too "floral"?

I keep seeing this term in reviews of lavender and rose soaps and creams, and I do not understand it. These are flowers, if they weren't meant to smell like flowers wouldn't they have a different name? Since it is derogatory I think it might mean they smell too strongly of flowers?

My bf and I have just split a Taylor of Old Bond Street sampler and I was expecting to love the rose but it barely has any smell at all! If "too floral" means it has at least as much rose scent as a live rose, can someone point me towards the most floral fresh rose scent soap or cream they know of?

I was expecting something like how this stuff smells:

but I had to bury my nose in the sample jar to get a hint of rose. LOVE the almond sample though.
(sorry for posting another thread, I promise it'll be the last one for a while y'all)

 

Too floral usually means that it smells like something your grandmother might wear. A nice rose soap/cream has a subtle scent that isn't overwhelming. A single rose vs. a flower shop.

I really like Taylor of Old Bond Street Rose shaving cream, it smells great and lathers like crazy. My wife agrees, which is why I haven't seen my tub of the stuff in a month...if you're not a fan you might try Geo F. Trumper Rose.

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Geo-F-Trumper-Rose-Shaving-Cream-Bowl_p_583.html

 

I like it I'd just like more of it. The almond and the grapefruit are scented much stronger, I can just stick to those I suppose.

 

Have looked at The Shave Den store, huge amount of scents to choose from. I have only had one tub so far and it was heavily scented and the lather was great.

http://theshavedenshop.com/index.php?_a=document&doc_id=6

 

Great question! No need to apologize for starting threads, that's why we're all here

With respect to scents "too floral" may mean "feminine" to some writers, but it can also mean that a scent is herbaceous ("green") & unbalanced with other notes in the scent. Unless you're talking about essential oils, fragrances are composed of different layers of scent notes blended to create an olfactory experience. In contrast to the "floral" or herbaceous rose scents are the "perfumey" rose scents (that can be very pleasant, but are not the same as sniffing a real rose). Some great, but more synthetic or perfume-like rose scents are in Klar Kabinett shave soap & Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel.

"Too floral" can have a different meaning for Lavender. There are many varieties of Lavender. On one end of the spectrum, you have varieties of English lavender such as Lavandula angustifolia that are very sweet & herbaceous.


On the other end of the spectrum are French Lavenders (L. dentata or L. stoechas) or spike lavender (L. latifolia) which are more camphorous & medicinal (sort of like Vicks balm or Noxema).


Most lavender scents are a blend of several types of lavender. For fragrance enthusiasts, a "too floral" lavender blend is one that may be very sweet and unbalanced. Incidentally, "lavendin" is a blend of English & spike lavenders.

For shave soaps, on the sweet or "floral" end of the spectrum would be something like Mike's Natural Soaps Hungarian Lavender. The epitome of camphorous Lavender in shave soap is the original scent of Martin de Candre. Sara's Creations Lavender-Mint soap by Sara-S (TSD shop) is a very nice blend of lavender & spearmint essential oils.

 

Never apologize or quit asking questions please........ NO questions, means NO answers,means NO reason for TSD to exist....Part of the fun of this place is learning what/how others think/feel on a given subject...

 

My wife loves TSD Rose soaps. Very antique rose smelling and makes the bathroom smell like B&BW

 

Very informative, thank you!


I'll have to check out The Shave Den store, thanks for the recommendations everyone

 

Mystic Water soaps makes a nice scent called "Rosalimone." As the name suggests, it's a blend of rose and lemon. The lemon really brightens up the rose scent. I find it very pleasant.

A lot of people really love Queen Charlotte Soaps "Rose Otto" shaving soap. I've never tried it, but I'm told it has plenty of rose scent.

Finally, Truefitt and Hill makes a nice rose cream.

 

I wish it was all in front of me to smell and choose from haha. Guess I'll have to try them one by one =]

 

I hear Klar kabinett is a fairly strong rose scent shave soap, granted you have to buy a big bar, but if 2 people are using it not a problem, I also hear it performs well.

 

The Shave Den Store has 1 oz. soap samples for $2.50 each. With about 8 gazillion scents to choose from, you should be able to put together a very nice soap sampler.

 

I have gone through 750 grams of it (3 sticks) since I was given a sample a few years ago. I individually vacuum pack the sticks to keep them fresh, but the scent still fades once opened. It is fairly strong, but smells more like fresh cut grass to me than roses. For use, I keep mine in a Tobs SC jar. The scent is stronger in the tub than when you lather it. IMO, It is a nice performing soap, especially for the price, but isn't really a strong rose scent.

 

That's really neat! After i use some of what I have that'll be the next purchase.

 

Castle Forbes Lavender is terrific shave cream. For rose you can try an inexpensive tube of Rose of Bulgaria.
http://shaveabuck.com/rose-of-bulgaria-shave-cream-p-617.html