Shower gels named after famous warriors? Well…okay, but why can’t we use another type of person to promote products, a type that didn’t thrive on warfare, a type that doesn’t make me feel so “adolescent” as I buy a WARRIOR shower gel? I’d even risk appearing pretentious over appearing adolescent, so maybe I’ll develop a Poet Series of scented products myself: Haiku (Bashō) bath gel fragranced with pine needles, lotus, green tea leaf, kyara wood, smoke and bamboo, or a Leaves of Grass candle (Whitman) with sap, lilac, birch, cumin and musk. What about a fragrance honoring a poetess: Marianne Moore; she liked apricots and baseball, so osmanthus and ‘baseball glove leather’ would do the trick for Tricorne Eau de Parfum.
As I dismount my high horse, I admit I like the Zirh bath line for men. Though the Zirh Warrior advertising and online features (one feature at zirhwarrior helps you find out which warrior in the series matches your personality) seem geared towards very young men — we’re nearing Axe territory here — the gels are good quality and were developed to address skin ‘concerns’ (dry/itchy/rough skin, oily skin/pimples, etc.)
The Julius Caesar shower gel (real men don’t use bath gel do they?) smells like a ‘modern’ sweet-sour citrus with a hint of a fresh-floral accord (citrus blossom)? The gel is thick, lathers well, and better still, rinses off completely. One of my major complaints with bath gels: after bathing, they leave my skin feeling “slick.” I know it’s probably not optimal to have squeaky-clean skin after showering, especially in dry winter weather, but I appreciate a shower gel that rinses off quickly and easily. The Julius Caesar shower gel (350 ml. for $22.50) is concentrated and a little goes a long way; a light, clean citrus scent stays on the skin after showering. The Julius Caesar shower gel contains sweet almond fruit (Prunus amygdalus dulcis) extract: a skin smoothing agent.
Other Zirh Warror Collection bath gels are: Ulysses (with sesame extract for moisturizing); Alexander (with olive extract for anti-aging/moisturizing); Cyrus (with carrot extract for moisturizing) and the “astringent” Charlemagne shower gel contains chestnut seed extract.
The Zirh Warrior Collection is available online from Zirh or at Macy’s and Sephora; $22.50 each for 350 ml. For a limited time you can purchase all five Zirh Warrior Collection shower gels for the price of four, $90, at the Zirh website.
oh god, the mp3s I made of the Cabaret soundtrack are really quiet so I had the volume turned up all the way, and then I clicked that link
Alexander is an empowering spicy wood scent. I like empowering spicy wood scents… but I prefer my showering products to not have anti-aging properties.
krokodilgena: HA! I'm sure the CLASHING SWORDS sound about knocked you out of your seat! And K, in time you will want anti-aging properties in everything…dishwashing liquid, deodorant, hair gel….
These sound kinda dopey to me, but maybe my son would like them. On the other hand, Kevin, I would love any in your Poet Series (especially the Marianne Moore)!
Jirish: the gels are nice; the concept dopey. *if I say so myself, the Tricorne WOULD smell good!
Kevin, someday I am going to meet a perfumer at loose ends for a creative director and then I am going to give him your number. I LOVE the poet series (I've been rereading Whitman lately), love the name of Miz Moore's scent, and still remember the imaginary Day of the Dead perfume you dreamed up some time ago, a way back when I first started reading this blog…
P.S. I think you look pretty good a way up there on that horse. Like a leader. Almost…military…
ahtx: so kind of you (though I want any horse I'm on to be “long in the hoof”…I have a fear of flying over a horse's head!)
clashing swords? I thought that was a train derailing into my ear drum
maybe in time… but I'm not even 20 yet. But maybe I should stock up on the anti-aging shower gel while I enjoy my ~*youthfulness*~
I want the Baudelaire soap in the poet series!!! That could be evil flowers and cumin
i got my friend alexander the great.
i should get one for myself- either caesar or alex
I third this notion– bring on the baseball-glove leathered osmanthus! I'd wear that in a heartbeat.
kkd: So many possibilities in the Poet series!
squirrelmilk: I tried to smell all these so I could do a comprehensive review…but they were impossible to sniff in shops. If you are still “around”…how did the Alexander smell?
no offense… but I'm not that into poetry.
