Barrister and Mann

You certainly have a way with words 120inna55. That scent description of Hallows was incredible! It makes me want to go buy the soap right now just out of curiosity, lol.

I appreciate the compliment, but, not being a real writer, I have a problem culling down an idea and thus tend to get a bit verbose. As you can see from Will's response, he imparted the same idea with one sentence. The problem is, I've never smelled the ferns of Boston. I suspect the swamps I smell around here are quite different.

As far as ferns in general, my property is heavily wooded (mostly oaks and other hardwoods with about 20% cedars). No, East Texas is not all piney woods (pine being invasive actually). I don't have grass out here since the tree canopy blocks the sunlight. It's very green out here though. The green is the thick ground covering of Royal Fern in the damp areas and wood fern in the dryer areas. None of them smell like a fougere, LOL.

Just for clarification...

FEN not FERN

Here's my mailcall and first impressions and first shave and review if anyone's curious. Needless to say, the packaging, presentation and product are all at the top of the game. You don't want to miss this one, gents. Bonus this year - new packaging and glissant!

All right,you guys have forced my hand.Plus all the drastically different descriptions of the scent have peaked my interest.Put my order in for the Hallows soap and splash,looking forward to it I think

Directly from the Barrister_N_Mann  Facebook page: "Saeryan or Lime, Lavender and Cedarwood for next year possibly" : yeah!

Oh hell yes! Saeryan would be my choice! DO IT WILL!

Error posting.

I broke down and ordered some Hallows yesterday.

Could someone give a description of the Hallow scent?The scent list is very intriguing,but the few reviews I have read online has me a little hesitant to order.One review that stands out to me IIRC described it as,"Chocolate covered decay"
Vetiver and Oakmoss I tend to enjoy,not sure of the cocoa though.Talk me into(or out of)picking a tub up.

Here are my scent notes from last year:

Initially, off the puck, cocoa is the prevailing scent.  However, as the puck ages, labdanum and cedar overcome the cocoa such that I've often done a double take to ensure I didn't have the Le Grand Chypre jar by mistake. The same can be said to a lesser degree as you lather. The aptly named Hallows is a dark and murky scent. It's certainly cedar-centric, but it's far from the traditional, bright, woody, sharp traditional cedar, but rather one that's been soaking in muddy water. The dark chocolate overtones actually round it out and set it apart from other wet, dark, vetiver scented soaps. There's a sharpness, that I hesitate to actually call sweet. It leaves a scent that could compare to the result of consuming something bitter to counter something sweet. Sort of like washing down rich chocolate cake with an espresso--that immediate coexistence just prior to the annulment of the two extremes. If you could translate that taste to an aroma, you'd be pretty close. To say it harbors the smell of death is a tag line, but it's not entirely inaccurate. I would say it's more that of decay of non-fatty organic material: wood, grass, and succulents, that are often associated with bacteria that emit a sweet-smelling byproduct.

I noticed the scent evolve as well.  I definitely remember last year's batch smelling slightly different from the year before when I put them next to each other.  Now they seem to be much closer in scent.  One of my favorite scents to be sure.

Somehow.....Will has got to solicit J.K. Rowling to allow him to develop a soap called "Deathly Hallows"......with appropriate artwork, of course.

Somehow.....Will has got to solicit J.K. Rowling to allow him to develop a soap called "Deathly Hallows"......with appropriate artwork, of course.

That's actually where the name comes from.