Tallow & Steel: Weirdly Excellent

[Scaramouche]

Dark Two - interestingly, the only soap I've used from T+S that doesn't have the list and percentage of essential oils circling the top of the lid - just, well, dark. Definitely dark cacao, faint mint, and if you wait long enough, anise and maybe tobacco far in the back. With the faintest hint of menthol, at least in the AS. A complex and yes, dark scent. In a good way. Not as polarizing I think as, for example, some of B&M's scents (Roam and Diamond come to mind), but very unique, and I like it. A lot. All the soaps have great slickness and performance and don't like to be over watered IMO - and I haven't found any of T+S scents to be too forward or overpowering - in fact on drydown, they all seem to just fade pleasantly into the background.

Compare that to say, G. F. Trumper's Sandalwood, or Spanish Leather, or Violet, or Tabac, any D.R. Harris, many of Stirling's, or heaven forbid, The Veg. They will be with you all day. And the next day. And maybe next week. I have a vision of Pepe le Pew strolling down the street with the little squiggly scent lines over his head. Not so T&S, and it's rapidly advancing to the top of my preferred list.

 

[Southsider]

I pulled out my Kyoto set for today's shave. This was a limited edition release that I bought last year along with Sicily. Later on I added Madagascar and West Coast IPA, another limited release I picked up at Pasteur's, to my T&S collection.

Kyoto is rich with Asian cypress and cedar though yuzu has the highest percentage of the ingredients listed. Sencha (green tea) and seaweed dance beneath the other notes. Also listed is perilla though I am not sure what that adds. For me, Kyoto is a complex soap with wood based accord. This scent requires attention but that attention is rewarded as you open up the tub and begin lathering the dark brown colored soap. I imagine myself walking through a cypress forest on my way to a Japanese temple or shrine furnished with cedar furniture. I inhale the forest air and sense the sea is nearby, past the shrine.

As with other T&S soaps the performance of Kyoto is excellent. I have the matching aftershave and it is full of skin food.

 

[Rhody]

okay i used the soap and as today & Sicily is just an amazing scent profile. i love it.

 

[Southsider]

okay i used the soap and as today & Sicily is just an amazing scent profile. i love it.

+1

 

[Dzaw]

Ok, this -May- be the thread I am looking for.

I am not a super nose. I can’t tell a top note from a bass, nor distinguish between families of scent profiles. I know enough to know that such things exist, and enough to know that I can’t figure them out.

I am looking for a scent that will marry well to two other inputs - a good deodorant that won’t clash with a soap and aftershave, and all of the above need to work with the smell of hardwood smoke.

I smoke a lot of meats, and commonly smell of applewood smoke, or hickory, or pecan, or cherry, or maple. Less commonly, oak, or mesquite.

A scent that is masculine but pleasant (and please gawd not sweet!) not floral, soft, or powdery.

Wholly Kaw King of Oud, Pasha’s pride, and Fougere Bouquet are all -almost- hits, but don’t quite get there.

When I was a younger man, Drakkar Noir and Old Spice “swagger” worked well, but this was before I got into bbq. Now, I am less the young hotshot, and am no longer purchasing Proctor and Gamble products, but still want that reaction when I take a woman into my arms and she inhales deeply, and follows up with “mmmm you smell nice!

Does T&S have something that will -really- fit this bill?

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

Ok, this -May- be the thread I am looking for.

I am not a super nose. I can’t tell a top note from a bass, nor distinguish between families of scent profiles. I know enough to know that such things exist, and enough to know that I can’t figure them out.

I am looking for a scent that will marry well to two other inputs - a good deodorant that won’t clash with a soap and aftershave, and all of the above need to work with the smell of hardwood smoke.

I smoke a lot of meats, and commonly smell of applewood smoke, or hickory, or pecan, or cherry, or maple. Less commonly, oak, or mesquite.

A scent that is masculine but pleasant (and please gawd not sweet!) not floral, soft, or powdery.

Wholly Kaw King of Oud, Pasha’s pride, and Fougere Bouquet are all -almost- hits, but don’t quite get there.

When I was a younger man, Drakkar Noir and Old Spice “swagger” worked well, but this was before I got into bbq. Now, I am less the young hotshot, and am no longer purchasing Proctor and Gamble products, but still want that reaction when I take a woman into my arms and she inhales deeply, and follows up with “mmmm you smell nice!

Does T&S have something that will -really- fit this bill?

Morocco! I shaved with it this morning. It smells like smoked tea, not at all floral. Sicily is also a great option. Very citrusy, not at all artificially sweet.

 

[bobmsp]

Morocco! I shaved with it this morning. It smells like smoked tea, not at all floral. Sicily is also a great option. Very citrusy, not at all artificially sweet.

