Barrister & Mann Shaving Soap. The aroma changed for the worse

I was a big fan of Barrister & Mann Shaving Soap
However, a year ago I decided to abandon this manufacturer.
Will did amazing aromas. My favorites are Leviathan, Dickens, Vetiver-Santal, Bay Rom, Sevilla, Lime-Lavender-Cedar. I'm happy to shave with these soaps.
But the first alarm bell for me was more than a year ago, when Will slightly changed the flavor of "Dickens", then a little changed the flavor of "Leviathan"
I made reviews about Dickens and Leviathan at the Russian shaving forum
Many who bought new versions of these soaps agreed with me.
Likewise, bought this year Lavanil, argue that the flavor has changed a little.
I'm sorry that Will changed a little flavor.
I use to the end the old formulas of Leviathan and Dickens and I will not buy this soap anymore.

I'll be interested to see what he has to say - he seems to take customer input and take action on it.

This reminds me of New Coke. Those of us that were around in the 80's will remember that Coke changed their formula to make it sweeter. Customers reacted very strongly.

Of course, it also depends on how other customers feel.

Scent is really challenging as people all perceive it differently. My all time favorite scent is Clubman Pinaud, yet many don't like it.

As far as I am aware, nothing has changed in the scent formula. The soap base can slightly change the scent though.

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I too noticed a difference of scent in my old puck of Dickens (aluminum tin so very old) against my new glissant Dickens of this year. I prefer the old. That said, I am not at all convinced the scent, given time, will not be exactly the same. Although I prefer the old Dickens, the new one is not vastly different and the performance does edge out the old. I for one am not willing to throw the baby out with the bath water as it were. Will's B&M soaps have never caused me any issues with reactions etc and he is arguably the best scent crafter in our hobby. I'm not going anywhere based on my slight perceived scent change.

I get this question a lot, and I'm not really sure why (and it's not limited to Lavanille). No, I have not changed Lavanille. The only alteration ever made to the fragrance was the movement from vanilla fragrance oil (essentially vanillin in propylene glycol) to just straight vanillin, which is easier to regulate and to measure. OP and I discussed this in private, during which time he insisted that I was lying to him, but I have not made any changes at all to Leviathan or Dickens, and the only change made to Lavanille is imperceptible (admittedly, I did not mention this change to OP at the time, largely because I forgot).

The differences in Leviathan and Dickens might be due to differences in the base, since we changed over from White Label to Glissant, but, other than that, no change. What kind of idiot changes the formulation for some of his most popular fragrances for no reason? What would I gain from that? If I make any changes, I'm quite up-front about them, and, on the rare occasion that I DO change something, it's almost always a matter of merely increasing the strength.

My guess is that something happened to the soaps in transit, but I cannot be sure. It's possible that the difference is purely psychological, or that it was caused by storage conditions (OP has only one purchased from us directly, and it was not any of the soaps mentioned). In any case, any variation is not of my making.

Barrister_N_Mann make sure the lid is screw on tight before any shipping goes out to any customer's or supplies, any air can get through the lid if not screw on properly can change the scent of the soap through via shipping from any parts of the world when you box them or package them without even knowing.

Barrister_N_Mann make sure the lid is screw on tight before any shipping goes out to any customer's or supplies, any air can get through the lid if not screw on properly can change the scent of the soap through via shipping from any parts of the world when you box them or package them without even knowing.

All of our jars are closed quite tightly, have no fear!

My soaps from B&M travels a longgggggggggggggg way to get to me and I've had no issues. Been buying for a while now, either direct or through other merchants.

I pay more in having to ship my items but B&M has always been a high quality artisan for me. I've had some issues with others but not with this brand.

The OP has posted this same "topic" on multiple forums. Hmmm. Curious.

I get this question a lot, and I'm not really sure why (and it's not limited to Lavanille). No, I have not changed Lavanille. The only alteration ever made to the fragrance was the movement from vanilla fragrance oil (essentially vanillin in propylene glycol) to just straight vanillin, which is easier to regulate and to measure. OP and I discussed this in private, during which time he insisted that I was lying to him, but I have not made any changes at all to Leviathan or Dickens, and the only change made to Lavanille is imperceptible (admittedly, I did not mention this change to OP at the time, largely because I forgot).

The differences in Leviathan and Dickens might be due to differences in the base, since we changed over from White Label to Glissant, but, other than that, no change. What kind of idiot changes the formulation for some of his most popular fragrances for no reason? What would I gain from that? If I make any changes, I'm quite up-front about them, and, on the rare occasion that I DO change something, it's almost always a matter of merely increasing the strength.

My guess is that something happened to the soaps in transit, but I cannot be sure. It's possible that the difference is purely psychological, or that it was caused by storage conditions (OP has only one purchased from us directly, and it was not any of the soaps mentioned). In any case, any variation is not of my making.

Hi, Will.
The author of the topic and the person from the correspondence are different people. I corresponded with you. This only confirms that I have not noticed a significant difference in aromas, no matter how much you would like it.
For those who are interested, I can post our correspondence. Now I will briefly describe my situation.
In 2016 I bought soap Lavanille, the fragrance was delicious. I do not like the smell of vanilla, but I can really call that flavor a masterpiece. This year I decided to buy 2 Lavanille cans, because After shaving tonic is enough for two and a half cans of soap (from the experience with your other soaps). I was very unpleasantly surprised at the smell of these soaps, about which I wrote you a letter, I quote:
"I have 2 soaps" Lavanille ": one bought in 2016, another in 2017. These are the different flavors of ... How do I fade in the trash? Did you manage to spoil this wonderful smell? I'm very sad. "
You replied that there had been no change. And now you write that one change still happened. Not good.
I also wrote that more people noted the difference in fragrances, they are written in the first message of this topic. You answered in a boorish manner, I quote:
"Well over 100 people believe that the Earth is flat, but that does not make it true." Opinion does not change fact. "
I'm not interested, flat land or not, this example is incorrect. I replied that I was holding an old soap in one hand, another in a new one. Also I feel the big difference in aroma. Great. AND THIS IS A FACT. If I was the only one who wrote about this, I could be called a charlatan or a refined perfumer (or smelling fragrances, the essence is clear).
Your position I understood, nothing has changed. I could send you a piece of old soap and you'd compare it to what you're releasing now. But you're not interested. You are not interested in understanding the situation. Let it be on your conscience.