Black Edition Body Soap

When the package from Claus Porto arrived for testing I could smell one of the products as soon as I opened the package. There was a moment where I was concerned the fragrance set might have broken in transit (it did not), I quickly realized that the smell was emanating from the Black Edition Bar Soap. I took a moment and breathed in the scent, appreciating their branding, packaging and product.

Claus Porto breaks the soap into top, heart, and base notes, which is fragrance language for the order the scent is built to show up. Top notes are the first hit, the light stuff that comes off the bar when you unwrap it or when the water first hits it. Here that is bergamot, lemon, and juniper berries. Heart notes are the middle of the wash, what the lather smells like once that first brightness steps back. Theirs are cocoa, nutmeg, and cardamom. Base notes are the heavy end, the part that hangs on after you rinse and the smell the dry bar keeps. Vetiver, patchouli, cedar, and tonka bean are that part. On a soap this all happens faster than it would in a cologne, because you wash it off. The top is the pickup, the heart is the shower, and the base is what is left on your skin.

What is more important is that it worked and left me feeling clean and without dry skin. I’ve had that experience of fancy smelling hotel soap you think will be good, but end up leaving you feeling like a shriveled up mummy. The Black Edition’s bamboo charcoal powder helped me shake off the grime of a golf round while the scent helped me overcome my atrocious putting. There was plenty of lather and I did feel that the scent of the soap lingered in the hours after my shower, but not in an intrusive way. I also found the bar acting as a mini air freshener every time I stepped into the shower after it was opened to be a nice touch.

This is a Take My Money quality product, and one I would consider using more as a special occasion / going out bar. Like with many things within the Claus Porto brand you can stack the scent with complementary products if you wish. The Black Edition comes in Bar Soap, Solid Shampoo, Beard Oil, Fragrance, and Shaving Cream. If you are thinking about gifting, Claus Porto offers a large group of products that could range from stocking stuffers to marquee gifts.

I think it’s important to note that their scent descriptions feel accurate, so if you are reading this and know you don’t like a woodsy patchouli scent but love the site, branding, and feel I’ve described I’d encourage you to explore their other scents.