Florida Water!

The label on the bottle calls it a cologne, but it smells like a clean, almost fruity and crisp barber shop type AS.

This stuff smells incredible. Just received it today and can't wait to use it after tomorrow's shave.

I have to sneak a whiff every time I'm in the bathroom

Is it really a "cologne"? To me colognes are heavier, more pungent scents. School me.

It is a cologne in the traditional meaning of Eau de Cologne (EdC). EdCs were originally lighter fragrances often used as splashes. They have a relatively lower concentration of fragrance oils, more alcohol (and other solvents like water) than Eau de Toilets, Eau de Perfume, or Perfume.

American usage normally uses cologne for any fragrance targeted at a man, and the word perfume is sometimes seen as feminine.

Florida water is great, has a wonderful scent, and is very affordable! It does sting a little, so be prepared for that. I normally tone mine down by adding up to 10% glycerin and a few drops of patchouli and vetiver to an entire bottle extend the scent just a little.

Thanks Nick! That helps greatly with understanding these distinctions.

And on the upside I asked wifey to give it a whiff and she said it was good to go

I don'r care how you classify FW, I just call it great stuff. Very light and refreshing.

I have like 5-6 bottles of it on the shelf, I use it every night and an astrinent facial clean and also have mixed it with regular aftershaves like Lucky Tiger, it's something every one should have IMHO.

Cologne in the traditional meaning of the word is a brand name of fragrance invented in the 1700s by an Italian in Cologne Germany and named in honor of the mans new home.

Interesting piece of history, the guy who made it was able to standardize his formula and produce a consistent scent batch after batch, which was quite the feat back then and it became the scent of choice for royalty. It was so expensive that it cost half the annual salary of a civil servant of the time, and was thus copied endlessly at a more reasonable price. Which is how it became the ubiquitous term for male fragrance we see today, a more extreme version of Kleenex for tissues or Ping Pong for table tennis. Florida Water was the most popular later American imitation.

Fun fact cologne was drunk as a way to ward off the plague! The citrus oils would be excreted through the pores of the skin and repelled fleas, the carriers of the bacteria. And yes surprisingly that actually works.

Florida Water is great stuff and makes an excellent aftershave with staying power.

In my experience, Florida Water and staying power isn't true unless you insert "lack of" in front of staying power. I love the scent and the alcohol burn but I'm disappointed that the scent disappears so quickly. It acts more like an aftershave splash than it does a cologne.

Highspeedlane said:

The label on the bottle calls it a cologne, but it smells like a clean, almost fruity and crisp barber shop type AS.

This stuff smells incredible. Just received it today and can't wait to use it after tomorrow's shave.

I have to sneak a whiff every time I'm in the bathroom

Is it really a "cologne"? To me colognes are heavier, more pungent scents. School me.

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I'm obsessed with my Florida Water, it's incredible. I see you're from New England, I'm in Brighton, MA and I make trips into Cambridge where I can get bottles of Florida Water for $6... I spoke to a woman at a scent and shaving shop in Newton, MA who said that Florida Water can also be used as an aftershave, though I'm not sure I totally buy that. However, when I used it as an aftershave after using my St. Charles Sandalwood shave soap, I got a beautiful smell that lasted several hours longer than I expected. Your Florida Water may smell a bit light but it sticks around for a while (for me at least) which is great

Is there a difference between the Florida Water by Lanman Kemp and Barclay and the Florida Water by Murray & Lanman?

Z4CHc said:

I'm obsessed with my Florida Water, it's incredible. I see you're from New England, I'm in Brighton, MA and I make trips into Cambridge where I can get bottles of Florida Water for $6... I spoke to a woman at a scent and shaving shop in Newton, MA who said that Florida Water can also be used as an aftershave, though I'm not sure I totally buy that. However, when I used it as an aftershave after using my St. Charles Sandalwood shave soap, I got a beautiful smell that lasted several hours longer than I expected. Your Florida Water may smell a bit light but it sticks around for a while (for me at least) which is great

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Excellent info Zach.

I'm on the south shore in Kingston (just north of Plymouth).

I'll never be without Florida Water. It's great on it's own and it's a fantastic mixer. I keep a bottle of 60% Old Spice/40% Florida Water with a little Glycerine added for skin care which I call Orange Spice. I also palm mix with Barbasol Pacific Rush, Stetson Cooling Moisture, and even occasionally English Leather. Today I blended with Afta Original. Next summer I'm planning on getting a separate bottle and adding some menthol for a cooling blast.

I love that you can find it in the wild for just a few bucks too. There are a couple of local groceries that carry it and I've seen it at at least one Mexican market in the area too. If you really get ambitious, there are also recipes for FW you can find around the web.

It can be had for less than $6 delivered on Ebay.

mikelz777 said:

Is there a difference between the Florida Water by Lanman Kemp and Barclay and the Florida Water by Murray & Lanman?

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Good question! I'd like to know this as well. I have the Murray and lanman fw, and love it in the summer. I also have some of the South American made of the same name, which is a little different but equally as good.

I have seen seen a couple other brands but have not tried them.

The reason I ask about the 2 versions noted above is that they are the 2 that can be had for less than $6 delivered from Ebay. I've had the Murray and Lanman FW but not the other. One has the gold foil on the neck and the other appears to have silver foil on the neck.

FW and 4711 are great aftershaves, if you add some glycerin, as noted.

Otherwise the alky dries your face out.

Stuff smells great.

Fun facts: Santeria novitiates use it (anecdotally) and if splashed on before bedtime, it can cause vivid and bizarre dreams.


AA

I have glycerin on hand. What proportion would you recommend I add to my 7.5 oz bottle?

I have the M&L version. Thanks.

Decant like an ounce of FW into something else, and drop just a couple drops. Some people use more or less.

Don't add it to the big bottle; you can't go back!


AA

Thanks for the history!

I had never heard of Florida Water until I noticed that Darren Siebert was regularly using as part of his SOTD. Liking Soap Commander's scents, I thought that I would give it a try. It's really a very good aftershave. I use it when I'm using a citrus shave soap/cream.