Castelbel Porto – The Gentleman
/“Randolph Scott”
Another 300 grams bar soap from Castelbel Porto, a Portuguese company that makes a lot of soap, apparently—from A to Z (literally) and beyond (not literally). This one comes in bold black and white striped packaging that evokes an old-west barber, perhaps, and says “manly” before you even smell it—also because it's subtitled: “Grooming Soap Bar.” And also because it's called “The Gentleman.” Referring to it as “Soap Bar” is significantly different than “bar soap” in that it implies more of a specialty item. The word “grooming” is also loaded—personally, cats come to mind, cleaning themselves. That's the good connotation; the more negative one is the idea of a person being “groomed” for a particular task—and for some reason, it's always sordid or evil. A person is “groomed” to be an assassin, but never a math teacher. “The” is also significant (rather than simply “Gentleman”)—“The Gentleman” implies a product that's intended for a unique, specialized use. For the discriminating soap dude, all of this might be quite a buildup. Me, I just warsh with it. I find it odd that fragrances sometimes have specific gender connected to them. Maybe that's kind of interesting in itself, but I'd never limit myself to exclusively “male” fragrances—how sad would that be! But it's hard to imagine this being a woman's favorite soap—but why not? Its fragrance profile is: “Bergamot, Lime & Patchouli.” I don't smell a lot of patchouli in there, but maybe it's in combination—anyway, the fragrance is not subtle, but I find it extremely pleasing. It really reminds me of something my dad used, though I'm not sure what that would be. Unfortunately, I can't recall any of his products beyond the usual Noxzema. At one point, when I was pretty young, some relatives got me an Old Spice gift set (which this reminds me of, a bit)—and I got to really like that fragrance—but later came to be repulsed by it, for some reason. I guess it would be interesting to revisit, at this point. I suppose there is a nostalgia factor involved with me liking this soap—that's undeniable. I know that many people tend not to trust nostalgia—but I'm okay with it. I wonder if men are more susceptible to nostalgia than women are? Oh, well. I guess this soap brought up a lot of unanswered questions. That's okay. Keep the questions coming!
Soap Review No. 130