Chatillon Lux Aftershave Toner - Bon Vivant

I ordered a couple of Aftershave Toners and a Salve from Chatillon Lux recently.  Today was the day that I tried out the Bon Vivant Aftershave Toner so I thought I'd share the experience with DFS members. Please don't view this as a formal "review" as I am but a humble amateur and enthusiast and merely want to share my thoughts.  

This is truly an artisan made product that requires a good shake prior to use to ensure all the good stuff inside is evenly distributed.  (I posted today's shave on SOTD if you want to check it out.)  I used B&M Anise & Vetiver soap which fills the room with its wonderful smokey anise fragrance and I used a Wolfman loaded with a fresh Kai stainless steel blade to ensure that I paid close attention.  I initially thought the the Bon Vivant might be a little strongly scented for me but I forged ahead.  after the rinse/alum/cold water rinse I applied the Bon Vivant. Wow! What a wonderfully warming and soothing tonic for a cold winters day.  A really nice warmth enveloped my freshly shaved face and soothed any redness/irritation that I may have received from that very sharp razor/blade combination.  My concerns regarding the fragrance turned out to be completely unfounded as it mellowed to a very pleasant scent.  Its a couple of hours out now and my face feels great, closer to how I feel after a balm than a splash, a bit like the B&M Kyovu feel.  I have to stop touching myself or blindness will surely follow  Chatillon Lux is a keeper and has earned a regular spot in my rotation.  

I received in the same order the Delor de Treget Salve, Gratiot League Square Toner and a sample of La Foret de Liguest Toner which I will try over the next few days.  I'll update this thread with my thoughts on those.  Shawn over at Chatillon Lux has several other fragrances and products that I now have to try as well.  I've just yesterday placed an order for the Preshave Butter - a product sector I didn't know existed until a couple of days ago.  You learn all kinds of things on DFS.

Shawn is doing a great job with these products, the pricing is reasonable (even for a low $ Canadian), the service is excellent and the product outstanding - original and unique, unlike anything I've encountered before. I mean that in a good way  If you haven't checked him out I think you should.
Mark

Nice overview- nothing amateur and all pro IMHO Marko .

How would you describe the scent of the Bon Vivant?

Nice overview- nothing amateur and all pro IMHO Marko .

How would you describe the scent of the Bon Vivant?

Ok Kevin, this is where my amateur-ness comes in.  I'd describe the scent as "I like it", its soft and warm, my wife (who likes it) says its subtle.  If you look at the website, Shawn describes it as:

"We created Bon Vivant as tribute to Jerry Thomas inspired by a whiskey drink with chartreuse and orange bitters. The scent itself is spicy and warm with a twist of citrus on the top. It is completely unlike any other scent creation that we have made thus far, and we are very proud to release such a sharp divergence from our scent lineup.

The notes include caramel, birch tar, black pepper, maple syrup, vanilla, patchouli, neroli, petitgrain, yuzu citrus, ginger, anise, juniper berry, white grapefruit, wormwood and coriander. "

I would agree that it is completely unlike any other scent I've encountered thus far.  Its good.
Mark

I gave the Chatillon Lux Gratiot League Square aftershave toner a go today after a shave with Mike's Natural bay rum soap and the same Wolfman / Kai combination as yesterday. It was equally as good as the Bon Vivant, excellent soothing with the nice warming heat.  The fragrance is a little lighter than BV and very nice.  I f you check out the Chatillon Lux website you will find that Shawn has taken his inspiration for the various fragrances in his product lineup from local St. Louis history so you might even learn something. I'm really enjoying these aftershave toners.
Mark

Really happy to hear that you're enjoying them so far, Marko


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Marko, I also have a sample of the Gratiot League Square and found it to quite "leathery", not a bad thing, but it is the dominant note. I agree with your comments on the face feel, very nice. I actually used La Foret de Liguest today which is also a really nice scent. I'm discovering that I can't use an alcohol based splash everyday in the winter time. My face gets too dry. These fit the bill nicely with the addition of glycerin and lanolin. Nice job hawns!

Thanks wyze0ne I'm really glad to hear it! Really appreciate it. I made the toners for guys like me who need moisture but can't do a balm/salve every day. So it's really cool that it works out for other people who need the same, as well.

I just read the B&M Monthly Newsletter and I have to say the guest piece by Gillette Iago, Does Your Review Smell? stung a little. (see my non-pro review above) I agree that if you are going to review a product you should do as good a job as you can but this piece only confirms my initial reluctance to even attempt a "non-pro" review of a product.  In future I'm going to refrain from commenting on the products that I'm using rather than risk the scathing judgment of those with the obvious taste and refinement of Mr. Iago.  Who needs that?  I'm just a regular Joe enjoying an activity and occasionally sharing some of that enjoyment with other people on this forum and I sure as heck don't need some self-important elitist sneering down his snivelly nose at my sincere, if perhaps imperfectly expressed comments.  

Will Barrister_N_Mann I'm a big fan of you and your products but I'm no fan of Gillette Iago. Otherwise the Newsletter was very good.

Well, the great thing about the shaving community is that we can all respect each other's opinions, even if we disagree with them. I've had a lot of people tell me that they very much appreciated the points made in the article and that they thought it was excellent. It's the nature of a Guest Column that there will invariably be some folks who disagree with whatever is said, but I'm glad you enjoyed the rest of the newsletter.

And, for those wondering (I've been asked this several times already), no, I am not Gillette Iago.

To take this thread back on topic, I haven't tried Shawn's toners, but I have a tin of his Vide Poche salve and it's excellent stuff. To anyone who has yet to try Chatillon Lux, please consider this a hearty endorsement.

Today I used the sample size of La Foret de Liguest Aftershave Toner from Chatillon Lux.  I again really like the soothing, balm-like feel that these toners have going on, this one isn't as warming as Bon Vivant but it feels very nice with a foresty smell but not a pine forest like I'm used to up around these parts but rather a forest that has more lush, rich trees, plants and maybe even some flowers. I get the vanilla and musk as well which does contribute to the sense of entering the canopy of the woods after which this toner is named. Its definitely a little darker than Bon Vivant.  I'm a couple of hours out from application now and I still have that nourishing balm like feeling on the face and the fragrance is mildly lingering too.  This 5ml sample comes in a small glass bottle with a flow restrictor on it to ensure the whole sample doesn't come out in your hand on the first use.  Thats good because I think I'm going to get at least 5 uses out of it and at US$2.00 for the sample you can't go wrong.  

My experience with the Chatillon Lux products so far has been excellent and I'd like to sum up my thoughts using my finest Canadian product reviewing vocabulary :
THIS STUFF IS ****ING AWESOME EH!  
Mark

Great description, Marko

LFdL is my most reached-for scent. Glad you enjoyed it!