What do the D.R. Harris soaps smell like?

[jmak642]

I am wondering if anyone can give me some insight into the smell of some soaps I can only get mail order. They are pricey and I don't want to regret buying them, but in reading around these are the soaps many of you settle on. Most specifically I am interested in Arlington, Marlborough, and Windsor. I get that smell is subjective, but I can't find anyone that sells the stuff that tells you at all what it smells like. Any rough idea of what I'm buying would be a huge help.

JMak

 

[Austin]

Most of their soaps are subtle. You will not have an explosion of scents. I like them all.

 

[Clover]

When I wanted to get an idea of the smells I ordered some samples from Dr Harris's website. There is also Garry Sample Shop, though I've never ordered from him. I know that's not what you asked for, but that's what I did. I like the Windsor scent and Arlington kind of reminded me of TOBS Eton College. They are subtle scents and like you said scent is subjective.

 

[Mike H]

Arlington is the only one I have tried. To me it is a light citrusy fern scent. But I have the olfactory skills of a bird.

 

[Foyle]

Arlington is a bright, sweet, citrusy fern scent. Marlborough smells like cedar to me. Those are the only ones I've tried.

 

[RobW]

Plenty of stuff to read in the Reviews section, too.

 

[BrookR1]

Their scents are the best around. They are more complex and more refined than most available. I would recommend ordering samples of their aftershaves. While their soaps are lightly scented, their aftershaves can be a little strong.

Arlington is well regarded here. Marlborough is a love/hate scent. Windsor is nice if you like vetiver.

 

[Useless shaver]

Most of their soaps are subtle. You will not have an explosion of scents. I like them all.

Yup!

 

[njpaddy]

I have them all, but darn if I can describe scents. Subtle is right. In fact sometimes some pucks have very little scent. Marlborough I would put in the Tabac family of scents. More a winter scent for me. Windsor is a cologne-ish scent with a slight pepper component to it. I'd lump it in with the T&H Trafalgar type of scent. Arlington is in the citrus/fern family, but maybe more fern as it doesn't smell like a citrus scent (lemon/lime/orange) you can easily identify. A good spring & summer scent. Almond smells like quinine (tonic water) and Lavender is nice and light, not a strong & pungent lavender like Castle Forbes or T&H Lavender. Performance is the same across all scents. My order of favorites by scent would be Almond (mine had almost no scent, but I got to really like that), Lavender, Windsor, Arlington and Marlborough.

 

[Kevan]

All the soaps are very lightly scented, first of all. As for specifics:

Arlington - a flower arrangement with orange squeezed on top (greenery and flowers). A lot of people LOVE this. My mother worked in a florist when I was young and I was in it a lot, so it's all I can think of when I smell Arlington. It's annoying.

Marlborough - Woody, slightly smoky, with a soapy backnote.

Lavender - basic lavender without the musk that most lavender scents have

Almond - like old fashioned hand soap at your grandmother's house. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's actually quite clean

Windsor - Citrus, pepper, and wood. Would be nicer if it was stronger, though. Yardley has a bath soap version of this that is richer. I wish the Harris soap smelled like that. It's a Terre d' Hermes clone.

 

[beginish]

They smell like magic sprinkled with fairy dust, balanced on the tip of a unicorn horn.




....and ditto to what Kevan said.

 

[jmak642]

Thanks guys. This is just what I was looking for. I think I'm going to order in the Arlington for summer, see what the old lady thinks. At least I'll get a sweet mahogany bowl out of it.

 

[ridnovir]

I have Marlborough and I like it, good performer, As others have mentioned it has a wood & smoke notes.

 

[IridiumMourner]

I have used Arlington, Marlborough, and recently acquired a puck of Windsor. I must say that Windsor is my favorite scent by far. I love D.R. Harris soaps, but was never blown away by the scents. Windsor is awesome though. Smells a bit like Cade to me.

 

[djh]

They smell like magic sprinkled with fairy dust, balanced on the tip of a unicorn horn.




....and ditto to what Kevan said.

Yes. Yes, that's what it is!

 

[KCee]

I have Marlborough and I like it, good performer, As others have mentioned it has a wood & smoke notes.

+1

It's the only one I've tried and I can't say I was expecting a lot, but I like the scent as it's different and not too strong. The soap really performs well too.

 

[mattdenicola]

For me ...

Marlborough - light overall, powdery, sandalwood, cedar

Arlington - bright overall, lemon pez, saccharine citrus, and plastic greenery

 

[Jerry4roo]

I have been using the Arlington shave stick and just received Windsor and Marlborough from Garry. I like all of them but Arlington is the most fragrant and pleasant.