Barrister and Mann

Ohhhh, I'd love to jump in here. I liked very clean scents and nothing out of the ordinary.  My den consisted of only citrus scents and barber-shop type scents. I purchased Night music because the label was awesome and I love strawberry and vanilla (even though Will hinted it is not strawberry forward at all).  I smelled it and literally laughed out loud. It was the worst smelling soap I have ever smelled. I sold it the very next day. As time went on I slowly started exploring  scents that weren't raunchy, but not as clean as I was used to. When I stumbled across Rhapsody I thought it was gross. Then smelled again and loved it. Went back and forth between gross and I'm in love. I realized I was smelling it multiple times a day and simply fell in love with the complexity. Adagio smelled strange to me but it because my favorite B&M. Then came ROAM. This smelled like straight up campfire but I knew I had to give it a chance. My first lather was rather smokey smelling. I went through all my soaps and did a blind smell. When I got to Roam I thought I smelled a lovely floral soap. I opened my eyes and was surprised it was Roam. Sometimes the label or reading reviews will put an idea in our head that we can't escape. By the way, I love roam now.

Fast forward to a month ago, I figured my nose was a little more advanced. I love the artwork on Night music and simply had to have it again. When it arrived in the mail from a forum member, I thought I was smelling something completely different. How did I not love this in February? This scent is absolutely amazing and is now on of my top scents. I now own Hallows and Leviathan which I never thought I would purchase.

B&M scents are a rare breed. Something that I don't think you will definitely liked right away. Many of them take time... Or maybe you just need to re-visit them at a later date. I've slowly been selling off my other brands of soaps and my B&M line has been growing.


Thanks Will, for making soaps so fun!

Very well written! I love most all scents from B&M, even the divisive ones like Night Music and Roam.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I think its very interesting how our perception of a scent can evolve. What at first sniff repulsed, gradually or even suddenly on the next use, becomes somehow nice. I've not experienced a reverse effect however - something I loved at first sniff becoming repulsive. I hope that never happens. Like a failed relationship

Ohhhh, I'd love to jump in here. I liked very clean scents and nothing out of the ordinary.  My den consisted of only citrus scents and barber-shop type scents. I purchased Night music because the label was awesome and I love strawberry and vanilla (even though Will hinted it is not strawberry forward at all).  I smelled it and literally laughed out loud. It was the worst smelling soap I have ever smelled. I sold it the very next day. As time went on I slowly started exploring  scents that weren't raunchy, but not as clean as I was used to. When I stumbled across Rhapsody I thought it was gross. Then smelled again and loved it. Went back and forth between gross and I'm in love. I realized I was smelling it multiple times a day and simply fell in love with the complexity. Adagio smelled strange to me but it because my favorite B&M. Then came ROAM. This smelled like straight up campfire but I knew I had to give it a chance. My first lather was rather smokey smelling. I went through all my soaps and did a blind smell. When I got to Roam I thought I smelled a lovely floral soap. I opened my eyes and was surprised it was Roam. Sometimes the label or reading reviews will put an idea in our head that we can't escape. By the way, I love roam now.

Fast forward to a month ago, I figured my nose was a little more advanced. I love the artwork on Night music and simply had to have it again. When it arrived in the mail from a forum member, I thought I was smelling something completely different. How did I not love this in February? This scent is absolutely amazing and is now on of my top scents. I now own Hallows and Leviathan which I never thought I would purchase.

B&M scents are a rare breed. Something that I don't think you will definitely liked right away. Many of them take time... Or maybe you just need to re-visit them at a later date. I've slowly been selling off my other brands of soaps and my B&M line has been growing.


Thanks Will, for making soaps so fun!

Very well written! I love most all scents from B&M, even the divisive ones like Night Music and Roam.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I think its very interesting how our perception of a scent can evolve. What at first sniff repulsed, gradually or even suddenly on the next use, becomes somehow nice. I've not experienced a reverse effect however - something I loved at first sniff becoming repulsive. I hope that never happens. Like a failed relationship

I experienced a scent that went from good to bad, Spitfire from P&B. At first it was nice. But then something about it made my stomach uneasy. I traded it.

Will,

I was wondering if any of the Reserve scents could pair with Fireside nicely?

I really like the Cheshire scent, and the performance is wonderful, but I wasn't as taken with Lavanille as I thought I might be. I've ordered some Bay Rum to see how it compares -- if it's a winner, I might give Leviathan a try (I like the name).

Leviathan does roll of the tongue pleasantly doesn't it? Its a fun word to say  and a great soap.

I own (or tried) most of Will's soaps and as of today the Leviathan is my favorite scent by FAR among my 50+ soaps not limited to B&M. But when I smelled it for the very first time I thought I accidentally smelled a stale ashtray. Since then, the Leviathan is one of very few soaps that I stock up.

