(This post was last modified: 03-02-2019, 09:04 PM by Bouki.)
Hallward's Dream t. (Storybook Soapworks) ★★★☆☆ bergamot, pepper, sandalwood, musk
I like Storybook's approach: select a scene from a famous book and then interpret it in soap. Hallward's Dream is inspired by the rich prose of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. The soap, like the book is sumptuous and fragrant, but to be honest, I'll probably never finish either. The book is curious, but it doesn't engage me. The soap's scent is the same. Though the lather forms a superb tallowy emulsion, I'm just not intrigued by its smell. Bergamot and pepper are what you notice first. The citrus is nice, a tart balance of lemon and lime notes, while the pepper smells freshly ground and almost bitter. If we could stop there, the fragrance would be a fine and pleasant take on Blenheim Bouquet with a very mild sandalwood background. But then the musk seeps in, and as musk does, it permeates everything, coloring the fresher notes with the smell of stale, synthetic fabric softener. I was hoping for some fin-de-siècle dandy decadence along the lines of Eucris or Hammam Bouquet. Unfortunately, Hallward seems to have been dreaming of Downy Ultra April Fresh.
I like Storybook's approach: select a scene from a famous book and then interpret it in soap. Hallward's Dream is inspired by the rich prose of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. The soap, like the book is sumptuous and fragrant, but to be honest, I'll probably never finish either. The book is curious, but it doesn't engage me. The soap's scent is the same. Though the lather forms a superb tallowy emulsion, I'm just not intrigued by its smell. Bergamot and pepper are what you notice first. The citrus is nice, a tart balance of lemon and lime notes, while the pepper smells freshly ground and almost bitter. If we could stop there, the fragrance would be a fine and pleasant take on Blenheim Bouquet with a very mild sandalwood background. But then the musk seeps in, and as musk does, it permeates everything, coloring the fresher notes with the smell of stale, synthetic fabric softener. I was hoping for some fin-de-siècle dandy decadence along the lines of Eucris or Hammam Bouquet. Unfortunately, Hallward seems to have been dreaming of Downy Ultra April Fresh.
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