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Anyone else dislike Proraso ? (and where to go from here)

I got a Proraso sampler pack from WCS. As far as scent goes, I found the Cypress Vetiver and Wood&Spice to be highly offputting. As for the Green Tea&Oat (White) and Menthol/Eucalyptus (Green), both have menthol which I hated. Eucalyptus by itself is usually a nice scent but the menthol scent and sensation killed it for me. I was surprised that they would put Menthol in a "sensitive skin" product. The White and the Green both smelled like cleaning products to me (not in a good way, more like janitorial or maid service supplies).

The Red (sandalwood), is obviously a classic Sandalwood scent. I know many guys like this, but not me. I found it heavy, dark, and old man-ish, like a steam room full of naked wrinkly fat men. I was suffocating while using it and couldn't get the scent off for a whole day.

Azur Lime smelled like a modern day clean and fresh cologne, not bad at all but not what I want to shave with everyday

As for performance of Proraso, it was ok, but nothing special. So far I've tried Cella, Art of Shaving, Fine, Haslinger, MWF. I would put Proraso towards the bottom of the list, but I'm sure there are much worse creams/soaps out there than Proraso.

Did anyone have a similar experience with Proraso and if so what do you use (or recommend) instead?
 
I own a few iterations of Proraso and dislike all of them. I’m not a huge fan of Proraso.

This will infuriate a large portion of B&B because for some reason it always does, but you should really try some of the artisans available. Barrister and Mann, declaration grooming, Noble otter and arianna and Evans. There are more of course, but I love these brands.
 
I own a few iterations of Proraso and dislike all of them. I’m not a huge fan of Proraso.

This will infuriate a large portion of B&B because for some reason it always does, but you should really try some of the artisans available. Barrister and Mann, declaration grooming, Noble otter and arianna and Evans. There are more of course, but I love these brands.

Thanks for replying. It's nice to know I'm not alone. I realize my opinion will infuriate some, but my goal is honestly to get replies like yours so I can find more stuff that I actually enjoy.
 
I hear a lot of complaints, but not any description of what you personally like. What do you think about unscented products? What kind of scents do you prefer? What level of scent strength do you want?

Personally, I like fairly mildly scented products that don't linger after I finish shaving. I think it's usually a bad idea for a soap to try to be a cologne. Some products that I like are Pre de Provence Original, Haslinger Marigold and La Toja. I like Cella after it's been aired out for about a week. When I need to buy soap again, I'll probably try Soap Commander Integrity (unscented).
 
Yeah, i understand, I've seen Proraso on everyone's "Best" lists, that's why I got the Sampler pack in the first place, but I have to be honest about my experience so far
I’m just playing. If you hate it, you hate it. I don’t think anyone is going to seriously be mad! At least I’m not. I don’t own a share in the co.

I recommend that you try a sample of acqua di parma first if you intend to buy. It reeks of Prorasso to me :)
 
I don't hate, but I really don't care for it either. I think there are far better things to use than Proraso.
Personally I love TOBS and my favorite at the moment is Cognac and Cuban Cigars from Henri et Victoria.
I think the TOBS creams are much better for the money than Proraso.
 
If you don't like the scents, feel free to move on to something else, and don't feel bad about it.

I love Proraso Green, yet can leave the rest. I did not like menthol at first either, and when I read your post, it looks like something I would've wrote a year ago! During a scorching summer heat however, Proraso Green cream and pre-shave is magical for me, but that's the only time I use it. I keep a shave journal, and most of my entries are like short stories....except when I use Proraso Green. Here's what my boilerplate entry for PG is:

Great shave day, not much else to say.
 
I hear a lot of complaints, but not any description of what you personally like. What do you think about unscented products? What kind of scents do you prefer? What level of scent strength do you want?

Personally, I like fairly mildly scented products that don't linger after I finish shaving. I think it's usually a bad idea for a soap to try to be a cologne. Some products that I like are Pre de Provence Original, Haslinger Marigold and La Toja. I like Cella after it's been aired out for about a week. When I need to buy soap again, I'll probably try Soap Commander Integrity (unscented).

Unscented always wins, except against the rare scent(s) that are just so amazing that one truly enjoys smelling it often. I am open minded and enjoy the hunt for special scents, but otherwise it's very, very hard to compete with Unscented. I agree, mild is better and it should not be a cologne.

I love, absolutely love the scent of Art of Shaving Lavender. Soothing, relaxing, clean. Performance is good, but not the best.

Haslinger has a light scent, i like it, but mainly because it reminds me of my Nana who always wore something similar to that when i was little. So its familiar. I thought about getting the Haslinger Honey and Haslinger Coconut. They sound simple and nice to me.

Cella is special. The tub scent is sweet and slightly nauseating, but in use I find it mild and enjlyable. The performance is the best I've used so far.

I bought a half dozen Fine Accoutrements soaps and am working through them. Some are very good, some not quite as much, but overall they are all very nice. Performance is good.

