Close to purchasing a peculiar aftershave (3,3)
I believe the answer is:
bay rum
'aftershave' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'close to purchasing a peculiar' is the wordplay.
'close' becomes 'by' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to purchasing' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters take possession of others).
'peculiar' becomes 'rum' (synonyms).
'by' placed around 'a' is 'bay'.
'bay'+'rum'='BAY RUM'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bay rum that I've seen before include "Cologne?" , "Hair perfume" , "Corrected text of" , "medicinal drink?" .)