*sigh* It's not fair

[BlankTim]

Many a time, I've read how some of us are fortunate enough to be able to buy the traditional shaving products at the local Walmart, or Walgreens.

I've read the happy stories of how someone went to one or the other and came home with a "shiny new toy", and thought, "I should swing by the store here and see if they stock that."

They never do.

Today, I thought I would go to Walgreens and pick up some Florida Water, Some Bay Rum, and some Tiger Balm for my shoulder.
Couldn't find any of it.
The clerk was able to find the Tiger Balm for me, it was consigned to bottom-shelf-hell, always a bad sign.
When I asked about the Florida water and Bay Rum she got that blank, glazed look and I knew she had no clue what I was talking about.

Her response, "well, we don't sell alcohol, so I can't help with the Rum, and I don't know what Florida Water is."

Once I explained that they were both skin treatments, to be used as after shaves, she showed me the shaving section. Strange, it looked EXACTLY like the shaving section at the local grocery store and every other "drug store" in town that I've been to.

I've always liked Walgreens, because they stock all that weird drugstore stuff that you can only find in traditional drugstores.
Evidently, Walgreens is moving away from that.

All they had was the fancy, Nivea, KOS, Goo in a can, and Mach3 blades.
They had a *little* of the usual old-school stuff, skin bracer, and Williams for $1.50 a puck (only 2 in-stock though), and a really poor stock level of everything.
I didn't bother to ask if they'd be getting any more in.

*sigh* all I want is a bottle of each. I could order it on-line, but the shipping adds up to half the cost of the items. It looks like I'm not going to have any choice though.
So far, every place I've looked on-line sells one, or the other, but not both.

So, can anyone recommend a vendor that carries both the Florida Water AND Bay Rum? Not Walgreens. They had their chance.
I'm not even worried about which Bay Rum it happens to be, I figure I can sort out what I like once I'm able to start trying it.

Thanks guys

[Aztecface]

I don't know about physical shops in the US but I know of a good online Vendor. Barberia Italiana at www.razorandbrush.com

[drumana]

Hmmm. . . The Walgreens around me carry copious amounts of Williams Mug and VDH soap, usually with a boar brush or two as well, and DE blades - sometimes some Pinaud products as well. Not sure about the bay rum and Florida Water, but I've never looked for those before. Bummer, though. . .

[hampsteronastick]

It seems every Caribbean shop around here carries Florida Water, several cheap Bay Rums, and a personal favourite, Limecol. If you can find one check it out.
Dan

[redstubble]

The same thing happened here with a change from Brooks to Rite-Aid. Now we only have the same selection as the stuff at the grocery store next door.

Mike.

[Icepellets]

Tim,

I had to check to see where you live; it sounded like you were describing my little corner of Connecticut. The only difference is, the local Walgreen's has the smallest shaving section of all, maybe 4 feet of horizontal space, and that's for both mens' and womens' products.

The best selection is at CVS drugstores; at least they carry Williams soap and some Pinaud products. Other than that, it's online shopping for me!

Paul

[Hawkeye5]

If there is a Dollar General store near, they may have Florida Water. Mine does.

[paperpundit]

Tim,

I'd say to talk to the manager. Most Walgreens, like the two I have in town here, are both more than happy to order things...or at least look into it for you.

All the best,

[MaxP]

I thought I'd could find a basic inexpensive brush at Walgreens. No such luck. NADA.

The selection at Walgreens on many items seeems to shrink. Guess I'm looking for the wrong items, huh?

[Mike R]

Tim,

The K-mart near me has Florida Water. Sally Beauty Supply has some kind of bay rum - I forget which.

But it's usually slim pickins. Unfortunately we're not in the center of the demographic bullseye.

Mike

[rchandler]

Tim,

The K-mart near me has Florida Water. Sally Beauty Supply has some kind of bay rum - I forget which.


Mike

The nearest Sally to me has Masters Bay Rum. I bought some Pinaud Clubman as a consolation prize for not finding Osage Rub. (There's a Sally farther away that more men's toiletries and might have Osage.)

Clubman to me is like the world's largest bottle of Canoe. Powdery and sweet.

Given the geezer demographics of this city, you'd think local stores would be awash in retro shaving stuff.

[tonyespo]

Tim,

The K-mart near me has Florida Water. Sally Beauty Supply has some kind of bay rum - I forget which.


Mike

The nearest Sally to me has Masters Bay Rum. I bought some Pinaud Clubman as a consolation prize for not finding Osage Rub. (There's a Sally farther away that more men's toiletries and might have Osage.)

Clubman to me is like the world's largest bottle of Canoe. Powdery and sweet.

Given the geezer demographics of this city, you'd think local stores would be awash in retro shaving stuff.

After that statement I hope you don't find any quality vintage shaving supplies.

One GEEZER here. Make that a (senior citizen) (AARP card holder).

[merkur07]

I get the same blank stares when I go into one of these places too and ask for Witch Hazel.

[Eastree]

I get the same blank stares when I go into one of these places too and ask for Witch Hazel.

I've found it's easier to just go look by the peroxide and rubbing alcohol. Glycerin is usually close to there, too. Then again, it's more fun asking for something just to see their faces.

[Hoos]

I have the same envy as Tim. I work in San Francisco and live near Berkeley, so I've covered a pretty major geographical area.

Basic DE razor blades? Nada.

Shaving soap? Uh uh.

Shaving cream? Zilch.

Brushes/mugs? Nyet.

This is at Walgreen's, the few Long's drugstores left, the one Rexall, the major supermarkets, etc. If it's not a multi-blade, canned cream, or some "shaving system", you're just out of luck.

If I could find decent DE blades and Williamson soap at local purveyor, it would at least cut down on my acquisition disorder. Wouldn't it?

[Scrapyard Ape]

Another place to check are those independently owned convenience stores. Sometimes(though not very often) you can hit the jackpot with shaving supplies in them.

[notthesharpest]

Given the geezer demographics of this city, you'd think local stores would be awash in retro shaving stuff.

Most of the actual bona fide geezers shave with an electric, or with whatever was in the drugstore. It's us "geezer wannabes" who shave retrolifically.

[atrac]

I am now curious about Florida Water. Can anyone recommend a good source for it in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area? I've already checked CVS, Walgreens, Riteaid, Target, and Wal*Mart.

Thanks!

[Mike R]

Tim,

The K-mart near me has Florida Water. Sally Beauty Supply has some kind of bay rum - I forget which.

But it's usually slim pickins. Unfortunately we're not in the center of the demographic bullseye.

Mike

Now that I mention it, the K-mart by me (actually my work) no longer has Florida Water, so you can check that one off your list if you're rooting around in New Hope, MN.

Mike

[jlmwrite]

Tim -- You're outta luck with WalMart, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid in this part of Colorado. Even in Denver, the best you can hope to find around here (if you're really, really lucky) is some Williams soap and $5 boar bristle brush at Walmart, and sometimes some Pinaud products at Walgreens.

Even so, it seems some of the stores have different things. For instance, the Walgreens near my house has Pinaud bay rum, but the one near my hospital doesn't. We have two WalMart supercenters equidistant from our house; one always has Williams soap, the other sometimes and sometimes doesn't.

I've long since given up on finding anything really good in the chain stores. The lone exception in Denver is The Alchemist in Cherry Creek. They have a great selection of Trumper products, plus a few scents that you'll never see in Macy's.