Hiya, I can't speak about the Valobra, but I can tell you my impression of the Cella soap. This may or may not fit the bill for you, since it does have a sweet, but strong marzipan scent. Not only that, but there seems to be some sorta black cherry thing going on with it also. Heh, of course you may see things totally different if you ever try the stuff, but it's pretty sweet with a fairly intense almond fragrance. One really goofy almond scented product (now discontinued) is the C&E Sweet Almond Oil shaving cream. Now that stuff smells nothing at all like almond..........more of a light floral instead. Works well, but not even a slight whiff of almond to my nose. Sorry I can't offer a good almond suggestion, but that's a fragrance I've never pursued.........not my style. Good luck with your search, Martin
Sweet Almond Oil doesn't really have the almond scent. Rather than an essential oil, it's just a pressed seed oil that can be used as cooking oil. It's a great oil for use in skin care products (not greasy, absorbs well.) Most almond scents are based on benzaldehyde. Benzaldehyde is the natural chemical that gives almonds the majority of their scent. It is easy to make synthetic benzaldehyde, but it's the same compound. Extracts from bitter almonds and related seeds and leaves (apricot, bay laurel, cherry, peach) contain a lot of benzaldehyde. I would assume the sweeter almond scents contain additional fragrances or are from some natural extracts of almond relatives, as the benzaldehyde itself would be pretty uniform.
My experience with Cella is somewhat different. I find it the least marzipan-like of the almond scents I've smelled, much less than most creams. It is a bitter almond, IMO (btw, there are marzipans that have a bittersweet flavor, and those are the ones I prefer). Everyone's experience is different, of course. Valobra soft soap is, I find, a bit sweeter than Cella, but not much. Cella lathers better, but not by much. Regards, Tim
Hiya, Thanks for that technical info about the benzaldehyde Chad.....something I'd never heard of till now. Yeah, almond is another scent that should be pretty uniform (like lime for example), but many products have their own slant to things. Variations on a theme........ I used the SAO as an extreme example of what I'd call possibly misleading a buyer into thinking it's gonna be marzipan in some way. I think you're right about the oil being used as an ingredient rather than a scent. Same would be the Taylors Avocado SC. Heh, What the heck would avocado even smell like? The oil from that fruit would be the main attraction to using the cream. Oh, and don't forget Trumpers coconut SC. I think the stuff has some sorta coconut ingredient that helps the shave, although it has very little of any actual fragrance. Anyway, that'll do it for me, Martin
