Ironies About Fragrance

Gentlemen,

I notice that after a relatively short time I tire of artisan soap fragrances. What really smelled good to me at the beginning no longer does. Nothing has changed in the soap's content, since it has not been that long, really. Yet, the fragrance grows old. Noticeably so, I might add.

A good example is Oleo Soapworks' Irving Park. I loved the fragrances at the beginning, which was not long ago, but this morning while lathering, I wished I were lathering with another soap. I have felt the same way after a relatively short time with every other artisan soap I have used. Although the lather, cushion and glide are unchanged, the fragrance yawns. Something goes out of it for me.

That is not the case with the great classics. I loved Tabac's fragrance from the first day I lathered with it — and still do. The same with Mitchell's Wool Fat. The D.R. Harris range — some their fragrances I like more than others, but overall none tires me. The same thing with Czech & Speak; Baum.Be; Klar Seifen; Provence Sante Verlaine, and so on. And of course, the great ones: Castle Forbes and Martin de Candre. I never tire of these fragrances.

I can't put my finger on. Well, it could be only me, I don't know. Yet I am curious to know if you gentlemen have the same experience. I don't mean to detract from overall quality of these fine artisan soaps and creams. It's only the fragrance that drifts away from me.

Good point!
JMO, YMMV
I can relate. Some bragging rights combinations appear less firmly set over time than the simpler combinations. Or, so to say, parts of the scent pool are fugitive enough to change the mix slightly resulting in a 'not quite' sense of the product.

Also, I do know that my sensorium is on a day by day basis and some foods,treats, and B.O. can be accentuated by the humidity levels and perhaps what I may have had for the meal previous to the shave.

~Richard

Obie, exactly the same for me except that I'm at the point that when I first smell it I'll know if I'll get tired of it.

IMHO, the cause is twofold, the scents are not made by a perfumer and many are made for other purposes than shaving soap such as candles and room fragrance diffusers, two, the scents are not tested over time. Simple scents such as lavender and lime require no skill to 'build' of course, you just have to get the amount correct for the variety that you're using.

Could you confuse a North American artisan scent with one from Floris, Penhaligons, or SMN? I cannot.

Also to my nose, many artisan soaps simply contain too much fragrance for extended use. I know this is a contentious statement based on different noses and preferences, but I will say it anyway in the spirit of discussion. I'm also sympathetic to the poor artisan who is damned if they do and damned if they don't as a far as scent strength goes, but none of the classic soap's composed scents are overpowering, and few are strongly scented.

I cannot imagine disliking ABC (classic almond), current AdP, SMN, etc and though I may wish for a change in my day-to-day routine, I am not tired of the scent. One of our fellow members (Phrank I believe) opined that he was so tired of getting another tub of artisan soap that failed so bad on the scent that that he was over it.

Now, that's not to say that there aren't polarizing mainstream scents, scented XPEC is one. The classic description from an English fellow was that it smelled like rotten sandalwood with a touch of vomit! Yet polarizing scents of the better mainstream products is an exception rather than the rule.

JMO, Steve

I have the same problem with cologne, one week I have a fresh citrusy fragrance the next week, toilet cleaner. Some colognes will stand the test of time and some will only last a season. The fun part is finding which ones youll love for ever.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

I have the same problem with cologne, one week I have a fresh citrusy fragrance the next week, toilet cleaner. Some colognes will stand the test of time and some will only last a season. The fun part is finding which ones youll love for ever.

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JMO
Probably never happen as our body chemistries change daily and over time may be totally different to back up a given scent. I would suggest that is why a scent we love may be obnoxious to a significant other(s.)
~Richard

The only scent that smells the same as it did when I was young is Pinaud Clubman original.

The others, Dior Eue Sauvage, Old Spice, English Leather, British Stirling all seem "different" .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rolodave

The only scent that smells the same as it did when I was young is Pinaud Clubman original.

The others, Dior Eue Sauvage, Old Spice, English Leather, British Stirling all seem "different" .

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You forgot Skin Bracer, Dave. It smells the same for me now, as I was a kid around my dad.

As for soaps, I don't think I'll ever get tired of Castle Forbes, or Fine accoutrements, nor Proraso.

Haven't purchased a scented soap in a while, prefer to add scent at the end of the shave. Sure wish Castle Forbes would make an unscented cream....

It's like that with everything. Old conservative classics always stand the test of time.

New trendy and hot items are the proverbial flash in the pan. Also I find when I buy things that are fancy or ornate I quickly tire of them and always return to the old standards.

Obie... you are not alone.

Without mentioning names, I have found myself "getting tired" of quite a few soap scents over time.
There have also been some that I have been totally turned off by and won't use again after the first shave.
The good thing is I can usually find someone that is more than willing to take the soap off of my hands and give it a try.
And I thought it was just me.

Pete <:-}

A possible factor . Natural essential oils may degrade faster than synthetic fragrance oils :shrug:

Right off the top of my head, I can think of 3 factors that have effected
my choice of scent:

First, tastes do change over time. I used to prefer bold, strong scents, like
English Leather, which now seem over-powering and intrusive. These days,
I tend towards lighter scents, especially varieties of bay rum. Otherwise,
I never have cared for "floral" scents much.

As Geezer says, one's sensorium changes, not only daily, but over time. One's
sense of smell, or at least the sensitivity to certain scents, changes with age.

