Barrister & Mann - Leviathan
With the profile, "Leather | Coffee | Sandalwood" I figured this was a no-brainer. I'd have to love this. Man was I surprised. Off the puck, Leviathan had a very off-putting artificial sweet smell that essentially stuck at the back of my throat---much like the taste that hits you when your respirator mask fails the saccharine test. I'm careful not to judge soap scents off the puck, though. However, during and after the shave, I couldn't shake that initial, almost offensive, scent. My wife wasn't too impressed either. At that point, I'd decided I finally found a good performing soap that I would avoid solely based on the scent. I proceeded to use the matching splash, which again, performed well, but the scent gave the same impression. I couldn't pick out leather, coffee, or sandalwood. As the day, progressed, I kept picking up on the scent in my Van Dyke, and I started liking it. I came home and smelled the puck again, and to my surprise, it smelled the same, but it was no longer off-putting, but actually pleasant. I would even say it is intoxicating. I think I developed a "taste" for it. My wife likes it now, as well. I know what you're thinking. The scent just unfolded and settled down, but I swear it smells the same, only now it's pleasant. It's just plain weird. Despite Leviathan's description, I still can't really pick out coffee or sandalwood, but maybe leather. I feel like some attributes of coffee are in there somewhere, but not enough to make me think of coffee. I'm going to use this again next shave and see if the results are the same.
This was my first experience with a Barrister & Mann product. It performed as well as most of my other soaps (tallow and vegan alike). I think the closest soap I would compare it to would be Wholly Kaw with Wholly Kaw having the edge in the slickness department. B&M is an excellent soap at either rate.