I like Final Touch. It's a very light april fresh type scent.

@sandy1616, which flavor of Final Touch do you use?

I like AF downy however I did notice on a load of whites, washed in WiskHE, they smell really good out of the dryer but several days later in the drawer, they developed an almost rancid, greasy odor. The odor tends to wear off as I wear an article of clothing but still no likey. I'm going to try washing in Tide HE next and see what happens. Fingers crossed, it won't repeat.

@Sandy, where do you buy final touch?

I've been using and happy with Downy Free and Clear, but I'm considering switching to Tide free liquid and powder for some of my clothes. Since I do like a mild scent on my clothing, (nothing strong at all, but a little clean laundry scent makes me happy), thinking I could try free and clear detergent with a fragranced FS.

Has anyone tried Shaklee fabric softener?

Walmart carries Final Touch online but I don't see it in stores often. It has a pink cap, blue bottle. It isn't an overpowering scent. I won't go to walmart stores for fear of car damage but they have free shipping with a minimal order.

Clean & Bright...I do not like Shaklee. I found it and Amway to smell very "chemicaly" and do not do a great job at softening.

I REALLY am liking Mrs. Meyer's Lemon Verbena softener. I also bought Mrs. Meyer's all natural in wash scent booster granules in Lemon Verbena. You could use some of those with unscented detergent and softener. You'd get a very light scent. The softener, cut with distilled water (it's thick) does work very well, and the in wash scent granules smell very fresh and light after washing! Rococo has been telling me about Mrs. Meyer's softener for ages, and she is right. It's good.

It's funny....I bought FIVE bottles of the "old" Downy April Fresh (silk touch) at Rite-Aid today (thanks for the heads up Mitch). It's Cray-Cray...I just bought FIVE bottles of something I kind of hate, but it's better than the "NEW" Fabric Protect April Fresh Downy.

Also....not loving the Downy Sun Blossom. It smells pretty good in the bottle, and even better cut with Downy unscented. Smells good out of the washer, but once dried the scent turns to "perfume"....Like mid 1990's "sunflower" or Clinique Happy. ICK!!!

Also, I really like Snuggle Fresh Spring Flowers. Cut with water or unscented softener, the results are soft, fluffy laundry and the scent is a little like Old April Fresh Downy. It just has a few nuances that make it a winner!!!

You can make your own scent. Buy some Downy Free. Then go to the detergent isle and huff all the different brands and scents of laundry scent boosters. When you find one that you love just mix some with the Downy. Then shake shake shake. The more you add to the Downy the stronger the scent. You might have to experiment with the strength you like. You have to let it sit for a day to dissolve, but this way you have the scent you like at the strength you like.

@ tideman_59.....I did this for A LONG time with Gain Sweet Sizzle booster beads/pellets & unscented Downy. These smelled almost identical to Original April Fresh Downy.

Tons of online reviews said things like "Oh my god, found April Fresh Downy with Gain Sweet Sizzle". P&G quickly changed Sweet Sizzle to their awful candy, sweet New April Fresh scent. This is why I am most convinced P&G has lost the rights to the famed Downy April Fresh scent, made my a French perfume house in the mid/late 1960's.

When I have more than once confronted P&G about this, they will not comment. They actually refuse comment!!

I always check the scent beads. I'm waiting for the ones that make my clothes glow in the dark or make them glittery in day light. There should be one with all the scents mixed together with a touch of mango any day now.

EEeeeeeeee! @Larsi OMG you like Mrs. Meyers FS!! So excited for you. I never saw the scent granules anywhere. Oh, to be in California...

@Larsi, thanks for the heads up on Shaklee. I will not bother spending $10 in shipping for this one. I will probably make a trip to WF tomorrow to check out Mrs. Meyers Lemon Verbena FS! I love this liquid french soap I have in Lemon Verbena (Savon de marseille) in my kitchen, so maybe this scent will work for me! I found the Geranium and Lavender Mrs. Meyers soaps to be way too pungent.

@Tideman, great idea re: creating my own scent! To be honest, I have never even heard of scent boosters, LOL! But I bet it will work a lot better than some of the pre-packaged strong FS available now.

Larsi good suggestion--maybe I should try some of the Mrs. Meyer's scent boosters with unscented Tide detergent and Downy Free. At least things won't smell rancid, sweet-tarty or like 80's perfume! Yes, it really is a shame you have to stock up on a product you are ho-hum about. I wish we could snap our fingers and make all of these products work the way we like! Interesting re: P&G right's to the fragrance--I had able to buy Downy softener sheets in the real fragrance, but when I went to re-purchase this spring (2015) the scent had changed, and it so bad I threw them out.