Tabac the scent is powdery and baby powder like, but clean. I'm mixed on it but it's growing on me.

MWF is hard to lather but I'm getting better at it. I'm not a huge fan of the "natural" scent, but it is undeniably masculine and clean smelling.
 
Unscented always wins, except against the rare scent(s) that are just so amazing that one truly enjoys smelling it often. I am open minded and enjoy the hunt for special scents, but otherwise it's very, very hard to compete with Unscented

Haslinger has a light scent, i like it, but mainly because it reminds me of my Nana who always wore something similar to that when i was little. So its familiar. I thought about getting the Haslinger Honey and Haslinger Coconut. They sound simple and nice to me.

Cella is special. The tub scent is sweet and slightly nauseating, but in use I find it mild and enjlyable. The performance is the best I've used so far.

I bought a half dozen Fine Accoutrements soaps and am working through them. Some are very good, some not quite as much, but overall they are all very nice. Performance is good.

Tabac the scent is powdery and baby powder like, but clean. I'm mixed on it but it's growing on me.

MWF is hard to lather but I'm getting better at it. I'm not a huge fan of the "natural" scent, but it is undeniably masculine and clean smelling.

The Cella "brick" has a much better scent, and performance too. Very inexpensive at roughly $25 for 1000 grams! You should try it if you have not, most places sell samples.

Tabac is all I've been using lately, it just works awesome and the cost-per-shave is ridiculously cheap.

I personally don't chase soaps for scent anymore. The performance is more important than anything, and a good bottle of your fragrance of choice will give you whatever scent you so desire, for a good portion of the remaining day too.
 
The Cella "brick" has a much better scent, and performance too. Very inexpensive at roughly $25 for 1000 grams! You should try it if you have not, most places sell samples.

Tabac is all I've been using lately, it just works awesome and the cost-per-shave is ridiculously cheap.

I personally don't chase soaps for scent anymore. The performance is more important than anything, and a good bottle of your fragrance of choice will give you whatever scent you so desire, for a good portion of the remaining day too.

I hear you. I think performance really does come first. If i can get a scent that i love, great, if not then i will settle for something "Decent" or Unscented.

I already plan to buy the brick, I am glad to hear you say it has an even better scent. Agreed, total bargain of the century for what appears to be one of if not the best soap. I read someone say to put the unused in the freezer so it doesn't go bad as quickly
 
I hear you. I think performance really does come first. If i can get a scent that i love, great, if not then i will settle for something "Decent" or Unscented.

I already plan to buy the brick, I am glad to hear you say it has an even better scent. Agreed, total bargain. I read someone say to put the unused in the freezer so it doesn't go bad as quickly

The scent of the brick soap is more much subtle to me, and has a far less chemical overtone to my nose. The performance is amazing as well. Here's the official post by Marco on how to store the Cella brick:

 
Unscented always wins, except against the rare scent(s) that are just so amazing that one truly enjoys smelling it often. I am open minded and enjoy the hunt for special scents, but otherwise it's very, very hard to compete with Unscented. I agree, mild is better and it should not be a cologne.

I love, absolutely love the scent of Art of Shaving Lavender. Soothing, relaxing, clean. Performance is good, but not the best.

Haslinger has a light scent, i like it, but mainly because it reminds me of my Nana who always wore something similar to that when i was little. So its familiar. I thought about getting the Haslinger Honey and Haslinger Coconut. They sound simple and nice to me.

Cella is special. The tub scent is sweet and slightly nauseating, but in use I find it mild and enjlyable. The performance is the best I've used so far.

I bought a half dozen Fine Accoutrements soaps and am working through them. Some are very good, some not quite as much, but overall they are all very nice. Performance is good.

Tabac the scent is powdery and baby powder like, but clean. I'm mixed on it but it's growing on me.

MWF is hard to lather but I'm getting better at it. I'm not a huge fan of the "natural" scent, but it is undeniably masculine and clean smelling.
Seems like you are pretty well stocked with soap already. Are you building up a 5-year supply?
:biggrin1:

With Haslinger, the scent is never going to be the star of the show. That's OK with me, though. Performance is the main thing.

Haslinger Honey & Coconut seem pretty popular with shavers in Austria & Germany. I grated and mixed the two in one container. A bit too sweet, but I like it once lathered.

I like the Haslinger Marigold, Sage and Aloe Vera quite a bit. Good for warmer weather. Don't be afraid of Marigold, it is reasonably masculine. Marigold, aka Calendula, has a long tradition as an herbal medicine to soothe the skin.

Vito's Extra Super Coco is even less expensive than Cella. Similar performance, milder scent. BTW, you don't need to keep extra Cella in the freezer. The fridge would be OK, though.

If you like lavender, you might like Speick. Similar in performance to Tabac, more of an herbal scent. You might find it a bit old-mannish, I don't though.
 
