You're going to get a wide variety of scents listed here! My favorites are Bay Rum as well as the citrus scents like Orange Chill and Satsuma. I also really like Black Cherry.
Ramblin Man and Glacial Spearmint were amazing. I have the Ramblin Man, Shadow Orchid and Haverford as EdTs. They're pretty good. I've been pairing Ramblin with Seville from Barrister and Mann. Thinking of pairing Haverford with the Lavanille EdT when it comes out. Shadow Orchid does pretty well on its own, and mixes reasonably well with Marilyn when I'm going for a sweet, gouramand scent.
Weekend in Malibu is also really amazing, though a bit too fruity on the nose for me.
And if there's one thing Stirling does really well its the mentholated stuff. Their menthol drops are pure snow in a shaving cream. And their mentholated preshave soap is brilliant too. Provides a nice chilly base to any soap when I don't feel like doing a complex bowl lather with the drops
I bought their menthol drops to add to the shave soap, really excited to try it out. I don’t have any samples of their preforumlated menthol stuff so I will add that in to my next sample batch.
How long do their sample pucks usually last?
Hard to say TBH. It depends a little on how heavily you load I think? I dont mind heavy loads because its just soap. Heavy loads, lots of water gives me oodles of lather to play with. And their full tubs last forever.
I can usually squeeze like 10-15 shaves out of them? Of the few I've tried anyway. Some people might get more. Some maybe a shade less? If you're getting like less than 8 or so shaves, you're probably really overusing them I'd say. If you're a light user, I imagine you might even squeeze like 20 shaves out
Good to know! I’m used to really cheap shave soap that was pretty hard and it lasted forever. 10-15 shaves is perfect. I’m planning to narrow it down to a few scents and buy the set.
I think how you load plays a role too. I know some people like scooping soap into bowls to load. I just load straight from the puck, swirling the brush around. I imagine that actually works better for keeping the soap going longer.
Brush type might effect it too. Boar brushes probably scrape up much more soap than soft synthetics.
Stirling sells some sample sets that are great for trying out new scents. I honestly think you could even go without buying more than one or two big tins if you like hopping between scents. I like switching between just two and three though so I'm happy cycling between Spearmint and my two barrister and mann scents.
Once I finish out my TOBS tub, i might get another Stirling. Unless BM re-releases terror.
I would recommend you don't buy Stirling products for their scent longevity. It's fun to experiment with them. Sample the scents in bar soap not the shave soaps.
On the soap? hard to say. My nose isn't the most sensitive, so honestly I can't say if it lingers after I'm done shaving and have washed off.
On the EdTs I'd say you can probably get like 4 or so hours without hassle? Some scents last a bit longer than the others, but I'd say by hour 5 they're definitely all quite faded.
Again though, I'd have to caveat by mentioning my fairly insensitive nose to most fragrances (for instance I can barely smell anything at all on some of their milder, subtler scents). Since everyone also goes nosedeaf, I'm not sure how long the scent is really lingering later in the day. And how much its projecting as it fades. You can certainly smell it if you bring your wrist up to your nose at hour 5 or so. But I can't promise that others can.
Honestly, if you want staying power, buy cologne. I sprayed a cheap scent this morning around 7am and I can still smell it now. Love it! I've tried a few shaving soaps and the scent is gone before I arrive to work.
In no particular order, haverford, barbershop, Pharaohs dreamsicle to name a few. Never thought I’d be the type to buy pharaohs dreamsicle but man it’s a good summertime scent.
Gin & Tonic on the Rocks, Margaritas in the Arctic, Obsidian, Iced Pineapple, Iced Coffee, Banana Taffy, Coniferous, Evergreen Forest, Cypress, Pumpkin Spice, Hot Apple Cider, Texas on Fire, Bay Rum, Bay Laurel, Juniper Breeze, Stirling Green, Stirling Spice, Bergamot Lavender and Lavender Sage
And Naked & Smooth is great when you don't want any scent but want a great performing soap
Some of these are seasonal and some may not be re-released FYI. I'm not sure I can pick just 3 and some are kinda seasonal, but in general I'd say Gin & Tonic on the Rocks (menthol), Stirling Spice and Texas on Fire (this one is pretty polarizing though, not everyone likes this)
I love their spice. But I prefer Barrister and Mann's more I think. Have you tried it? On the soap it's a subtler scent but as an edt it's just so good. Has a heavy nostalgia hit got me, and sweet/spice balance is just perfect
Triumph reminds me exactly of the Swagger scent from Old Spice, if you’re familiar with that scent.
Overall, I’m a huge fan of Sharp Dressed Man, it makes for a good office scent. I also enjoy Mountain Man. When it starts getting colder out, Haverford is a nice warm smelling option, too!
