Fifteen years ago, in a bodega in Newark, New Jersey, Jon Bresler found his eureka moment nestled between the mouthwash and the laundry detergent in a tube of shaving cream. "I tried it and thought it was the best I'd ever used in my life," he says. "I also loved the packaging." The forest-green box and gold crown insignia belonged to Musgo Real (Royal Musk), a Portuguese soap company that dates back to 1887. Bresler, 47, then an attorney looking for an exit strategy, booked a flight for the northern city of Porto. There he found an artisanal, family-run operation and a treasure trove of fragrances and formulations—custom soaps with family crests that were once commissioned for Portugal's aristocracy, and an archive with labels made for the grands noms of France like Guerlain and Chanel, and even Charlie Chaplin. Bresler, who the company first thought was just another crazy American, urged them to expand modestly into items like aftershave, cologne, and the sentimental soap on a rope, but he was careful to keep the same simple ingredients and masculine hayflower scent. "They're one of the best soap makers in the world!" he exclaims. "Why would we need to do anything to it?" Not crazy at all.

Read more: Health >>