#1

AP Reserve
Sydney, Australia
Hello everyone, my name is Dan and I am the guy behind Australian Private Reserve aka APR but now most often known as AP Reserve.

A little bit about me and AP Reserve by way of introduction. I think it's cool when people tell you their story candidly, and relate the vibe and ethos of themselves as a person, and what their product is about behind the brand.

So AP Reserve has been around for around a year now and came into being with really humble intentions: my desire to learn how to make aftershaves and love for really nice fragrances. We don't have many Australian local artisans here, so I thought why the heck not. I  didn't launch or intend it to be a business initially, but as people used my products it has become a small one alongside my wife and I's day jobs. My interest in perfumery has been running for a fair few years now and I studied it as a hobby and for relaxation prior to producing anything.

You can buy directly from our website, or to save on postage for those in the US I am real proud to say the fine people at Maggards and now Groomatorium also stock our range.

Our products do cost a little more than some people expect and I explain that this is due to the incredible cost of Airfreight sending them over 9,500 miles from Australia to the US. On the flipside of this coin, you will find our splash fragrance strength quite strong and very long lasting as many of the reviews on other forums and websites have stated.

Some people may think they are too expensive, while others are quite happy to pay a little more for something that evidences quality and care with high quality fragrance compounds and really nice fragrance design. Folks are free to make a choice in this regard which in my book is a great thing.


So an update of our Winter fragrances seeing as the US is nearing that season. The full fragrance descriptions for all the other releases are available on my site, or at Maggards for people curious but these are the two newest seasonals...


Winterfall
We have just released 'Winterfall' in the US exclusively which is our Winter Chypre,  available as a soap and splash from the outlets mentioned above. If I were pressed for a comparison I would say it's ballpark to Darkfall, but of a different family and feel with Winterfall being nowhere near as dark and autumnal.  As an aside though, I love Darkfall...it's just so brilliantly done and the EDP is god tier..anyway I digress.


The traditional masculine Chypre (pronounced sheepr) embodies a sophisticated design of woody, vanilla notes evocative of an ages old forest in winter. Stated simply this fragrance embodies elegance and refinement while retaining a masculine presence and air, it initially delivers an experience of being simple but then immediately dispels this idea with it's emerging complexity.


Top notes: Sicilian Bergamot, Cypress
Heart Notes: Labdanum, Rosewood
Base notes:  Agarwood, Patchouli, Oakmoss, Musk



Bay City

Continuing the Winter Feel, Bay City is another of our Winter fragrances that has been really well received. It's a Bay Rum fragrance named so because Sydney is on the harbour. Personally I try and avoid duplicating existing fragrances, and let's be honest and say there are already number of excellent Bay Rums on the market.....hawns Blackberry Blossom Bay due to it being pure awesome and B&M's classic Bay Rum for when I want the clean traditional experience. Two of my favourites, and certainly no need to do another one!


So, it's a Bay Rum down low sure but the fragrance design in the middle and the top goes for a sweet currant accord that sits on a tiny fraction of cinnamon and just enough sweet orange to make it really interesting. It has the Bay note, it has the body but it's different by design.

Immediately wearable and very appealing, we have discarded the often drastic and overpowering weight of traditional bay rum fragrances for something much more fitting and contemporary.

For the heart APR employed a clean, inviting Cinnamon and Australian Sweet Orange to showcase the top notes of beautifully sweet Black and Red Currant absolute with their spice, caramel and fruit notes so we can deliver a rich and refreshing revitalisation of the classic Bay Rum fragrance.


Top Notes: Black Currant Absolute, Red Currant
Heart Notes: Cinnamon, Sweet Orange
Base Notes: Benzoin, Musk, Peru Balsam, West Indian Bay



So that's what has been happening of late, we are heading into Summer down here and I have two new fragrances releasing on 25th November and a LE fragrance on 1st of December - these no doubt will be available from our stockists a few weeks after release and will stay in regular rotation.

It's been great finding this forum, plenty of very cool and very welcoming people and a wealth of information. A big thank you too to the admins and staff, you do a solid job here and the forum has a great look and feel.


Feel free to jump right in with any questions, I dig chatting on forums with people and always have.


Cheers people,

Dan Smile

KungOscar, hawns, Matsilainen and 6 others like this post
#2

Member
South Saint Louis, MO
I'm not a bay rum guy...at all..but Bay City is very nice! As is Winterfall. As are all the scents. Highly recommended!

