A few weeks back I ordered a few different soaps. Since my time wet shaving, Ive ordered alot of brushes and alot of soap. Some great some not. One of the most anticipated soaps I was looking forward to was B&M Bay Rum, but the smell is so awful I cant bring myself to even try it. Im sure Ill work myself up to it and give it a real review at some point. I smell it every 2-3 days to maybe try it, but just cant bring myself to it.
Ever just have that soap that was awful?
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I would not go as far as awful but sterling bay rum and a few sandlewood's have turned me off.....
But truth be old, the scent s as a whole may not be in my wheelhouse
But truth be old, the scent s as a whole may not be in my wheelhouse
Herban Cowboy...
Using a shampoo or hair conditioner for shaving is better than Herban Cowboy's shave soap.
Using a shampoo or hair conditioner for shaving is better than Herban Cowboy's shave soap.
Williams, Arko, Tabac... 
+1
I threw mine away after one use of poor, dry lather. I later read a bunch of negative reviews here (yes, I should of checked first before buying -- lesson learned).
Arko.....opened it up, then opened my garbage
Van der Hagen. The pink one (not sure which that is). Lathered it once and into the trash it went.
It gets a lot of love around here, which I simply do not understand.
It gets a lot of love around here, which I simply do not understand.
On the topic of smell, I was looking forward to Stirling electric sheep, but the smell is really bad. Something like artificial bananas or something. Lathers great,but I just can't make myself pick it up.
We've all done it. Walking down the aisle in Whole Foods for the first time..."Hey look, a shave soap!" And then we geek out and buy it without a 2nd thought.
To my knowledge, it has never received a positive review.
This has been covered before in other threads and I stand by what I wrote in there but here you go. I've tried way more soaps than most people and along the way I've found some really interesting ones. These are some of the ones that I don't care for at all.
In order of least to most offensive. It's pretty sad when Tabac it the least offensive if that tells you anything.
Tabac - Some love it, some hate it, it's just not for me. It smells like a cigar smoking old man with a distinct baby powder smell in there for added annoyance. It's better than ROAM but I don't want to smell like this stuff. It's likely one of those that grow on you but think about it, if you had to use it ten times before you liked it what do you think you smell like to everyone else.
Barrister & Mann ROAM - this one smells like an ashtray. Specifically like the overstuffed ashtray in my mothers Country Squire station wagon with the fake wood on the sides of it when we were kids. The ashtray that couldn't possibly hold another cigarette butt. When lathered it's a bit better and smells like a half full ashtray. I don't get any of the great smells that are listed for it on the website at all. That awesome definition made me almost want to buy it. I'm so glad I tried a sample first.
Jabonman Orange Patchouli Ylang something: This one smells exactly like an orange air freshener soaked in cat urine. I used it three times trying to like it but there's just no way that's happening. If I didn't totally trust the person I got the sample from I'd swear that he tampered with it in a really bad way.
Saint Charles Shave Bacon - This one is the worst. I don't understand this at all. It has a fake bacon scent that smells worse than my dog's bacon chew toy that I bought at WalMart for $4. I don't know what they were thinking with this one but I wouldn't even put my brush to it in fear that that evil stench wouldn't come off my brush. I'd rather smell like Jabonman's orange scented cat urine soap so maybe that tells you just how bad this one really is.
Do note that all of these manufacturers make other scents that I'm quite fond of. So this is just a case of me finding ones that didn't work for me. These may appeal to others but not to me. As always YMMV.
In order of least to most offensive. It's pretty sad when Tabac it the least offensive if that tells you anything.
Tabac - Some love it, some hate it, it's just not for me. It smells like a cigar smoking old man with a distinct baby powder smell in there for added annoyance. It's better than ROAM but I don't want to smell like this stuff. It's likely one of those that grow on you but think about it, if you had to use it ten times before you liked it what do you think you smell like to everyone else.
Barrister & Mann ROAM - this one smells like an ashtray. Specifically like the overstuffed ashtray in my mothers Country Squire station wagon with the fake wood on the sides of it when we were kids. The ashtray that couldn't possibly hold another cigarette butt. When lathered it's a bit better and smells like a half full ashtray. I don't get any of the great smells that are listed for it on the website at all. That awesome definition made me almost want to buy it. I'm so glad I tried a sample first.
Jabonman Orange Patchouli Ylang something: This one smells exactly like an orange air freshener soaked in cat urine. I used it three times trying to like it but there's just no way that's happening. If I didn't totally trust the person I got the sample from I'd swear that he tampered with it in a really bad way.
Saint Charles Shave Bacon - This one is the worst. I don't understand this at all. It has a fake bacon scent that smells worse than my dog's bacon chew toy that I bought at WalMart for $4. I don't know what they were thinking with this one but I wouldn't even put my brush to it in fear that that evil stench wouldn't come off my brush. I'd rather smell like Jabonman's orange scented cat urine soap so maybe that tells you just how bad this one really is.
Do note that all of these manufacturers make other scents that I'm quite fond of. So this is just a case of me finding ones that didn't work for me. These may appeal to others but not to me. As always YMMV.
I'm with you on that one as well. It has a powdery feminine scent to me that I don't care for.
I did try it. I didn't see the fuss.
Wilkinson Sword Shave soap, it doesn't even lather!
B&M Roam, smells like a polyester fire.
Petal Pusher Fancies Sandalwood.
Smells almost like very old wood that has been lying for years in a dusty attic.
I just dont get that fragrance.
Its not sweet, its not spicy nor citrus, nor herbal.
I was wondering. If that is the smell of real sandalwood. Then sandalwood is not my cup of tea. Considering i do love Tcheong Fung Sing Crazy Sandalwood Forte. And the Haslinger sandalwoods.
Smells almost like very old wood that has been lying for years in a dusty attic.
I just dont get that fragrance.
Its not sweet, its not spicy nor citrus, nor herbal.
I was wondering. If that is the smell of real sandalwood. Then sandalwood is not my cup of tea. Considering i do love Tcheong Fung Sing Crazy Sandalwood Forte. And the Haslinger sandalwoods.
Col Conk. Almond. Decent smell terrible performer. No slickness or protective qualities about the lather it produces. Has left my face pretty beat, even with the mildest razor's and the mildest blades, my face just looks chewed up after. It was my first soap so I blamed it on inexperience, went back to it a few weeks ago and my face looked like it was attacked. That was 4 months ago and my face still hasn't recovered fully.
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I am turned off by the fake almond scent of many of the Italian soft soaps and cannot stand the smell of bay rum.
I do very much like the smell of the PPF sandlewood but I do agree that the smell of sandlewood soaps can quickly go horribly wrong very quickly. They are like Bay Rum scents in being all over the place. One you might love and another you hate.
It's cheap and easily accessible. It's one of two or three I can find locally so for guys getting into a proper shave it is the easiest entry point.
I bought a ton of it earlier this year on clearance. It works fine as long as I use filtered water to warm and lather and a pre-shave oil.
