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Holicsky Salon
My journey through the world of Czech colognes and shaving waters continues with this classic from the house of ALPA.
According to the sources available to me, the most important of which is the company's own website (which also has a German language setting, although it occasionally stumbles and falters linguistically), the company was founded in 1913 in Moravian Brno (Brno), which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and initially specialized in, yes indeed, spirit of wine. This curious product (who actually uses such a thing today...?) still seems to be the top seller in the ALPA range; at least it is probably the only one that is widely distributed in Germany in pharmacies, drugstores, etc., in a striking blue-white-yellow design that almost everyone would recognize when they see it.
ALPA has survived two wars and communism, moved from Brno to Velke Mezirici (Groß Meseritsch) on the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, was nationalized, and privatized in 1994 (I couldn't find anything about the ownership structure, but the company seems to be in Czech hands and not affiliated with a corporation) and has over time developed a product portfolio that could fill almost an entire drugstore. In addition to the perennial favorite "spirit of wine," there are sunscreens, massage oils, toothpastes, shampoos, foot sprays, and everything else one might need to prevent our fleeting and fragile bodies from becoming too quickly yucky.
While the brand either never ventured into the fragrance business in the strictest sense (perfumes and eau de toilettes) or reversed that decision at some point, it is fully involved in colognes (currently eight products on offer) and shaving waters (four plus lotions and pre-shaves). I secured a good portion of the products during my fishing trip described elsewhere and can say that the design is quite unique. I don't know if they consciously aim for "vintage" or simply haven't changed the bottles (as far as I can see, there are no outer packaging) along with the labels since the 1920s or 1950s (this one perhaps since the 1960s or 1970s) for cost reasons, but everything looks very, very old school, which is also contributed to by the fact that the batch number is brutally hammered onto the front of the label with some kind of rattling embossing stamp (this is also visible here on Parfumo in the product image), giving it a bit of the flair of "waters for the working masses."
Now specifically about "Windsor Voda po holeni" (=Windsor Shaving Water). You open the puristic bottle and are first greeted by a large pouring opening. Splash devices are clearly overrated; this honest shaving water is not intended for spraying anyway. The first impression of the scent is a bit disorganized and alcoholic. Once that settles after a few seconds, then hello!
To start with the conclusion: Windsor has instantly become a cornerstone and reference product in my collection. It is a truly special, very, very pleasant scent to which I give 9 points without the slightest nostalgia or curiosity bonus. I perceive it as fresh (but not citrusy), in a very special spicy way (with a slight sweetness that gives it a nice warmth and softness) and as very, very clean (with a slight inclination towards the pleasantly soapy). Above all, however, the association of "BARBERSHOP" immediately came to my mind. I find it hard to define what exactly characterizes the special "barbershop" scent direction; probably everyone understands something different by it. Therefore, I am also cautious with the label. But here, although this scent does not aim for that in terms of design and name, the image is immediately there, how the neck and hairlines at the ears are cleaned with the razor and then some nice water is slapped on. Overall, the scent seems quite tricky and complexly composed, indeed honest and down-to-earth, but by no means as simple and straightforward as the "Diplomat" from the competing house "Astrid" that I recently reviewed.
So what is in this water? On the manufacturer's website, it says "wood-citrus fruit with herbal elements." Hm. I can only smell wood to a limited extent, and not citrus at all (although there is probably something in it, the official ingredient list shows citral, limonene, and all that stuff. However, I don't think this characterizes the scent).
Further help may come from the online shop "Pomade Shop," where you can also purchase this water for cheap money without traveling across the border. There, in the most beautiful advertising lyric, they conjure up the image of an imperial-royal gentlemen's barber in Budapest, Vienna, or Prague (aha, they have also come up with that independently of me), and then they write, God knows where they got this from, that you can smell "cognac, menthol, juniper, and bay leaf" and that the scent is the "Austro-Hungarian answer to American Bay Rum aftershaves." I don't know Bay Rums yet, but overall that sounds convincing.
"Windsor" contains nourishing allantoin, which you can also notice, but it is not as thickly viscous-glycerin-like as, for example, "Diplomat."
The projection is medium and the longevity is also. It is significantly below that of shaving waters like "Floid" or "Caldey for Men," which I can still smell in the evening and which therefore are not classic EdRs for me, and the short-term freshness fun of 30-120 minutes that (from my perspective) typical simple shaving waters offer. I can still perceive the soft, somewhat creamy spiciness of "Windsor" after 4-5 hours when I stroke my hand over my cheek.
For the non-Czechs (so I am not one either), a brief note on the title of this comment. "Holit" means to shave, and both "Voda po holeni" (shaving water) and "Holicsky Salon" (i.e., barbershop) are derived from it. This is what the men's barber is called (while the women's barber is called "kadernik"). And for me, this is indeed now my "barbershop scent."
