Hi Tim. All I can say is what works for me, but I hold PAA in high regard overall. For some they are a hot button - but I will not go there - it's tired and old. Below is my 2 cents on the soaps and aftershaves I have experience with.
I have the following CK/PAA shave soaps:
CK Atmotic Travel
CK Atomic Age Bay Rum
CK Black Bot
CK Irma Shave 2017
CK Lump Of Coal
CK Olive Branch
CK Pineapple Bay Rum
CK Planet 9
CK Sacré Bleu
HTGAM Oubliette Synergy
LG Clown Fruit
PAA #9
PAA Avo Nice Shave
PAA Dappalwood - Secret Menu Mash-Up
PAA Dirt
PAA Gondolier
PAA Grove
PAA Tombstone
All perform about the same, even though some of the formulas are different. Personally I find these soaps work EXCELLENT. They load thick with some heat applied, and turn into outstanding lathers with ample water. I honestly find no fault and believe these are some of the best I own on strictly a performance basis. I completely toss out the tallow vs vegan thing because any difference is insignificant to me and my tastes when produced right. When a soap performs at these levels, I don't really see any significant benefits from fancier or more expensive formulas. Especially since the post shaves leaves my face feeling this satisfied. Keep in mind, I am not saying that performing at this level is standard for artisan soaps. I think it is a high bar, but that I don't appreciate the differences very much once this threshold has been reached. The only difference to me and my tastes then comes into the fragrance. This is the big difference I find between artisan soaps at this level. Overall, I have enjoyed most of the scents from the products I have selected across the board but some really stand out.
Do I think PAA's scents are better then most? Yes. I could not agree more with you that Atomic Age Bay Rum is one for the best for me. I also really like the robust Planet 9, manly Tombstone, simple Dirt, darker Grove, clean Imra Shave, classic Sacre Bleu/Black Bot, and quirky #9 (Home on the Range). I even found Clown Fruit, for which I bought the LG version during the first year of the collaboration, grew on me. I was not sure at first, but after a few uses really like it. I have not tried Olive Branch - it was a sample that I did not use yet, but my son loves it. Lump of Coal is fun for the holidays but the scent is just average. Atmotic is kind of weak to me, and the Pineapple Bay Rum is very weak. Synergy is kind of all over the place for my tastes, not bad, but not great. I like Gondolier but it just isn't a favorite. Not bad, again maybe a bit above average. Dappalwood is probably my least favorite of my PAA/CK shave soap collection. It smells almost too apple like. I don't know. Again, all perform top notch, it is just my personal opinion of the scents.
So what about Avo? This is a scent that is hard to describe for me, especially since I am not too good at this type of thing. I will try. It is a citrusy, slightly floral scent. I like it and everyone in my family likes it a lot. It is smooth without any rough quirky peaks and is not overly floral to take away your man card. I rate the scent 7/10 on the Steve likes it scale. Not my favorite, but above average. In perspective, I would give something like Tombstone or Planet 9 a 10/10. It really is just personal taste.
I also have/had the following Aftershaves/Tonics/Colognes by them:
CK Atomic Age Bay Rum
CK Black Bot
CK Captain Smythe's Reserve Oak Barrel Aged Bay Rum & Leather
CK Olive Branch
CK Planet 9
PAA 9
PAA Avo Nice Shave
PAA Bay Rum Tonic
PAA Classic Sandalwood
PAA Clown Fruit
PAA Creosote
PAA Dirt
PAA Douglas (Fir)
PAA FU Fougère
PAA Garden of Bali
PAA Gondolier
PAA Grove
PAA Lime Ginger Tea Tree
PAA Lime Ice Sage
PAA Sk-8 Shop
PAA Tombstone
Again, these perform great and well above average, but there is a more notable performance variance between these products. Generally I have the same opinions for the scents that match the soaps. Some additional standouts that I really like are: Bay Rum Tonic, Garden of Bali, Lime Ginger Tea Tree & Lime Ice Sage. Creosote is a real oddball I had to try. It is a very basic, scent only type AS, and the scent is more of a rougher Petrichor. I like it for a change, but it is definitely not for everyone and not something that I enjoy all the time. It is a MOOD type splash for sure.
My final take away is that I enjoy and believe PAA makes superior products although Doug's scents have a few misses for my tastes - Dapplewood & Douglas Fir, but overall are pretty awesome. Obviously everyone's tastes vary, so my likes could completely clash with others. All I can say is that if you see one of their soaps or aftershaves that interests you, give it a try because they are quality products better then most.
Steve
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