Finally, there's scent memory. If, during a leisurely shave, I let my mind wander,
I sometimes recall events which I associate with a certain scent. So naturally,
I tend to prefer the scents that I associate with "good" memories. Old Spice
always makes me think of my grandfather, for example.

All this is quite apart from how a particular soap "works" for me: if I can't get it
to lather properly, or if the lather is just plain lousy, the soap goes in the trash,
regardless of the scent.

IMHO, of course. Thanks for bringing up the topic, Obie.

Fortunately for me, I have not tired of the scents from my main soap maker. I have been using her soaps for the past seven years and I still love the majority of the scents I have had for that same period of time. Actually, the majority of the scents are simply superb and that hasn't changed in all of these years. :)

Obie, I don't think I'll ever tire of Irving Park as it's based on YSL Rive Gauche, a classic fougère cologne and one of my favorites. Castle Forbes 1445 is another green, modern fougère scent that I doubt I'll ever tire of. I do tend to prefer many classic scents and never tire of them, unless I use them too frequently. I enjoy most Penhaligon cream scents, as well as C&S, SMN, Alvarez Gomez, and DR Harris scents, and even Tabac. However, part of the fun of shaving for me is trying different products and scents. Newer artisan scents may not become permanent soaps in my rotation, but I still enjoy using them for awhile, although I'll always have the classics in my shave den.

Richard,

My shave soap and cream scent fatigue seems to cover only artisan made products rather than the traditional greats. The few quality artisan products I have used through the years have failed me only in one way: I have tired of their scent. In some cases bored.

They remind of a home that stops being one.

Castle Forbes, Martin de Candre, Provence Sante Verlane, Tabac, Mitchell's Wool Fat, D.R. Harris Arlington, Czech & Speake, Baum.Be, Klar Seifen, Alvarez Gomez cream, Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet cream and other traditional greats smell just as pleasing to me now as they did when I tried them years ago.

I think someone pointed out earlier — and I paraphrase here — that the artisan soap and cream makers lack the skill and, to me, the touch the scent makers of the classic greats possess. Much like the honemeister who has that extra touch — the magic.

I read this post last week and I've been ruminating on it since then. The fact is that I both agree and disagree with you, Obie.

You brought up Oleo and I'm in complete agreement. I currently own both Fiera and Pucker and both are definitely waning in interest. In all fairness, I purchased the Fiera because my wife liked the smell of the sample that I had purchased and I found it pleasant but not something I would likely have invested in if not for her. The Pucker was another scent that I purchased as a sample that multiplied into a full-sized puck and aftershave on my birthday. My wife tried but I would have preferred to give Fourth & Pine a try from Chatillon Lux/Declaration Grooming. Neither of these fragrances are bad but they aren't exactly the first to come to hand on a given morning.

Compare that to some other artisan soaps that I have loitering in my shave den. I have several that come to hand all too easily, or that I save for those days that I really want to savor that particular fragrance. Barrister & Mann's 42 and the Chatillon Lux/Sudsy Soapery collaboration on Delor de Treget are two that leap immediately to mind.

I think the differences here really come down to specific producers, or even soaps. Chatillon Lux is a fragrance house (not my term) and Shawn only produces soaps in the context of collaborating with artisan soap makers. Every product, aftershaves and balm, that I have purchased from Chatillon Lux has been outstanding and I suspect that the Declaration Grooming collaboration soaps are just as good as the one Shawn produced with Sudsy (I keep talking myself out of buying Fourth and Pine, a battle I feel I am losing). The only B&M soap I've purchased so far is 42 but its scent is one of my favorites and I will be looking to buy another tub next May.

So I wonder if the issue has less to do with artisan soap makers in general or that so many of them spend the majority of their time concentrating on producing scores of fragrances instead of perfecting the ones they have. Sadly, our fascination with the latest "limited run" of a particular scent has tended to make the artisans spend far too much time and effort trying to come up with their latest release. I can't say that I can blame them as there seem to be more than a few wetshavers who drop $15+ on every soap that certain artisans bring to market.

Compare this to the established European producers. These companies have been producing soaps for generations and have had the time and resources to perfect their fragrances. Additionally, these companies generally are producing aftershaves, colognes and perfumes, usually as their primary product lines. These are established companies who have a stable, if rather stagnant, market base. Contrary to the artisans, these companies tend to offer fewer than a half dozen fragrance options with rare limited releases.

To be completely fair here, I've only used a few of the soaps on Obie's First Tier list. The fact is that most of the traditional scents don't really excite me and some of the options are a bit cost prohibitive for something I don't know that I'll like. MdC may be the greatest soap on earth but I just can't bring myself to drop $40+ on 200g of the stuff (admittedly not a bad value) when I don't know if I'm really going to like the scent. That said, those that I've tried I tend to like but I can't say that they are really my favorites. Once again I lament the fact that far too few of these producers offer samples.

In my case, none of the so-called “artisan” soaps passed the test of time.
For a while I experimented with them but invariably put them aside after a few shaves and eventually got rid of them.

The field of shaving soaps and creams is densely packed with established quality soap makers as it is and any newcomer will have to bring something new and unique to the table to survive.
Many try that with scents, either newly combined or more powerful, but after a while the novelty wears off, the lather cannot compete with what I have already, and I revert to my (non-artisan) favourites.

In a nutshell, as someone who once learned how to make soap, I believe that some of the “artisan” soaps don’t really deserve that label and should more appropriately be labelled “amateur”.



B.