What's new

What is Your Method for Pairing Soap and Aftershave?

I use whatever scents I feel like at the time. I never worry about matching. Well, I guess when I use Proraso soap I always use Proraso aftershave, but that’s really all the matching I do.

I don’t even really worry about aftershave and cologne clashing. Sometimes I pair spicy with spicy and so on, but the aftershave usually burns off in a couple hours. It’s usually longer than that before I see another person in the morning anyhow.
 
I have exact matches for 2/3 or 3/4 of my soaps. For the rest I have some "in the neighborhood" A/S or Cologne. And I think on 4 or 5 soaps I combine a couple A/S to achieve something also in the neighborhood scent of the soap.
 
Since I am quite new to the wet shaving world I try also to understand what websites like Fragrantica or Basenotes are saying about about the classic aftershaves out there and compare with the information about a specific soap. Matching a soap with its aftershave is not always possible.
 
I have always purchased my soap in sets so there was always a matching AS or ASB. Recently I started to use some great soaps, but the soap shop doesn't make a splash so I have to mix and match.

How do you go about matching your soaps and splashes?
I often try to buy matching aftershave or balm and even EDT. But I do have some soaps that don't have matching aftershaves etc. These would include Arko, La Toja and a few tubs that were piffed to me. Those usually get Lucky Tiger tonic followed by Pinaud Clubman. Any excuse to use that classic is a good one.
 
All very good scents. you have great taste. Drakkar Noir was a signature scent of mine when I was much younger. Burberry London is a favorite as well. :)
Thanks and you as well. Drakkar Noir is a classic and it was my go to favorite after Chaps got hard to find. So maybe last ten years or so, up until I found b&b which expanded my horizons. Lol
 
Honestly, I tend to avoid matching soap/AS even in the rare cases I have a set, since I want to experience more than one scent during my shave. Seems like using the same scent for soap & AS would be like eating the same thing for appetizer and entree. Really, for me, neither soap nor AS should linger long enough for matching to be an issue, since I'd like to be able to apply an EdT afterwards if I want to. (The exception is Floid, since I love Floid so much that I don't mind the lingering scent.)
 
The soap/cream will wash off and be covered up so I just use one until it's used up and then use the next tub. And just use whichever aftershave I feel like that day.
 

Whilliam

First Class Citizen
Not a problem here as I don't use aftershave. Instead, I use unscented CeraVe Moisturizer as a balm, then go right for a frag. As someone pointed out earlier, soap scents are both mild and fleeting, so there's no real conflict.
 
Inie minie mo which one has to go

Serious most is improvise since I have over 40 soaps and due to import issues rarely a matching as
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
In the past I was obsessed about matching soaps and aftershaves. Now, I am no longer. What really counts for me is a great soap followed by a great moisturizing balm, they absolutely do not need to match in scent.

After that, I put on one of my signature colognes. Here I am fussy, also because it's the cologne and not the aftershave that lasts hours and hours.
 
I find that matching soaps and AS scents from the same brand often don't even match. They would have different ingredients highlighting different scents, and alcohol would strengthen it too in the splash.

So I go with whatever strikes my mood that morning.

Citrus scents go well together, even if they are different fruits, like lemon and lime or orange. Most creams and soaps pair well with Trumper lime skin food or Lucky Tiger since their scents are light.
Lavender or herbal scents go well with Speick splash.
Wood and spice scents go well with PdP 63 balm or Trumper sandalwood skin food.
Menthol scents go well with Proraso green or Biotique cooling gel or Nivea cool.
Most any soap goes well with La Toja splash, which I think smells differently from La Toja soap.

Or if you want a stronger scent, use an EdT spray. I've been doing this on days I wear masks because I don't want a strong aftershave scent on my face bothering me or making me sneeze. EdT would be behind my ears or on my collar bone so it's fine.
 
I do not feel that I have a particularly sensitive sense of smell, but in this time of COVID19 and masks I can smell my shaving cream or soap for hours after my shave. I am enjoying some of the scent matching tips as well as those who say not to bother...
 
I do not feel that I have a particularly sensitive sense of smell, but in this time of COVID19 and masks I can smell my shaving cream or soap for hours after my shave. I am enjoying some of the scent matching tips as well as those who say not to bother...
And I just won an auction for a bottle of vintage Aramis splash.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
I don't use after shave, but if I could substitute cologne then my answer would be that I don't make any attempt to pair them at all. But thanks for the post - I do like to feel "less than" every opportunity I find.

Just kidding, of course. I never had a deep-seated fear of my father as a small boy, or any other psychological deficiencies that would create the need to partner up my morning products.

Just kidding, of course. But I am a little jealous of missing out on an opportunity. My wife is very fond of lime scents. After a shave with CF Lime I went directly to my wife and suggested she enjoy the scent on my skin. She put her nose on my cheek and declared, "It smells like soap." Every since that day my heart is just not into paring products. So you see, we all carry our burden the best we can.
 
Always looking for a matching AS which isn't that easy nowadays especially for overseas shipping either not available since its alcohol based or sky-high shipping rates, just cancelled my ethos essential grooming order because of that $33 shipping cost for a soap and aftershave is something I just can't justify
 
I no longer concern myself with soap/AS pairings. Far more important, and challenging IMO, is what fragrance to use after your aftershave splash.

I mean, I’m not pairing Vanille et Tobac soap with a fresh blue splash, or a bright Fougere soap with a leather splash...but so long as the “vibe” between the two is someone relational, it just doesn’t matter to me.
 
Top Bottom