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Barbershop scents

Shavin’ Yeti

Shavin’ Yeti

Sr. Shave Member
Since I now have many different barbershop scents, @bentheduck encouraged me to start a discussion thread about them. I am very interested in learning more about this scent category which has numerous different interpretations and hearing about other soaps & splashes that Cadre members like and use. Here it goes.

My first barbershop scent ( I had no idea when I ordered it, I was just getting my feet wet with this whole wet shaving thing) was the Italian classic, Proraso Green (tube of cream and splash). I really Like the clean fragrance of the eucalyptus and menthol, but the slickness and post shave of other artisan level soaps leaves this cream behind. I still end up using it about once a week because I like the scent.

Next for me was Razorock Blue Barbershop (soap tub & splash). This to me is a true American style barbershop that is clean smelling in a slightly different way when compared to Proraso Green. Performance is better than Proraso, but not at the elite level of soaps from CBL, Stirling, B&M, etc... (just my personal experience).

I also have Ghost Town Barber, but have only used it twice, so I will hold off until I can get a few more shaves in with it. I will say that I like the unique scent of the soap and can’t wait to use it paired with the aftershave splash.

I will post my thoughts on my new collection of samples as I use them.
 
Yea, barbershop encompasses a huge variety of scents.

Having never smelled much else than talc in a barber-like setting, I associate that smell with the genre for the most part. Could be a warm scent or a fresher scent with some powder.

Of what I have currently, that would mean Jeeves of Hudson Street Turkish Bath (renamed Barbershop), CBL Barbershop, and Proraso Red to a certain extent.
 
GearNoir said:
Yea, barbershop encompasses a huge variety of scents.

Having never smelled much else than talc in a barber-like setting, I associate that smell with the genre for the most part. Could be a warm scent or a fresher scent with some powder.

Of what I have currently, that would mean Jeeves of Hudson Street Turkish Bath (renamed Barbershop), CBL Barbershop, and Proraso Red to a certain extent.
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I noticed that CBL has two different Barbershop scents, the one you mentioned and Barbers Chair. Both are very interesting to me. I will probably pick both up at some point after I work through my current sample selection.
 
Barbershop scents encompass a huge variety, but for an aftershave I cannot beat Floid Vigoroso. It goes on with a slight medicinal scent but dries to a powdery scent that is perfect for me. The menthol adds a nice amount of cooling and the alcohol enough burn to know it’s there but not too much to be uncomfortable. There is absolutely no stickiness or anything other than a clean refreshing feel and a great scent.

Floid Vigoroso is my number 1 aftershave.
 
SM29 said:
Barbershop scents encompass a huge variety, but for an aftershave I cannot beat Floid Vigoroso. It goes on with a slight medicinal scent but dries to a powdery scent that is perfect for me. The menthol adds a nice amount of cooling and the alcohol enough burn to know it’s there but not too much to be uncomfortable. There is absolutely no stickiness or anything other than a clean refreshing feel and a great scent.

Floid Vigoroso is my number 1 aftershave.
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Great suggestion, I have looked at Floid, but never purchased. It’s now on my radar.
 
Oh yeah. Barbershop scents. I think it may be my favorite category. Not only is it a huge category but I also think it's different for everyone since it is dependent upon someone's memory and scent sensitivities. And we all know how different both of those are for everyone.

As for soaps and creams I'm going to say that the ones I consider "barbershop" are Stirling Barbershop, WCS Gatsby No. 1 (either version), WSP T-Formula Barbershop and Musgo Real Classic. As for aftershaves, I think I have two that fall in this category. Pinaud Clubman and RazoRock Blue Barbershop.

The only other one I'd throw into the mix is a combo. A 50/50 combination of Mitchell's Wool Fat and Haslinger Schafmilch grated, mixed and pressed into a tub and known as The Fat 'As. I don't care much for either scent alone. I have tubs of each one alone. But when I combined them I get a nice fresh and somewhat powdery scent from it.
 
MarkB said:
Barbershop scents???? Now you’re speaking my language! :love: I have several “barbershop” scent soaps. Most of the best ones I’ve used I got from Phoenix Shaving.


Speaking of the RazoRock Blue Label, to my nose it’s identical to Blue Floid.
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Wow, they have a ton of different barbershop scents. I have looked at CaD before, but didnt pull the trigger. The other one that peaks my interest is Good Vibrations.
 
