I went to an art of shaving store nearby to see what they have to offer and for the heck of it I bought their sampler pack of oil/cream/aftershave with a tiny badger brush (worthless), to try shaving with creams. Good lord that brush smells when you wet it, is that normal? Also I'm trying to buy a good brush, but even the lavender smell could not mask that smell from the brush. I know badger brushes are suppose to hold more water, but are there any other advantages to it and are all there advantages all that good. Is boar hair also smelly, and is synthetic an appropriate substitute, because if that smell persists I'm going to have to go with the synthetic.