Seeking advice re. specific splashes

silverlifter

silverlifter

Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2023
Location
Aotearoa
I'm going to be in Oz in a month or so (Sydney), so I have an opportunity to pick up some aftershave that generally can't be shipped here (I plan on having it delivered to my hotel, along with some blades so I can shave in a civilised fashion while in the big smoke!).

I'm currently tossing up between these options, and would love some advice from people who have used all or some of them.
  • Noble Otter Barbarr
  • Noble Otter Orbit (currently leaning this way)
  • Razorock Dead Sea
  • Razorock Santa Maria del Fiore
I'm mostly interested in knowing about the strengths of these splashes either respectively or in comparison to others, and any insights into the type of scents. I've read the scent profiles, but am keen to hear from people about how they wear.

Also, any other recommedations for splashes that are available in Oz that I should look at?

Thanks! :)
 
i have RazoRock Dead Sea soap and splash and soon as these are depleted they will be immediately replaced

I will chime back in when I am home to try describe the scent as best I can but I can say for sure that I absolutely love this scent, it is a strong scent when first applied but mellows down quickly..

Razorock Don Marco is also excellent if you are after a citrusy/orangey scent

Raxorock XXX is also excellent musky/floral scent although on the sweeter side but def not sickly sweet
 
StratMan said:
i have RazoRock Dead Sea soap and splash and soon as these are depleted they will be immediately replaced

I will chime back in when I am home to try describe the scent as best I can but I can say for sure that I absolutely love this scent, it is a strong scent when first applied but mellows down quickly..
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Thanks, that is helpful.

StratMan said:
Razorock Don Marco is also excellent if you are after a citrusy/orangey scent
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A new entrant! :)

StratMan said:
Raxorock XXX is also excellent musky/floral scent although on the sweeter side but def not sickly sweet
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I have this, and really enjoy it. I would consider it on the strong side, both immediately and in terms of longevity.
 
I regards to the aftershaves in question I would say that Noble otter has a bit more skin food than Razorock does. At least for my version of the Aftershave for Barrbarr it can initially be a bit tacky but it does dry down a bit afterwards and lose some of its tackiness. Razorock aftershaves are a little more alcohol based but their scents are pretty great also and some may have some good staying power for me.
It's been a fair while since I have used Santa Maria del Fiore and Dead Sea but they are very nice also.

Barrbarr at least to me has a bit of a gourmand scent to it but it is very pleasant and non offensive. It's not something that I would say would lure in a crowd of people but it is quite nice and can be used throughout the year and across seasons. It's often described as somewhat of a barbershop scent.

Noble Otter Orbit was a bit of an odd one for me because I had to get a few good uses of it until the scent and cooling affect actually started to kick in. (Blend issue maybe?) but once it did it was quite pleasant. Generally I would say that Noble Otter scents are not as strong as brands like Barrister and Mann but the scents doe linger in the background and play nice without being too offensive.

Razorock Dead Sea has a bit of menthol in it as far as I remember and you can detect it in the scent. It's a bit of a clean scent whilst not quite falling into the aquatic wheelhouse despite its appearance and name.

Razorock Santa Maria del Fiore reminds me of the scent of a fresh cigarette from the pack with a bit of sweetness underneath in a pleasant way. I'm not a smoker at all but it is a nice scent.

I would not say that I have a real nose for scents to be honest so take my comment with a grain of salt. I do feel that Razorock's aftershaves are very exceptional.
 
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Thanks Rusty!

I was leaning towards the Noble Otter orbit as it has eucalytpus and menthol, and I do enjoy a kick after the shave. Also, I have not tried any NO products before, so thought they might be worth a shot.

B&M's Seville is one of my favourite summer splashes; I would rank it as mid-tier in terms of strength, which I am fine with. If NO is subtler than that, then I might pass. At that strength, I much prefer Myrsol, Floïd and Speick for their face feel, and then go to an EdT for scent.
 
Noble Otter are pretty great in my books. I also enjoy Monarch and Neon Sun and Log Book.

I think you'll enjoy Orbit. I wouldn't say that Orbit has a huge kick like some menthol products but it is nice. I could be wrong but it is more of a synthetic cooling ingredient.

I always felt that B&M scents were quite strong. My Seville is fairly old now and they may have made the scents a little more subtle since the one I have (bought around the same time as glissant base). I have noticed that the now discontinued Reserve Cool aftershave of today differs from the very first version made in strength and feel. Part of me prefers the old one.

Some scents last longer than others on me such as Neon Sun and Log Book but they are also a lot brighter than BarrBarr and Monarch so they might come across as a bit stronger in scent.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
I always felt that B&M scents were quite strong. My Seville is fairly old now and they may have made the scents a little more subtle since the one I have (bought around the same time as glissant base). I have noticed that the now discontinued Reserve Cool aftershave of today differs from the very first version made in strength and feel. Part of me prefers the old one.
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I was pretty late to the Seville party. I only discovered it, after a blind buy, towards the end of last year. I was only comparing it to Razorock or Fines, both of which I consider strong aftershaves. For example, I dilute my XXX splash with 50% witch hazel.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
I would not say that I have a real nose for scents to be honest so take my comment with a grain of salt.
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I believe that characterisation could easily be applied to 100% of the human species, no matter how knowledgeable they are, or claim to be. And I include professional perfumers.

If you find a scent YOU really love, then you're a lucky man. (I have one stand-out, Czech & Speake's Oxford & Cambridge.) I hate the idea that having bought a whole bottle of whatever splash or cologne, you might feel that you're somehow obliged so spend a year or two of the only life you have stinking of something you don't really care for, just because you've spent the money.
 
silverlifter said:
I'm going to be in Oz in a month or so (Sydney), so I have an opportunity to pick up some aftershave that generally can't be shipped here (I plan on having it delivered to my hotel, along with some blades so I can shave in a civilised fashion while in the big smoke!).

