Barbershop After Shaves.
By Jonathan Campbell
The Barbershop scent has been making a sustained return to popularity, not least because the products tend to be great value for money. They are subtle and smell soapy fresh, making them great dailies. I have literally emptied a bathroom cabinet to bring you a roundup of my favourite scents […]
In the 1970s and 1980s, my parents would take my brother and I on holiday in Europe: usually Italy or Spain, with the occasional trip to France. My folks had been mods in their youth and had embraced the European style. When they were eighteen, they went to Paris without any money, but at least they looked the part. They enjoyed the European tradition of dressing up to promenade in the warm evenings, usually in a local town square with bustling café and bars.
My brother and I thought this was great, as we usually got an ice cream. I would observe what everyone was wearing but also take in the smells of different scents that followed the men when they strolled by. It was always a subtle, soapy scent and often zesty. These scents were Barbershop Aftershaves.
At this point, it’s worth mentioning, male scents hadn’t really taken off yet. There was Christian Dior’s upmarket Eau Savage, which was launched in 1966 (also subtle and zesty). But for the everyday man, it was Barbershop.
Soon, Barbershop Aftershave began to fall out of favour, as the big perfume houses started to produce more men’s scents. Today, however, the Barbershop scent has been making a sustained return to popularity, not least because the products tend to be great value for money.
There is one scent among them that bucks the subtle zesty scent. It’s called Bay Rum. Its origin story is laden with masculinity and virility. The myth has it that sailors on much-needed shore leave in the West Indies would rub clove oil, rum and the leaves of the West Indian bay tree onto themselves to mask their ‘been-at-sea-for-months’ odour, in order to win the favour of a lady.
Unsurprisingly, it is rather strong and pungent. No Bay Rum scent smells the same, but I think the most authentic one is St Johns Bay Rum with its “unapologetically masculine” spicy clove sting on the skin and fish-basket weave-covered bottle, which represents the West Indies. The classic aftershave brand Old Spice drew on Bay Rum iconography, both with its name and sailing ship logo – elements that in the relatively recent rebrand have almost disappeared.
Barbershop aftershaves are great dailies. They’re subtle, they smell soapy fresh and, with the exception of Bay Rum, which is genuinely strong stuff, they’re not overpowering. So, save the expensive aftershaves for big nights out and special occasions.
I have literally emptied a bathroom cabinet for these scents.
They are:
Musgo Real - Launched in the 1930s, it remains a Portuguese classic.
Proraso - The Italian barber's favourite. All their products are made in Italy. My preferred pre shave, shaving cream, post-shave lotion and balm.
D.R. Harris & Co St Jame’s Street London. Traditional English barbers since 1790.
Penhaligon’s - Cornish Barber William Penhaligon sets up shop in 1870 on London’s Jermyn Street.
Floris - Since 1730 - James Bond wore No 89.
Old Spice - Launched in USA 1937.
St Johns’ Bay Rum - Seventy five years ago, US Navy Officer Capt. John Webb blended this Bay Rum.
Murdock London - The relatively new kid on the block, providing expert barbering and excellent collection of products.
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