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Here A Leather, There A Leather, Spanish vs English

Good evening gentlemen. Though it is still stupidly hot here in cattle country (it is still August) this is always the time of year I start REALLY longing for fall. This is when I start thinking of leather scents, more of the Musgo, Taylor Sandalwood, you get the drift. I always seem to purchase most of my splashes in the fall and this year seems to be no exception.

I am fixed fairly well for lighter scents that work in this infernal heat though my Arlington is running out. Last year I bought Taylor #74 Victorian Lime and Harris Marlborough and both are not exactly heady, fall type scents. In fact the Marlborough is almost bland to me. Uninteresting at the least. The lime is superb and I love it but it really is more a warm weather scent. So this year I am going to lay in some heavier scents to maybe even include the infamous #74 traditional from Taylor. But the gist this post is to get a handle on leather scents. Particularly Spanish Leather.

I have tried samples of all three kind of Spanish Leather. What say? Three? Yeah, three. I have sampled the old green/gold coloured Truefitt version(I liked it best) and the reformulated version. I have also sampled Trumper's version but not enough to make an honest judgment. Now you'd think this would be as easy as going to the review section and wading through input. I was surprised to find there are only a handful of reviews of the aftershave version of this scent. Interesting since it gets a lot of mention on the forums.

Then of course there is the venerable English Leather in a couple of different incarnations. I like the old Mem version the best but since eBay is such a gamble for vintage scents, that is probably out. I actually get along with the Dana version of the aftershave quite well. At least from the performance angle. It does not burn me at all and soothes my skin very well. The scent is very dry and soapy so it is not as nice as the original to me. It is available anywhere so that is not a huge issue.

This leaves us with Spanish Leather or some equivalent. For those who use the a/s splash, would you give you impression of how it works for that purpose? Do the Trumper splashes contain menthol? If so, how pronounced? I am not a menthol head and do not like it to be overwhelming but I get why it is there and what it does. And finally, is there another leather type scent out there I should be looking at? From what I gather some of these "leather" scents do not really smell so much of leather as give the impression of some of the compounds use to tan or treat leather. Does that sound right or am I way off base? I catch myself looking more and more at QED and West Coast Shaving's aftershave sections so you know what will happen when my bonus check shows up in October!

Regards, Todd
 
I have heard nice things about Reserve. Is it an aftershave or a cologne? I ask because it may work for scent but I am looking for an aftershave first. The regular Clubman scent burns me like the fires of hell.

Regards, Todd
 
I have heard nice things about Reserve. Is it an aftershave or a cologne? I ask because it may work for scent but I am looking for an aftershave first. The regular Clubman scent burns me like the fires of hell.

Regards, Todd
Special Reserve works nicely as an aftershave, but you'll want to use it in moderation; too much and for the first hour or so you'll leave a wake behind you that can clear a room. Also, it is definitely alcohol-based; if you find that Clubman burns intolerably, it may not be a good option for you.
 
Well I am happy to see some suggestions in this thread. I suspect the Special Reserve is not going to be an option for me as an aftershave. Indeed, the Clubman products burn me like the fires of hades. I like the old school scents but realise the Clubman line is really just alcohol and fragrance. It just doesn't work for me.

I am still hoping for some response about the Spanish Leather aftershave splash. I have never used Trumper aftershaves and there are not many reviews here at B&B. Plenty for the edts but not so much for aftershaves.

Regards, Todd
 
I think they claim it is an aftershave/cologne.

I don't notice any worse burn than I do with any other Pinaud product, but if regular Clubman bugs you then you may be wise to avoid it. Of course, I tend to cut most of my AS splashes with a little witch hazel so mine may be a notch weaker than straight from the bottle.
 
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