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Didn't want to like Arko...

OP: You say you didn't want to like the Arko. That was weird. Care to fill us in?

Also, someone, somewhere, soon, very soon, despite this thread and many, many like it, will say that "Arko is underrated." Hopefully it's at The Shave Den so I don't have to read it. :)

Steve
 
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My stick have been airing out for over a week now, and thankfully it seems to have lost lots of the stink, which I personally found pretty horrible.
 
OP: You say you didn't want to like the Arko. That was weird. Care to fill us in?

Also, someone, somewhere, soon, very soon, despite this thread and many, many like it, will say that "Arko is underrated." Hopefully it's at The Shave Den so I don't have to read it.

Steve

Probably because it's dirt cheap. It may sound silly, but I had the same thought process. I figured since it was so cheap it wouldn't be worth trying. I mean, look at it. The packaging looks like pure crap, and it costs less than anything else I use. How could something like that be any good? Fortunately, that thought process is pure bunk when it comes to Arko. The stuff performs excellently, and the cost is quite deceiving (again, fortunately). So that's probably what he meant by saying that he didn't want to like Arko. I know that's what I meant when I said it, and I am happy to have been proven wrong. As a result, I've been trying the cheaper soaps lately, and have been thoroughly impressed by all, save for Williams. Williams sucks.

As to the "Arko is underrated" threads, I fully expect there to be plenty more started. There are a lot of gents who are pleasantly surprised by Arko, and want to share what they think. You don't have to read them, just like you didn't have to read this one.
 
Arko lathers as well as any other soap I have used including triple milled British soaps. I have been using it more often than any other soap. I have two sticks mashed into a vdh bowl. Love it !! :thumbup:

I actually think it lathers better, and is much slicker, than the English soaps I've tried. I wish I'd discovered this stuff when I started, could have saved me a load of cash!
 
I'm one of the unfortunate ones who gets a headache from Arko in its raw form. However, if I let it air out for a few weeks it treats me just fine. The same is true with almost every Clubman product. It's kind of frustrating, but at least I have a work around for Arko. As for "affordable" aftershaves I have plenty of other options, but I really do like the smell of Pinaud products. They just don't like me after about 30 minutes.

Anyone, especially a new person, who wants a top notch shave should not be put off by Arko's scent. It WILL fade if you air it out...I wish I hadn't waited as long as I did to try it. As an aside, I think Arko's wrapper is really neat, but I see that others don't agree.
 
Aerating one stick takes about two weeks, one week if you cut it in small pieces. But, if you bought a full box, it will take a lot longer. I like very much Arko products, but the scent of a bunch of sticks is extremely strong, even for me.
 
I've had my puck of Tabac airing out for a few weeks now and the scent still seems as strong as the day I opened and used it... that fateful day... the day I both fell in love with it and cursed its existence. Tabac, a first class shave soap with cargo class scent.

Anyway, how does Arko stack up to Tabac in the stank department? I have a stick en route and am wondering what I'm getting into.
 
Arko compared to Tabac stank? To me Arko is hands a much more manly scent over Tabac, which is more flowery scent to me. Value, performance, and manly stank. Over all Arko is the winner IMHO.
 
I think comapring the scents of Arko and Tabac is apples and oranges. Both have very individual , seperate types of scents. Both lather very nicely. Although I enjoy the scent of both , I think I prefer the lather and the glide of Arko a bit above Tabac.
 
I like Arko's soapy and clean smell but that's just me.
I usually mix it with arko or nivea shaving cream.
Arko stick costs some US$0.5 per piece here in Istanbul. Now you can tell why barbers love it.
 
This forum is very enabling. I had to order a stick just to give it a try, I see a lot of positive comments about this product. The ironic thing is my brother lives in Turkey with his wife, where this product comes from.
 
I like Arko's soapy and clean smell but that's just me.

Reactions to Arko's strong citronella scent depends a lot on the olfactory culture of the person smelling it. For instance, in parts of the USA where they use citronella scented soap to clean public washrooms, people associate Arko's distinctive fragrance with disgusting urinal pucks (even though those pucks smell nothing like citronella). In parts of the world where traditional laundry soap is perfumed with citronella, Arko's scent is perceived as clean and reassuring.
 
Reactions to Arko's strong citronella scent depends a lot on the olfactory culture of the person smelling it. For instance, in parts of the USA where they use citronella scented soap to clean public washrooms, people associate Arko's distinctive fragrance with disgusting urinal pucks (even though those pucks smell nothing like citronella). In parts of the world where traditional laundry soap is perfumed with citronella, Arko's scent is perceived as clean and reassuring.

I don't remember specifically the scent of laundry from my childhood, but clean and reassuring is right on the money about my feelings towards Arko.
 
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