your 1st impression of the Speick. It is a very unusual scent.
My 1st reaction to it was similar. Scent is a very personal thing, and Speick is very hard to describe. It grew on me, and I like it very much now.

I own, use, and like, all the ones you've listed, and find Speick to be the most effective of them all as a healing aftershave. It's one of the few I'll never be without.

I agree the Mr. Taylors is very nice. A very understated masculine scent.

Indeed, it wasn't bad, but that was my impression of it rubbed on my arm and in comparison to the other 3. I certainly liked it more than most of the ones I listed above *cough*lilacvegetal*cough*. I in no way regret getting Speick or any of the others.

I'm going to be rotating all 4 for the next few shaves, starting with Speick (tonight, if it's not TOO hot to put aside my precious mentholated AS!), so that I can test how effective they are. It'll be fun!

Shoeboxshaveshop.com has samples of Boosters.

Have you compared it with Ogallala? I LOVE the scent but it heats up my face like nothing else. I get all red. I'm looking forward to trying it out during winter. Wish I had had it during the ridiculous storms we had last winter!

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Totally missed this. Masters is an inexpensive alcohol based splash with bay rum. There is no clove or cinnamon in it, just bay rum fragrance. You will get the alcohol burn from it, as with any splash, but I don't get any burning from it. As far as how it compares, I bought the Barclay Crocker bay rum sample. Went through every one of them. Went back to Masters.

dbconlin said:

Shoeboxshaveshop.com has samples of Boosters.

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oh crap. and I thought I had enough samples! I'll have to take a look!!

Dennis said:

Totally missed this. Masters is an inexpensive alcohol based splash with bay rum. There is no clove or cinnamon in it, just bay rum fragrance. You will get the alcohol burn from it, as with any splash, but I don't get any burning from it. As far as how it compares, I bought the Barclay Crocker bay rum sample. Went through every one of them. Went back to Masters.

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So I had assumed that all Bay Rums were "hot". I take it that's a bad assumption? Maybe I need to grab Masters and the sampler you mentioned which I didn't know existed! you guys are killing me!!

JPDyson said:

If you use Tabac soap, lemme say this: skip the Tabac aftershave and get Alt Innsbruck. You'll love the away these layer.

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I share your love for Alt Innsbruck, but I like Tabac too. Why choose? Get both!

HokieGeek said:

So I had assumed that all Bay Rums were "hot". I take it that's a bad assumption? Maybe I need to grab Masters and the sampler you mentioned which I didn't know existed! you guys are killing me!!

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Masters Bay Rum is about the tamest of the bay rum bunch IMO, and I really can't say that it burns at all. About the worst you'll get from it (assuming you didn't butcher yourself) is a fairly mild tingle. It also has glycerin in it, so it's not just scented alcohol - there's a bit of face-lovin' stuff going on there as well. Available at your local Sally Beauty Supply store for around $8 for a 12 oz. bottle.