Scent Complexity

[Earcutter]

A huge part of each shaving experience for me comes from a soaps scent. It literally makes or breaks the experience. If the scent is in any way offensive, the shave is ruined. If it resonates, it can take me places outside of my den...

Now don’t get me wrong, I can learn to like a scent that I don’t initially love. Scents can grow on me - sometimes a scent that “grows” on me can be the most satisfying. Moreover, there are summer scents which for me are lighter, and there are winter scents which are generally more complex. But how complex is too complex?

Lately I’ve been getting quite a few samples in, and as much as I was REALLY looking forward to Wholly Kaw’s soaps, I found most of their scents way too complex. Winter scents gone wild. So I ordered in Barrister & Mann’s soaps and found many of them too complex as well. Wah!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good scent - say almond with a hint of say cherry as much as the next guy, but the scents I’ve been sampling lately have just too much going on! Is it just me? Anyone else finding soap scents becoming too complex? Too simple?

What says you?

 

[RayClem]

Scents tend to be very personal. Every nose analyzes scents differently. Also we tend to associate scents with experiences, so scents we like are often associated with pleasant experiences, perhaps dating back to early childhood. Other scents may remind us of something unpleasant.

The aromas that are considered pleasant often depend on the cultural and ethnic background of the observer. For example, I do not enjoy the scent or flavor of curry powder, but many from South Asia and the Middle East would disagree strongly.

Personally, I like relatively complex, cologne scents. However, the reason for that is that my face is sensitive to a lot of the essential and fragrance oils used in soaps. Lemon, lime, grapefruit, clove, cinnamon, and peppermint, irritate my face if they are too concentrated. I love to smell these scents, but my face just won't take much of them. If the concentration is low, they do not bother me. Thus, I look for complex scents that do not rely heavily on these scent notes.

Some artisans that seem to have a good handle on scents, at least as far as my nose perceives are: Ariana and Evans, Cold River Soap Works, Murphy & McNeil, Noble Otter, Oleo Soapworks and Wet Shaving Products. I do not love all their scents, but I have several scents from each and find most to be quite pleasant.

I love the performance of Barrister & Mann (Excelsior and Reseve soaps) and Wholly Kaw (Bufala and donkey milk soaps). However, the only scent I love from these two artisans is WK King of Oud.

 

[Earcutter]

Some artisans that seem to have a good handle on scents, at least as far as my nose perceives are: Ariana and Evans, Cold River Soap Works, Murphy & McNeil, Noble Otter, Oleo Soapworks and Wet Shaving Products. I do not love all their scents, but I have several scents from each and find most to be quite pleasant.

I love the performance of Barrister & Mann (Excelsior and Reseve soaps) and Wholly Kaw (Bufala and donkey milk soaps). However, the only scent I love from these two artisans is WK King of Oud.

Great response @RayClem Thanks for the input!

I’m not sure about the whole childhood thing though. Because unless you grew up in Europe and the Caribbean like I did, we should feel at least slightly differently about which artisans nail scents and which don’t - and I agree with you wholeheartedly.

 

[kingfisher]

I favor simpler scents, and agree that many of the newer artisan soaps have overly complex and largely unpleasant scents.

Michelle at Mystic Water it's probably the most gifted of all the artisans I've tried in terms of scents.

Generally speaking, I like single, double, it perhaps triple-note scents best. I tried a bunch of Wholly Law samples and disliked most of them. Will at Barrister and Mann is adventurous in his scents. Some of them I enjoy quite a bit, but many are overly complex for my taste.

 

[Schnitzel52]

IMHO The shave comes first and the scent is a bonus.
I like Captain's Choice for the lather and the post shave feel.
The fact that Venture smells good is the bonus.
Schaffmilche is another favorite and is sometimes regarded as having a weak scent.
Personally, Ill take the shave as my first priority and the scent second.
I can always splash on a scent post shave.

