SMF

Hello Gents-

I don't believe I've seen anything mentioned about the unavailability of Penhaligon's aftershave splashes and I'm wondering anyone has any information.

They still have the aftershave balms available on their website, but the aftershave splashes have been absent for some time now. The high price tag on their aftershaves made them a bit of a stretch for most and I know many decide to just buy the cologne/edt instead, but I would be surprised to see the entire product line disappear.

Does anyone know Pen's plans for their aftershave splashes?

I've noticed this too. When I was in London in Dec. 2011 I stopped in at the Penhaligon's shops in the Burlington Arcade and Oxford Street to pick up a bottle of Blenheim Boquet aftershave, but neither shop had any in stock. More important, when I asked when it would be back in stock the shop assistants couldn't answer and appeared quite uncomfortable when I rhetorically asked if it was still produced. There is a small shop not far from my home that has Blenheim aftershave in stock...go figure.

Well, that's interesting... I didn't realize that the aftershaves have been missing from shelves for that long, but I can't recall the last time I saw them available on Penhaligon's website.

I just ordered a bottle of English Fern aftershave splash from an online retailer in case Pen's has decided to permanently discontinue the line.

A wiser choice would be for them to cease producing those leather doo-dads and silver knick-knacks, IMO.

As far as I know, the Penhaligon aftershaves are simply the Penhaligon eaux de toilette + H2O. I don't think they have any humectant (glycerine etc) in though it's been a while since I used A/S and I may be misremembering.

So pretty straightforward to get a bottle of EdT and dilute it with demineralized water. That'll teach the sods.

As far as I know, the Penhaligon aftershaves are simply the Penhaligon eaux de toilette + H2O. I don't think they have any humectant (glycerine etc) in though it's been a while since I used A/S and I may be misremembering.

So pretty straightforward to get a bottle of EdT and dilute it with demineralized water. That'll teach the sods.

Any idea what the dilution ratio might be, Michael? Just curious. (I'll post if the aftershave ingredient list contains anything different.)

Proportions vary but a good rule of thumb is that after-shave lotion contains around 2 - 3% juice, eau de toilette around 6% and eau de parfum around 12%.

So to get from eau de toilette to after shave concentration you roughly double the dilution.

That strikes me as a bit extreme. You could try

100ml eau de toilette
50 ml demineralized water

or if you're feelin' fancy,

30ml demineralized water
1 - 2.5ml glycerin
1 - 2.5ml aloe vera
20 ml witch hazel

which will give you humectant, moisturising and soothing qualities as well.

Michael,

Wouldn't you have to add some alcohol along with the water? If you had 100 ml of 6% eau de toilette with, say, 80% alcohol , and you added 50 ml of water, then the resulting product would have only about 53% alcohol. I realize that aftershave may have a larger percentage of water than eau de toilette, but 53% seems low to me.

Ken

Ken wrote:Michael,

Wouldn't you have to add some alcohol along with the water? If you had 100 ml of 6% eau de toilette with, say, 80% alcohol , and you added 50 ml of water, then the resulting product would have only about 53% alcohol. I realize that aftershave may have a larger percentage of water than eau de toilette, but 53% seems low to me.

Ken

Sorry, you're quite right. It was late, it was dark, I was tired and then there was the small matter of the Kraken Rum...

Quick way: dilute the EdT with about 15% water before applying.

Better way: add your glycerin or whatever then dilute with perfume grade solvent (96% ethanol & distilled water).

And I'm sober now.

Michael, Umm...yes and no. It's true ( as far as I know ) that the Penhaligon's A/S didn't have anything 'special' in it BUT, the A/S was the only way one could still get the proper bottles with the glass stopper. I often would buy the A/S for that reason alone....and it was less expensive. I had a couple of the empty bottles at the old house and I regret not taking them with me as they're gone for good now.
Regards,
Gordon

I meant to post this earlier, but I forgot to revisit the thread... Here's the ingredient list for Penhaligon's English Fern After Shave for those who may be curious:

Alcohol Denat.
Aqua (Water)
Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water
Parfum (Fragrance)
Glycerin
Geraniol Linalool
Coumarin
Citronellol
Menthol
Limonene Evernia Furfuracea (Treemoss) Extract
Citral
Denatonium Benzoate

Yup - EdT plus water, glycerin and witch hazel.

Not sure about the menthol. But I notice there's no oakmoss in there at all now...

Bargepole wrote: Sorry, you're quite right. It was late, it was dark, I was tired and then there was the small matter of the Kraken Rum...

Interesting... I have always found myself to think much clearer after hitting the dark rum. And it makes a wonderful aftershave too.

Damn, I should've bought all the Crown Fougere when it was available a few years ago. I'm down to half a bottle now

Craig, You were lucky to find any even then. They quit making the stuff in, I believe, 2000. Personally I always thought that the Crown version was more like the old Houbigant than it was like Penhaligon's EF.
Regards,
Gordon

I love the stuff Gordon, it's one of my 2 or 3 favorite scents.

Perhaps a little off the subject, but I just managed to get a vintage bottle of Penhaligon's Lords splash aftershave. One of my favorite scents.

churchilllafemme wrote:Perhaps a little off the subject, but I just managed to get a vintage bottle of Penhaligon's Lords splash aftershave. One of my favorite scents.

Vey luck of you, congratulation on good find.

I need finally to pop to Pens when I will be in London at Monday and get some EF or BB splash or EdT ( My wife will kill me, I simply buy too much last few days but my funds will be up after weekend:))

churchilllafemme wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2013 12:09 pm Perhaps a little off the subject, but I just managed to get a vintage bottle of Penhaligon's Lords splash aftershave. One of my favorite scents.

Another vintage question from me, I hope you don't mind! Do you know how vintage Lords compare with the current Douro and is the aftershave potent enough to be worn as a cologne?

adhoc wrote: ↑Sun Sep 02, 2018 3:23 pm

churchilllafemme wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2013 12:09 pm Perhaps a little off the subject, but I just managed to get a vintage bottle of Penhaligon's Lords splash aftershave. One of my favorite scents.

Another vintage question from me, I hope you don't mind! Do you know how vintage Lords compare with the current Douro and is the aftershave potent enough to be worn as a cologne?

I don't know how much of it is just my imagination, but subjectively to my nose the vintage Lords aftershave is slightly deeper and more complex than the Douro, much the same as vintage vs. modern Floris Elite aftershave. The shaving creams smell the same to me, so I think the aftershave difference may be real. I haven't used any Pen's toilet waters or colognes because my skin does not tolerate them. On me the vintage Lords aftershave has moderate sillage or intensity and relatively short longevity, according to my wife, so I doubt that it would be equivalent to a cologne on most people.