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For this months after shave review I decided to try another Clubman Pinaud offering. Having really enjoyed the Pinaud Clubman Aftershave Original Scent, which sent me down a trip of barber shop nostalgia every time I used it, I figured they were worth another shot. So I picked up the Pinaud Clubman Classic Vanilla After Shave and decided to give it a whirl.

One thing I didn’t expect was for the Clubman Pinaud Classic Vanilla After Shave scent to not smell like vanilla. If it does smell like vanilla the people at Clubman and I have two very different ideas as to what vanilla is. I’m not saying that it smells bad just not very much like vanilla. I expected something along the sweeter side, less alcohol I guess (I do realize that this is an alcohol based product but still), instead what it provided was something more in line with their original scent in terms of the overall feel of the product – not scent. What I mean by that is that one can identify the product as belonging to the Clubman line, it has a classic feel to it – the same classic barber scent you get with the original blend. Beyond that if I had to describe the scent of the Classic Vanilla I would have to say that it has more of an outdoors lean to it, more musk than anything else. If you really concentrate you make out hints of the vanilla, but I’m not sure you are meant to work that hard at it. Overall the scent is pleasing, still provides me with a sense of a barber shop visit, it was just not what I expected when I picked it up.

Scent aside the Clubman Pinaud Vanilla After Shave provided a great experience. As one would expect from an alcohol based aftershave it gives you the customary sting after you apply it, but it doesn’t light your face on fire, and does a great job of tightening your skin. And although you can’t say that it does a great job with moisturizing, it didn’t dry out my skin – I used it all month long and my face feels great.

One thing that I noticed with the Classic Vanilla scent was that the scent seemed to linger a bit longer than the original scent (for me a good thing). I doesn’t last so long that you are still dealing with it at lunch, but there is a chance it may still be lingering for your first coffee break. Only problem you may run into is if you are a cologne guy with the two competing scents.

Overall, scent aside, I had another quality experience with the Clubman Pinaud Classic Vanilla after shave. The price is right, the scent is ‘classic’ if not vanilla, and most importantly it performs well. It is definitely worth picking up and giving it a try. In the end if you don’t like it your wallet isn’t out very much and you can give it to someone else to try.

Tools in images:

Parker 89r

Edwin Jagger Best Badger Brush

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