Shaving soap fragrances

W

walterdog

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2
I make homemade shaving soap and would appreciate your views on
fragrances. Do you prefer scented or unscented soap?
If scented, what kind of fragrances do you choose?
I'm currently using “Cucumber and Melon” –
does this appeal at all or would something more citrusy, spicy or herby
be more popular ie fresh lime, sandalwood or bergamot?
Thanks.
 
My ideal would be Yardleys original shaving soap from the 1950's......I'm not sure of the content but I would think something like 50% Lavender..20% cedar...20%Violet...10% Rose

My personal findings are.....

Sandalwood I find too basic....rather sawdusty /woody...reminds me of a sawmill...

Lavender I find to be too "earthy"...though I love the idea and perfume of lavender.....I just feel it needs sweetening..maybe with rose or Violet..........

Citrusy scents don't react well with my body chemistry although again I love the scents...so I don't use them...

Cucumber /Limes/Avocado/menthol or Tea Tree....just don't do it for me.....Maybe its an age thing,in that I prefer more nostalgic compound scents .......scents that linger...

My favourite at this time is TOB Jermyn Street.....a nicely balanced compound fragrance.......Although not perfect its getting there.

Hope this helps a little.
 
I prefer a scented soap... the scent won't last but it makes the shave a more enjoyable experience.

Melon and cucumber probably wouldn't appeal to me. I think the fact that you're posting on a "traditional" wet shaving forum should suggest certain smells. Your target market will always have a fondness for certain smells, those "old school" smells that remind you of youth, or remind you of Dad.

My favourites?

Lavender.
Bay rum.
West Indian Lime.
 
It doesn't have to be the usual smells for me, provided the performance is up to scratch. I quite like the idea of melon and cucumber scented soap. Now if you could get one to match the White Tea scent that they pipe around the Westin Hotel chain, I'd be a happy bunny.
 
Hiya,

Personally, I prefer a soap/cream with some kinda appealing fragrance to it. The soap I use most has almost no scent left, but I like what little there is of it.

Single note concoctions like sandalwood or lime certainly have their fans, and there's plenty to choose from. I couldn't really tell you which scent 'food group' would be the most popular though. Might be woods, gourmands, or even florals for all I know.

Things really get interesting when the soapmaker starts mixing notes up a bit into a melange of some sort. Heh, success usually depends on how motivated (obsessed) he or she is.

There's a few things I might recommend that might do well for you. Now it may be there's very good products with these scents already being sold, but I'm not aware of many being done by small vendors.

First would be a good version of coconut. Next would be a very strong menthol based cream. Third would be something in a Fougere flavor like Pens Green Fern. Oh yeah, something with a vetyver or oakmoss based kinda thing might go over well.

Hope that helps,

Martin
 
Yes, your point about the target market was very useful. I didn't really think about the nostalgia involved previously. Thank you!

I've tried a version of the Yardley's 1950s and its really nice. Thank you.
 
I have just tried the latest creation from Walterdog......1950's shaving soap and very nice it is too...

My Initial impression before opening the crisp paper package, was of a Cinnamon scent... just right for Christmas I thought......
I pared a shaving from the square soft soap cake with my pocket knife and whipped up a lather in my bowl...a very thick rich lather was produced and produced very quickly too... I lathered it to the consistency of whipped egg white.

The initial Christmassy Cinnamon scent was overtaken in the lathering process with more floral scents coming to the fore....reminding me of a 1950's garden in summer.....with hints of Mock Orange Blossom, Sweet pea,lavender and Jasmine ..with underlying notes of Liquorish and Cinnamon...All In all, a particularly nice complex scent...(I like complex scents)....My Daughter and 15 year old Grand daughter commented when I gave them a hug this morning......"OOHHH you smell nice"...And that says it all for me...

The shave was using my Merkur Futur set on 2 1/2....with a thrice used Feather Blade....

A three pass shave ...WTG...XTG...and finally ATG......This soap has great Lubricity for a very smooth close shave....probably one of the smoothest shaves I've ever had and I've been at this game for a very long time.....

The scent is one of those that seems to get into your head...you still catch traces of it later in the day..long after the actual scent has worn off....And Its unlike anything else out there that I know of............Will I get some more.....YES...if there's any left..................

You can find it on......http://stores.ebay.co.uk/zuriessentials.

Don't you just love these small soap producers and the variety they give to us shavers.
 
GOLDCREST said:
You can find it on......http://stores.ebay.co.uk/zuriessentials.

Don't you just love these small soap producers and the variety they give to us shavers.
Click to expand...

I thought that I was going to have to break my vow of not buying any more soap but it looks like it's all gone now so the vow remains in place.
 
wibxl said:
GOLDCREST said:
You can find it on......http://stores.ebay.co.uk/zuriessentials.

Don't you just love these small soap producers and the variety they give to us shavers.
Click to expand...

I thought that I was going to have to break my vow of not buying any more soap but it looks like it's all gone now so the vow remains in place.
Click to expand...

Hope not...I've just ordered some more........OOPS......maybe I got the last one
 
Just checked out the site and spotted this:

Our cosmetic range includes our other "Zuri Soaps" – “Kikaboni” (Organic), “Rooibos” (Redbush Tea), “Sabuni” (with Baobab Extract) and “Tembo” (Beer Soap).

:icon_eek:

Boab? Are you OK??
 
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