Barbershop Bay Rum Aftershave

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Adrian

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I received this aftershave a week ago, I wanted to try it a few times before writing a review. This is my first attempt at writing a review so bear with me. After unpacking I opened it and was pleasantly surprised by the scent, I also tried a bit, I found that the scent lasts a long time, between 2-4 hours, which is nice. The next day I had a shave and tried it out, I usually find that aftershaves sting quite a lot, but there was very little with this. :D The bottle is nice as well as it is possible to apply a few drops of the aftershave instead of half the bottle, which usually happens to me. Overall I am really happy I bought this product, and will definitely be buying more when I have used this up.

Adrian
 

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Adrian, hope you don't mind but I'm going to add another review here to your thread, seems daft to start a fresh thread on the same topic. Like you I've left it a few uses to get a good impression of what it's like, hence the lateness.

I was another customer of Sunburyboy's recent run of Barbershop Bay Rum. I'm quite a big user and fan of bay rum scents and already regularly use Ogalalla's orginal bay rum, also the lime and peppercorns variant, Pashana bay rum, and also Taylors of Old Bond Street original bay rum. Here's my thoughts:

The Barbershop bottle came well wrapped in bubblewrap, and in custom printed paper which was a nice touch. The bottle is a dark brown glass, reminicent of 1950s medicine bottles. It has a dropper fixed in the neck which is great for measuring out small amounts, and a plain black plastic lid. The label is plain and to the point, maybe a bit too simple, and so is really the only thing to hint toward the semi amateur nature of the product.

The liquid itself is dark and concentrated, far more so that any other bay rum I've seen. The smell is strong on first application which is how I like bay rum to be... initial smells are a huge vanilla hit, strong orange zest, then caramel and spicy rum. Applying it to the skin there is no real burn, which leads me to believe it has little actual alcohol left over from the steeping process. I'm told that the "rum" content is actual Jamaican rum so there has to be some left I guess, but it's not in such a high concentration to sting. The scent sticks around for a good while which I'm surprised by. TOBS's own bay rum lasts maybe 20 minutes, Ogalalla lasts an hour or so, Pashana about the same. Barbershop trumps those on longevity by a long way. As it fades, the citrus notes leave the building to be taken over by more caramel and vanilla with a bit of cinammon warmth. Very nice.

My pros: 1) It's good and spicy, and complex. 2) It lasts a while. Sunburyboy clearly does not skimp on quality ingredients, and so a little goes a long way. I use maybe half as much actual splash as I would with Ogalalla, and all to get a longer lasting smell. 3) It's all natural, so there is no added pure alcohol or chemicals.
The only con (and I'm being especially picky) is the packaging could be better looking.

All in all, 8 out of ten. A very good product and one I'll buy again. Recommended.

 
Really looking forward to this one, I'm lucky to be on the 'sample list' which I'll hopefully get this week, I haven't found my 'must have' AS yet, maybe this could be it :idea:
 
Also here!
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I received a sample of this from Sunburyboy this morning. I haven't used it as a true aftershave yet, but I've had a blast of it as a fragrance.

I'm not a basenoter, so won't be talking about openings and midnotes. But I do like bayrum, and I know what bayrums I like.

For me, this one is great. It's nice and spicy, lots of different scents knocking around. One of the criticisms I have about most bayrums is they lack balance, there's always too much of something ponging around, so you either smell too clovey, or too much of cinnamon etc. I think Sunbury has struck gold with this method and has just the right amount of each ingredient, which leads to a great balance of flavours.

The dropper bottle is a masterstroke.
 
My review and impressions on this special after shave:

1. Packaging / size / appearance: Nice looking glass bottle with plastic screw-in cap and a lovely designed label. Comes very well wrapped up in carton box and thick gift paper. A completely natural lotion with no artificial coloring, fragrances, or synthetic enhancers of any kind.

2. Price / availability: Very inexpensive, produced and shipped from the U.K., great value compared to what is offered by the competition.

3. Scent: Strong, long lasting, but not the 'medicinal' type of scent other Bay Rums have. Steve has done a truly great job here, fantastic balance of the key ingredients scent-wise as well.

4. Razor burn / Cooling action: Excellent, works well and at the same time does not sting as other Bay Rums do.

5. Moisturizing properties: Not something one normally looks from a Bay Rum, performance is average and as expected; in par with what competition offers.

6. Quality / overall: High quality natural product at a very reasonable price, terrific scent. If you happen to like Bay Rum, you have to have this product.

Summary - N_Architect's verdict:

1. Packaging / size / appearance: 4/5
2. Price / availability: 4/5
3. Scent: 5/5
4. Razor burn / Cooling action:: 5/5
5. Moisturizing properties: 3/5
6. Quality / overall: 4/5 - Highly recommended.
 