My favourite fabric softener scent for like 30 yrs has been Shaklee, lol. Its light and not overpowering and does a decent job of softening but doesn't make things feel limp and greasy like Downy, imho.

I love mrs Meyers as well. They sell the scent booster at my target. I use it on sheets (the lavender) and it smells heavenly! I also use the lemon verbena cleaning spray and I just love it! The bar soaps are greAt too, I love the basil one.

clean_and_bright - Did the Downy Free & Clear have any odor at all that you could detect?

@Maylingsmom, I do not notice any odor when I use the Downy F&C, either in the bottle or when my clothes are dried. There may be a "slight" scent from the bottle, but I am quite sensitive to scents and it is not strong.

@aamassther, thanks for your thoughts re: Shaklee. I found a thread where a member really liked it, then said they changed the scent of it for a while, and maybe it is back to it's old normal, good scent? Maybe still worth a try!

@Miami, which Mrs. Meyer's FS scents do you like? I wonder if the scents are different on laundry than they are in cleaning products?

@ clean_and_bright.....RE: Downy April Fresh Dryer sheets. For a while when there were 1000's of complaints on the Downy website about the ruined April Fresh scent, P&G would recommend consumers to use the April Fresh Dryer sheets, as those were the original scent.

YUP....P&G made the dryer sheets the god awful sweet tart, cheap candy smell too. They even ruined their Dryer sheets. I read, I believe it was, in a Allure magazine article about a famed French perfume house that was responsible for creating Downy. Since P&G will not even comment or respond when I inquire about them losing the rights to the scent formula.....seems to be the case!! :(

Hi. I only have used the lavender scent booster for laundry. I only use it on sheets. It is very strong smelling so i dont use a lot. I wash the sheets in lavender detergent (all small and mighty in relaxing lavender, add the scent booster and dry with lavender dryer sheets. It sounds like a lot but I love the sheets to have that distinct lavender smell. I may try the laundry det and FS in lavender next. But now Larsi's got me wanting to try the Lemon Verbena on my laundry-lol. If you like bar soaps try to get your hands on a bar of ms. myers basil. it smells so good and your skin feels so clean after.

And yes Larsi--the af dryer sheets are garbage now. I knew the second they changed them. They smell so weird now, like petroleum and perfume. yuk!

Thanks, Miami! Yes, I found the lavender scent to be kind of strong. I have used the basil scented bathroom cleaning products, but LOL, it probably doesn't smell the same scent since it has to have to cover up the smell of the strong cleaners! I will "huff" the Mrs. Meyers FS and scent boosters available at the stores first :) Thinking maybe the lemon verbena will be a lighter scent.

@Larsi, so this begs the question, if someone else has the rights to original downy, where is it now? If they took the rights back, wouldn't they want to make a product with that scent??!

Every other FS tried to copy the original Downy scent. My husband travels to Cannes a few times a year for work and always stops at perfume shop to get a few bottles for me. He picks the elements and it is blended for him on the spot. Makes me wonder if a perfumer could recreate that scent? Lol. Having a Larsi moment here :).

I either use Snuggle, or AF downy. I just bought about 10 downys that were on sale for an incredible $2.99 for a large bottle, so I will be using that for a few years.

Hi! I would suggest you check out this article about fabric softener (http://hexperformance.com/blog/say-no-to-fabric-softeners/), and decide if you need liquid fabric softener in your laundry routine... it is definitely not recommended on sportswear (especially sweat wicking stuff), but it's up to you if you still like it for your regular clothing. :)

Super interesting article. Have any of you on this thread used this product?

I have HEX Performance detergent and THEIR own HEX fabric softener. They even call if softener!!! W/o softener, most items feel rough, not cared for and not so soft. I do not put softener on kitchen hand towels or anything microfiber!

mamapinky, don't miss reading the above link, especially where it mentions asthma in relation to fabric softeners.

chocolate, thank you for the link above. Very, very interesting.

Hi Pat, yes I read that, Thank You. I don't use FS on Chips things at all or Tims, I've never been big on FS, but lately I've been using it more, except Amiees bedding she likes a lot. Chips clothes get 2deep rinses, I think they feel soft without FS anyway. And to tell the truth they have more if a clean feel to them do you know what I mean? I bet Sparky knows exactly wha t I mean...I guess because there's no wax coating Chips things I'm just feeling clean well rinsed clothing. Just a thought I had. Lol

Larsi - how is the Hex softner?? I wash a ton of athletic clothing and have never used softner on any of it but son complains that compression shorts get a tad scratchy at times.

