“You smell delicious!”
“Really?”
“Yep – whatever it is, you need to get more.”
This was my exchange with Evan after his recent hair cut at Kitchener’s Abel’s on Queen (handily located beside The Walper Hotel).
Now, don’t get me wrong, Evan always smells delicious (Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet and Tom Ford’s Tuscan Leather are faves in his olfactory arsenal), but this fragrance was different – kind of rich and spicy and squeaky clean all at the same time. A quick fact-check with Abel’s revealed the secret: Crown Shaving Co. After Shave Tonic.
I loved it so much, I reached out to the brand’s founder Dino Caraccioli. “The after-shave tonic is our world-famous product; one sniff will remind you of your grandad and a classic barbershop,” he told me. Dino should know. His father was a barber and when Dino was a little boy, he’d spend Saturdays at his dad’s shop sweeping up clippings. You could say barbering was in his DNA.
Crown Shaving Co. Founder Dino Caraccioli.
Dino graduated from barber school in Toronto and worked in the industry for years, before experiencing a problem – dermatitis – that would ultimately lead to the creation of Crown Shaving Co. He says, “I suddenly started having reactions to many of the harsh chemicals in grooming supplies. This led me to try and come up with a shave cream and lotion for myself, as the dermatitis had begun to spread up my arms and to my face. I made sure both were free from sulphates, parabens and high levels of alcohol, and loaded with cleaner moisturizing agents and essential oils.”
The cream and lotion were the start of the brand and led to the After Shave Tonic (its beguiling scent is also in the body wash, roll-on cologne and eau de parfum), as well as the creation of a range of hair products. “Everything in the Crown line sells really well, but as of late it seems our hair products, particularly our structure paste, have been our top-sellers. It might have something to do with guys getting to the barbershop less often than they used to pre-Covid.”
Dino, who is based in Kleinburg, Ontario, stepped away from the barber’s chair a few years ago to concentrate fully on Crown’s product development and distribution. “We do sell internationally – our goods are available in the U.S., as well as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.”
I know from a good source that many bold-face names are fans of Crown Shaving but Dino is the epitome of discretion and won’t name names. “We do have a very diverse following and quite a few well-known personalities pop into our showroom for personal shopping from time to time.”
Reputation aside, scent was what made me notice Crown Shaving and, funnily enough, one of its side projects is a fragrance line called, “Persons of Interest,” a collection of 10 genderless scents. Don’t miss its “Havana Conference,” a heady mix of rum and tobacco.
When I ordered Evan more of the signature-scent After Shave online, I was delighted to find that it’s also available as a soy wax candle with the wicked name of “Cut Throat” (the label features a photo of Dino holding a straight-razor). Warning: it sells out quickly.
Next up for Crown Shaving: a face care collection. “It’s a category we really haven’t touched on yet,” says Dino. “I’ll be formulating daily cleansers, moisturizers and specialty serums.”
I look forward to seeing what he comes up with and, until then, am happy to bury my nose in Evan’s wonderful-smelling neck while I wait.