Shavin’ Yeti said:
Wow, they have a ton of different barbershop scents. I have looked at CaD before, but didnt pull the trigger. The other one that peaks my interest is Good Vibrations.
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I have both. CaD just arrived today so I’ll be using it tomorrow morning. Good Vibrations is one of my faves as well. I’ve yet to try a soap & splash from PAA that I didn’t like.
 
Their Clubguy is a very good Clubman clone. If you consider bay rum a barbershop scent, their Atomic Age Bay Rum is the best BR I’ve ever used.
 
Here’s my post last time I used the Good Vibrations soap & splash.

MarkB's Basses, Shaves & Other Obsessions

Good morning everyone! TGIF! Back to the barbershop theme again. Today I went with the PAA "Good Vibrations" soap an splash. Nice powdery / bay rum scent with some woodiness. Also used my new razor my wife got me for my birthday (didn't arrive until yesterday). Another Slim Adjustable with...
theshavingcadre.com theshavingcadre.com
 
MntnMan62 said:
Oh yeah. Barbershop scents. I think it may be my favorite category. Not only is it a huge category but I also think it's different for everyone since it is dependent upon someone's memory and scent sensitivities. And we all know how different both of those are for everyone.

As for soaps and creams I'm going to say that the ones I consider "barbershop" are Stirling Barbershop, WCS Gatsby No. 1 (either version), WSP T-Formula Barbershop and Musgo Real Classic. As for aftershaves, I think I have two that fall in this category. Pinaud Clubman and RazoRock Blue Barbershop.

The only other one I'd throw into the mix is a combo. A 50/50 combination of Mitchell's Wool Fat and Haslinger Schafmilch grated, mixed and pressed into a tub and known as The Fat 'As. I don't care much for either scent alone. I have tubs of each one alone. But when I combined them I get a nice fresh and somewhat powdery scent from it.
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I have seen WSP T-formula and Rustic formula on Amazon, but was unsure about it. The splash is kind of pricey at $25 for a 100ml bottle. I have and love the scent of Blue Barbershop aftershave. I don’t have the original Pinaud Clubman, but I do have the Reserve Whiskey Woods and really like it. From what I have read, the original Clubman is polarizing, so I went with the Resreve Whiskey Woods.
 
MarkB said:
If you consider bay rum a barbershop scent
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I actually had no idea that it's a big deal in barbershops until a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen it used in my life, most barbers back home use Pinaud products only...if that, and I have no idea why.

Hey @Shavin’ Yeti, which one of the samples I sent do you like best?
 
Shavin’ Yeti said:
I have seen WSP T-formula and Rustic formula on Amazon, but was unsure about it. The splash is kind of pricey at $25 for a 100ml bottle. I have and love the scent of Blue Barbershop aftershave. I don’t have the original Pinaud Clubman, but I do have the Reserve Whiskey Woods and really like it. From what I have read, the original Clubman is polarizing, so I went with the Resreve Whiskey Woods.
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I have the WSP Barbershop in the T-Formula with tallow and I have the Black Amber Vanilla in the Rustic formula. I definitely prefer the T-Formula as I find it to be much more slick and have much more cushion than the Rustic. I won't replace the Black Amber Vanille when it's gone but I sure will be replacing the Barbershop. I can't imagine the original Pinaud Clubman is polarizing. That has to be my favorite aftershave of my entire small collection. Give it a try. It's certainly cheap enough. I think you'll like it. I don't have the Whiskey Woods or any of those three new scents they released but what I've read about them is that they have very little longevity. But the Pinaud Clubman may be one of my longest lasting scents.
 
Barbershop is an interesting category since as everyone is saying, it covers so many wildly different scents. For me, Floid Viagaroso, Amber and Myrsol Antesol, F/Extra are my classic barbershop favorites. But that's Spanish/Italian barbershop.

Pinaud Clubman is what I think of a US barbershop, and honestly I'm happy I discovered Floid which is far more common where I live now. When I started wet shaving, Clubman would have been too cliche, but Floid was something totally new and exotic to me. I still love the stuff. Now I can also enjoy Clubman, though I've only smelt it once, I liked it.

