Does a soap's smell matter? Does the smell of it linger after you're done shaving?

[Christoph]

In the first thread I posted today people said Arko soap was great but that the smell might not be all that wonderful.

And it got me to thinking...

We buy shaving soaps sometimes for the scent alone. Or at least the smell of the soap is important. I love the smell of the C&E soap that I am currently using.

But other than enjoying the smell during the actual shave, does the smell matter? Does the smell of the soap stay on your face? My guess would be NO.

Think about it. You lather up, shave, then wash it off. I doubt the smell of the soap remains. Once shaving, we often put a DIFFERENT A/S on our face anyway.

And even if we put on the same scent afterwards, how can we know that the smell from the soap stayed with us.

We'd have to shave, rinse, put nothing on to test this, but I would still think you don't detect much of the scent.

Any thoughts?

[SuperChris]

I don't buy soap just for the scent, if I did, I would have a nice collection of Casswell Massey soaps, they smell great but I can't lather them to save my life. I just like having an enjoyable scent while I shave. I doubt the scent of a soap lasts after you rinse off your face.

[turtle]

I have not found a soap that has a lingering scent. Most dissipate before I finish a pass with the razor.

I do like nice scented soaps even though the scent is fleeting.

C&E Nomad is up on my list as far as scent and performance. Price is hard to beat also.

[Le Buzz]

When I use Cade the scent lasts for hours. I love the scent, its my favorite soap. I don't think you can judge a soap by the scent's longevity though, but it's a nice extra.

[Jclifton]

I noticed that mine lasted for a little while this morning, I used Mike's Barbershop soap, maybe I didn't get all of it rinsed off or maybe I got some in my nose, but usually I can't smell my soap after I get through shaving.

[zeak]

The scents may not last, but damn they make you feel good while you're shaving.

[Toddy]

I have only one word for the topic......

ARKO!


Also Tabac scent can remain after shaving.

[bkflyfisher]

The only time I've found soap scent to linger, is if I don't wear AS or at least a lightly scented AS.
For me Pleasing Scent/Performance are both equally essential in a soap/cream or I won't buy it. 2 exceptions to this rule MIGHT be Arko or MWF (not known for it's scent)-but honestly I don't mind the scents as much as some; and of course they more than make up for any shortcomings in scent with stellar performance.

[cluelessdude]

For me its

1) Ingredients
2) Performance
3) Scent

In that order if we completely ignore the price. FWIW shaving soaps and even aftershaves are not designed to linger on.

[britewhiteram]

The scents may not last, but damn they make you feel good while you're shaving.

Arko has never lingered for me, as soon as Im done shaving so is Arko, even my TOBS lavender dissipates almost instantly, besides I put on my amazing smelling Paco Rabanne 1million cologne and thats all I can smell all day..... mmmmmmmm

Scent is enjoyed while shaving(yes I enjoy Arko, it smells simply like soap,) and when you are done enjoying your shave you are done enjoying your Scent, its purely visceral, its just the experience of it all

[TallyShave]

I find scent to be important in that I don't want to shave with something that smells offensive or unenjoyable to me. There are just too many products that both perform well and smell nice to boot. This is what kills Arko for me...yes it performs well but there are dozens of other products that perform as well or better and the smell does not induce vomitting. That said, my order of importance would go:

1) Performance
2) Performance
3) Performance
4) Scent

[Techichi]

The scents may not last, but damn they make you feel good while you're shaving.

+1. Or in some cases can make you feel bad. I won't start naming names. lol

[kingfisher]

I noticed that mine lasted for a little while this morning, I used Mike's Barbershop soap, maybe I didn't get all of it rinsed off or maybe I got some in my nose, but usually I can't smell my soap after I get through shaving.

The Barbershop scent lasts for quite some time after the shave.



As to the OPs question, "Does a soap's scent matter?" the answer is a resounding YES! And it doesn't matter if the scent goes away as soon as you rinse your face. I want a soap to smell nice while it's on my face and while I'm shaving. That's a large part of the enjoyment of a shave to me.

[BallisticBurrito]

I still catch a whiff of my soap throughout the day. Not much..but it's there.

[alfbacca]

Soap scent does play a large factor in whether or not I'll keep using a soap or not. Granted there aren't a lot of soaps whose scent turn me off, but I just can't stand the thought of dealing with the scent of a soap just because it performs well. Especially nowadays when there are so many great soaps with varying scents.

[bastimret]

For me it's a luxury thing. I just love the smell of the soaps and creams as I lather them up in the morning. I view a fantastic smelling soap as an indulgent part of the shaving process.

[rockviper]

The scent is important to me, but so is the performance. A nice smelling soap which is a slightly below standard performer will get the nod over a superb performer which stinks. Thankfully, I like Arko's scent!

[mdevine]

Oddly enough, scent is the least important thing for me when choosing a shave soap or aftershave. This is despite the fact that my primary AD is for fragrances. As long as the soap is pleasant and mild, its scent really doesn't matter. I really care about the cushion and glide. I also don't want it to be so strong that it clashes with my fragrance of the day.

Mike

[Oblique Human]

A pleasant scent is nice but then, so is a spicy-vanilla candle. If it doesn't lather and perform well, I don't care how good it smells, it joins the PDP at the very back of the shelf.

[oscar11]

It does to me or I'd still be using MdC. Fantastic soap, absolutely hate the scent. It doesn't linger but it doesn't matter. YMMV.