Is it just me or do a lot of people get too hung up on the shaving soap scents? Sure, no one wants to be shaving with a soap that has an unpleasant or offensive smell to them, but how long does the scent stay with you after the shave? To me the scent is inconsequential at best. I enjoy a good smell as I am shaving, but once finished with the shave I rinse my face well, apply alum, and finally aftershave. At this point, any scent of the soap is long gone. So, sure, I enjoy a nice scent of the soap, but it never influences my option of it. Performance is king and the only determine factor in my opion. Besides price of course.
Soap Scents
- Thread starter Kek1964
- Start date
I must agree with you, sir. Performance is all-important to me. I too, enjoy the scent while I'm shaving, but it doesn't linger long after I rinse. I choose my aftershave inconsequential to the scent of the shave soap I just used(GASP!).
If I like the scent I am more likley to use the soap. However I have to agree with you I don't need every scent out there.
I prefer a pleasant or neutral scent, but performance is king. I also prefer a weaker scent profile, even on scents I love. Some scent profiles can get very cloying after a while. I 3017 be soaps, and use an open soap dish on my counter so scents hopefully fade after a while.
When I was a kid (50's & 60's) there were fewer product options for everything. I remember when clothing stores had signs...
We have "ready to wear" clothing in many sizes! There was a time when you had to make your own clothes! You could count on one hand the number of hand soaps available (Ivory, Dove and Lava?), so you had very little choice of "scents". When I started shaving, and for decades thereafter, shaving soaps and creams came in very few scents (Soapy, Menthol, Lime). I always wondered why I couldn't get an orange or lemon scented shave cream (I think temporarily Gillette made an orange one, and Barbasol made cucumber!). Most stores carried a limited inventory, so you got what they sold. I like variety and had been frustrated at how boring shaving products were (sold in drug stores and groceries). So, when I re-discovered traditional wet shaving a few years ago...I was amazed at the almost limitless number of scents in shaving soaps, creams, aftershaves and fragrances available from established and new artisan vendors. I like to pair the same soap scent, aftershave and fragrance (EDT/EDP) when I shave. I agree that performance is king, but there are dozens of high performance products today, in an endless variety of scents. For me, the variety of scents is a huge part of my shaving experience and hobby. Every shave is an "aroma therapy" experience.
We have "ready to wear" clothing in many sizes! There was a time when you had to make your own clothes! You could count on one hand the number of hand soaps available (Ivory, Dove and Lava?), so you had very little choice of "scents". When I started shaving, and for decades thereafter, shaving soaps and creams came in very few scents (Soapy, Menthol, Lime). I always wondered why I couldn't get an orange or lemon scented shave cream (I think temporarily Gillette made an orange one, and Barbasol made cucumber!). Most stores carried a limited inventory, so you got what they sold. I like variety and had been frustrated at how boring shaving products were (sold in drug stores and groceries). So, when I re-discovered traditional wet shaving a few years ago...I was amazed at the almost limitless number of scents in shaving soaps, creams, aftershaves and fragrances available from established and new artisan vendors. I like to pair the same soap scent, aftershave and fragrance (EDT/EDP) when I shave. I agree that performance is king, but there are dozens of high performance products today, in an endless variety of scents. For me, the variety of scents is a huge part of my shaving experience and hobby. Every shave is an "aroma therapy" experience.
I'm with you and sometimes get unscented if offered, as I've had a soap that (on paper) should have been a favorite (two of my favorite scents) and was just short of disgusting.
But other shavers really enjoy scents and often purchase many different scents of the same soap. I'm not interested in becoming the scent police - do what makes you happy. I like to read the reviews as I figure if half the world is in love with a scent it's probably going to be fine for me.
But other shavers really enjoy scents and often purchase many different scents of the same soap. I'm not interested in becoming the scent police - do what makes you happy. I like to read the reviews as I figure if half the world is in love with a scent it's probably going to be fine for me.
Count me in the soap performance camp! Most of my favorites have ’natural’ scents, such as MWF. Others have very mild, fleeting scents such as Haslinger’s eight options (and I enjoy all eight)!
Occasionally, I enjoy a soap with a stronger scent. BUT not unless it performs.
Occasionally, I enjoy a soap with a stronger scent. BUT not unless it performs.
To me, with a few exceptions, scent and performance are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, my Soap Commander products give me both scent and performance. Conversely, my Saponificio Varesino Dolomiti from a scent perspective is rather neutral, but it has terrific performance.
I agree that the soap scent is inconsequential. Performance is king, I do however enjoy a pleasant scent during the shave. I've been buying "sets" of matching aftershaves lately and I find the scent to be more important that case. I am more careful selecting scents in that case. But again performance of the aftershave has to be good as well for me to buy a set from that artisan again as well.
I'm a scent hound then!
Being a wet shaver for the past 40 years and having tried more than 50 soaps since discovering artisan soaps this past Spring, there hasn't been a bad performer in the lot. Even the cheaper soaps perform well, so it's just varying degrees of great. Any sub-great performers can be attributed to variables in my control, such as amount of water or shaving technique/hardware. What distinguishes one soap from another then is scent and maybe face feel. As you may know, there are sweeping variations in these attributes. If you don't care about scent, then get a neutral soap or very light scent, whatever makes you happy. I tend to like the stronger scents that appeal to me, like B&M's Beaudelaire, A&E's Asian Plum, and Dr Jon's Sakura Musk. Paired with their matching splashes, Beaudelaire for the 1st and Sakura Musk for the latter 2, the scent is long lasting and out of this world! By contrast, B&M's Le Grand Chypre soap and splash are way too strong for me with a high patchouli note, so I use the splash very sparingly. I much prefer WCS's Chypre soap and splash. We all have our different preferences, so use what you enjoy the most. If you like variety, feel free to experiment with different scents and have fun in your journey. 
Scent doesn't matter much to me either; as long as the scent isn't offensive I'm good to go. As someone above me said, "Performance is king."
I like scents. I have a few that last several hours after a shave, Stirling Varen comes to mind particularly. I use splashes sparingly, so appreciate a lasting soap fragrance. Post shave feel trumps scent though, MWF agrees with my skin well into the day, long after the mild scent has diminished.
With the rare exception, I find almost everything I've bought or buy to be just fine in the performance department. It's simply a matter of technique to make some products perform to their potential so, for me, I have to LOVE the fragrance. The rest follows. And the scent from creams like TOBS Sandalwood linger for quite some time. I have a couple soaps, Pre de Provence and MWF, that are quite mild in scent but quite enjoyable while using. Scent matters whether it lingers or not. I cannot recall a soap or cream that I could not get a good shave from and I've been through dozens but almost never a small batch, artisan brand as I have settled into using what I know which are almost all Brit or French.
Yup, give me a good working unscented soap (or just a clean soap scent like MWF) and I'm as happy as could be. My one exception is Tabac and it's probably only used a few times a year. I had it for a couple of years before I even realized it was also a cologne.
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