Morocco was going to be my suggestion, but (a) I get a definite rose note from it - even though it's not especially floral - and (b) it's been discontinued. From what I can tell, T&S is out of the soap so it may be hard to come by.

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

Morocco was going to be my suggestion, but (a) I get a definite rose note from it - even though it's not especially floral - and (b) it's been discontinued. From what I can tell, T&S is out of the soap so it may be hard to come by.

Shoot! I knew that it was going away, but I didn't pick up an extra tub. Darn it!

 

[bobmsp]

Shoot! I knew that it was going away, but I didn't pick up an extra tub. Darn it!

That's too bad! I just checked the web site and both the soap and the AS are now listed as sold out.

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

That's too bad! I just checked the web site and both the soap and the AS are now listed as sold out.

Well, it may be time to revisit Himalaya!

 

[Upland]

Well, it may be time to revisit Himalaya!

+ 1

 

[Dzaw]

So it seems Sicily and maybe Himalaya might work for me? Not interested in trying to hunt down discontinued soaps, and definitely interested in getting an aftershave to match.

Would Dark 2 work with smoke? Chocolate, aniseed, and tobacco seems like it would be good with hardwood smoke?

Any suggestions on a deodorant that would work with any of the above?

 

[Rrose Sélavy]

So it seems Sicily and maybe Himalaya might work for me? Not interested in trying to hunt down discontinued soaps, and definitely interested in getting an aftershave to match.

Would Dark 2 work with smoke? Chocolate, aniseed, and tobacco seems like it would be good with hardwood smoke?

Any suggestions on a deodorant that would work with any of the above?

I imagine that Sicily should should work for you as long as you like the smell of citrus. Real citrus, not something that smells like Starburst or Skittles. Himalaya is a mild "earthy" scent. I like it, but to be honest, I sold the tub that I owned because I just wasn't using it as much as my other T+S soaps. I may be regretting that decision now... I used and really liked the original Dark, but by all accounts, Dark II is even more approachable than the original. Maybe some of the guys that have used Dark II want to chime in with what they think.
Regarding the deodorant, I tend to use things with little or no scent. Of the scented deodorants that I use and really like, Sudsy Soapery Sandlewood and Citrus does the job for me!

 

[Dzaw]

I imagine that Sicily should should work for you as long as you like the smell of citrus. Real citrus, not something that smells like Starburst or Skittles. Himalaya is a mild "earthy" scent. I like it, but to be honest, I sold the tub that I owned because I just wasn't using it as much as my other T+S soaps. I may be regretting that decision now... I used and really liked the original Dark, but by all accounts, Dark II is even more approachable than the original. Maybe some of the guys that have used Dark II want to chime in with what they think.
Regarding the deodorant, I tend to use things with little or no scent. Of the scented deodorants that I use and really like, Sudsy Soapery Sandlewood and Citrus does the job for me!

Thanks!

I’m not “normally” a citrus guy, but I came here looking to open my horizons, so maybe I’ll try that. Especially if it marries well/ overlaps the SS deodorant. Definitely “food” for thought!

 

[Fat Larry]

I got tubs of Himalaya, Morroco, and Maya this week and I've had a similar experience to my first two tubs of T&S in regards to my relationship with the scents.

I liked Maya from the start, the orange in it reminding me of West Indies and Westcoast IPA which were my first T&S scents and both of which i like very much.

Morroco and Himalaya though... they're doing that same thing i experienced when i first sniffed a T&S scent where i found them to be quite gross. I couldn't decide which was worse but i think Himalaya had the edge.

Now over the course of a week or so, with the occasional sniff and having used Morroco once, both scents are growing on me, i'm starting to notice different notes and layers etc and beginning to enjoy them.

I find it really weird, the only other soap i can think of where my relationship has changed like this with a scent is APR. Ozymandias seemed so subtle to me when i got it that i let it go. Now a month or so later i'm considering acquiring it again as i haven't managed to get the scent out of my head. Velours Noir is also beginning to become appealing after starting out as a "***, ew no" type scent.

I think i may switch to Essential oil only or mostly EO soaps. The soaps i have here like Mystic Waters Frankincense and Myrrh or Irish Traveller both of which are perfectly lovely smelling soaps don't feel like they have the same the depth of character or variable relationship that these complex EO scents seem to give me.

Again i would love to know what's going on here from a biological/physiological/psychological standpoint.

 

[Friedramen]

The only tub I own is Classic and I would definitely describe it as weirdly excellent. It has the strongest scent out of all of my soaps. I did buy a second hand tub of maya at one point which was also very strong smelling, but unfortunately it made me recoil upon my first whiff. Needless to say I resold it within the week. As far as performance, it's a tie for 1st between t&s and GD for me. I would like to try rainforest, boreal, 150, and grog.