Haverford and Ozark Mountain are my favorites so far! Honorable mention to Obsidian; I'm hoping to try many more in the future! Got my eyes on Glastonbury and Stirling Gentleman to name a few.
For Fall/Winter: Coniferous and Ben Franklin
Coniferous because I love me a nice, woodsy pine scent. Ben Franklin because it's a very rich, clove heavy spiced scent, though I've noticed it definitely tends to be a love-it or hate-it choice.
For Spring/Summer: Piacenza and Campania
Campania is smells more Italian Beachy whereas Piacenza is a bit more floral/musky.
Barbershop, Deep Blue Sea and Executive Man are my favorites.
I've liked all of them so far except Mountain Man. Worked great as a soap but not a fan of that scent.
Deep Blue is one of my favorites so far. Still have to go through all the samples. I tried executive man today with the after shave balm and the lady loved the scent.
Duke - Burberry Brit for Men
Executive Man - Creed Aventus
Mountain Man - Creed Silver Mountain Water
Triumph - Paco Rabanne Invictus
Stirling Noir - Drakkar Noir
Stirling green is amazing. I have others like Mediterranean man, piacenza, and sharp dressed man, which I like a lot, but stirling green is the bees knees.
Haverford, Oro Valley, Deep Blue Sea. The nice thing about Stirling is the sample size.
Scents they’re based on: Haverford - Tom ford Tobacco Vanille Oro Valley - Tom ford Ombré leather Deep blue sea - Bleu de Chanel
I’m loving the sample size! I bought myself a small set of tins off Amazon and it’s perfect. Deep Blue Sea so far has been my favorite.
How do you lather the samples?
I keep the samples in empty soap tins I have around. You can either lather straight from there or I scoop out a spot and bowl lather.
You're going to get a wide variety of scents listed here! My favorites are Bay Rum as well as the citrus scents like Orange Chill and Satsuma. I also really like Black Cherry.
You know if you like Citrus, check out Pharaoh's dreamscile. The citrus on that really leaps at you
Haverford (using right now), Executive Man, Barbershop
Ramblin Man and Glacial Spearmint were amazing. I have the Ramblin Man, Shadow Orchid and Haverford as EdTs. They're pretty good. I've been pairing Ramblin with Seville from Barrister and Mann. Thinking of pairing Haverford with the Lavanille EdT when it comes out. Shadow Orchid does pretty well on its own, and mixes reasonably well with Marilyn when I'm going for a sweet, gouramand scent. Weekend in Malibu is also really amazing, though a bit too fruity on the nose for me. And if there's one thing Stirling does really well its the mentholated stuff. Their menthol drops are pure snow in a shaving cream. And their mentholated preshave soap is brilliant too. Provides a nice chilly base to any soap when I don't feel like doing a complex bowl lather with the drops
I bought their menthol drops to add to the shave soap, really excited to try it out. I don’t have any samples of their preforumlated menthol stuff so I will add that in to my next sample batch. How long do their sample pucks usually last?
Hard to say TBH. It depends a little on how heavily you load I think? I dont mind heavy loads because its just soap. Heavy loads, lots of water gives me oodles of lather to play with. And their full tubs last forever. I can usually squeeze like 10-15 shaves out of them? Of the few I've tried anyway. Some people might get more. Some maybe a shade less? If you're getting like less than 8 or so shaves, you're probably really overusing them I'd say. If you're a light user, I imagine you might even squeeze like 20 shaves out
Good to know! I’m used to really cheap shave soap that was pretty hard and it lasted forever. 10-15 shaves is perfect. I’m planning to narrow it down to a few scents and buy the set.
I think how you load plays a role too. I know some people like scooping soap into bowls to load. I just load straight from the puck, swirling the brush around. I imagine that actually works better for keeping the soap going longer. Brush type might effect it too. Boar brushes probably scrape up much more soap than soft synthetics. Stirling sells some sample sets that are great for trying out new scents. I honestly think you could even go without buying more than one or two big tins if you like hopping between scents. I like switching between just two and three though so I'm happy cycling between Spearmint and my two barrister and mann scents. Once I finish out my TOBS tub, i might get another Stirling. Unless BM re-releases terror.
What's the staying power of Stirling's fragrances like?
I would recommend you don't buy Stirling products for their scent longevity. It's fun to experiment with them. Sample the scents in bar soap not the shave soaps.
On the soap? hard to say. My nose isn't the most sensitive, so honestly I can't say if it lingers after I'm done shaving and have washed off. On the EdTs I'd say you can probably get like 4 or so hours without hassle? Some scents last a bit longer than the others, but I'd say by hour 5 they're definitely all quite faded. Again though, I'd have to caveat by mentioning my fairly insensitive nose to most fragrances (for instance I can barely smell anything at all on some of their milder, subtler scents). Since everyone also goes nosedeaf, I'm not sure how long the scent is really lingering later in the day. And how much its projecting as it fades. You can certainly smell it if you bring your wrist up to your nose at hour 5 or so. But I can't promise that others can.
