SMF

I just read a thread about Pinaud products that convinced me to buy some Eau de Portugal hair tonic for use as both a tonic and an aftershave. It came today and once again I reall don't care for the scent. I have purchased so many Trumpers and Trufit and Hill stuff that I didn't like after reading posts saying they were great I should be ashamed of myself. The only British scents I really like are from Taylors of Old Bond Street. They don't smell "British" to me. I tend to prefer stronger scents from such makers a Gevinchi, Caron, Nicolai, Gucci, and Georgio Armani as well as Aramis Tuscany. I even like Elisabeth Arden Sandalwood. I hope thqt does not disqualify my from membership in the club.

Yeah, what is it about that!? Gents everywhere shave and lots of other countries have great products. I never did understand the English thing.

I like and use products from everywhere and the source doesn't mean much except when it comes to shipping.

Strangely enough, I even like products made right here in our own green pasture and not from over "yonder".

the nose likes what the nose likes... who cares about the brand or country of origin; embrace and enjoy what your nose desires.

The "English thing" is quite a broad church - I suppose you could say we have a history of using geranium/lemon/patchouli, but I don't know I could nail down an "English" style which runs right across the board. Be interesting to get other people's opinions on this.

On the whole, though, I think perhaps the US basic barbershop styles (Bay Rum and Clubman) have got more going for them than ours.

But the Pinaud Eau de Portugal is a pretty straight-down-the-line eau de cologne/citrus and identical to the Clubman ( Ed. Pinaud) variety except 3x the price... not actually particularly English, though I understand what Mr Chin means; as an Englishman I find myself immune to Anglophilia. Much more of an Americanophile, I have to say.

LOL......thats smf for you! I dont think it has anything to do with origin. Ughhhhhhhhh, the many things I have bought because of great enthusiasm here on the boards that I dont like are too numerous and embarrassing to mention

clive

Well, personally I think that Taylors Sandalwood Cologne and their Lavender Water are pretty damn 'English' but I suppose that's neither here nor there...sigh. THE 'English scents', to me, are Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet and English Fern. I just find it hard to imagine them having been from anywhere else. As to the 'Pinaud' line, well, although it was originally French ( and I would love to have checked out some of those original scents ) it's essentially been American for over a century. 'Eau de Portugal', of course, is not unique to the Pinuad/Clubman line but rather is a generic type of scent or scent motif and there's a lot of variation within that 'style'. Harris's Traditional Cologne and Penhaligon's Lords/Douro don't seem all that similiar but they are both 'eau de Portugal' scents.
Regards,
Gordon

National styles: interesting. To me, Blenheim Bouquet is an Italian take on a fairly straightforward eau de Cologne - lemon/lime with a splash of pine; English Fern is of course a direct cover of Houbigant Fougère Royale. Neither specifically "English" to my snout, though the branding/marketing of these scents is echt-Anglophone.

I suppose to me "English" means either soliflores -- lavender, rose geranium, violet etc -- or slightly overwrought, exhausted-dandy compositions (Hammam Bouquet still leads the pack here, though Difficulties With Ingredients has made a bit less decadent and a bit more sprightly than in its glory-days.

But of course the actual scent in the bottle is only part of it. The whole presentation -- the label, the bottle design, the ethos promoted by the maker, the indefinable aura we feel when we wear the thing -- is what carries (I suspect) the cultural baggage. Decant Spanish Leather into a Santa Maria Novella bottle labelled "Peau d'Espagne" and would it still feel English? Or, indeed, decant some Clubman Special Reserve into a Tom Ford bottle -- what would we think then?

I can detect some perfumers' style -- Sheldrake (of course), Bernard Duchaufour, Isabel Doyen, Guy Robert, J-P Laporte, Germaine Cellier, Jean-Paul or Jacques Guerlain and so forth -- with about 50-60% chance of being right. But whether in a blind testing I could distinguish between Italian, American, English, French or whatever, I don't know and I wouldn't put any money on it.

(I know people can do that with wines, with an astonishing degree of precision; wine experts -- I wrote a book with one such -- have tried to teach me the algorithm several times but I just can't do it. I can about get the climate a wine comes from, but that's it.)

But it's a fascinating subject and others' opinion would be really interesting.

