It's a bit more work but...

Its a bit more work in the morning ritual, but Im really into the whole gentlemans matching-scent product programme these days.

What I mean is eau de cologne, scented bar soap, scented shower gel, scented body lotion, scented talcum powder. Caswell-Massey products, Aqua di Parma Colonia series, and best of all, the fancy pharmacy store wonders from Roger & Gallet: Imperial Bouquet and Extra Vieille.

The smells are great and the whole ritual of using them? A manly morning ritual paradise. If I dont get too lazy Ill try to make wearing them into a summertime project.

Jeeze, though, youve got to get up early because of all the time spent in the shower. These last few mornings I havent had time to tweeze the nose hairs.

Until this morning I was just using the R&G Extra Vieille shower gel, body lotion, and edc. I had nice general wafts of it all day long and in sunny mild heat too. I smelled cleeeeean and very respectable. Loved it! I used to use the bath soap, but used it up and replaced it with the shower gel. I got some more bath soap yesterday and this morning didnt know which to use so I used both. This stuff is so great!

I think Im going to try out another line of R&G or so. Pick up some side products from Aqua di Parma. Maybe get around to Caswell-Massey (I used up C-Ms Verbena talcum powder last summer) experimentation too, since their Verbena is such a good summer thing.

Shamu, Damn, Quorum packs all that? Amazing--if I were wearing all those Quorum products I'd stop being Chris and become a Nightstalker nighttime creature, the porous sponge-like "QuorumThing." I love Quorum too.

I imagine the other products add depth in ways, because there's no way to add longevity to Quorum, it's a loyal friend until washed off. I'll be checking out Aura of Patchouli. I tested it a year or so ago, and it was nice in the way a good refined patchouli should be (not a headshop patch oil I mean), but at the time I had wanted to pick up C-M's original Patchouli which I think has been replaced with Aura. The difference between them is a great study of patchouli, by the way, as the old one reminded me of patchouli combined with thick sodden-wet leather boots. It was really catching, and I could really see wearing it. Aura is a tamer one, tempered for times of less bold scent wearing. That's not a bad thing, because you're right, it's good stuff. Has a kind of delicious apricot smell to it, which I find always in patchouli itself. Further, combined with the talc, you're exactly right, that stuff would be fantastic. Probably have the usual amazing longevity that patchouli always has too. I'm going to be testing it shortly.

Splash bottle yeah baby! What I particularly enjoy about that is that you get the scent in the palms of your hands, and it hides in the lines of the skin. Lasts for all day like that too. Also, I find I never use up as much as I think I'm going to when I use the splash. Great part of the ritual, you're right.


Kbe, right you are, leopard. I’m really into the kick. Seems like something like this grows on me at the beginning of every summer--like the coming heat brings out “old gentleman style” things. A few years ago at this time of year I wanted a pocket watch so that I wouldn’t have a wrist getting hot with a watch band. Another year it was yellow-striped broadcloth button down shirts that I thought would be proper gentleman’s wear for summer. Another year I decided I should learn to carry a handkerchief.

You get the picture. This May it’s scents in the shower, and rubbed on when dry.


Bossa,
Yeah, I am not into the deodorants either. The C-M stuff might have them, but I haven’t checked. Also the AdP might have them too, I should have made a point of looking when I checked them out today. The R&G stuff does not, however, so I’m using the old Mennon unscented from the grocery store too. There have been plenty of times I’ve run out of underarm stuff and gone without for a week or two because I don’t want to be bothered with stocking up. Deodorant isn’t a big deal for me is what I’m trying to say. I don’t know that I’d wear it from C-M, R&G, or AdP if they offer(ed) it.

One exception is I’ve got a huge bottle of ten or fifteen year old Guerlain Vetiver deodorant, the liquid spray kind NOT the rub on. I like using that. This reminds me I might work Guerlain Vetiver into the whole gentleman’s products summer too so I can use that stuff. GV is perfect summer stuff as well.


Emlynevermore,
In the case of R&G and C-M products, I seriously think it’s worth the expense. These beauties are not fancy-pants niche wears, and they’re not even shopping mall store scents. They’re cheap! Twenty bucks for the R&G shower gel, maybe $25, $35 or maybe it was $40 for 200mls of edc, and probably about $20 for the body lotion. (Small bar of soap is expensive, though, 100g for $9, but lasts three times as long as a supermarket bar of soap at least.)

So one can pile up these beauties and stay not too far from 100mls of whatever at Sephora.

The Casswell-Massey stuff is about the same price, but I’m not sure they have a body lotion, not that it’s a make or break issue though. They do have the talc, however, and it goes for $12 and lasts.

Aqua di Parma? Sheesh, that stuff costs big bucks. I might not pick up any more ritual products in that line as a result. The body lotion is at least $60, and I looked at the price of the talc this afternoon: $49 for a bit less than the size of a C-M talc package. I’ve got the edc of AdP, and fortunately for me it lasts very well. I might save it for luxury then, rather than everyman’s every summer morning fun.

From Casswell-Massey I’m a devoted fan of their Verbena scent. I’ve used it often on very hot summer days because I think verbena fits so well with heat. (Also for the talc, which I’ll get to in a moment.) I am not a fan of C-M Vetiver, and I’d go so far as to say don’t buy it. It smells like sugar, burnted sugar, and some third ugly ingredient are blended with the vetiver. Yuck. I’m a vetiver devotee too, so I count this one as pure travesty.

For this project I’m going to check out Aura of Patchouli, as Shamu suggests, Tricorn and another sandalwood I think they have (both are sandalwoods), and Newport I think it is. I’m not much into their Number Six or Jockey Club, but I might give them a sniff to confirm that I don’t like ‘em. I’m going to look to get C-M Limes, I think. When I’ve tested it before it had no longevity, maybe with all the products of the ritual it will have some. I’d like to find out, but it might be too much money for a lime scent that is gone before the day’s second cup of coffee.

(For winter C-M’s Persian Leather is really fun, isn’t that right Snafoo?)

I wear a short beard so I don’t bother with the aftershaves of any of the lines, even though I shave to shape the edges of the beard. What I like are the shower gels, the bar soaps, the edcs, and even the body lotions when the company makes them.

I especially like the talcum powder when the company makes that, because I find that, in the case of my experience using C-M Verbena, the scented talc makes the scent last twice as long and feel twice as intimate and appropriate.

Here’s what the talc is good for: hot days when you’re going to be sweating wet under your shirt. The days when your chest and back of the neck are going to sweat so much you’ll have a wet shirt stuck to them. A bit of talc rubbed around the collar and neck when the skin is dry makes fabric smooth on the skin and does some absorbing of the sweat moisture. So I’m much more comfortable in my shirts on the extremely hot and humid days on the North American Mid-Atlantic coast. I’ve spread some talc on my forearms and insides of my elbows too. It’s very helpful, and when it makes verbena, a short term fragrance element, last, I’m all over talc. I expect it will help with Limes as well, and Shamu is a genius to point out how it will be magic under patchouli.

I’m also going to try to see if there are other R&G things that I like. I’ve got bar soap and edc of the discontinued Bouquet Imperial, but I’m going to try out their citrus and maybe their Eau du Gingembre. I don’t like their Lavande Royal; I’d need to come around on that. I think they’ve got a fern scent too, but I’ll find out.

Reason to get up earlier in the morning!