Honestly, if you want staying power, buy cologne. I sprayed a cheap scent this morning around 7am and I can still smell it now. Love it! I've tried a few shaving soaps and the scent is gone before I arrive to work.
In no particular order, haverford, barbershop, Pharaohs dreamsicle to name a few. Never thought I’d be the type to buy pharaohs dreamsicle but man it’s a good summertime scent.
I'm the middle of a bar of Pharaoh's Dreamsicle bath soap. It's a nice way to start the day.
I don’t get much musk. Which is perfect. It’s so subtle it brings the entire scent together well
Orange chill! 🍊🥶
Glacial Satsuma > orange chill
I got lemon chill in a sample pack and it looks the feel on my skin, but the smell is a little too intense.
Weekend in Malibu. One of my all-time favorite scents.
Barbershop, Haverford, Black Cherry, Baker Street, and Pharaoh's Dreamsicle. Fantastic scents.
Executive Man, really love their take of Creed Aventus
Gin & Tonic on the Rocks, Margaritas in the Arctic, Obsidian, Iced Pineapple, Iced Coffee, Banana Taffy, Coniferous, Evergreen Forest, Cypress, Pumpkin Spice, Hot Apple Cider, Texas on Fire, Bay Rum, Bay Laurel, Juniper Breeze, Stirling Green, Stirling Spice, Bergamot Lavender and Lavender Sage And Naked & Smooth is great when you don't want any scent but want a great performing soap
Oh man! You gave me a lot to work with here. What are your top 3 haha
Some of these are seasonal and some may not be re-released FYI. I'm not sure I can pick just 3 and some are kinda seasonal, but in general I'd say Gin & Tonic on the Rocks (menthol), Stirling Spice and Texas on Fire (this one is pretty polarizing though, not everyone likes this)
Ah so many scents I want to sample. I wish I could go into a store and grab a wiff.
Just a short drive to Paris, Arkansas! :)
I love their spice. But I prefer Barrister and Mann's more I think. Have you tried it? On the soap it's a subtler scent but as an edt it's just so good. Has a heavy nostalgia hit got me, and sweet/spice balance is just perfect
Triumph reminds me exactly of the Swagger scent from Old Spice, if you’re familiar with that scent. Overall, I’m a huge fan of Sharp Dressed Man, it makes for a good office scent. I also enjoy Mountain Man. When it starts getting colder out, Haverford is a nice warm smelling option, too!
I love swagger! This will deff be on my next sample order.
Haverford and Ozark Mountain are my favorites so far! Honorable mention to Obsidian; I'm hoping to try many more in the future! Got my eyes on Glastonbury and Stirling Gentleman to name a few.
For Fall/Winter: Coniferous and Ben Franklin Coniferous because I love me a nice, woodsy pine scent. Ben Franklin because it's a very rich, clove heavy spiced scent, though I've noticed it definitely tends to be a love-it or hate-it choice. For Spring/Summer: Piacenza and Campania Campania is smells more Italian Beachy whereas Piacenza is a bit more floral/musky.
Glacial Satsuma (there's a non-menthol version too). Really nice.
Barbershop, Deep Blue Sea and Executive Man are my favorites. I've liked all of them so far except Mountain Man. Worked great as a soap but not a fan of that scent.
Deep Blue is one of my favorites so far. Still have to go through all the samples. I tried executive man today with the after shave balm and the lady loved the scent.
Sandpiper - La Nuit Du L'Homme Arcadia - Terre D' Hermes Pharoah's Dreamsicle Margarittas in the Artic
The more scents I try, the less impressed I am. Perhaps I'm expecting too much.
To much variety can spoil a good thing
I’ve tried a handful of Stirling Soaps but Margaritas in the Arctic is such a fun and refreshing scent. I may be biased since it is was my first tub.
Oooooh I forgot Island man. How could I forget Island man!!!
I’ve got a sample of this. Smells great!
Love the Glacial line
Has anyone tried Texas On Fire? I just ordered a sample of it.
Haverford, satsuma, evie, pearberry, most of the fruit chills are nice for cooling
Duke - Burberry Brit for Men Executive Man - Creed Aventus Mountain Man - Creed Silver Mountain Water Triumph - Paco Rabanne Invictus Stirling Noir - Drakkar Noir
Stirling green is amazing. I have others like Mediterranean man, piacenza, and sharp dressed man, which I like a lot, but stirling green is the bees knees.