Quote Originally Posted by Steve56 View Post
3. Not sure about scents, not enough info, but I understand the comment. However, if a Chinese or wherever person is making a cosmetic fragrance, it seems maybe a better choice (at least as far as smelling good) for a shaving soap than an artisan throwing a candle scent or a product made for a diffusion air freshener into a product that you put on your face. I don't think that candle and air freshener scents are intended to be for cosmetic use.
Just to avoid any misunderstandings, I did not mean to imply that everything out of China is bad. It is not. Quite the contrary. I was referencing Taobao because it is full of so called "bouquets", ie ready made scented mixtures, most of which are really, really horrible (both in terms of their Eau de Skunk properties - nice one, Nelson... - and also with regards to their overall quality). To use an analogy, there are €1.5 kebabs to be had in Berlin. It is not technically feasible to produce food at that price unless you take the cheapest meats (which are sometimes not even meant for consumption, Berlin has seen its fair share of food scandals). Can you eat those kebabs? Yes. Will they kill you? Probably not. Are they quality kebabs? Nope.

Now, if you analyse the cost of base materials used for making soap, you will find that (high quality) oils will rank very high. If you use cheap oils instead, you can dramatically optimise your profit margin, but you will also, effectively, rip off your customers. That, along with the lack of legal oversight over US made soaps, makes me wary of them. There are clear exceptions like Green Mountain Soap, just to be clear.