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Most Pungent, interesting or otherwise foul smelling soaps

Here are the worst smelling soaps I have tried:

Taconnic Shave Urban Woods- smells like an ash tray that has not been emptied in months. Performance was also poor.
Wholly Kaw Spice Vitae- I could not stand the scent and gave it away even though I liked the performance of the soap.
Chiseled Face Sherlock- smells like moldy leather and dirt
Barrister and Mann Roam - smells like someone tackled me and rubbed my face into the ground- scents of grass and dirt
Tabac- Upon removing the puck from the wrapper, the scent almost made me vomit. However, after letting the puck air out for a couple of weeks, the underlying scent was improved to the point I could use it.
 
Tabac- Upon removing the puck from the wrapper, the scent almost made me vomit. However, after letting the puck air out for a couple of weeks, the underlying scent was improved to the point I could use it.
There is definitely an acridness about Tabac when you first unwrap the puck from the foil. I had a similar reaction but it didn't take as long as a couple weeks for me to really warm up to it.
 
I think the most interesting scent I have ever come across is the Pine Tar soap from KaliFlower Organics that @Mr. Shavington put me onto. I intend to use it, but will admit it's the most pungent scent I have experienced in wet shaving by a large margin.
Plus One to this. After a few days of use I've gotten accustomed to the scent and it doesn't seem so pungent. It's still no wallflower when it comes to its scent.
 
Barrister and Mann Ferox. I love just about everything they make but this smells awful.
 
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luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
On the subject of "dirt" and "mildew" scents... a lot of pure florals (like, the actual flowers) have some very earthy undertones. Petunias, for example. And violets have that dirty, almost gasoline note. Roses, depending on the variety are earthy too. I don't know about mildew, though.

As far as fungus, if you have a paper bag full of fresh picked mushrooms, it's a pretty delightful smell in my opinion.

Whether these are things you want in a soap is another matter entirely.

Stirling's Port-au-Prince smells like a pile of wet yard mulch to me. Although not necessarily in a bad way.
I agree.
But...
My purchase may depend upon whether someone says fresh mushroom vs fungus, or freshly plowed field vs dirt.
I'm not sure how you could dress up mildew.
 
I agree.
But...
My purchase may depend upon whether someone says fresh mushroom vs fungus, or freshly plowed field vs dirt.
I'm not sure how you could dress up mildew.
I've only tried Desairology and Labyrinth from Southern Witchcrafts. I'll be reordering Desairology when it runs out and I'll probably get a sample of one of the dirty, mildewey scents just to see what they're about. If I remember (highly doubtful) I'll ping you in the post to let you know just how dirty and moldy it really is.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I've only tried Desairology and Labyrinth from Southern Witchcrafts. I'll be reordering Desairology when it runs out and I'll probably get a sample of one of the dirty, mildewey scents just to see what they're about. If I remember (highly doubtful) I'll ping you in the post to let you know just how dirty and moldy it really is.
Thanks.
I suppose some of the naming conventions are an attempt by product makers to be cool and cutting edge. The problem with targeting a specific demographic is that targeting one specifically, you often put off a few of the others.
I like Tom Ford fragrances, I had several, with intent to continue, but I can tell you that not one of that brands products has entered my house since he released Fabulous.
 
Most pungent, or foul smelling soap?
TGS Heliotropium!
The soap in its self is very good, excellent lather, great slickness, the scent however...
It's very floral, and pungent, but it is managable if you're not too sensitive to strong fragrances, problem is when you add the Heliotropium AS.
It's very pungent, it's like rotten plants, flowers and vegetables in an old sweaty and well used rain boot...
 
Declaration Grooming - Dirtyver
Smells like dirt. Accurate description, not sure what I was thinking. Luckily it's just a sample.

A&E - Signature
Smells like Brio Chinotto. I don't mind the smell, but my wife and kid make me wash it off immediately. I am not allowed to use the good towels either.
 
There are, apparently as mentioned here at B&B in other posts, some Southern Witchcrafts scents that are touted as smelling of mildew and dirt.
I can't imagine it could get much worse than that.

From their site:

Autumn Ash: Maple, spice, smoke, amber, cedar, oud, rain, plum, blackberry, ash, birch tar, pumpkin, coffee, dirt, mildew

Druantia: Cedar, Oakmoss, Rosewood, Moss, Cypress, Tobacco, Fungus, Sandalwood, Mitsutake, Myrrh, Amber, Orange, Ginger

Lycanthropy: Fir tree, lilac, musk, mildew, moss, Egyptian jasmine, palo santo, white sage, ozone

Necromantic: Wisteria, rose, honey, red wine, dirt, ozone

Valley of Ashes: Coal, Tar, Bourbon, Tobacco, Bitter Citrus, Smoke, Leather, Motor Oil, Burning Rubber, Diesel, Clove, Birch Tar, Bergamot
Tried Autumn Ash. It was pretty awful.
 
Several years ago I was invited for a spring stag at a hunting & fishing club in the north west part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. After a very nice shave one morning, I couldn’t keep the ticks off of me. A second shower pretty much solved the problem.

The next year I bought a tub Laugar’s Hulderheim (unscented) Shave soap. That did the trick, no ticks but no friends either. The worst smelling unscented shave soap I have ever used. Kind of an industrial sweet smelling rot.
 
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