Their after shave splashes have witch hazel in them. Maybe just buy some plain witch hazel, and add some of the splash to it until it's where you like it. I normally buy plain witch hazel and add essential oils to it. Except for Thayers Lavender I love that one.
Now is the time I wish my finances were better because I'd love to buy a few new soaps. I'd like to try some non-mentholated ones like Bay Rum, Ozark Mountain, and Sharp Dressed Man.
Ozark Mountain and Sharp Dressed Man are two mainstays for me. I don't think that you will be disappointed.
I have the Glacial Eskimo Tuxedo which is actually Sharp Dressed Man with a ton and a half of menthol. The Ozark Mountain sounds very interesting as well.
I find the Ozark Mountain to be very close to a walk in the woods on a crisp autumn day. I get the pine up front, with a fresh earth, moss, fallen leaf and fresh air scent to back it up. I'm not sure it will hold up in the spring and summer, but in the cool months I reach for it frequently. I plan to get the matching splash for next fall.
I had a sample of Ozark Mountain soap and splash that I used a good bit in December. My wife enjoyed it and it was a good scent for the holidays. I would definitely get a full tub and splash but will need to use some others up first!
Well, I'm about to go on a Stirling shopping spree. I'm hooked and just want to try out all their scents. All these rave reviews of "Sharp Dressed Man" has me so intrigued as to what the scent is.
Look up the cologne Green Irish Tweed to find out. Reviews of Green Irish Tweed by Creed — Basenotes.net Basenotes › fragrancereviews › fragrance Green Irish Tweed, as it's name suggests, smells very green. Like a grassy hillside in early morning. It begins its life as a sweet floral scent with a hint of fresh citrus. It dries down to a soft woody scent, but doesn't lose the fresh green signature.
Allow me to be the one negative comment. I have five Stirling soaps now: Barbershop, Executive Man, Bay Rum, Orange Chill, and Sharp Dressed Man. Barbershop, Executive Man, and Bay Rum are among my top favorites of some 30 or so soaps. I've said this before - I just am not taken with Sharp Dressed Man. Not sure what the scent is but I just don't care for it. I've used it several times thinking it might grow on me but it hasn't. We all have our preferences when it comes to different scents. I love bay rum and have a number of different brands in that scent and like them all. Many folks can't stand the bay rum scent. Stirling certainly makes a quality product and I too will be buying more - just know there will probably be one or two that don't work out.
I'm a firm believer that body chemistry plays into this. I can't remember what it was, but my mom was fascinated with a certain perfume. Two of my aunts wore the scent, and it smelled good. My mom bought a bottle and it smelled like skunk on her. If everyone liked the same things, there'd only be one aftershave on the market...
To my nose the most prominent note in SDM is the lemon verbena. My absolute favorite soap scent, not just Stirling.
It also seems that coloring also has quite a bit to do with body chemistry. I'm swarthy-colored and a cousin of mine is very fair. He smelled an eau de toilette (Givenchy Gentleman) which gets me a lot of compliments and he bought it also and he said it smelled awful on him. On the other hand he wears Armani Black Code very well and that one smells awful on me. My Mom wears Paloma Picasso and I love it on her, but my wife says it doesn't suit her at all. Strangely enough, my Mom and my wife are also dark-colored. This young lady who's a cosmetician told me that we dark guys need something "spicy" or "Oriental" and a fair man needs something more citrusy or "flowery." Go figure!
Until a dear friend of mine in this group introduced me to Stirling a few years ago I'd never even heard of it. Now they're my number one favorite of all soaps.
I wonder how much your diet plays into cologne scents on different people. A buddy of mine eats spicier foods and colognes are different on him. I wonder if the cologne is airisoling some of your own scent as well when the aromatics evaporates
This is all very interesting. One could do a PHD thesis on this topic. I am of English (father side) and Italian (mother side) lineage. Although I like some of the citrus/flowery scents - my favorites are the heavier notes of soaps such as bay rums and barbershop and some of the pine/cedar woodsy scents. I guess that is what makes all this so enjoyable - we each have our own tastes. Much of this may be genetics.
I feel that our unique personal experiences play in to it, too. It's a proven fact that a humans sense of smell is closely tied to our memories. I recently experienced this with the Soap Pass Around, when I opened a soap and was immediately reminded of my father's pipe. If you associate a certain scent with a good memory, I think you are more inclined to like it, even if the smell isn't exactly pleasant.
Two pieces of advice: 1) search their products via the "best selling" search. It is a great way to find what us the most popular. 2) Buy any and all Stirling samples that sound interesting to you. Supposedly they are 1.1 oz, but I weight them...and they are almost always larger. The samples last quite awhile and they are cheap. Stirling always sends me a free sample too...which just adds to the value. Buy all samples that sound interesting...and enjoy! Bonus: check out their "sale" section. It seems like there is always an extra item or two that I can get at a discount. Well worth it.
And my Stirling Shave Stick project has been an amazing success. Easily get enough soap onto my face and it is making face lathering even better than before. Just take my soaked boar, begin to swirl it around on my face, and before I know it - tons of protective/slick lather everywhere. I think I found my new favorite soap-to-face delivery method, lol.
All of the witch hazels are scented with essential oils only. Unfortunately, using synthetic fragrance oils doesn't work for the witch hazels. First, the natural scent of witch hazel really pollutes synthetic scents. Second, to keep synthetic fragrance oils in suspension requires a hefty amount of polysorbate, and I do everything I can do minimize ingredients like that in my products. In short, while we do plan to expand the witch hazels, the expansion will be limited to essential oil scents that are strong enough to stand on their own against the natural scent of witch hazel. Sorry!
