Proraso Red After Shave

It's hard for me to describe exactly how much I love the scent of Proraso Red. It's a wonderful, clean, fresh, soapy sandalwood fragrance with only the slightest hint of a powdery note. If you've smelled Pal Zileri Sartoriale, it's VERY similar in scent but the Sartoriale is quite a bit stronger. AOS Sandalwood is also very close in scent, although AOS Sandalwood is far stronger than both and in fact, one of the strongest EDT fragrances that I've ever encountered. The only downside to the Proraso Red aftershave is that because it's an aftershave, it's not going to project heavily and will retract to become a skin scent within about 4 hours or so. Still, in close quarters, people will still be able to smell you very well, without a problem. To help extend the life of the fragrance, I've been using the shaving soap not only to shave with but as a shower soap as well. It forms an excellent lather (after all, it's soap) and the scent lingers for a surprisingly long time. This may be because the pores are more open in the hot shower and absorb the scent into the skin. Additionally, I use the aftershave all over, like a body lotion as well and it works out just fine, because you can be extremely liberal with the aftershave and no one is going to get choked out. Sometimes, I'll use it in conjuction with Pinaud's Bath Talc on my arms and body under a t-shirt. Yes, it does add considerably to the powderiness but it also makes you smell extremely clean, fresh and attractive. Another way I've found to extend the scent quite well is to layer it with either Sartoriale or AOS Sandalwood. Essentially, it depends on the scenario I'm wearing it for. Sartoriale has strength but it's not overwhelming, so if I'm going to work, I'll layer it with Sartoriale on occasion but if I'm not in close quarters in the workplace, I'll occasionally use the AOS Sandalwood, as the fragrance is exceptionally strong. As if things couldn't get better, Proraso Red after shave is very inexpensive. You can get a bottle for under $20 or even under $15, if you look around. This fragrance is LOVE to the n'th degree for me. Without question, one of the best, if not THE best fragrance I've ever smelled. The only way it could become better is if they were to release a cologne version of it as well. ** UPDATE ** I found that by using the shaving soap in the shower and the after shave as more of an all over body splash (chest, underarms, etc) I'm getting many more hours out of this than I'd originally thought. While the projection doesn't increase considerably and stays more along average lines, the longevity has increased considerably. I'm finding that I'm still getting whiffs of the fragrance, although VERY lightly at about 8-10 hours later, which is wonderful. It's very clean and completely inoffensive.

Creamy, spicy, resinous and slightly sweet sandalwood. There's no fragrance I can point to that smells like this, but this works well with other spicy fragrances such as but certainly not limited to: Spicebomb Extreme, Gucci Envy for Men, La Nuit De L'Homme, Armani Code Absolu, and Amouage Interlude Man. It's an amazing scent for what it is, an aftershave and as such you have to understand that this thing can be bought for about $10 and is available at grocery stores in Italy, so it's not going to live up to your expectations if you're unable to calibrate them to fit with what you're smelling and be realistic. To me, a $4 aftershave from Walgreens can be a 10/10 just as much as a niche masterpiece like the aforementioned Amouage can be, and that's because they may both be brilliant at what they're attempting to accomplish. With Proraso Red, it's a brilliant and very inexpensive scent that's honestly intoxicating for the 2-3 hours that it can be detected on my skin. Oh, and this is actually a really great aftershave too if you're into shaving, this is so much more nourishing for your face than the stuff you can buy in drugstores in the US for the most part. You can buy it in a set with the Proraso Red shaving cream and pre-shave for $32 if you're into wet shaving, which is a really great value.

I've got a bottle of Sun Organic brand Australian Sandalwood oil that I bought a few years ago when I was attempting to make a fragrance of my own, and this product smells virtually the same to me. Which is not necessarily a bad thing as far as I'm concerned; I actually love this fragrance, but it's not the same barbershop sandalwood smell you would get from some brands. (which sounds very weird now that I think about it, considering Prorasso has an entire line of men's products based on this very scent) If you've never smelled Australian Sandalwood before, it can be a bit difficult to describe. But as best I can describe it, it's a pure sandalwood smell, minus the incense shop or barbershop feel to it you would normally get with a sandalwood fragrance, with a touch of what my brain keeps telling me is fresh cut cedar wood for some insane reason. It's not soapy by any means at all, but it is fresh, lively, and by George manly smelling without crossing the line of being in-your-face about it. All in all, this is an excellent product, and products like it are the reason I'm becoming a Sandalwood fanboy.

i tried it at my barbershop and i like it a lot. nice sandalwood, a bit of talcum, so masculine and well blended. the post-shave is great with no irritations. of course it hasnt the same quality of taylor of old bond street sandalwood but the difference of price is huge, u can find the proraso red at 13-14euros for 400ml, so price/quality ratio is fantastic. the performance is not great but we're talking about an aftershave, so dont expect great longevity and sillage. i hope proraso will make a cologne based on this product. i can also recommed the shaving cream of the proraso red line: great lathering, nice fragrance and the price is very low. great aftershave!! brava proraso! my vote:8

I'm absolutely in love with this, it's a comfort thing for me...a reserved but rich and soapy-spicy sandalwood. Clean, a little powdery, and just an insane pleasure to both smell and wear (especially after a wet shave with their matching shave soap/cream). I also wear it just by itself as my primary SOTD because it's perfectly versatile and has good longevity for an aftershave. The quality is surprising for how inexpensive this stuff is (~$16/100ml) and I'll continue to have this as a staple in my wardrobe forever. There's something to be said about beauty in simplicity and quality ingredients and both certainly resonante here. An immensely rewarding aftershave experience. Big fan here!