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Arko Scent Description Thread

The smell of Arko is not luxurious but IMO just a strong old fashioned soap smell. It is by far the cheapest soap I've ever used but the more I use it the more it smells like a great shave. Being the lazy latherer that I am more and more of my shaves are done with Arko and I am becoming a huge fan of the stuff.
 
@talibeard: did you try de vergulde hand? it's a great soap and almost as inexpensive as arko. it's in my rotation between tabac and arko. comes in a neat little plastic container.
 
@talibeard: did you try de vergulde hand? it's a great soap and almost as inexpensive as arko. it's in my rotation between tabac and arko. comes in a neat little plastic container.

My experience with the "Vergulde Hand" is so bad that I couldn't resist making a review of the stuff. Some have trouble with the smell of Arko but I really can't stand the smell of VH and it dried my skin like no other soap ever.But if you like it; good for you!
 
I really like the smell of Arko and the lather is great. It smells like saddle soap to me. By the way, I find the smell of Ivory, Cashmere Bouquet, Williams and Tabac offensive.
 
I got a stick of Arko from a local Greek grocery store for about 40p, so i really can't complain about the price, but i have to say, i do think it has a bit of an unpleasant scent, which is a shame, because it gives me a nice shave. I ended up tossing it away because it was making my bathroom cabinet smell like a toilet. A clean toilet admittedly, but a toilet none the less.

IMHO, the best of the "cheap" sticks is Palmolive - the scent is mild, but very pleasant and the shave and skin benefits from using it are out of this world. At 20p a stick here, it's just stupidly good value.
 
The smell of my bowl under the sink is beginning to calm down. I'm still not ready to use it. You can't even smell the Comet under there any more!
 
J

Jarmo P

Koso, I doubt if Arko smell will never calm down.
It will smell like a toilet urinal cleanser just more weak.
I will never have Arko back in my bathroom.

EDIT remark
I have also one such cup where I sliced 1 Arko stick in pieces, not to be kept in the bathroom. Good for new stinky brushes fake lathering. You could try Arko since it is not a bad soap though. We all do need to visit our bathrooms as well as who we live with much more often than just to shave. But there are soaps that are subtle in scent and good to be kept there without bothering our family or yourself.
 
Arko doesn't smell staggeringly foul to me, but it is kinda reminiscent of detergent. Cheap, bargain-basement detergent.

On another note, your icon is probably the best shave-related icon I've seen. LOVE Blazing Saddles! :biggrin:

And don't forget the line, "Badgers?!? We Don't need no stinking Badgers!" :biggrin:

And now back to Arko...
 
Lol.. :biggrin:

I love Arko! The descriptions here are awesome - urinal disinfectant had me flipped laughing, I know exactly where your coming from..

To me it is all the above and more but, but, to me it smells of holiday.... and that to me means Turkey!!! What a place... It's a great pick-me-up for those back to work morning blues. Think holiday and sun...

:cool:
 
I really enjoy the Arko shaving stick as well.
Bough a 12 pack during a holiday trip to Turkey last year and its been my favorite soap ever since. I don't find the scent unpleasant at all...

Love it! :biggrin:
 
I have never, but would love to try arko. I was wondering....

For thoes of you that despise the scent of the legendary arko, have you ever tried a superlather with this or perhaps a drop of EO to spice up the smell of your lather. If the scent is anything like ivory, as discribed above, it would seem to be a good match with lavendar, sandlewood or countless other fragrences. Anyone tried this?
 
You guys that don't like the aroma, could always send your Arko to those who do.

Better than simply throwing it out. Just a thought.

-- John Gehman
 
Lol.. :biggrin:

I love Arko! The descriptions here are awesome - urinal disinfectant had me flipped laughing, I know exactly where your coming from..

To me it is all the above and more but, but, to me it smells of holiday.... and that to me means Turkey!!! What a place... It's a great pick-me-up for those back to work morning blues. Think holiday and sun...

:cool:

I really enjoy the Arko shaving stick as well.
Bough a 12 pack during a holiday trip to Turkey last year and its been my favorite soap ever since. I don't find the scent unpleasant at all...

Love it! :biggrin:


One of my goals in life is to someday get a Turkish barber shave.

But I fear you guys aren't helping Turkey's tourist industry, if Arko is what Turkey smells like..... :lol:
 
I have never, but would love to try arko. I was wondering....

For thoes of you that despise the scent of the legendary arko, have you ever tried a superlather with this or perhaps a drop of EO to spice up the smell of your lather. If the scent is anything like ivory, as discribed above, it would seem to be a good match with lavendar, sandlewood or countless other fragrences. Anyone tried this?
My only complaint with Arko is it can be drying on a four pass shave. I've added a dab of Proraso cream now and then to solve that. I enjoy the scent of Arko.
Maybe because it reminds me of Mexico :cool: .
 
I placed an order with Tryphon for a Speick shave stick and some single-edge blades, and he tossed in a free Arko stick. After reading this thread, I decided to see what the fuss was about.

It smells like Ivory soap to me - which I don't find offensive. My wife has extremely sensitive skin, and after many years of experimenting, found that Ivory was the only soap that did not eventually start irritating her skin. So I use Ivory soap daily. Arko smelled nice and pleasant - and the smell is nowhere near as strong once you lather with it.

In terms of performance, I was impressed. For such a cheap soap (comparable to the Williams mug soap I have come to despise), this stuff is incredible. The lather I was able to work up on my face using my Vulfix 660 medium pure brush (thanks to Lee Cantor for the recommendation) was very rich, slick, and cushiony. I got a great 3 pass shave with it. Honestly, even if you find the scent offensive, it is barely there in the lather. For ~$2, and for a tallow soap (I know there are a lot of you tallow snobs out there), it seems insane to not give this stuff a shot.

Incidentally, I got a large sized medicine bottle from my local pharmacy, wet one end of the soap, and smashed it into the inside of the lid of the bottle, so it stays and makes a nice handle. When I am done and have dried out the soap, I simply screw the bottle over the soap - perfect travel container. Incidentally, I do the same thing for the Speick shave stick - except you can use a smaller bottle, and it fits perfectly (discard the plastic handle that comes with that stick).
 
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