Chatillon Lux Provisions and Chatillon Lux Parfums

Rose Santal aftershave is in stock right now at Maggard Razors in limited quantity and the Rose Santal EdT is on their shelves permanently.

Well that went quickly. Serves me right for not checking updates sooner!

hawns , the Rose Santal is fantastic! I was getting whiffs of it for about 4-5 hours after my shave today

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Rose Santal aftershave is in stock right now at Maggard Razors in limited quantity and the Rose Santal EdT is on their shelves permanently.

Well that went quickly. Serves me right for not checking updates sooner!

When I first checked, I was surprised they weren't selling as much, but I think when everyone got off work then they all went for them at once.

Rose Santal aftershave is in stock right now at Maggard Razors in limited quantity and the Rose Santal EdT is on their shelves permanently.

Well that went quickly. Serves me right for not checking updates sooner!

When I first checked, I was surprised they weren't selling as much, but I think when everyone got off work then they all went for them at once.

What?! You mean people are actually working at work and not online shopping? Serves them right, you snooze you lose. Trust me, I know

Shawn, on an unrelated note - well related somewhat - to the thread on whether it matters if reviewers of product got their product for free to do the review - Chatillon Lux is now over 2 years old and you seem to be doing well. What advice would you have for a young startup in the shaving world? What marketing plans have worked for you? What hasn't? I'm not asking you to give away any trade secrets but I've been reading that other thread and thinking about how my favourite artisans came to my attention. With Chatillon Lux I seem to recall it being through DFS. I certainly recall the first time I visited your website. I was intrigued by your approach, the history of St. Louis and the rustic charm of your products linked to that history. I can recall your excellent service in responding to my initial concerns about product freezing, shattered glass etc.

Bottom line, what do you think made/makes you successful? Obviously the fantastic product but what else? I hope you continue to be successful because I'd like to see you around for a long time.

Thanks,
Marko

Well that went quickly. Serves me right for not checking updates sooner!

When I first checked, I was surprised they weren't selling as much, but I think when everyone got off work then they all went for them at once.

What?! You mean people are actually working at work and not online shopping? Serves them right, you snooze you lose. Trust me, I know

Shawn, on an unrelated note - well related somewhat - to the thread on whether it matters if reviewers of product got their product for free to do the review - Chatillon Lux is now over 2 years old and you seem to be doing well. What advice would you have for a young startup in the shaving world? What marketing plans have worked for you? What hasn't? I'm not asking you to give away any trade secrets but I've been reading that other thread and thinking about how my favourite artisans came to my attention. With Chatillon Lux I seem to recall it being through DFS. I certainly recall the first time I visited your website. I was intrigued by your approach, the history of St. Louis and the rustic charm of your products linked to that history. I can recall your excellent service in responding to my initial concerns about product freezing, shattered glass etc.

Bottom line, what do you think made/makes you successful? Obviously the fantastic product but what else? I hope you continue to be successful because I'd like to see you around for a long time.

Thanks,
Marko

This is a very good yet very tough question. Well, I think that the product being good is the best thing for long-term success, but relying on the product to do the talking makes for slow growth until enough people get your product. Then it kind of escalates from there.

I wish I would've updated my packaging sooner, but I also think starting off with something earnest and not too flashy was okay, because it reflected where I was as a company and didn't give people the impression that it was all style and no substance.

Additionally, regarding the slow start, that did give me the opportunity to make mistakes and grow at a manageable pace. I don't think I could have or would want to grow any faster than I did. It has been mostly manageable when considering I do it part time.

Also, I think that people who don't try to chase the market trends and instead focus on what they are passionate about tend to find success. Doing something unique and different stakes your claim and gives you a personality. Following a trend means you're getting the runoff and really you don't even get the people who are already happy with what they get from the person who originated the trend.

At the same time, I always try to pay attention to what things succeed and analyze why they succeed. Not WHAT it is that succeeded, but why the thing that succeeds found success and how it relates to the overall market and brand.

Furthermore, I am of course partial because I do some brand strategy at my day job, but having a brand and ensuring that EVERY SINGLE THING that you do reflects that brand is essential. This ties into chasing trends. I have a specific idea of the thing that I want to do and I stay within it. My brand reflects who I am and what I want to do, and everything I do is true to me and true to the brand. People still ask me when I'm going to do dupe fragrances of popular scents and still don't believe me when I tell them that I never will do that. I think my scents are the backbone of my brand and probably the part of business that I'm most passionate about. Why would I throw in a duplicate fragrance to my line and dilute my brand?

Also, I have never given a free product to someone with the intent of reviewing it. At the same time, I also sent out a TON of freebies when I first started out. No busienss should expect to make money within the first year. You can spend a ton of money on marketing on various ways, but in this industry I think the best marketing is to just get people to try your stuff with freebies.

Lastly, that ties into being immersed in your market. I spent quite a while on forums learning about shaving and fragrances before it ever occurred to me to start a business in the field. It's easy to tell the difference between someone who is trying to make a buck and someone who is doing something they're passionate about. People are smarter than they get credit for sometimes.

It's easy to say do what you're passionate about and the rest will follow. It's like the joke from Office Space about asking people what they would do if they had a million dollars and then that's the career they should pursue: if that is the case, then we wouldn't have janitors because no one would clean crap up. But it sure as hell is worth giving it a shot. I've tried and failed before, as I was an aspiring musician for years before giving it up to focus on a career, but I'm glad I gave it my best shot.

It's better to try to be the best rather than trying to be the most popular.

Shawn, what a thorough, well reasoned and thoughtful response. Thank you, I've asked you a few big, open ended philosophical questions in the past and you've always taken the time to write an excellent response. I think its artisans like you/Chatillon Lux that make the wet shaving world and DFS great.

