Thread: Stick With 'Balm, or go to Aftershave?

Originally Posted by Obie

Crawler,
the strength of the fragrance, from what I recall of the soap, is:
Cologne
Aftershave
Soap

Fair enough. Thanks. But the scent itself is the same across all three?

I bring that up because a product can have wild variations depending on how it is packaged/delivered/what form it is in. Prime example: Mt. Dew: Code Red. Excellent in the can! Quite smooth, balanced flavor, and stops short of being too rich. But try the exact same thing in a bottle. It is an atrocious abomination! A similar example would be the difference between a soda from a bottle, and the same soda from a fast food/convenience store fountain machine. I hope that made sense...

Crawler,
The fragrance, from what I recall of the soap, is the same in the general sense, although the strength various among the three.

Originally Posted by Obie

Spendur,
It does not seem to bother me, for some reason, I might add. The witch hazel that I apply over it seems to temper what might cause irritation. The important point about alum is its overall help in maintaining a healthy skin. For instance, if by some chance a pimple surfaces on my face, I rub it with the alum after washing my face before bedtime. A couple days of that and the pimple is gone. Alum is good stuff. Combine it with witch and your face is ready for Hollywood.

Well, that's the problem right there Obie. I simply can't tolerate having a mere Hollywood face. I need a way higher standard for my Broadway Face.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well, that's the problem right there Obie. I simply can't tolerate having a mere Hollywood face. I need a way higher standard for my Broadway Face.

Spendur, my friend, movies for me. I love the theater. I love the movies more. Always have. And now that I am turning my novel into a movie script, I must uphold the Hollywood face.

Originally Posted by Crawler

Fair enough. Thanks. But the scent itself is the same across all three?

I bring that up because a product can have wild variations depending on how it is packaged/delivered/what form it is in. Prime example: Mt. Dew: Code Red. Excellent in the can! Quite smooth, balanced flavor, and stops short of being too rich. But try the exact same thing in a bottle. It is an atrocious abomination! A similar example would be the difference between a soda from a bottle, and the same soda from a fast food/convenience store fountain machine. I hope that made sense...

Typically the fountain soda is different because the owner can change the mixture. Less concentrate means more profit and some customers prefer it. A few places by me bump up the concentrate of the Schweppes ginger ale and it is delicious. This more backs up your example...

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well, that's the problem right there Obie. I simply can't tolerate having a mere Hollywood face. I need a way higher standard for my Broadway Face.

But you're farther away on the theatre and can be uglier...

In general, aftershave balms and aftershave are two different products: the former is compounded to soothe and moisturize one's face, while the latter's job is to close-up and "tighten" the skin pores of one's face. As a rule-of-thumb, I use a high-quality ASB immediately following my Friday afternoon shaves, but will splash on an aftershave (sans balm) after other during-the-week shaves. I learned to avoid homemade, "cottage-industry" balms -- I found that they're usually thin, often irritating, with an awful taste, and of an overall lower quality than those of top-tier manufacturers. I know... it's a YMMV thing, but I go with my experience.

Examples: Castle Forbes' matching/complementary lines of shaving cream/aftershave balm/EDP; another is Burberry's Brit for Men ASB and EDT; two more are Geoffrey Beane's Grey Flannel and Acqua di Parma's Colonia. There are many more, and yes, they're expensive, but "coordinated" (i.e., formulated to work together) -- you honestly do "get what you pay for" (I'm talking about quality, not whether one likes the aroma).

Smooth shaving!