Of the 3 Floids - Vigaroso makes me feel like a conquistador, Blue like Don Juan, and Amber like Casanova.

Noble Otter also makes a great US style barbershop, Barrbarr (?sp). Which really reminds me of those cans of Gillette foam from back in the day. It's one I'd highly recommend if you want classic American barbershop.
 
MntnMan62 said:
I have the WSP Barbershop in the T-Formula with tallow and I have the Black Amber Vanilla in the Rustic formula. I definitely prefer the T-Formula as I find it to be much more slick and have much more cushion than the Rustic. I won't replace the Black Amber Vanille when it's gone but I sure will be replacing the Barbershop. I can't imagine the original Pinaud Clubman is polarizing. That has to be my favorite aftershave of my entire small collection. Give it a try. It's certainly cheap enough. I think you'll like it. I don't have the Whiskey Woods or any of those three new scents they released but what I've read about them is that they have very little longevity. But the Pinaud Clubman may be one of my longest lasting scents.
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Thanks for the info about T-formula and Clubman. I will put both on my want list.
 
I
HMan said:
Barbershop is an interesting category since as everyone is saying, it covers so many wildly different scents. For me, Floid Viagaroso, Amber and Myrsol Antesol, F/Extra are my classic barbershop favorites. But that's Spanish/Italian barbershop.

Pinaud Clubman is what I think of a US barbershop, and honestly I'm happy I discovered Floid which is far more common where I live now. When I started wet shaving, Clubman would have been too cliche, but Floid was something totally new and exotic to me. I still love the stuff. Now I can also enjoy Clubman, though I've only smelt it once, I liked it.

Of the 3 Floids - Vigaroso makes me feel like a conquistador, Blue like Don Juan, and Amber like Casanova.

Noble Otter also makes a great US style barbershop, Barrbarr (?sp). Which really reminds me of those cans of Gillette foam from back in the day. It's one I'd highly recommend if you want classic American barbershop.
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I have a sample of Noble Otter Barrbarr from @bentheduck that I will be trying in my next shave. Thanks for your input on The three different types of Floid aftershave, I will definitely check them out.
 
bentheduck said:
I actually had no idea that it's a big deal in barbershops until a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen it used in my life, most barbers back home use Pinaud products only...if that, and I have no idea why.

Hey @Shavin’ Yeti, which one of the samples I sent do you like best?
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I have only used the Two Bits sample and it had a great scent. As for the others, off the mini puck I like Barrbarr, Key Lime, and Reserve Cool the best. I can’t wait to get in shaves with every sample.
 
Shavin’ Yeti said:
I have only used the Two Bits sample and it had a great scent. As for the others, off the mini puck I like Barrbarr, Key Lime, and Reserve Cool the best. I can’t wait to get in shaves with every sample.
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The key lime is a little surprising. It smells a little too gourmand to me, and I'm not super interested in shaving with a pie. :ROFLMAO: On that note, that particular soap is kinda crumbly, I think it might be easier to get it wet first and then try to scoop it out.
 
Barbershop isn't a scent, it's an idea. One that is interpreted into a scent by the maker. A barbershop scent is one that evokes a memory of walking into the barbershops of our youth. But no two barbershops were the same, so that idea can vary greatly. For some the scent would be a medicinal, clean, and Barbacide kind of smell. For others it might be a pipe tobacco and cedarwood smell. Others would associate it with the aftershave that the barber used on everyone, which was very commonly a Bay Rum or Clubman type scent. Some makers would take bits of all these notes and blend them together to make their version of Barbershop.

There are some barbershop scents that I like, but most I do not. They do not speak to me, and give me a memory of the barbershop. There are so many scents that some think of as barbershop, that I do not. Proraso Green? I've never thought of that as a Barbershop scent..... GTB, ugh, no way. I know, I know, Barber is in the name.... but it smells nothing like babershop to me, and evokes no good memories. To my nose it's just bad.

For me, it needs to smell like Jeris Hair Tonic. That's the ultimate barbershop scent to me. Bay Rum is also a good one..... But really, just about anything could be considered a barbershop scent. It's a really loose idea and category. Just go look up top babershop scents, or list of barbershop scents...... many that I'd never consider babershop. (Pinaud Lime Sec..... for example was on a list I saw).
 
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