I went back and wiped out the last 5 pucks of Art of Shaving sandalwood soap from that thrift store. Looks like someone else scored big -- a reader of this blog, perhaps? I actually felt bad for spilling the beans... I know donators hate this kind of conversation, and we market fleas must seem like true parasites.
Personally, the purchase redefined how I think of luxury soap, and I've already used it as a model for a cheap alternative. I found a big bottle of Canoe aftershave splash at Christmas Tree Shops, and bought it because the formula looked similar to Brut, with the addition of hydrogenated castor oil, which I trust from my Dollar Tree blue aftershave. I expected it would enrich Williams lather and be gentle. The smell was decidedly soapy, though I thought I smelled a touch of the blue spice with my nose to the bottle, under a chemical plastic base (odd, since bottle was heavy glass).
I was wrong, that was just lavender. I didn't realize how close Canoe is to baby oil until I got home and sniffed them side by side. Canoe is simply less sour. SO old-fashioned! But hey, I'm getting older. I know women prefer the "powder" category, and my wife happened to be with me in the store to give her approval. Not discussed: I remember my highschool sweetheart always smelling like Tide laundry detergent. Clean is just damn sexy, and always will be. It's hardwired. Cool Water is a recent iteration of this tradition, and I definitely find Canoe less constricting of my airway than that. Why analyze so much, anyway? $3.74 on sale! Well, because I've only ever given 8 oz. of commitment to one other aftershave. Another old-school fragrance: Florida Water.
Speaking of commitment -- HA! -- I just realized who liked both of these frags. My maternal grandfather. He doesn't get much play in my recollections because he got a divorce, before that was cool, and we didn't see him too much. I did take note of his aftershaves on a visit to Florida, though, before he passed. God, must have been more than 25 years ago.
That's what a traditional scent will do for you. I was also pleasantly surprised by the performance, with baby oil in place of plain mineral oil, in my Williams enrichment scheme. The same rich viscosity of the super-fancy sandalwood, with even more oily slickness. The same impressive scent level, but without demanding to be smelled. Whereas Florida Water puts me in touch with my Native American side, as a simple splash, Canoe is my middle-class nostalgic scent. Where other guys would have paid through the nose for vintage Old Spice, my objective has been met unintentionally.
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