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

D.R Harris Marlborough actually stayed with me for a whole day once, i got "windpuffs" during the whole day.. and my friend could smell it too =) Nice!

I've had that happen with Klar Kabinett - but that was because I missed to clean up a blob of lather so it was that blob I was smelling all day. No complaints though, Klar was great!
 
Scent is a nice part of the shave experience and I wouldn't buy one I didn't enjoy even if the performance was great. There are so many soaps that have excellent scent and performance, nearly anyone can find something if they try 'em out.
 
Scent is not that important to me as long as the soap performs well, two of my favorites are Palmolive and Arko and they both just smell like soap. Luckily I never acquired an AD for soaps like I have with razors and aftershaves.
 
Was reading this thread yesterday and came to the conclusion that scent is probably last on the list after performance and moisturization. A perfect scent is necessary but you even if it doesn't linger you don't want something that stinks to high heaven being slathered on your face while you shave.
 
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

I agree with this but it is also somewhat of a price factor. If a soap has a scent which I am not too hot on, but compensates with fantastic performance at a bargain price, such as Euro Palmolive and Arko I will keep and shave with it. If however it is expensive, then there is no point in keeping it around.
 
I believe that the scent of the shaving soap or cream must be there for the sheer enjoyment and pleasure of the user. The scent of the soap does indeed wash away and is by no means long lasting. If it were, it might fight with the AS one used anyway. There are certainly many good lathering soaps with a scent that adds a great deal to the shaving experience. Warm, fragrant lather... you bet!
 
Whereas I will surely select one soap vs. another based on performance, it does not follow that my soaps are selected on the basis of fragrance.
My routine is to shave BEFORE showering, so any lingering soap fragrance is long gone even though my bath soaps are lightly or non-scented.
Even were I to shower THEN shave, any soap scent would soon be erased on application of a cologne, after shave, a lightly fragranced after-shave
balm or even scented body talc. So why get all excited over a soap's "lingering" scent??? I can even see how a lingering scent might present a distinct
disadvantage if it clashes with my day's fragrance choice.
That said, it surely would turn me off if my shave soap had a truly unpleasant scent while using it; it's just that I've yet to come across a great performing
soap with a repellant scent. At worst, soaps like MWF or Haslinger have non-distinct scents but perform just great and are mainstays in my rotation.
jr
 
Performance is my first priority. .
Smell would be my second. That being said if a scent is to bold I won't use a product. I like hints of odors not to be slapped In the face by them
 
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