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Small time soap mail call - 10 samples + initial thoughts


Great soap scents have become the biggest draw for me in this scene. I don't like selling stuff so I'd rather not acumulate a ton of full sized pucks that I may or may not like so I'm a fan of the sample. Yesterday my box of 10 samples and an Omega 49 brush arrived. Below are my initial thoughts on the soaps/creams- I have yet to lather up anything. All of the makers are new to me other than TOBS.

Noble Otter Soap Co.
Lone Star - it's nice but there's something a bit funky goin on in there
Noble Otter Soap Co.
The Trail - smells nice but I don't pick up any one scent that stands out
Chiseled Face
Cedar & Spice - very strong cedar scent, possibly the strongest scent in the box. Good thing I like cedar.
Chiseled Face
Midnight Stag - somewhere between terrible and tolerable. I'll need to lather it once to be sure.
Black Ship Grooming
James Moody - just a nice clean scent
Maggard Razors Artisan Shaving Soap
Mango Sage Tea - not as much sage as I would have liked but otherwise nice.
Maggard Razors Artisan Shaving Soap
Orange Menthol - smells like an orange dreamcicle.
Taylor of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream
Coconut - smells like those Mexican styled popsicles I like to get at 7-11
Taylor of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream
Peppermint - good semi-strong peppermint scent with something else going on maybe?
Taylor of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream
Eton College - just a good clean scent
 
Nice overview. I agree, great scents are one of the best things about shaving these days.

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ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
It will be interesting to see how they all perform. A lovely scent is great, hopefully the performance is there as well.
 
My recollection is that the Cedar and Spice starts out strong and then becomes manageable. I like the CF base as well.
 
Thanks for the short reviews

When I finish a few more pucks and tubs in my rotation. I'm going to get some samples to try. I like variety.
 
Please let us know your thoughts after you have lathered these samples, I often find the scent changes when lathered. Enjoy!
 
I can only speak for the quality of Maggards, and I must say, they perform exceptionally well. Lather very nicely, and the scent does remain in the skin for a while after the shave, which I was very impressed with (found it particularly noticeable with their London Barbershop scent).
 
One down so far - the Chisled Face Cedar and Spice. It has a very strong scent that fortunately I really really like. Unfortunately She does not agree and since it's so strong there's no hiding it. She liked it ok in the container but lathered up said it smelt like old man + cedar chest. I'll keep it and use it when she leaves town occasionally or for those rare days where I just don't care if she likes it or not. Performance was good. It lathered up nicely, gave good protection and I think I could do a better job at lathering it if I had a few more opportunities. I wouldn't mind having a full size puck in this scent at all if it weren't for my wife's feelings on it.

Next up will probably be Orange Menthol or The Trail.
 
Thanks for the short reviews

When I finish a few more pucks and tubs in my rotation. I'm going to get some samples to try. I like variety.

I agree on the variety of samples. As of right now I have 3 full size containers of soaps/creams and only one that I really really like (B&M Nocturne). Wherever possible I'm planning on sticking to sample sizes and only picking up full size pucks for the ones that I really really really like.
 
Tonight's shave featured Noble Otter - The Trail. Initial impression from the container didn't yield a standout scent but once lathered I got a nice outdoorsy scent with a good bit of sage coming through which is a scent I've been looking for. My grandparents lived in northern NM for a long time and their property (and that area in general) had lots and lots of sage brush. Post shave I pull always pull the remaining lather from the brush and rub it into my hands for a minute or two. I find it soothing and it also is a good way to evaluate the lather. A few minutes after that the smell dissipated into just a nice soapy smell with all the good bits of sage gone. Somewhat sad. Performance wise it was very slick and gave adequate protection. It wasn't the thickest lather ever but it didn't disappear mid-job which I think tells me it was hydrated enough. It lathered up pretty quickly, but I didn't actively shake all the water out of my brush like I typically do (habit from using Stirling).

