Cold Spices
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements (2014)

This is Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements homage to original (Shulton) Old Spice. I’m familiar with the Old Spice currently on shelves; I gave away my bottle years ago. Cold Spices is not that fragrance.

The spices in this PAA rendition are smoother (dare I say more “natural”) than current Old Spice and the composition more old school, with the carnation and clary sage getting top bill in the opening. As things dry down, the aftershave/cologne is less aldehydic, focusing on what your grandfather might call a “woody amber” accord with just the right amount of sweetness. Here, it reminds of Obsession For Men.

Cold Spices isn’t a “look at me” fragrance, but it performs well and lasts a solid 6 hours. A few dabs from the sample vail under my shirt offered a pleasant glow the whole workday. Speaking of, I think the office is where this will work best, but it is suitable for about any weather.

Overall, Cold Spices doesn’t wow me and I’m not likely to buy a full bottle, but it took me two full samples to come to that conclusion. Thumbs up for a quality fragrance, even though it isn’t quite for me.

According to PAA's Douglas Smythe, this scent is an "homage" to the original vintage Shulton formula. The main play on this theme is the 'Cold' menthol in the shaving products that also comes across in the opening of the scent. After the quick menthol fade this scent is a very nice, classic Oriental Spicy scent that indeed hearkens back to the days of the knock-off's of Old Spice. This particular scent has a punchy floral section that strikes a different balance than the vintage Shulton.

In my opinion, this fragrance has better quality floral materials in it than anything you'll find at the store from Procter & Gamble. The scent is more substantial and dense from Cold Spices than even from my vintage bottle of Old Spice. The floral notes in this just smell 'alive' to me and instead of being smeared with other notes like in the various Old Spice versions of the past.

I really enjoy this take on Old Spice. Cold Spices reminds me more of Shulton's vintage Early American Old Spice, which is the women's version. Although Cold Spices is not precisely the same scent as Old Spice, it's the same species and what's mostly different is the 'effect', which for me is 'density/thickness'. Cold Spices is more 'dense' than Old Spice or any of the knockoffs I've smelled.

I contacted Douglas Smythe through his website to get more information on his work on this product's scent. Seems he went really in-depth and actually attempted to resurrect the original formulation using more costly essential oils and resins. The aftershave has rose hydrosol (water carrying essential oils) and I think it adds to the fluffy/alive florals. I actually enjoy this Cold Spices more at times than the other versions. I love all the versions of Old Spice, even the P&G ones of today.

I give this fragrance a top rating because of the work, effort and quality that went into it. This isn't some cheap wanna-be. It's a carefully crafted, elegant interpretation of a classic with a wonderful menthol note in the opening and the matching shaving soap has a "cooling" effect on skin due to the menthol in it which gives my Summer shaves a nice clean and invigorating feeling.