I like German literature though. German literature gets no love in the perfume world! Histoires de Parfums has some French writers… Goethe and Arthur Schnitzler are good too though.
I also want a perfume inspired by Klimt.
They'll be in my perfume house Sturm und Drang
KKD: ah…keep forgetting you're under 20! (Explains the poetry!) I would love a Klimt perfume…and think of the Fassbinder possibilities…(he's Austrian but: Egon Schiele too….)
You are brilliant! I just love the idea of a poet series. Think of Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou. What would you want those to smell like? I have seen Emily Dickinson's gardens – full of summer flowers. Oh, you just have to come up with your own line, Kevin.
Their website is obviously geared to post-adolescent boys/men used to playing violent video games; hence the format and noise-ah, sound- track!
Can you imagine scents based on composers? Imagine what a Wagner scent would be- very loud! Vivaldi would be-citrusy, light, airy, complex and refreshing, Paganini would be extremely intense, Bach would be ever-so-slightly incensey, with citrus and floral notes, and Beethoven would be a touch smoky and citrusy. Any other ideas? This is fun! Thanks, Kevin!
clarestella: I'd say booze, honey and medicinal notes for Plath? With the economy in free fall perhaps it's time for a small business venture? HA!
CB: You're welcome…it IS fun isn't it?
Arthur Schnitzler and Gustav Klimt are Austrian too.
Schiele and Klimt are my favorite artists.
Apparently Nuit d'Amour by Guerlain is inspired by Klimt… but it doesn't really sound right to me. The bottle doesn't really look right to me either.
But speaking of bottles… I don't think this whole warrior thing would be as bad if the packing was a little more… better looking? It'd be kind of like Parfums D'Empire. I'm not really into Zihr's logo either. I guess it's too manly… I like girly men
to be honest i forgot.
im going over my friends house sometime this week so……..i'lll go to his shower and smell it hahahaha
my general description from my weak memory is “cliché sexy woody”
i do my studying in his shower.
tchaikovsky- powdery- woody iris or a subtle “masculine” floral
rossini – audacious orange with a heavy resin base
mozart- ultra mild black truffle top with a boozey vanilla and an ebony wood accord (black and white play on piano and classicism)
saint-saens – something Ellena would be inspired by – smokey, airy, heliotrope-y, serious yet playful…..like hermès' persona.
The possibilities are endless, dreaming up perfumes with the arts. I am not even sure where I would begin, or even with which particular art form, had I the means to begin such an endeavor. Everyone's suggestions are great, though. It's a shame that the fragrance industry is not as high-minded as we are.
Exist…ain't it the truth! From recent experience I can say some in the fragrance industry are pretty LOW indeed! Happy New Year, K
Interesting take on what Plath would smell like, but I always sort of pictured her with a damp, musty sort of smell, but that could be because I read the Bell Jar and the image of her underground just sort of stuck with me…
If we're going to continue with this artist's series, we must include Pablo neruda. He's my favorite and I can only imagine what that man would smell like…Sensual yet classy, I suppose. And dark. But not as dark as Plath.
As for these shower gels…interesting concept, but these have gag gift for my history major friends written all over them.
Rachels musings: that's a good idea…perfect history major gift.
I wouldn't worry, the “anti aging” products don't work in the slightest
Neodymium: sad…but too true.
While we are on the subject of men's items, would like to post a review for Toxic, a fragrance by FrankBush.com
This is not a light, easy-going, easy-on-the-nose, sweet, or cute scent. This is a truly in-the-garage, fixng up the engine, getting 90-weight grease under your fingernails sort of scent. It really does smell like burning asphalt, rubber, tar and metal. Oddly enough, I found I really like it! (But then again, I have to say I like the odd ones- Bulgari's Black is a huge favorite! I also am very fond of the smell of gun-cleaning oil.)What is really interesting is that I am not a guy! The drydown is similar to what you get when you first put it on, and I like that for this scent. It is an-in-your-face, do-not-ignore-what-I-have-to-say scent. It would be perfect to wear when going to look at a new car, especially at one of those snooty dealerships, where most of the salespeople are men who think women know nothing about cars. When you are feeling downright aggressive, or you know you are going to have to be that way in a particular situation, this is the scent to wear. You can get a sample for only $5.00, and it's a pretty good-sized amount, well worth trying!