What soap/cream did you use today?

I have always wanted to try Tallow and Steel and because of this sample box (which too few have signed up for) I got my chance. Today I chose Morocco due to our own Bouki's advice.  T&S describes it as smoky floral stating the notes are rose, cedar, moss, cypress, and Cade. I sure get the smoke, which I like.  I get the cedar and enjoy that too.  I get no rose, cypress, or Cade.  What I do pick up is the scent of terpentine which is not a scent I don't like but one that in a shaving soap would take some time to know and grow.  The smoke, I assume comes from a fire used to distill the scents.  This is not an easily approachable scent but it certainly tells a tale.  I conjured up a canvass tent and camels close by.  I envision a people going about their daily chores with the scents associated with their efforts. And although nobody would accuse this scent as clean, it does smell real and that anchors Me.

B&M Latha Sandalwood

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Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet shaving soap (tallow)

No. 88 t. (Czech & Speake) rose, plumeria, vetiver, sandalwood

I smelled this soap and was instantly taken back to London, to our old flat in Bayswater, where the housekeeper or her husband (or maybe it was the dog) was drenched daily with Czech & Speake No. 88 cologne. It smelled dark, a little musty, and very Edwardian, just like our rooms. The scent of today’s soap is far milder than the cologne, but it’s still potent enough to conjure up old ghosts. Maybe the purplish color of the puck is tainting my judgment, but my first sniff gave me the smell of grapes, along with sweet incense, pears, and melons. What lingers is a deep rose nestled into some musky sandalwood and vetiver. When you shave with this soap, a silk smoking jacket and monogrammed slippers may not be entirely out of place.

Bouki, great review as always. And this is, dare I say a classic fragrance. Dark rose that does have this hint of grape. For me it is the plumeria that provides this note.

Man, it is for formal usage only. The edt performs well - a loved shaving day in my rotation when I get to old '88' [fall and winter].

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Grooming Dept After the Fire

Gentle Menthol Paste v. (Meißner Tremonia) rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, menthol

On the Fahrenheit scale Gentle Menthol comes in around 60°. It’s cool and clean but you’re not going to suffer any frostbite, and it’s not so minty that you miss the other choice aromatic notes in the fragrance. I picked the paste this time since typically they smell so much brighter than MT’s hard soaps.The lather smelled like I’d just slapped my face with a dewy branch of rosemary from the herb garden. For the first days of summer, it’s the perfect scent. There’s no moss in GM, so there’s no dirt, but the rosemary, lavender and eucalyptus give off enough camphor to keep off the mosquitoes. Yes, it does smell apothecarian, but you know I love that vibe.

Cold River Schapenmelk Shave Soap