Battle of the Shave Butters: Round 1 — Scent

After spending at least a week with my new challenger, it's finally time to begin the comparison.

Welcome to Round 1 of the shave butter showdown:

Dollar Shave Club vs. Van Der Hagen.

This first round is all about one thing...

The smell.

When I open a tube of Dollar Shave Club Shave Butter, the scent reminds me of butter you'd use in the kitchen. Think baking a cake, making macaroni and cheese, or one of those rich French dishes where the chef believes there is no such thing as too much butter. It's a pleasant, warm scent that I've grown to enjoy over the years.

The Van Der Hagen Shave Butter is completely different.

To me, it smells very similar to Cetaphil, a well-known line of gentle skincare cleansers and moisturizers designed for sensitive skin. Cetaphil products are fragrance-light, non-irritating, and formulated to help cleanse while maintaining the skin's natural moisture barrier. Many dermatologists recommend them for people with dry or sensitive skin.

Now, here's where a completely unrelated story comes in.

Years ago, while attending a recovery meeting in Las Vegas, I was either chairing the meeting or filling in as the secretary. The person I was serving with mentioned skincare, and somehow the conversation turned to Cetaphil. They commented that crystal meth smelled like Cetaphil.

Whether that's accurate or not, I have no idea.

What I do know is that I wasn't particularly fond of the scent before hearing that story, and afterward I gravitated toward it even less. Funny how our brains make associations that stick with us for years.

That doesn't mean Van Der Hagen is a bad product. This is simply my personal reaction to the fragrance.

There are several more rounds to come—glide, razor feel, closeness of shave, skin hydration, value, and overall performance—but if we're scoring only Round 1: Scent, there's a clear winner for me.

🥊 Round 1 Winner: Dollar Shave Club Shave Butter.

What do you think? Have you tried either of these shave butters? Do scents influence your buying decisions, or is performance all that matters?

Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.