Castle Forbes Cologne...Explain Please???

I recently saw the prices for Castle Forbes Cologne, and what I would like to know is do the prices reflect higher quality ingredients than most other types of colognes that cost under $100.00, or is the price due in greater part to the small staff?

A $110.00 - $140.00 bottle of cologne that size has to smell like something that is completely unique in every way to anything else I might find on the shelf for 1/2 - 3/4 of the price. I really cannot afford a cologne like this right now, but its just a thorn nagging at my side, and since they dont give out samples all I can do is go by your opinions...so lets here em! :bow

I believe that they are using prices to generate interest. It can't be THAT good. Don't forget that a small rag made by 9yrold children in a Shanghai sweatshop can go over $100 if it has a fancy designer's logo on it. People at CF are actually being reasonable compared to fashion designers, considering the differences in costs.

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Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I believe that they are using prices to generate interest. It can't be THAT good. Don't forget that a small rag made by 9yrold children in a Shanghai sweatshop can go over $100 if it has a fancy designer's logo on it. People at CF are actually being reasonable compared to fashion designers, considering the differences in costs.

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Ya but I dont buy designer clothing....if I did I couldnt afford designer razors and shaving supplies...I do have priorities after all!!! :D

And you do have them right. As you already have a wife, you might as well just dress tastefully and save your money for the important stuff like hones, paddle storps, abrasive pastes *hint* *hint* :D

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Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

And you do have them right. As you already have a wife, you might as well just dress tastefully and save your money for the important stuff like hones, paddle storps, abrasive pastes *hint* *hint* :D

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I have the pasted paddle strop I just need to find a 4" wide norton and a coticule lol...

Ok back to Castle Forbes...anyone got enough $$$ to even try their cologne?? I certainly dont!

Neither do I...I requested samples which they promised me and then I never heard from them again....so no sale EVER for them to me.

On another shave forum..Don't they have a trial size sampler of various colognes? That may be they way to try it without breaking the bank. Honestly, Is there anything better than a $6.00 bottle of Old Spice? :D

Ray

I know their shaving creams have an excellent reputation, but I don't know that I would pay that much for cologne.

I've never tried it, though. Maybe the fact that nobody seems to have tried it tells us something. :) Surely, there's someone out there, though.

OK, heres my very cynical take on things.........

Castle Forbes is obviousy marketed to the very high end of the market. ie to the type of rich American businessman who thinks nothing of paying $500 to play golf and St Andrews and Loch Lomond and then goes off looking round Scottish castles with the wife. As someone aleady mentioned, they charge that much just becuase they can and also due to the type of clientel that visits that area. Scottish castles are crawling with rich people on holiday from all over the world. The japanese go crazy for that sort of thing. The price in itself already has you convinced that it must be AMAZING stuff. I imagine it is probably good stuff, but is it worth 4 times the price. Probably not.

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Originally Posted by Sixgun

On another shave forum..Don't they have a trial size sampler of various colognes? That may be they way to try it without breaking the bank. Honestly, Is there anything better than a $6.00 bottle of Old Spice? :D

Ray

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Old Spice is a great AS. As far as the Castle Forbes-
as Bobbo said, it's priced this way to appeal to a
certain class of people. You could sell hemmoroids
if the price was high enough and the brand name
had an aire of distinction.


Terry

The price is in the same ballpark as some other "high end" colognes. I checked out the CF at Saks a couple of weeks ago. They were nice, but I don't know that I'd spend the dough just yet. For my money, there are more interesting scents out there. Someone with an AD would most likely get some at some point.

Jordan

CF colognes are VERY nice IMO. Expensive, yes, without question. If you did things like they do, well then, your wares would command a premium as well. As with any other scent, they either grab your nose or they don't. Their shaving creams are absolutely top notch, I don't think anyone who has tried them will contest that point. The colognes....the quality is beyond question. They sent me samples a couple of years ago, although I'm not sure what their policy is now. If they don't have time, you should know their staff can be counted on one hand as i understand it. Afford it...? Priorities, I suppose. It all comes down to an individual descision on such matters.

Jeff

I've never tried their colognes-too expensive for me, however I use their creams and I have to tell you I am not a cream person but their cream in my opinion is the best shaving prep period. Its in a class by itself.

After my last post here I did some checking and CF cologne isn't much more expensive than other high-end English products. Their bottles are 4.4 Oz. which is a hefty size for the money. I've seen Trumper Sandalwood and similar colognes for $55 for a 1.7 Oz. bottle and Penhaligon's is about $70 for a 1.7 Oz. These are not inexpensive by any means, but CF is not particularly expensive for its niche. Then you have producers like Bond No. 9, Le Labo and others with prices that are just in a different league altogether.

So, if you're thinking of getting a scent by one of the traditional English houses, check the size and consider the CF. I'm going to soon (can you tell I've come down with a case of the scent RAD?:o ). Just 2 more cents.

Jordan


P.S. I still enjoy my inexpensive Tabac and Dominica Spice as much as anything!

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Originally Posted by jnich67

After my last post here I did some checking and CF cologne isn't much more expensive than other high-end English products. Their bottles are 4.4 Oz. which is a hefty size for the money. I've seen Trumper Sandalwood and similar colognes for $55 for a 1.7 Oz. bottle and Penhaligon's is about $70 for a 1.7 Oz. These are not inexpensive by any means, but CF is not particularly expensive for its niche. Then you have producers like Bond No. 9, Le Labo and others with prices that are just in a different league altogether.