According to the sources available to me, the most important of which is the company's own website (which also has a German language setting, although it occasionally stumbles and falters linguistically), the company was founded in 1913 in Moravian Brno (Brno), which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and initially specialized in, yes indeed, spirit of wine. This curious product (who actually uses such a thing today...?) still seems to be the top seller in the ALPA range; at least it is probably the only one that is widely distributed in Germany in pharmacies, drugstores, etc., in a striking blue-white-yellow design that almost everyone would recognize when they see it.
ALPA has survived two wars and communism, moved from Brno to Velke Mezirici (Groß Meseritsch) on the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, was nationalized, and privatized in 1994 (I couldn't find anything about the ownership structure, but the company seems to be in Czech hands and not affiliated with a corporation) and has over time developed a product portfolio that could fill almost an entire drugstore. In addition to the perennial favorite "spirit of wine," there are sunscreens, massage oils, toothpastes, shampoos, foot sprays, and everything else one might need to prevent our fleeting and fragile bodies from becoming too quickly yucky.
While the brand either never ventured into the fragrance business in the strictest sense (perfumes and eau de toilettes) or reversed that decision at some point, it is fully involved in colognes (currently eight products on offer) and shaving waters (four plus lotions and pre-shaves). I secured a good portion of the products during my fishing trip described elsewhere and can say that the design is quite unique. I don't know if they consciously aim for "vintage" or simply haven't changed the bottles (as far as I can see, there are no outer packaging) along with the labels since the 1920s or 1950s (this one perhaps since the 1960s or 1970s) for cost reasons, but everything looks very, very old school, which is also contributed to by the fact that the batch number is brutally hammered onto the front of the label with some kind of rattling embossing stamp (this is also visible here on Parfumo in the product image), giving it a bit of the flair of "waters for the working masses."
Now specifically about "Windsor Voda po holeni" (=Windsor Shaving Water). You open the puristic bottle and are first greeted by a large pouring opening. Splash devices are clearly overrated; this honest shaving water is not intended for spraying anyway. The first impression of the scent is a bit disorganized and alcoholic. Once that settles after a few seconds, then hello!
To start with the conclusion: Windsor has instantly become a cornerstone and reference product in my collection. It is a truly special, very, very pleasant scent to which I give 9 points without the slightest nostalgia or curiosity bonus. I perceive it as fresh (but not citrusy), in a very special spicy way (with a slight sweetness that gives it a nice warmth and softness) and as very, very clean (with a slight inclination towards the pleasantly soapy). Above all, however, the association of "BARBERSHOP" immediately came to my mind. I find it hard to define what exactly characterizes the special "barbershop" scent direction; probably everyone understands something different by it. Therefore, I am also cautious with the label. But here, although this scent does not aim for that in terms of design and name, the image is immediately there, how the neck and hairlines at the ears are cleaned with the razor and then some nice water is slapped on. Overall, the scent seems quite tricky and complexly composed, indeed honest and down-to-earth, but by no means as simple and straightforward as the "Diplomat" from the competing house "Astrid" that I recently reviewed.
So what is in this water? On the manufacturer's website, it says "wood-citrus fruit with herbal elements." Hm. I can only smell wood to a limited extent, and not citrus at all (although there is probably something in it, the official ingredient list shows citral, limonene, and all that stuff. However, I don't think this characterizes the scent).
Further help may come from the online shop "Pomade Shop," where you can also purchase this water for cheap money without traveling across the border. There, in the most beautiful advertising lyric, they conjure up the image of an imperial-royal gentlemen's barber in Budapest, Vienna, or Prague (aha, they have also come up with that independently of me), and then they write, God knows where they got this from, that you can smell "cognac, menthol, juniper, and bay leaf" and that the scent is the "Austro-Hungarian answer to American Bay Rum aftershaves." I don't know Bay Rums yet, but overall that sounds convincing.
"Windsor" contains nourishing allantoin, which you can also notice, but it is not as thickly viscous-glycerin-like as, for example, "Diplomat."
The projection is medium and the longevity is also. It is significantly below that of shaving waters like "Floid" or "Caldey for Men," which I can still smell in the evening and which therefore are not classic EdRs for me, and the short-term freshness fun of 30-120 minutes that (from my perspective) typical simple shaving waters offer. I can still perceive the soft, somewhat creamy spiciness of "Windsor" after 4-5 hours when I stroke my hand over my cheek.
For the non-Czechs (so I am not one either), a brief note on the title of this comment. "Holit" means to shave, and both "Voda po holeni" (shaving water) and "Holicsky Salon" (i.e., barbershop) are derived from it. This is what the men's barber is called (while the women's barber is called "kadernik"). And for me, this is indeed now my "barbershop scent."
Updated on 08/01/2018
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