 

[TropicalHotDogNight]

These days, everything is overly scented. Deodorant, laundry detergent, shampoo, hand soap, etc. I don't generally care for overly complex shaving soap scents because they tend to turn into the generic cologne smell of all of these products. Not just that, but having too many scented products tends to lead to various notes clashing with each other. I've come to prefer simple, or or two note fragrances that don't overpower.

 

[RayClem]

Great response @RayClem Thanks for the input!

I’m not sure about the whole childhood thing though. Because unless you grew up in Europe and the Caribbean like I did, we should feel at least slightly differently about which artisans nail scents and which don’t - and I agree with you wholeheartedly.

The Caribbean definitely adds a different twist to things. One artisan you might like is Latther Bros. out of South Miami. I have not purchased any of their soaps, but some sound like they might have a Caribbean flavor/scent.

 

[Iloverootbeer]

I think that a lot of these newer companies who are trying to make a name for themselves tend to overdo some of their scents. They start with one main, recognizable scent and then throw in everything but the kitchen sink to put their own “spin” on it. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it’s an olfactory car crash.

 

[1Vader]

Most shaving soap scents I've come across are somewhat linear, but there's one or two aftershave scents that went over the top imho, so much so it's unusable for me.

Usually when a smokey note or something similar is added, it tends to ruin it for me.

 

[steveclarkus]

A huge part of each shaving experience for me comes from a soaps scent. It literally makes or breaks the experience. If the scent is in any way offensive, the shave is ruined. If it resonates, it can take me places outside of my den...

Now don’t get me wrong, I can learn to like a scent that I don’t initially love. Scents can grow on me - sometimes a scent that “grows” on me can be the most satisfying. Moreover, there are summer scents which for me are lighter, and there are winter scents which are generally more complex. But how complex is too complex?

Lately I’ve been getting quite a few samples in, and as much as I was REALLY looking forward to Wholly Kaw’s soaps, I found most of their scents way too complex. Winter scents gone wild. So I ordered in Barrister & Mann’s soaps and found many of them too complex as well. Wah!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good scent - say almond with a hint of say cherry as much as the next guy, but the scents I’ve been sampling lately have just too much going on! Is it just me? Anyone else finding soap scents becoming too complex? Too simple?

What says you?

Give MWF and Haslinger Schafmilch a try. Mild and pleasant - not at all in your face. Also superb performance.

 

[Reyort]

I tend to agree that sometimes complexity affects a shave. For example I have A&E's St. Bart's which is a very rich and luxurious scent that I enjoy very much. However with the weather warming up I tend to prefer my Stirling soaps because they are a cleaner and lighter smelling.

Another thing is my mood. If I have had a tough I don't want a heavy smell. Something light and crisp helps take the edge off. To me it helps rinse away the mental crap I have acquired through out the day.

So it really kind of depends on how my day is and what the weather is like that determines what I use.

 

[kingfisher]

Give MWF and Haslinger Schafmilch a try. Mild and pleasant - not at all in your face. Also superb performance.

Scents are so individual. I tried Haslinger Schafmilch and over time I grew to absolutely loathe the scent, and to me it seemed like it was powerful. The more I grew to hate it, the stronger it seemed to me.

 

[Earcutter]

I tend to agree that sometimes complexity affects a shave. For example I have A&E's St. Bart's which is a very rich and luxurious scent that I enjoy very much. However with the weather warming up I tend to prefer my Stirling soaps because they are a cleaner and lighter smelling.

Another thing is my mood. If I have had a tough I don't want a heavy smell. Something light and crisp helps take the edge off. To me it helps rinse away the mental crap I have acquired through out the day.

So it really kind of depends on how my day is and what the weather is like that determines what I use.

I understand that. And I guess some scents can be “complex” without being too busy. My MdC Fougere for example. Simply complex. I love it.