Seems like you are pretty well stocked with soap already. Are you building up a 5-year supply?
:biggrin1:

With Haslinger, the scent is never going to be the star of the show. That's OK with me, though. Performance is the main thing.

Haslinger Honey & Coconut seem pretty popular with shavers in Austria & Germany. I grated and mixed the two in one container. A bit too sweet, but I like it once lathered.

I like the Haslinger Marigold, Sage and Aloe Vera quite a bit. Good for warmer weather. Don't be afraid of Marigold, it is reasonably masculine. Marigold, aka Calendula, has a long tradition as an herbal medicine to soothe the skin.

Vito's Extra Super Coco is even less expensive than Cella. Similar performance, milder scent. BTW, you don't need to keep extra Cella in the freezer. The fridge would be OK, though.

If you like lavender, you might like Speick. Similar in performance to Tabac, more of an herbal scent. You might find it a bit old-mannish, I don't though.

I like your recommendations and will try them. Actually i was looking into Speick earlier today. You're referring to the stick, right? I see they make a cream tube too

Haslinger is nice but I'm a little bothered by their new formula. I never got to use their old formula but the new one is just oil and then much further down the list, next to fragrance they list Sheep's milk. Sounds like they found a way to cut costs while still calling it Sheeps milk soap. Slightly disingenuous if you ask me, I'm guessing the sheep's milk or the tallow used to be a primary rather than lesser ingredient. I would be more forgiving if the puck was larger, but it isn't.
 
I like your recommendations and will try them. Actually i was looking into Speick earlier today. You're referring to the stick, right? I see they make a cream tube too

Haslinger is nice but I'm a little bothered by their new formula. I never got to use their old formula but the new one is just oil and then much further down the list, next to fragrance they list Sheep's milk. Sounds like they found a way to cut costs while still calling it Sheeps milk soap. Slightly disingenuous if you ask me, I'm guessing the sheep's milk or the tallow used to be a primary rather than lesser ingredient. I would be more forgiving if the puck was larger, but it isn't.
Haslinger can be had for less that $5 per puck from the UK. If you can get 60 or more shaves from one puck, that is a good value, IMHO.

The other Haslinger flavors have no sheep's milk but performance is similar. You don't really need lanolin in warm weather. So, another non-issue in my book.

Stearic acid is actually a primary ingredient with Haslinger, and it can be derived from vegetable sources or animal sources. One does not have to feel short-changed because of tallow. Tallow is a cheap by-product of animals killed for meat. Chemically, vegetable stearic acid is the same as animal. The old and new soaps are so similar I doubt you would be able to tell the difference blindfolded. People always harp about tallow, but there are many good non-tallow soaps. Look at Saponificio Varesino, everybody worships at their alter and their soaps have no tallow.
 
...Actually i was looking into Speick earlier today. You're referring to the stick, right? I see they make a cream tube too...
I think the Speick stick is better, but the cream is quite good, too. The 75ml tube is convenient when you are in a hurry & traveling under TSA rules. I have both.
 
Haslinger can be had for less that $5 per puck from the UK. If you can get 60 or more shaves from one puck, that is a good value, IMHO.

The other Haslinger flavors have no sheep's milk but performance is similar. You don't really need lanolin in warm weather. So, another non-issue in my book.

Stearic acid is actually a primary ingredient with Haslinger, and it can be derived from vegetable sources or animal sources. One does not have to feel short-changed because of tallow. Tallow is a cheap by-product of animals killed for meat. Chemically, vegetable stearic acid is the same as animal. The old and new soaps are so similar I doubt you would be able to tell the difference blindfolded. People always harp about tallow, but there are many good non-tallow soaps. Look at Saponificio Varesino, everybody worships at their alter and their soaps have no tallow.

Haslinger can be had for less that $5 per puck from the UK. If you can get 60 or more shaves from one puck, that is a good value, IMHO.

The other Haslinger flavors have no sheep's milk but performance is similar. You don't really need lanolin in warm weather. So, another non-issue in my book.

Stearic acid is actually a primary ingredient with Haslinger, and it can be derived from vegetable sources or animal sources. One does not have to feel short-changed because of tallow. Tallow is a cheap by-product of animals killed for meat. Chemically, vegetable stearic acid is the same as animal. The old and new soaps are so similar I doubt you would be able to tell the difference blindfolded. People always harp about tallow, but there are many good non-tallow soaps. Look at Saponificio Varesino, everybody worships at their alter and their soaps have no tallow.

Okay, fair enough. I did see where most people did not notice a difference in the new Haslinger, that is why i pulled the trigger on it.

And yeah, I'm amassing a lifetime's worth of soaps and creams. That and toilet paper nowadays.... just kidding about the toilet paper :biggrin1: Realistically, I'll probably end up trading most of the soaps and creams that I don't "100% love" for a better safety razor or two. This is my trial and error period, I hope to not do it forever, just want to find a few things I love and then move on
 
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