That in itself is another tip for the young startup - when a customer or potential customer asks you a what's the meaning of life type of question or any question for that matter, give them a sincere, thoughtful response - it'll go a long ways towards building positive feelings towards your brand thats goodwill and it has value.

What you say makes so much sense but I think it can often be forgotten in today's everything in a hurry world. At the end of the day you just have to go with great product, great service and great value. I really like your comments about brand - have a brand, develop it and be true to it. Everything is consistent and reinforces the brand. Your brand goes beyond just a cool name, it stands for a time and a place and the people that built that place and it helps that you're passionate about that place and those people. You could have called your company something generic like Olde Tyme Barbershoppe or something equally plain vanilla and you could have easily been lost in the crowd.

Great stuff, much appreciated.

Thank you,
Mark

Shawn, I, too, would like to thank you for that response. Some real food for thought in there — much appreciated!

People still ask me when I'm going to do dupe fragrances of popular scents and still don't believe me when I tell them that I never will do that. I think my scents are the backbone of my brand and probably the part of business that I'm most passionate about. Why would I throw in a duplicate fragrance to my line and dilute my brand?

Reading this made me happy. Duplicate fragrances have their place, but all the common ones are already being made by 2–3 other manufacturers, anyway. On the other hand, when people buy Chatillon Lux, they know they are getting something that no one else makes. (Reminds me of the saying: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”)

Shawn, I, too, would like to thank you for that response. Some real food for thought in there — much appreciated!

People still ask me when I'm going to do dupe fragrances of popular scents and still don't believe me when I tell them that I never will do that. I think my scents are the backbone of my brand and probably the part of business that I'm most passionate about. Why would I throw in a duplicate fragrance to my line and dilute my brand?

Reading this made me happy. Duplicate fragrances have their place, but all the common ones are already being made by 2–3 other manufacturers, anyway. On the other hand, when people buy Chatillon Lux, they know they are getting something that no one else makes. (Reminds me of the saying: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”)

So true. I like bay rum and I tried last year to convince Shawn that he should make a bay rum aftershave so I could enjoy the incredible Chatillon Lux face feel with the smell of bay rum. He wouldn't do it. He politely declined and withstood my repeated attempts at persuading him that every maker of post shave products ought to have a bay rum in their line up. Nope. He's not a fan of bay rum and he won't make something he doesn't like just because it will sell. The closest I got was some bottles of unscented toner that I could add my own bay rum scent to. That worked ok but still, it wasn't a Chatillon Lux scent was it? In any case it was finally agreed that Shawn would do a limited edition "bay inspired" creation. He would have complete freedom to come up with whatever he liked, the only proviso being that it contained bay. The result was Blackberry Blossom Bay which is fantastic and a completely original creation. Not a bay rum and definitely not a duplicate of anything ever done before. By remaining completely true to himself and his brand, I believe that Shawn came up with something that far exceeds any run of the mill bay rum. There are plenty of bay rums out there but there's only one Blackberry Blossom Bay. And there's only one Chatillon Lux.

Shawn, I, too, would like to thank you for that response. Some real food for thought in there — much appreciated!

People still ask me when I'm going to do dupe fragrances of popular scents and still don't believe me when I tell them that I never will do that. I think my scents are the backbone of my brand and probably the part of business that I'm most passionate about. Why would I throw in a duplicate fragrance to my line and dilute my brand?

Reading this made me happy. Duplicate fragrances have their place, but all the common ones are already being made by 2–3 other manufacturers, anyway. On the other hand, when people buy Chatillon Lux, they know they are getting something that no one else makes. (Reminds me of the saying: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”)

Man, thanks, that's exactly what I'm going for. So glad to hear it resonates. Also, love your signature! Mitch was the best.

Shawn, I, too, would like to thank you for that response. Some real food for thought in there — much appreciated!

People still ask me when I'm going to do dupe fragrances of popular scents and still don't believe me when I tell them that I never will do that. I think my scents are the backbone of my brand and probably the part of business that I'm most passionate about. Why would I throw in a duplicate fragrance to my line and dilute my brand?

Reading this made me happy. Duplicate fragrances have their place, but all the common ones are already being made by 2–3 other manufacturers, anyway. On the other hand, when people buy Chatillon Lux, they know they are getting something that no one else makes. (Reminds me of the saying: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”)

So true. I like bay rum and I tried last year to convince Shawn that he should make a bay rum aftershave so I could enjoy the incredible Chatillon Lux face feel with the smell of bay rum. He wouldn't do it. He politely declined and withstood my repeated attempts at persuading him that every maker of post shave products ought to have a bay rum in their line up. Nope. He's not a fan of bay rum and he won't make something he doesn't like just because it will sell. The closest I got was some bottles of unscented toner that I could add my own bay rum scent to. That worked ok but still, it wasn't a Chatillon Lux scent was it? In any case it was finally agreed that Shawn would do a limited edition "bay inspired" creation. He would have complete freedom to come up with whatever he liked, the only proviso being that it contained bay. The result was Blackberry Blossom Bay which is fantastic and a completely original creation. Not a bay rum and definitely not a duplicate of anything ever done before. By remaining completely true to himself and his brand, I believe that Shawn came up with something that far exceeds any run of the mill bay rum. There are plenty of bay rums out there but there's only one Blackberry Blossom Bay. And there's only one Chatillon Lux.

Awesome! I wanted to do it, but thine own self be true. I'm so glad I could come through on that wish but still do something in my own style. It was a new experience to make something I thought was good but that I don't personally love. Maybe that's why I had to work extra hard to make it good since I looked at it more critically and objectively.

Although, don't tell anyone, but a while back I got a haircut and they used Virgin Island Bay Rum on my neck. Upon application, I was not happy, but I noticed later that afternoon that I got a few whiffs that I kind of enjoyed.