I'm currently tossing up between these options, and would love some advice from people who have used all or some of them.
  • Noble Otter Barbarr
  • Noble Otter Orbit (currently leaning this way)
  • Razorock Dead Sea
  • Razorock Santa Maria del Fiore
I'm mostly interested in knowing about the strengths of these splashes either respectively or in comparison to others, and any insights into the type of scents. I've read the scent profiles, but am keen to hear from people about how they wear.

Also, any other recommedations for splashes that are available in Oz that I should look at?

Thanks! :)
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@silverlifter
I've been chasing the Razorock Dead Sea and Santa Maria del Fiore locally here in Oz for some time now.
Have you found an Aussie Vendor selling it?
I know that vshod has it listed as available, but when I tried to order it last year, they emailed me and advised that it (and most of the RazorRock splashes) were out of stock. I've tried contacting them on several occasions since, but had no luck. Additionally, I get a 'not secure' warning when I visit the website, via both Chrome and Firefox browsers. Not sure what is going on?
 
TomG said:
I've been chasing the Razorock Dead Sea and Santa Maria del Fiore locally here in Oz for some time now.
Have you found an Aussie Vendor selling it?
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

That is interesting. I emailed Samson at Vshod and he said that, despite being listed as available, they were not, but that he would try and have Dead Sea available for when I arrived. That makes me think it is less likely now...

Noble Otter has just firmed up as the winner. :p
 
silverlifter said:
Hi Tom,

That is interesting. I emailed Samson at Vshod and he said that, despite being listed as available, they were not, but that he would try and have Dead Sea available for when I arrived. That makes me think it is less likely now...

Noble Otter has just firmed up as the winner. :p
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Samson is a good guy, so please do let me know if they get new RazoRock stock.

I will send him an email to get an update.

Cheers for the info.
 
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silverlifter said:
Thanks, that is helpful.



A new entrant! :)



I have this, and really enjoy it. I would consider it on the strong side, both immediately and in terms of longevity.
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if you like xxx you will love Dead Sea. Applied it today and it has strength for sure but not overwhelming at all.. Has a similar sweetness to it but not as floral but more musky i reckon, sort of reminds me of those pink musk lifesaver lollies but like i said not sickly at all.

mmmmmmmmmm :)
 
TomG said:
Additionally, I get a 'not secure' warning when I visit the website, via both Chrome and Firefox browsers. Not sure what is going on?
Click to expand...
Simply, their website was designed by some random kid from primary school, and it's running with http rather than https. Fortunately, they're trustworthy, and since you check out with PayPal, your money is safe enough.
 
Gargravarr said:
I believe that characterisation could easily be applied to 100% of the human species, no matter how knowledgeable they are, or claim to be. And I include professional perfumers.

If you find a scent YOU really love, then you're a lucky man. (I have one stand-out, Czech & Speake's Oxford & Cambridge.) I hate the idea that having bought a whole bottle of whatever splash or cologne, you might feel that you're somehow obliged so spend a year or two of the only life you have stinking of something you don't really care for, just because you've spent the money.
Click to expand...
I agree. There are some scents that can simply evoke a smile upon ones face and may even allow you to feel confident then there are some scents that are pleasant for other reasons or fit the occasion more than others. Life is short, perhaps too short to waste on scents you dislike. Floid blue is one that does it for me. Some wonderful person here gave me a tip where I could buy some many years ago and I am so grateful because it never fails to put a smile on my face.
There are plenty of great scents out there for sure.
Gargravarr said:
Simply, their website was designed by some random kid from primary school, and it's running with http rather than https. Fortunately, they're trustworthy, and since you check out with PayPal, your money is safe enough.
Click to expand...

Yep, Grgravarr is correct. Most if not all browsers will warn you upon visiting http sites as by default. Settings can be tweaked but I would not recommend that. Samson and VSHOD is trustworthy and as has been pointed out that given Paypal is used then the payment processor is safe.
I just ordered from VSHOD yesterday. They have never let me down.

I believe there may be some issues shipping from Canada lately hence why Christoper Bradley was not shipping out razors to Australia for a good while too. It might be possible now but may be dearer which is possibly why we have not seen any aftershaves at VSHOD lately too. No Idea really but I imagine it hadn't helped.
 
silverlifter said:
Samson said it was because Oz Customs had seized the last shipment, declaring it "dangerous"...
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That's terrible news and probably would have been an expensive one at that. :(

I know little about such things but I wonder if there is some sort of liquor shipping license one could pay for these items be shipped internationally through the correct channels. I imagine it wouldn't be cheap though.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
I know little about such things but I wonder if there is some sort of liquor shipping license one could pay for these items be shipped internationally through the correct channels. I imagine it wouldn't be cheap though.
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I find this particularly vexing. Obviously, here in the south pacific, lots of alcohol-based products are regularly imported. Sure, there is an additional expense for air freight, but for sea freight as far as I understand it, not so much. So most suppliers order in bulk, have it shipped by sea, and just deal with the fact it will take so much longer to arrive.

And yet, some few vendors in North America will happily ship, by air, aftershave to NZ without any great additional expense, which just proves that it is not all that difficult. It makes zero fucking sense.

All I am asking for is a ready supply of Myrsol and some other selections. Is that too much to expect? /rant
 
Gargravarr said:
I bet Customs made a handsome profit on that. Some people give cunts a bad name. :(
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Yes - our friends in customs held my Penhaligon's Talcum Powder for 3 months, despite the tins being sealed. I guess they were not going to take a chance on white powder, but maybe a little research may have saved heartache for all concerned.
Coincidentally, I used it for the first time this evening, and it is absolutely wonderful.
 
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