I really like the Cheshire scent, and the performance is wonderful, but I wasn't as taken with Lavanille as I thought I might be. I've ordered some Bay Rum to see how it compares -- if it's a winner, I might give Leviathan a try (I like the name).

Leviathan does roll of the tongue pleasantly doesn't it? Its a fun word to say  and a great soap.

I own (or tried) most of Will's soaps and as of today the Leviathan is my favorite  scent by FAR among my 50+ soaps not limited to B&M. But when I smelled it for the very first time I thought I accidentally smelled a stale ashtray. Since then, the Leviathan is one of very few soaps that I stock up.

My first use impression of Leviathan was "wet dog", I didn't like it. I came back to it and it has also become one of my very favourites. I don't know how noses work but maybe there are receptors in the nose or brain that haven't been activated because they haven't been needed to smell specific scents and when first exposed to that scent you're getting an incomplete signal but by the next time the receptors have been woken from their slumber and Ta Da! You have something wonderful. Sounds reasonable to me.

Will,

I was wondering if any of the Reserve scents could pair with Fireside nicely?

First hand, I can tell you "Spice" pairs very nicely. It quelled my desire to have a "matching" splash for Fireside.

Leviathan was not nearly as "dark" as I expected. I enjoy it a lot but was expecting death. I guess I'm rather glad I don't detect death.

On a separate note, does anyone else prefer the old containers over the new (Cologne Russe, Seville)? They are a tad shorter. They are stronger but for some reason I really prefer the old containers.

Will,

I was wondering if any of the Reserve scents could pair with Fireside nicely?

First hand, I can tell you "Spice" pairs very nicely.  It quelled my desire to have a "matching" splash for Fireside.

This makes me happy. I was strongly considering that for my first reserve scent. My dad and grandpa wore old spice, and while it has taken me time to appreciate it as more than "an old man scent", I always appreciated it as a classic. Now I'm ready. Or, I'm old now too. Lol

In any case, thank you for the recommendation for Fireside. (An under appreciated gem, IMHO)

Leviathan was not nearly as "dark" as I expected. I enjoy it a lot but was expecting death. I guess I'm rather glad I don't detect death.

On a separate note, does anyone else prefer the old containers over the new (Cologne Russe, Seville)? They are a tad shorter. They are stronger but for some reason I really prefer the old containers.

I made a similar comment about the containers when I first received Russe. I've gotten used to them and I don't know if it matters much which container. What's that's old saying about appreciating what's in the inside? Ha.

Ohhhh, I'd love to jump in here. I liked very clean scents and nothing out of the ordinary.  My den consisted of only citrus scents and barber-shop type scents. I purchased Night music because the label was awesome and I love strawberry and vanilla (even though Will hinted it is not strawberry forward at all).  I smelled it and literally laughed out loud. It was the worst smelling soap I have ever smelled. I sold it the very next day. As time went on I slowly started exploring  scents that weren't raunchy, but not as clean as I was used to. When I stumbled across Rhapsody I thought it was gross. Then smelled again and loved it. Went back and forth between gross and I'm in love. I realized I was smelling it multiple times a day and simply fell in love with the complexity. Adagio smelled strange to me but it because my favorite B&M. Then came ROAM. This smelled like straight up campfire but I knew I had to give it a chance. My first lather was rather smokey smelling. I went through all my soaps and did a blind smell. When I got to Roam I thought I smelled a lovely floral soap. I opened my eyes and was surprised it was Roam. Sometimes the label or reading reviews will put an idea in our head that we can't escape. By the way, I love roam now.

Fast forward to a month ago, I figured my nose was a little more advanced. I love the artwork on Night music and simply had to have it again. When it arrived in the mail from a forum member, I thought I was smelling something completely different. How did I not love this in February? This scent is absolutely amazing and is now on of my top scents. I now own Hallows and Leviathan which I never thought I would purchase.

B&M scents are a rare breed. Something that I don't think you will definitely liked right away. Many of them take time... Or maybe you just need to re-visit them at a later date. I've slowly been selling off my other brands of soaps and my B&M line has been growing.


Thanks Will, for making soaps so fun!

Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying it now.

Leviathan was not nearly as "dark" as I expected. I enjoy it a lot but was expecting death. I guess I'm rather glad I don't detect death.

On a separate note, does anyone else prefer the old containers over the new (Cologne Russe, Seville)? They are a tad shorter. They are stronger but for some reason I really prefer the old containers.

I made a similar comment about the containers when I first received Russe. I've gotten used to them and I don't know if it matters much which container. What's that's old saying about appreciating what's in the inside? Ha.

We felt that it was better to have a heavier container, which feels a bit more solid (the older jars had been accused of being "cheap"), and the quality control at our old jar manufacturer has become extremely unreliable, hence the switch.