So, if you're thinking of getting a scent by one of the traditional English houses, check the size and consider the CF. I'm going to soon (can you tell I've come down with a case of the scent RAD?:o ). Just 2 more cents.

Jordan


P.S. I still enjoy my inexpensive Tabac and Dominica Spice as much as anything!

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I think this would be cad (cologne aquisition disorder), or perhaps ssad (shaving scent aquisition disorder)

I wish some local store carried their stuff so I could get an idea of what it smells like, ohwell maybe one day I'll have enough change to give it a blind try!

I saw it in Saks once. I'm sure your travels will take you to a city that has one (I don't know about N. VA, but there is a Saks in Chevy Chase, MD next time you're down that way).

Jordan

I've tried one or two of the CF scents and they are very very good. No, I can't afford them but call Charles at QED and sometimes he will sell you a small sample (mine was free with another order) to try out.
From what I understand CF is indeed small as mentioned above, (handful of people) but is one of perhaps 2 or 3 makers out there still making colognes in the more traditional ways from more traditional ingredients (real essential oils, for instance) than most makers out there. A large majority of scents available now have little or no natural ingredients and are about as "real deal" as the strawberry scent in your car air freshener.
The only other maker that comes to mind that uses similar methods exclusively, is Creed. And they are ridiculously expensive. Perhaps to a degree Penhaligon and Trumper, but not so sure about them so much anymore...and honestly, they aren't cheap, either.
I'd say order a sample or two from Charles, and try them that way. Only a few bucks, not nearly so bad a deal that way.
John P.

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Originally Posted by wvbias

You could sell hemmoroids
if the price was high enough and the brand name
had an aire of distinction.


Terry

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Since they're bubbly, we will market them as Ass Champagne! ;) :D

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Originally Posted by JohnP

I've tried one or two of the CF scents and they are very very good. No, I can't afford them but call Charles at QED and sometimes he will sell you a small sample (mine was free with another order) to try out.
From what I understand CF is indeed small as mentioned above, (handful of people) but is one of perhaps 2 or 3 makers out there still making colognes in the more traditional ways from more traditional ingredients (real essential oils, for instance) than most makers out there. A large majority of scents available now have little or no natural ingredients and are about as "real deal" as the strawberry scent in your car air freshener.
The only other maker that comes to mind that uses similar methods exclusively, is Creed. And they are ridiculously expensive. Perhaps to a degree Penhaligon and Trumper, but not so sure about them so much anymore...and honestly, they aren't cheap, either.
I'd say order a sample or two from Charles, and try them that way. Only a few bucks, not nearly so bad a deal that way.
John P.

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John makes a good point....most scents these days are synthetic, some very, very good representations of their natural counterparts, some not so good. I'm not familiar with the Castle Forbes line, but have worn a couple of Creed scents (Tabarome, Cuir de Russie) for years..yes, they are expensive, but they last a long time (both on the skin, and a bottle lasts, too), and they have a complexity that's missing in some of the more basic aftershaves/colognes/eau de toilettes. A few of the natural components in scents like Creed (and possibly, CF), are very expensive in their natural forms, hence the higher price tags.

Marketing costs, an "exclusivity" price to create demand, etc, do add to the cost, and cosmetics are notorious for their markup. But Creed has been in business since 1770, and their business model sticks to the tried-and-true, rather than turning their name into a multi-billion dllar dept store brand by cheapening their product. In that regard, they are no different the Thiers-Issard or Dovo, who I imagine may have been tempted to get into the disposable market to increase their business as the straight razor fell out of favor (buggy whips, anyone?)

An unfortunate effect of hand-made, or authentically-made products is an almost exponential increase in cost....it's possible to get a $10 boar bristle shaving brush or a $25 Pakistani razor that will serve it's basic function well, and satisfy many people. But, I see many people on SRP wax rhapsodic about the wonders of $200 Super SilverTip brushes and $500 hand-forged razors with rare scales....are they paying too much? have they aspired & finally attained? does it add to the joy (both aesthetic & practical) of an everyday task (an oft-cited reason we shave in the manner we do!)?

Whatever the reasons, they are probably difficult to define in a rational way..romance & sentiment play a large part in our personal choices, and depending on age & circumstances, getting to the point that one can fulfill some of those fancies is the point. I wear Creed Tabarome because A: it smells good on me; B: My wife thinks it's the best scent for me, she loves it; C: it was developed in 1875, and is still made using the original formula (in the pre-Gillette, straight-razor-as-king era) D: Winston Churchill wore it; E: I can afford to wear it now, after waiting almost 20 years since first smelling it. By the way, I also wear Musgo Real & Tabac, neither of which can be accused of being an elitist brand, and both great in their own right.

Just like shaving with a straight razor (which many people I know think is more than a little eccentric), I don't wear Creed because it's expensive or because they caught me in a weak moment after a $500 round of golf and I thought it would add to my cachet with my peers....I wear it because it captured my imagination (just as wet shaving), and after a wonderful bath & shave, it adds to the whole experience of feeling like I've got a tiny bit of a foot in the not-too-distant past of things worth preserving.....plus it smells so damn good! And, after all is said & done, that's what should matter...each of us has different skin chemistry & tastes in scents, so each of us has to actually try & decide what works best.

Happy Shaving, and thanks for this community of enthusiastic shavers!