My parents retired to Spain about 30 years ago and so I have been a frequent visitor ever since. One result was being exposed to the fantastic Spanish bath soaps, Magno (from La Toja). Heno de Pravia and Maja. Every trip some of these would be in the suitcase for the return journey. And then there were the clothes of Adolfo Dominguez and his classic aftershave, Agua Fresca, one of the world’s greatest citrus perfumes which has been my favourite for decades.
This time, however I decided to see what was on offer for the traditional shaver. The number one dominant influence is La Toja shaving sticks which are for sale everywhere and which are truly excellent to use. Just like Palmolive shaving sticks in England there is a wide variation in the prices that retailers charge for these. In one shop I found an old stock stick that had different coloured packaging (dark brown) and a slightly different formulation.
La Toja also make a shaving cream in huge 150ml tubes which comes in classic and sensitive flavours. The only other Spanish brand of shaving soap/cream I could find was LEA, but the big global brands were there including Gillette cream.
When it comes to Spanish after shave balm I already had the Adolfo Dominguez after shave emulsion. This time I bought some of the La Toja “Extra Sensible” balsamo which is “con salses minerales y aloe vera” and which is rather good. There was also some BEA after shave balsam from the same company that do the LEA shave cream.
When it comes to aftershaves it will come as no surprise to find that once again La Toja are in the market with a very nice traditional smell that is “frescor y cuidato”. Also very evident in the shops was Williams Aqua Velva which is “frescor tonificante” and which has a pleasant and rather unique smell. Finally I found some Floid aftershave which is “mentolado suave” and which is very nice indeed.
The purpose of this article is not to list Spanish shaving stuff, it is to demonstrate the variety, fun and adventure that a traditional shaver can have when they travel. A similar article to this could be written with a trip to Germany, Italy, America etc in the West and, possibly more interestingly, with a trip to Turkey, Egypt, Russia, India, China or Pakistan.
Finally, due to the wonders of globalisation and the interwebs, you can buy just about everything I mentioned online.
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Going to Spain and *NOT* picking up any Spanish formula Floid aftershave?. Oh, the horror!.
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I did!!!!!!!!!
It’s in the article. And now it is here in my home.
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Hey Bruce
Am going to spain later this year, madrid for about 10 days. Which supermarkets there carry La Toja? I was going to stock up.
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I’m from Barcelona , and I like Spanisch Floïd too , La Toja products , Heno de Pravia , and a barcelona’s cosmetic brand named Myrsol ( after shave , capillar products , etc… ) Here the web address http://www.myrsol-cosmetica.com/ . My favourite is Myrsol Formula K after shave . If you buy one be careful with bottle because is very light and is easy to broken .
The Madrid’s Alvarez Gómez brand is also nice ( http://www.alvarezgomez.com/ )
Sorry for my english .
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British people can find Alvarez Gómez brand and Myrsol brand at http://www.carterandbond.com/brands/Myrsol.phtml and at http://www.carterandbond.com/brands/Agua-de-Colonia.phtml
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We have all range of Alvarez Gómez, Floid, Myrsol, La Toja, Adolfo Dominguez shaving products at our shop http://www.spanishoponline.com We ship worldwide.