The ‘exquisite’ £26 aftershave men are convinced smells better than £238 designer

‘People think it is from a big name department store with a hefty price tag’

Finding the right aftershave can be a challenging task, particularly if shoppers are buying online and can’t test it out in person. However, there’s one fragrance that people are comparing to a premium brand – and it only costs £26 rather than £238.

As part of Cremo’s new product launches, the brand is currently offering 25% off sitewide, including its Palo Santo Reserve Collection, until 15 February, meaning shoppers can pick up products in time for Valentine’s Day. The collection includes fragrances, body washes, beard oils and bundles – all of which are discounted at the moment.

One standout product is the Palo Santo Eau De Toilette (100ml), which is currently available for £26.21, down from £34.95. Designed by the brand’s ‘team of world-class scent experts’, this fragrance offers a combination of bright cardamom, dry papyrus, and aromatic Palo Santo, creating a ‘complex, layered formula that is uncommonly good’, the site says.

The fragrance has been designed to make the skin feel soothed, balanced and refreshed, Cremo says, and it is suitable for combination skin. With an average rating of 4.9 out of five from more than 200 reviews on the site, it is clear that this is a popular product.

However, it’s been drawing comparisons to much more expensive bottles. One person left a review on the platform Reddit, saying: “I know they get mixed reviews on Reddit, but holy cow is this stuff blowing me away. Soft, airy, dry warm sandalwood. A little cardamom for aromatics. Is it complex? No. But it’s a banger. Like your favourite Italian dish, a few things well placed.

“I’m kinda geeking over how much I like it. It lasts a decent chunk too. Far from beast mode length but I carry a pocket atomizer anyways. It’s gentle enough you can overspray all over and just have a soft pleasant ozone around you for a good few hours or so.”

Another person said the fragrance is very similar to ‘of Le Labo Santal 33’, which usually costs £238 at full price on the site Fenwick. However, they actually added that they prefer Cremo’s Palo Santo Eau De Toilette as it is ‘much easier to wear’.

For those wanting matching products or a complete collection, there is also the Palo Santo Reserve Collection Body Wash, available for £10.87, discounted from £14.50. This offers the same signature notes as the Palo Santo Eau De Toilette (100ml), but in a ‘lathering body wash’ formula. It is said to moisturise, smooth the skin tone and immediately refresh.

Finally, Cremo has the Uncommon Scents Collection for £40, down from £53.45, which includes the above body wash. It also contains three other body washes, including the citrus and mint leaf, sage and citrus, and bourbon and oak scents. The site says ‘these layered and complex scents evolve as you wash’.

As an alternative, shoppers could purchase this Boss The Scent Eau de Toilette for Him (50ml) from Boots, currently available for £54.40, down from £68. Described as an ‘ambery-woody-fruity perfume’, the site says this fragrance opens with the spicy freshness of natural ginger oil, followed by Maninka fruit and then warm, carnal leather notes.

Or at Superdrug, there’s this Giorgio Armani Code Eau De Toilette (75ml) Gift set available for £88. This three-piece gift set, which includes a 75ml fragrance, a 15ml fragrance and a deodorant, has ‘notes of citrus accord and torrified tonka beans intertwined with a lavandin heart’, the site says.

Back to Cremo’s Palo Santo Eau De Toilette (100ml), shoppers have left rave reviews online. One person said: “Sensual aramatic refreshing natural body spray. Spectacular results. Cooling and exquisite.”

Another said: “This cologne is better than great. I have received more compliments everywhere I go since I began using it, asking what I was wearing. It doesn’t knock others over by being too strong. It has a clean pleasant breezy scent that arrives as you do, not five minutes before. It is light enough I even spritz occasionally after a long day just to give myself a lift around the house. It is another Cremo product to be sold on!”

One person left four stars and wrote: “I do like the aroma but not as good as the spice and black vanilla that I bought from Cremo at the same time, and it doesn’t last as long on my skin as the other product in my opinion, it is still a very good cologne though.”

Most were pleased, though, as another person wrote on Cremo’s site: “I get so many compliments on this scent. People think it is from a big name department store with a hefty price tag.”