I would say that a novelty shaving soap fragrance is one that has immediate appeal, but doesn’t wear well as a daily shave soap, so that it is used less frequently. Obviously, whether a given shaving soap’s fragrance falls into the “novelty” category will vary somewhat from person to person.
I shaved today with Waterlyptus, which I expected to be a novelty fragrance, but now that I’ve used it I’m less sure. It’s a watermelon+eucalyptus+peppermint combination, and while plain watermelon would, I feel fairly certain, be a novelty fragrance, the addition of eucalyptus changes the fragrance in a good direction and the peppermint helps as well. I’m reminded of how the use of euclayptus in addition to pink grapefruit in Meißner Tremonia’s Pink Grapefruit worked to diminish sweetness and toughen up the citrus fragrance, resulting in a shaving soap that is definitely not just a novelty fragrance.
A novelty fragrance is fun for a few shaves, but soon you want a break from it. But it’s hard to know in advance how a fragrance will fit. Phoenix Artisan’s Dark Chocolate (a limited run one or two Valentine Days ago) is fun, but definitely not something I want to use daily.
Chiseled Face’s Summer Storm is not for me a novelty fragrance—I could easily use it daily—but I imagine Fresh Cut Grass would almost certainly be a novelty fragrance, as would Bacon or Pink Bubblegum. Stirling’s Texas on Fire is a notable example of a smoke fragrance. Ultimately, it turned out for me to be a novelty fragrance.
I bought Waterlyptus because of Mantic59’s review, which he linked to in his “criteria reset” of shaving soaps. The “criteria reset” article focused on the exceptional lather one now gets from Catie’s Bubbles soaps, but he did mention Waterlyptus as an interesting fragrance.
And the lather really is excellent. I used my Omega Mixed Midget and really enjoyed all aspects of the lather. My RazoRock Stealth did an exceptionally good job. Based on the feel of my skin—totally smooth and soft—the soap and razor worked together to deliver a first-rate shave.
A good splash of TOBS No. 74 Original aftershave finished the job. This aftershave has an old-time barbershop fragrance: “notes of orange, lime and bergamot with undertones of rose, lilac and a sweet musk.”