AP Reserve, Matsilainen and Freddy like this post
#3

Member
Detroit
Welcome to DFS Dan! I hope to try your products eventually, especially the aftershaves. I've heard it's a very good formula and the scents sound very nice. I'm glad you like BBB. It all started on this forum with our very own Marko. Even though hawns is not a bay rum fan, Marko prodded him into making at least a bay inspired scent. I liked the scent a lot too, but unfortunately it burned my face too much.

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- Jeff
#4

Posting Freak
Hi Dan,

I'm glad you're on DFS. It's always good to get another artisan sharing their passion with the members. Your winter releases sound awesome and I'm looking forward to trying them at some point. Is there any plans to eventually sell your products through a Canadian vendor? We're the sparsely populated, cold top half of North America and we do have a few decent vendors.
Cheers,
Marko

Matsilainen, Freddy and AP Reserve like this post
#5

AP Reserve
Sydney, Australia
(11-19-2017, 06:53 AM)Marko Wrote: Hi Dan,

I'm glad you're on DFS. It's always good to get another artisan sharing their passion with the members. Your winter releases sound awesome and I'm looking forward to trying them at some point. Is there any plans to eventually sell your products through a Canadian vendor? We're the sparsely populated, cold top half of North America and we do have a few decent vendors.
Cheers,
Marko

Hey Marko, thanks for the reply man Smile

I would be very much open to stocking AP Reserve in Canada If you have any suggestions or indeed know any Canadian Vendors I would be happy to reach out to them or have them contact me and we could definitely work something out

Matsilainen likes this post
#6

Posting Freak
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2017, 02:49 PM by Marko.)
(11-19-2017, 10:01 AM)AP Reserve Wrote:
(11-19-2017, 06:53 AM)Marko Wrote: Hi Dan,

I'm glad you're on DFS. It's always good to get another artisan sharing their passion with the members. Your winter releases sound awesome and I'm looking forward to trying them at some point.  Is there any plans to eventually sell your products through a Canadian vendor?  We're the sparsely populated, cold top half of North America and we do have a few decent vendors.
Cheers,
Marko

Hey Marko, thanks for the reply man Smile

I would be very much open to stocking AP Reserve in Canada If you have any suggestions or indeed know any Canadian Vendors I would be happy to reach out to them or have them contact me and we could definitely work something out

Hi Dan,

I've dealt with Jon at Canadian Blade Company, Carmine at Top of the Chain and Joe at Italian Barber. I've also dealt with Fendrihan but they seem to go their own way. As far as how these guys are to deal with from the artisans perspective I'd suggest you PM hawns or Scott at @"landlgrooming" now Declaration, but from a consumer perspective they've all been excellent. All of these vendors except Fendrihan are on DFS.
Cheers,
Mark

Freddy and hawns like this post
#7

Member
AZ, USA
AP Reserve I love trying out new Artisan Soaps/Splashes, so I will definitely be picking some up from Maggards. I was taking a look at your website last night and a lot of the scents sound really interesting. I would like to pick something up for the winter and was wondering if there are any other scents other than Winterfall and Bay City that you would consider a Winter Scent? Both Winterfall and Bay City sound excellent bye the way. What would you suggest scent wise for a first time customer? Thanks!
Hunter
#8

Member
AZ, USA
(This post was last modified: 11-20-2017, 12:44 AM by TheHunter. Edit Reason: Spelling )
Just purchased “Bay City” Soap and Splash from Maggards based on hawns comments, and because “Winterfall” Splash was sold out. Made the choice easy! I love Bay Rum, and this sounds like a great take on it. Really looking forward to giving this Soap/Splash a try, we’ll see if it can stack up to the other top Soaps in my Den!

Matsilainen, hawns and AP Reserve like this post
Hunter
#9

AP Reserve
Sydney, Australia
I have just sent Maggards another restock of Winterfall, it should be with them early next week.
#10

Member
AZ, USA
(11-20-2017, 12:39 AM)AP Reserve Wrote: I have just sent Maggards another restock of Winterfall, it should be with them early next week.

That’s great! If “Bay City” performs like some of my other top Soaps/Splashes I can pick up “Winterfall” as well. I enjoy using Seasonal scents!
Hunter


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