I enjoyed this one but the scent didn't totally sing to me like my B&M Nocturne or the CF Cedar & Spice but I wouldn't say no to a full puck of it. It's on the short list.
 
SOTN: Black Ship Grooming's James Moody. The prominent scent was that of a clean white shirt, which probably wasn't exactly what they were going for. It was neither strong nor faint and I found it somewhere right in the middle of agreeable and disagreeable. Nothing wrong with this soap at all. I had to look up their description again because I had forgotten why I added it to my list. The description is below. Performance wise it lathered up quickly and seemed heavier on protection vs. slickness. My neck had zero irritation, something that is less common than it should be. Next time I'll hydrate the soap a bit more - I'm sure there's more slickness to be had in there. Probably won't be adding a full puck of it but I'll definitely try a couple of other scents from the BSG.

Their description:
A masculine blend of bright lemons and limes with black pepper, Nutmeg and clove surrounded in a Sandalwood and Vetiver base.
 
Excellent write ups @spolct ! You have a real knack for describing these!
Thanks!

Tonight's neck shave feature was Noble Otter's Lonestar. The scent improved a bit after lathering and wasn't too strong although it did seem to stick around a bit longer than its brother soap The Trail. I liked the scent ok but there was just something a bit odd/funky/weird in there that I couldn't place. She liked it but agreed about the funkyness. After re-reading their description (see below), I think it's probably the leather in there. I didn't get much sage. Performance wise it was quite slick but a bit on the thin side which was probably a result of a tad too much water. I wound up with a small nick in a typical trouble spot on my neck but less irritation than I've had in the past. I probably could have scooped out a bit more soap although it was adequate enough for a 3 pass neck shave. I've used a Noble Otter product twice now with similar lathering results - next time I'll use a bit more soap to start and go slower with adding water to see if I can balance out the slickness with some more density.

Lonestar scent was nice but it won't be turning into a full puck.

Per Noble Otter:
Lonestar: Lemon, Sage, Magnolia, Texas Cedar, Oakmoss, Leather, Hay
“The sage in bloom is like perfume”, thats where we started when we decided to make a new scent dedicated to the state of Texas. Lonestar is our vision of that scent. The olfactory experience starts with top notes of sage and lemon followed by the heart notes of magnolia and Texas cedar. Finally the base notes includes the truly Texas experience of oakmoss, leather and hay. With Lonestar, we can all be Texans at heart.
 
It's been a while since I've posted an update on these... Fortunately I've been keeping track of my shaves so here's a few updates:

Maggards Orange Menthol was nice and orangey. The menthol bit took a bit to kick in, kind of like a sneaky salsa that starts mild and flavorful but then delivers a nice kick in the pants when the heat kicks in. I guess it's kind of like that but totally opposite. It lathered up nicely and gave great protection and slickness with no neck irritation. This will make the regular rotation now that it's a bit warmer.
 
It's been a while since I've posted an update on these... Fortunately I've been keeping track of my shaves so here's a few updates:

Maggards Orange Menthol was nice and orangey. The menthol bit took a bit to kick in, kind of like a sneaky salsa that starts mild and flavorful but then delivers a nice kick in the pants when the heat kicks in. I guess it's kind of like that but totally opposite. It lathered up nicely and gave great protection and slickness with no neck irritation. This will make the regular rotation now that it's a bit warmer.

As the weather is getting warmer, a nice citrus & menthol soap is in my future. Thanks for the Maggards write-up!
 
So next up is SOTN 1/31 (yeah I'm behind).

Black Ship Grooming - Thomas Tew was a nice citrus scent with a bit of a classic scent mixed in. It wasn't super strong or overpowering. This is my second BSG soap and it yielded a nice smooth shave with no irritation. I don't think this was in the original box of 10 samples but after trying the James Moody I decided to branch out with another of their scents. I wouldn't mind picking up a puck of James Moody but Thomas Tew will probably stay in the mini size.
 
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