During my most recent visit to On the Fly in San Francisco I happened to notice the display of Truefitt & Hill products. T&H is an English company offering several lines of grooming items as well as barbershop services in London, Chicago, Las Vegas and Toronto (an unexpected collection of locations, that).
By coincidence, a couple weeks later Todd Fisher, the head of T&H North America emailed. I had been thinking about evaluating a citrus scent and thanks to Todd a box arrived containing The Trufitt & Hill West Indian Limes line of cologne, after shave, shampoo, shave cream and soap.
This was opportune. Trumper's Extract of Lime had long been a favorite of mine because of the wondrous way it bursts on the nose, but I have not worn it for years as it fades within a couple of minutes and leaves nothing at all on my skin. I was curious to try the T&H take on limes to see if that company has figured out how to keep its citrus hanging around longer, particularly when applied in depth using multiple products.
After an evaluation that included being the object of sniff tests by more than one female house guest, the consensus opinion is that the answer is yes and no. West Indian Limes definitely lasts three to four hours, though the scent that lasts is not the citrus but rather a floral base that takes over after the lime dissipates roughly ten minutes after application.
Not limes but a lovely and masculine smell nonetheless that is a worthy choice for warm weather wear.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
An Experiment With Limes
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12 comments:
Penhaligons used to make the best Limes (great smell and longer lasting), but they discontinued it a few years go. Most of the others smell like Pledge.
I wish one of those fancy candle companies could come up with an Oak Bark Sole smelling candle.
I have the iSmell™ gizmo attached to my computer, so where's the scent generator for the picture?
Seriously, I'd love to give this product a try, and wish that we had the technology to let me get a whiff without trying to hunt it down locally.
As for lasting scent, of all the citrus-scented soaps, shaving balms, lotions, deodorants, and the like I have tried, I have never found one whose fragrance was not ephemeral. I suppose the compounds that generate that lovely fresh burst are too volatile to last.
Will,
I have been a long time fan of T&H. I bought my first real shaving brush many years ago through them. My favorite scent has always been Trafalgar, which seems to be longer lasting than the West Indies Lime scent.
Either way, you've come across a great product worthy of consideration by all men.
The T&H lime is a wonderful product line for summer months. What would one suggest be a better fit for autumn/winter? I need to stock soon.
"...being the object of sniff tests by more than one female house guest."
Sounds delightful. I occasionally wear T&H 1805. During the summer months I use Creed Millésime Impérial and Royall Lime. Have you tried Trumper's Extract of West Indian Lime? I love their Sandalwood Cologne, which was one of the first fragrances bought for me as a very young man.
Michael, try a sniff of Creed's Green Irish Tweed for cool weather.
West Indian Limes is what I use and enjoy for summer.
Coincidentally I wrote a post on it for my blog.
Truefitt & Hill is a great company. They have a impressive sample package that includes all their flavors of shaving cream, balm and cologne.
I would love to see a post on what you think would be a good winter scent from them now that summer is ending.
Jo Malone -Lime, Basil, Mandarin
nice, clean, good longevity.
Some of the lime stuff can smell like cheap mens shaving products to me -this Jo Malone scent brings in other notes.
Dear gentlemen, I too love the scent of lime, as Will said, all to often the fragrence is gone quickly. I love Guerlain's Imperiale Extra Dry but it's fragrence is fleeting. One I like very much now is GEO F. Trumper "GFT cologne." It is citicy and lasts quite a while. The Trumpers lime is limy but does not last for long either.
Not to sound like an Ad, but I was recently in Denver and found a large selection of T & H at Lawrence Covell. It seemed like a very cool store and some nice kid named Andrew was a great help.
Another terrific blast of lime comes at the beginning of Rochas Moustache. -- it will snap your head back! Much more going on here than a typical citrus masculine (wood, hay, something animalic, and... guest soap?). The citrus character hangs on far into the drydown, though it is not bright like the opening. It is favorite citrus, and it's not even techically a citrus.
The West Indian Lime is definitely a different take, and not one to my liking. As Eric said above, its hard to do limes without smelling like pledge.
T&H's Trafalgar is another story. I wear Trafalgar AS on a near daily basis.
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