Lmao...so funny Jean....you know there's no stopping you right?

No cure for this sickness Mama!!

But think of this compared to the other addictions out there like drugs and alcohol. ..our addiction isn't hurting anyone, well except maybe my hubs lol

sandy1616...The HEX softener for Athletic wear works great. It does not soften as much as say, Downy or Snuggle...but it does for sure help. The HEX detergent and softener/booster really make work out clothes clean & they feel and smell very fresh!

LMAO @ Jean. A bounce sheet in your tin pan handler cup. HA ha ha ha

I so agree Mama-and I am always telling my husband that! I spent a small fortune today on laundry stuff, candles and soaps. I don't drink or do drugs and never have so this and some Shopping Therapy is my addiction! Larsi- you are the sweetest hearted man I have ever 'known'-I want you to know that!

Ahhhh, Jean. What an awesome thing to say, and for me to hear/see. Thanks Love!!!! :) Right back at ya. I honestly cannot believe how incredible this Forum is. Amazing, actually!!!

Yes it is an incredible forum, with some incredible people. I've had the time of my life!

Jean you are so right about Larsi and I have to add Mamapinky to that. Everybody on here is great and all make it a fun place to be.

I only use it on my towels. No matter which detergent I use the towels (which are new) come out too rough without it otherwise I wouldn't. (I can see larsi rolling his eyes at grandma greenie here). I don't find it restricts absorbency. I only have used Mrs. Meyers and Vernel. They both do a good job but the Vernel smells like industrial cleaner. Fragrance wise the Mrs. M is best though the Vernel seems to last through several washes. Hard to tell. Mrs. M is very thick and I dilute it by 50%. It doesn't leave any gunk in the washer. I add some vinegar and hot water to the dispenser to clear it out after the two towel loads otherwise the dispenser stays coated.

Never use FS on clothes. Most cottons get ironed and don't need it.

Bea, Thank You☆

Your right everyone here is great, which is why I joined this group of wonderful, kind, knowelable, Family of Friends.

Roc, you brought up a good point here, I iron a lot also, call it therepy, lol, I've always liked the look of clothing that has been ironed, IMO it makes things look and feel *finished* . I don't use much FS just a small amount, seems like if I'm not careful with FS dosing my clothes will go from just a conditioned feel and look to a tacky feel. But I have found just the small amount of FS I use ironing goes much easier, smoother. but on the other hand I like button up cotton blouses to have that more of a freshly ironed crisp look and feel, which even a small amount of FS seems to give my cotton blouses more of a softer feel, rather than the slight crisp I like. Just wondered Roc if you've noticed this..

Thank you all for your recommendations! I ordered a few products that I am looking forward to trying.

@chocolate, thanks for sharing that article! It was very interesting to read, and while I do not use liquid FS on sheets, towels, and delicate clothing, I have been using it on my regular clothes. I use it partly to prevent static cling in the dry winter climate here. Also, I have a number of 100% merino wool t-shirts that I feel are not soft without FS. But, lately, they have been smelling a little funky. I realized I am probably NOT supposed to use FS on these items, which is likely the culprit of "BIBO," yuck! (http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/04/when-your-clothes-smell-like-last-years-sweat.html)

Absolutely Mama and beagle! Everyone makes this forum a great place. I enjoy it very much!!

I actually like the Shaklee. There was an original scent then they changed it and it was awful. They went back to original scent. I don't use it anymore but I did like it. I use only the Miele FS and love it. No need for anything else for me. I've used all sorts of others (ie. Mrs Myers, Vaska, Caldrea, Downy, etc) but I find Miele perfect for my needs.

Members Mark LFS at Sams Club ( blue jug) is nice, no where near as sweet as Downy offerings today, snd mixed with Downy free leaves a light scent..I've been enjoying it.

@livebetter, thanks for this feedback! I did order the Shaklee based on positive reviews about the old scent, and I am looking forward to trying it. I used the Miele FS in the past and I didn't love it, but I was using scented detergent at the time, so maybe it would work better for me with F&C detergent (purely in terms of scent, I like something light and soft).

@clean_and_bright, you will likely like the Shaklee then. It is exactly light and soft. I use less than half of the recommended dose of Miele with the Miele detergents. I think sometimes the level of scent left comes down to the machines as well. I always use the sensitive setting on my Miele which adds an extra rinse etc. I usually don't notice much scent left from detergent alone this way.