 

[Earcutter]

Scents are so individual. I tried Haslinger Schafmilch and over time I grew to absolutely loathe the scent, and to me it seemed like it was powerful. The more I grew to hate it, the stronger it seemed to me.

I mixed my Haslinger with my Fine American. It’s a great Frankensoap.

 

[les24preludes]

I completely understand both a) the important of scents to you and b) your preference for something subtle and not too complex or overpowering. I'm exactly the same.

I've had good and bad luck with N.American scents. Grooming Dept. has given me some very nice scents - strong but relatively simple, such as Magnolia, Neroli and Yuzu. Strong and simple os usually OK for me. I also rank WK King of Oud as one of the great scents of all time in shaving soaps. But then there are a whole bunch of B&M and DG that I couldn't learn to like and sold off - just trying to do too much and failing for me. And some T&S which were so chaotic and unpleasant I couldn't for the life of me understand how they went out of the door at all. I should add, though, that there are a large number of smaller US artisans I have no experience of.

I've had a lot of good European soaps, on the other hand. French, Italian, Spanish, British.... even Slovakian like Barbus Classic, German like Klar and Norwegian like Fitjar. These are much better blended to me, more subtle, and just generally much more pleasant. Fortunately - as I live in the UK - these are easily accessible and good value. So my recommendation is to explore the Europeans - SV, Eufros, Pannacrema, Nuavia, MdC, PdP, Klar, Fitjar, T&H, Boellis.....

I started a thread on masterpieces of scents so look at the top soaps there - should help.

 

[steveclarkus]

Scents are so individual. I tried Haslinger Schafmilch and over time I grew to absolutely loathe the scent, and to me it seemed like it was powerful. The more I grew to hate it, the stronger it seemed to me.

I think of the scent as “grandmotherly”, however, I don’t really care one way or another about a soaps scent - just performance.

 

[DEdestroyer77]

I look at scents less as simple or complex and just do I like it or not? How they factor into what fragrance I will be wearing plays a big role also and my den revolves around that.

I can use a 'simple scent' like Sudsy Sandalwood & Myrrh when Im wearing Egoiste or wintry fragrances or Sudsy Rain for essentially any warm weather fragrance. But I can be just as happy using something complex like Wholly Kaw Chypre Rose Concerto.

If I'm not wearing a fragrance and relaxing at home I will use my Wholly Kaw Bare Naked and use whatever aftershave I want. Simple or complex it just has to agree with you

 

[Music]

Scents are important to me, and I've come to care most about whether a scent is "integrated" and unified, so that the various scents in a soap work together to give me one olfactory experience, or whether they are all over the place, in which case i just don't understand it - or my nose doesn't, anyway. So I don't like most Wholly Kaw scents, but I like King of Bourbon. Similarly with Barrister & Mann I like Seville but have had trouble with some others.

I don't think it's how many different scents the soap maker uses as much as how well he or she blends them. But, usually, I admit, this means fewer scents work better for me than more. And it helps if there is one predominant scent, maybe two. Another example would be that I like A&E Signature but A&E La Cosa Nostra is harder for me to follow even though it has some of the same scents, it just has some additional ones as well.

I have had a lot of trouble finding Grooming Department scents that work for me, so am going to stick to the simpler ones.

 

[davent]

Scents are so individual. I tried Haslinger Schafmilch and over time I grew to absolutely loathe the scent, and to me it seemed like it was powerful. The more I grew to hate it, the stronger it seemed to me.

When i joined this forum and started to explore soaps based on scent reviews, while an initial waft of scent may have been interesting they all quickly became loathsome. Slight menthol scent is about all i can stomach so stick pretty much with very lightly scented or unscented. Same goes for laundry, dish, body/hand soap products, no use for aftershaves or colognes.
dave

 

[BigJ]

Give MWF and Haslinger Schafmilch a try. Mild and pleasant - not at all in your face. Also superb performance.

+1! Great options!

I generally prefer mild, fleeting soap scents. Then most any AS will work well!