Thread: got my ogallala bay rum today

I was very excited to get this as I love trying new aftershaves out and new soaps and cremes..

so I grabbed my new straight .. lathered up and took to shaving.. still not rushing through but anxious I finished my shave and then splashed a generous amount of the aftershave on my face.. and HOLY COW does this stuff have a bite.. I couldnt believe how long the burn lasted and how much it did burn. and to add insult to injury.. Everyone in the house banned me to the basement till the "aroma" had subsided a bit.

I know that this is a highly regarded scent and brand but I was really disappointed.. but then perhaps it will grow on me

so I am off to find another bay rum aftershave.. wish me luck

Boog

which one did you try? Double strength? If so, you should know it is HOT!!!!. They have other scents besides plain old BR. My favorite scent is Br with Sandalwood. As always ymmv, but don't give up on them yet.

Really? I found the complete opposite to be true... wanting a lot more burn. Must try the afore mentioned 'Double Strength'.

Honestly...I'm not trying to be a smart a#$ here...but how much is a "generous amount"? Maybe try using less I know I've had to experiment with a few where I've put them on and it just about kills me...nose and skin...lol..but sometimes less is more and they turn out to be keepers

i was reading through the ogalala site earlier today and i guess they have a 1.00 trial of the super strong "not for sissies" cologne for sale and then there a aftershave thats supposed to be about half of that.my father,hes almost 60,said bayrum is good stuff.i have never smelled it that i know of.with pa's advice i will get some soon.i guess the way they make it is some leaves some spice and 1 part rum and like 6 or 7 parts liquid of vodka. i cant imagine something like that would burn though....i though i was a sissy the first time i used a alum block,they sure let you know what razor burn is.ill prolly get the sampler pack,the one with the peppercorns sounds like a good idea.

I had a similar experience the first time I used Ogallala Bay Rum. Splashed on a little and that stuff lit me up!! Then I actually read the label that said "shake well". Next time was much better.

My favorite is the limes and peppercorns, and I like thier soap as well. Good products and a great owner to deal with. He did suggest that if I still got too much burn (mostly from the oils) then I could thin it down with some Witch Hazel, but I did not need to after shaking it up really well.

Will N.

I bought the ol'package, bay rum soap, AS and cologne. It's really a great product and love the scent. Just to let you know guys, the cologne double strenght is awesome but watch it when you buy cause at first I bought the ''SPECIAL RESERVE'' and it's not the same as the bay rum double strenght. It's a bit more sweet and I LOOOOVE both.

Yes I got a little bit of burn but the burn is a good wake-up!! As for the scent some love it and some dont...

This brand is one of my very favorite for soaps and aftershave. The aftershaves are excellent. The "double strength" version is VERY strong when used as an aftershave splash. I used a little too much the other day after a mediocre shave and it burned like the fires of hell for what seemed like forever. I like the bay, limes and peppercorns and the bay/sandalwood scents the best. Use just a small amount and they perform top notch. They are some of the very best bay rum scents I have ever tried IMHO.
As a side note, I have found the soap to be some of the easiest to produce a very fine lather and give a shave on par with soaps tha cost 3 or 4 times as much as Ogallala. The owner is EXTREMELY concerned with great customer service and an absolute pleasure to deal with. I am a customer for life with this stuff. Give it a chance to grow on you if you don't like it at first.

Since I got into straight shaving I have been dying to try the myriads of products that get mentioned here. Having no idea what many of these products are like, it's hard to judge whether or not I will like them, and so I essentially just try and find the smallest sizes and give them a shot. I recently got a "bonanza pack" of ogallala that contained:

- Ogallala Genuine Bay Rum Aftershave, Pre-Shave, Skin Toner
- Ogallala Bay Rum, Sage and Cedar Aftershave, Pre-Shave, Skin Toner
- Ogallala Bay Rum and Sandalwood Aftershave, Pre-Shave, Skin Toner
- Ogallala Bay Rum, Limes and Peppercorns Aftershave, Pre-Shave, Skin Toner
- Ogallala Genuine Bay Rum Cologne

The Limes and Peppercorns is probably my favourite of them all, followed by the Sandalwood, as these two have the most mild smell to them of the lot. That being said, I doubt I will be using any of these often. They just are not for me (or my girlfriend, she made me sleep facing away from her because the smell was giving her a headache). Here are my initial thoughts on these different products:

For the most part they smell like varying degrees of a "christmas ****tail" (Egg Nog, Cinnamon and Spiced Rum) mixed with a blast of clove oil. On the lowest end of the smell/strength spectrum, they smell like sipping on such a beverage. On the higher end, they smell like you have dived into a pool of such a beverage and proceeded to swim for many hours. The effect is, as you can imagine, like being punched in the face for someone passing by you, even at a reasonable distance.

I found all of these products left my skin feeling dry and tight (despite whatever moisturizing properties they may have). This is definitely a product better suited to more humid locales. I didn't find they gave much of a burn, but possibly this "double strength" that is mentioned does.

The very texture of the product has a sort of "grip" to it, feeling somewhat akin to putting a little alum or styptic on your fingers. Maybe there is some kind of connection there in the ingredients, and that might just be why some people love it.

If you like this stuff, all the power to ya, but I usually use the "girlfriend test" to judge my products, and she loathed the stuff.

EDIT: I should note, I'm not writing off bay rum all together, as I'm sure they must all be a bit different, but I would probably try a home brew recipe before any other. If anyone has any suggestions for bay rums that are not so offensive to the olfactory senses, I'm all ears.

Originally Posted by aeon

I doubt I will be using any of these often. They just are not for me (or my girlfriend, she made me sleep facing away from her because the smell was giving her a headache). If you like this stuff, all the power to ya, but I usually use the "girlfriend test" to judge my products, and she loathed the stuff.

The girlfriend test is unreliable, biased and misinformed.
That is, of course, unless you enjoy smelling like a bag of lollies or some dodgy celebrity.