I thought English stopped at Bradford, West Yorkshire, where of course, the greatest of all English shaving products originate from .......

These are interesting responses to my original outburst. I was recalling many Trumpers samples I tried and the T&H Freshman I got because someone said it was better than one I liked made in the US. It wasn't. don't recall the original any more. I do know that I felt all the Trumpers seemed to be lime & lemon based. I do like, for instance, T&H Trafalgar, Woods of Windsor, Taylors Sandalwood and Mr. Taylor's: A gentleman's scent. I don't know how to defend my outburst but when the Eau de Portugal turned out to have a lemon-lime odor to me, it made me upset.

Michael, Well, it is an interesting subject and there's no doubt that the presentation, context, mind frame of the buyer, etc. play heavily into how one might connect a given cologne with a country or culture. I can picture a scent something like Blenheim Bouquet coming from Italy, but not BB itself...not really. And although my nose isn't that finely tuned, I did not find Fougere Royale to smell that much like English Fern even though it is the grandaddy of that whole family of men's scents. That Crown Fougere that was around for a little while was closer to the Houbigant I thought. I dunno...Tabac is kinda a 'German' scent, don't you think?...even if it was based on Old Spice. Oh...whatever!....lavender IS 'English', damn it!...I don't care what anyone says! And the French in the post Napoleonic period thought so too, so there!
Regards,
Gordon

bernards66 wrote:Oh...whatever!....lavender IS 'English', damn it!...I don't care what anyone says!

Damn bull-headed fundamentalist you are, Gordon.

And the French in the post Napoleonic period thought so too, so there!

Okay, make that "damn' bull-headed WELL-INFORMED fundamentalist". Anyway, must dash. You'll find me in the library, researching the history of lavender in perfumery.

I'm still uncomfortable at the thought that we may be harbouring 'anlophiles' in this otherwise safe and respectable forum. They seem to get everywhere these days. Don't know what the world's coming to. Gone to the dogs.

Chris

drmoss_ca wrote:I'm still uncomfortable at the thought that we may be harbouring 'anlophiles' in this otherwise safe and respectable forum. They seem to get everywhere these days. Don't know what the world's coming to. Gone to the dogs.

Chris

Would that be Yorkshire terriers by any chance?????

Ouch, I wonder if it isn't just a general, "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence", sort of thing.

I just remembered two other Trumpers colognes that I got and didn't care for---gave them to my Grandsons. One was Marlborough Cologne and the other was Wellington. I figure I might have liked a bottle of Spanish Leather but just couldn't see the high price.

If you would like a T&H Spanish Leather that doesn't cost as much, try Zino Davidoff. Now on sale at Beauty Encounter.

John, Pete was musing about Trumpers Spanish Leather, not the current T&H stuff. T&H Spanish Leather used to be very similiar to the Trumpers only stronger, 'sweeter', heavier....in other words a traditional 'Spanish leather' type scent. What they sell today does much more resemble various dept. store type scents like ( I'll take your word for it ) the Davidoff cologne you mentioned.
Regards,
Gordon

Too late Gordon! I have been away for a week taking the wife on a promised vacation at a luxury hotel in Portland, Oregon. Ordered a bottle of Zino from Amazon just before I left. I expect the neighbor is saving the delivery for me. I will post my opinion on this thread when I get it open. Who knows? I might still like the stuff. I do like some Elisabeth Arden Sandalwood cologne that I was given by a member when I ordered all his many discards just to get a suite of high end scents. He didn't like it, I did.

Well, I tried Zino Davidoff and liked what it did. It starts Heavy!! I'm not into flowery descriptions but it smells good after 2 hours drydown too. I went to basenotes and found most reviewers also liked it. Very complex they said. Changes at different times and wearings with different elements predominating. Anyone else interested enough can go to basenotes.net and see for themselves. A couple of reviewers said it was too dressy for casual or business wear and I agree. Definitely a scent for a date. My spouse, as usual, said it was "awfully strong", meaning she could smell it from more than 2 feet away. I don't know about the reviews that said the original was much better. I guess it was pulled for a while in the mid 90s and reformulated for a return. If I can get some of the original on ebay I will post my comparison for what its worth.

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you like and what you don't. Stick to what you like or those similar. Congrats on being so self aware..
Tom