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I was going to post a review but now it seems superfluous - it would only lead to tedious repletion.
But as I hear a (Greek?) chorus of protest at this I shall merely add that had it been available at the time Ian Fleming would have used this rather than Floris.
I can see him now, seated at his typewriter in the house at Goldeneye after a shave with his Hoffritz O/C and after a spot of brekky, fitting the latest cigarette into his fluted Dunhill holder and contemplating the chapter he is about to commit to paper and breathing the scents coming in through the window from his garden.
And that is what Barbershop Bay Rum A/S is redolent of!
 
After reading this i'm getting curiouser and curiouser.

I have no clue what bay rum smells like. I've never seem it at a Dutch drugstore (this may be me not looking closely) but with so many glowing statements ... does anybody know where I can smell a bay rum aftershave in the Netherlands?

/m
 
mrkiii said:
After reading this i'm getting curiouser and curiouser.

I have no clue what bay rum smells like. I've never seem it at a Dutch drugstore (this may be me not looking closely) but with so many glowing statements ... does anybody know where I can smell a bay rum aftershave in the Netherlands?

/m
Click to expand...

I've tried two other bay rums before this and they are all a bit different. The thing that put me off most about the others was the predominance of cloves whereas with Sunbury's they don't take centre stage. It is not completely my cup of tea but the performance of the aftershave is so good I have ordered a bottle anyway!

Plus the dripper thingy at the top of the bottle is excellent! :D
 
I tried my sample for the 1st time this morning.

Totally thumbs up from me. I am one of those who has grown to like the scent of Bay Rum, and this does not disappoint. To me there is also a citrussy scent in amongst the Bay Rum goodness - not sure if that is just me?

The bottle dropper top thing is ace for getting the right amount with no spillage. My face also felt brilliant for the rest of the day. It seems to be soothing without a noticeable drying.

In all, recommended - so i have ordered a full bottle too! :D
 
mrkiii said:
After reading this i'm getting curiouser and curiouser.

I have no clue what bay rum smells like. I've never seem it at a Dutch drugstore (this may be me not looking closely) but with so many glowing statements ... does anybody know where I can smell a bay rum aftershave in the Netherlands?

/m
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Well, I have one possible suggestion for getting yourself a sniff of bay rum. Now keep in mind it 's only one version of that fragrance, but it's a common one used in many bay rum products. Sometimes it's used as a base and other notes are added like clove, orange, lime, and stuff like that. The single note juice is called Pimenta Racemosa.

You wanna find a store that sells essential oils and the like, and ask for a sample of that to sniff. You may recognize it right away, or maybe not. In any case, that's a very common bay rum scent used in some way.

Now this stuff I'm waiting on here from SB is gonna be a different version, using bay leaves as a base. I've heard of this bay rum technique, but never had any to sniff. I'm especially looking forward to giving that a try.

Hope that helps,

Martin
 
mrkiii said:
After reading this i'm getting curiouser and curiouser.

I have no clue what bay rum smells like. I've never seem it at a Dutch drugstore (this may be me not looking closely) but with so many glowing statements ... does anybody know where I can smell a bay rum aftershave in the Netherlands?

/m
Click to expand...

The problem you are going to have is that "Bay Rum" was originally a caribbean product which has become copied by pretty much everyone over the years, and each new product has become a variation on a theme, so to speak. With the result that now, there are virtually no two Bay Rum's that smell alike.

Steve has taken the original recipe which is over 200 years old, and uses real rum, a recipe I picked up many years ago on my travels, from an old lady who was making it in a brass cauldron, with fruits she picked off nearby trees around her village. This recipe is as much the "real thing" as you can get anywhere, and anyone who has tried it (Steve's) will tell you it stands head and shoulders above the synthetic versions available today, which only use a cheap bay rum fragrance oil in an alcohol and water base.

So smelling Bay Rum in the Netherlands won't really help, what you need to do in my opinion, is order a small sample from Steve, and get the real thing under your nose!
 
[quote="Professor Blighty]

Steve has taken the original recipe which is over 200 years old, and uses real rum, a recipe I picked up many years ago on my travels, from an old lady who was making it in a brass cauldron, with fruits she picked off nearby trees around her village. This recipe is as much the "real thing" as you can get anywhere, and anyone who has tried it (Steve's) will tell you it stands head and shoulders above the synthetic versions available today, which only use a cheap bay rum fragrance oil in an alcohol and water base.

So smelling Bay Rum in the Netherlands won't really help, what you need to do in my opinion, is order a small sample from Steve, and get the real thing under your nose![/quote]

Well said Professor,

Yeah, this'll be the first bay rum I've sniffed with real rum instead of the usual alcohol base. I mentioned Pimenta Racemosa only because it's sorta known as the bay rum plant, and the one most often used in some manner.

Damn, I hope this juice gets here tomorrow,

Martin
 
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