Barrister's Reserve: preview thoughts

So I finally had the opportunity to try the Bannister's Reserve sample which came with my "Night Music" soap and aftershave order.  The scent -- very hard to describe, but I liked it very much.  Surprisingly, my wife liked it as well (she notoriously seems to loathes everything I like).  Post-shave feel -- off the charts!  Absolutely amazing!  I literally found myself rubbing my chin and face on several occasions during the evening after my shave.  I can't describe why I liked it; all I know is I liked it a lot.  Mark me down as a person whom will be purchasing a bottle of each scent.  Also, if you plan on making any additional scents other than Classic, Cooling, Spice, and Lavender  -- think "Vetiver".

I'll give it some serious consideration.

I second the vetiver recommendation! *coughvetyversantalcough* <-- No idea what that was about.

I second the vetiver recommendation! *coughvetyversantalcough* <-- No idea what that was about.

Big Reveal Time. Trumpety sounds! Doo doo do dooo doooooo!

All of the fragrances for Barrister's Reserve are recreations of either extremely rare or discontinued aftershaves. So no Vetyver Santal. Sorry.

All of the fragrances for Barrister's Reserve are recreations of either extremely rare or discontinued aftershaves.

I mean, I was plenty interested before, but now...! Can't wait for the full reveal and release. Also, would "Spice" being based on vintage Old Spice be too on-the-nose? And yet, no one would complain, I'm sure.

All of the fragrances for Barrister's Reserve are recreations of either extremely rare or discontinued aftershaves.

I mean, I was plenty interested before, but now...! Can't wait for the full reveal and release. Also, would "Spice" being based on vintage Old Spice be too on-the-nose? And yet, no one would complain, I'm sure.

Guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Finally got around to trying this sample packet that came with the Night Music splash. I like it. Scent is vaguely familiar, spicey-ish, like maybe some kind of a crossbreed between Old Spice and Clubman, but not too sweet and without the big powder component. Very masculine scent, too. The scent sort of glows off your skin rather than project outward. Has good staying power for an AS, so if you wear fragrance, will need something that matches up scent-wise. After-feel is good, but nothing earth-shattering. I would say this is a just a step above your better supermarket AS (altho, I do think I might still like Skin Bracer better - which to me is the best of that lot).

Verdict: I'd definitely would buy it, but only if reasonably priced. The pricing on some of this wet shave artisanal software I am seeing lately is really starting to outstrip the value for me, especially since there are so many good, basic choices in every type of product that are sensibly priced. Once it starts getting to the point where I am spending as much or more money on my looks and smells as the women in my life are spending on theirs, I gotta draw the line.

Finally got around to trying this sample packet that came with the Night Music splash. I like it. Scent is vaguely familiar, spicey-ish, like maybe some kind of a crossbreed between Old Spice and Clubman, but not too sweet and without the big powder component. Very masculine scent, too. The scent sort of glows off your skin rather than project outward. Has good staying power for an AS, so if you wear fragrance, will need something that matches up scent-wise. After-feel is good, but nothing earth-shattering. I would say this is a just a step above your better supermarket AS (altho, I do think I might still like Skin Bracer better - which to me is the best of that lot).

Verdict: I'd definitely would buy it, but only if reasonably priced. The pricing on some of this wet shave artisanal software I am seeing lately is really starting to outstrip the value for me, especially since there are so many good, basic choices in every type of product that are sensibly priced. Once it starts getting to the point where I am spending as much or more money on my looks and smells as the women in my life are spending on theirs, I gotta draw the line.

"Reasonable" is such a fuzzy word.

Agreed. At the end of the day, each person is going to go with their own subjective definition. As a commerce player, I am guessing you would want a feel for as many of those individual subjective perceptions as you can get. For every person willing to pay a higher price for a perceived higher value product regardless of what that price is,there is another that is more focused on getting a good basic deal based on competitive market availability for whatever reasons -- are you a Walmart or Neimans shopper? How to navigate the ground between them, is where business savvy comes in. Obviously, you are doing quiet alright in that regard, as B&M has so far been a resounding success by any measure, particularly in playing both sides of this spectrum. Just as an aside, I have and am quite delighted with a good number of your products and, to be fair, some that are just not for me for various reasons.

Any way, getting back the AS, like I stated, I like it a lot and would definitely buy it, but there is only so much I will spend on an AS product offered by anyone. This is basically cultural as I am fortunate to be able to afford to any aftershave I want whenever I want, but I came of age in a time when men generally didn't spend much money on grooming and smells and I have no doubt internalized that to some extent. I trust that this is the the type of customer feedback you were seeking with the sampler distribution. I am very much looking forward to seeing this product hit the market in the coming year and I do hope you are able tempt me to buy all the flavors.

I just left a review on Will's website. I'm struck by how much Barrister's Reserve smells like Wm Neumann 1911. I'm even more struck by how the face feel for BR and WN 1911 seem identical. Any other Wm Neumann splash fans out there?

Never tried Wm Neumann, but to my novice sniffer it kind of reminds me of Old Spice out of the container. After a few minutes of splashing it on, it took on sort of a Lavanille type vibe. On the dry down it was reminiscent of Myrsol F/Extra to me. Sorry I'm using these comparisons, but my ability to describe scent notes and such is not very good at this point. It is a somewhat complex scent to say the least.

As far as the performance goes, it was very good. Not as moisturizing as some I've used but not lacking in this area at all. I would prefer a little more burn from an alcohol splash, but I get that some people don't like that. All in all, great product and I would definitely purchase especially considering that it will be available in a number of scents. Can't wait to see what the others will be.