shavefan
I’m not a fan
Hear! Hear!
Passaround - Natural Ireland soaps - all three varieties
- Thread starter Rory1262
- Start date
Hear! Hear!
I've had my last 3 shaves with the Natural Irish this long Memorial Day weekend. They are packaged up and ready to go into the mail tomorrow for @Grundi.
Saturday I used the Seawead shaving soap and the Irish Stout and Seawead these past two days. When lathered, the strong seaside aroma faded to a pleasant hint of ocean air. The Irish stout layerd a nice malty scent on top. I think there may be somthing to the seaweed, as my face has felt a little more hydrated this weekend than it did after using the sans-seaweed soaps. Unfortunately, the seaweed bearing soaps did not perform as well for me durring the shave as the Natural shaving soap. The lather wasn't as slick and seemed to want to foam up a little too much. All in all, they are all very good soaps, but my preference is for the Natural for its slickness and scent.
Saturday I used the Seawead shaving soap and the Irish Stout and Seawead these past two days. When lathered, the strong seaside aroma faded to a pleasant hint of ocean air. The Irish stout layerd a nice malty scent on top. I think there may be somthing to the seaweed, as my face has felt a little more hydrated this weekend than it did after using the sans-seaweed soaps. Unfortunately, the seaweed bearing soaps did not perform as well for me durring the shave as the Natural shaving soap. The lather wasn't as slick and seemed to want to foam up a little too much. All in all, they are all very good soaps, but my preference is for the Natural for its slickness and scent.
- Thread starter
- #83
I'm looking forward to my turn with these soaps!!
Until I converted to wet shaving, I had my choice of canned foam or canned gel...or nothing and like it!! Since beginning my wet shaving adventure, I've found that I really like scents like bay rum, almond (although I've had a reaction to several), some florals, and most recently, lavender. I've found that there are degrees of performance, scents, latherability and such with shaving products!!
The reviews that have been posted are definitely insightful and informative. I'm looking at this opportunity to learn about The Natural Ireland Soap, their characteristic, and if I pick up on that "special scent" that's been talked about. Be aware, I'm stocking up on exclamations point, just in case!!
Its been a bit since I've checked in. A very hectic couple of weeks for me. Enjoying the reviews very much.
The Box was delivered this afternoon!! Will attempt a sniff test (but I've got a Spring-time stuffed nose...BAD TIMING!!)
Tomorrow will be Shave#1!!
Tomorrow will be Shave#1!!
shavefan
I’m not a fan
I PM'd @Rory1262 that I am going to have to bow out of the Pass-around due to my upcoming travel schedule. I updated the list...
Current list:
01. dfoulk (finished)
02. bobmsp (finished)
03. Hoka Hey (finished)
04. SGWB (finished)
05. Grundi (in possession)
06. ShavePastor
07. JimDandy
08.
09.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Current list:
01. dfoulk (finished)
02. bobmsp (finished)
03. Hoka Hey (finished)
04. SGWB (finished)
05. Grundi (in possession)
06. ShavePastor
07. JimDandy
08.
09.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Natural Ireland - Natural Shaving Soap
TL;DR - good shaving soap, nice lather, decent slickness, solidly middlen...
My equipment: Merkur 20C, Dorco Prime(5), Plissoft brush, cheapy salsa bowl
Lather: NI Natural Shaving Soap lathers up nicely. I smeared an almond sized amount of soap into my cheapy salsa bowl that I use for soap samples and whipped a decent amount of lather. It lathered up as good as any of the good soaps that I've tried.
Slickness: this soap has decent slickness with some residual slick. It didn't stand out as really good or really bad...but solidly middle of the road.
Scent: I've got a bit of a stuffed up nose and can only pick out the bergamot and some pixy stickish background. There was some scent through the shave but completely disappeared after my final rinse. The scent in the tin has good strength.
Results: I'm enjoying trying these soaps and learning about them. Performance was solid, and I had a decent shave. Other than being made in Ireland, nothing stands out that would separate this from some of the other very good soap that I've used. That said, it is a very good soap.
Next up: Seaweed Shaving Soap. I did catch a whiff of seaweed/fish when I open the tin and sniff quickly, but the funky part of the scent fades quickly when the tin is left open.
TL;DR - good shaving soap, nice lather, decent slickness, solidly middlen...
My equipment: Merkur 20C, Dorco Prime(5), Plissoft brush, cheapy salsa bowl
Lather: NI Natural Shaving Soap lathers up nicely. I smeared an almond sized amount of soap into my cheapy salsa bowl that I use for soap samples and whipped a decent amount of lather. It lathered up as good as any of the good soaps that I've tried.
Slickness: this soap has decent slickness with some residual slick. It didn't stand out as really good or really bad...but solidly middle of the road.
Scent: I've got a bit of a stuffed up nose and can only pick out the bergamot and some pixy stickish background. There was some scent through the shave but completely disappeared after my final rinse. The scent in the tin has good strength.
Results: I'm enjoying trying these soaps and learning about them. Performance was solid, and I had a decent shave. Other than being made in Ireland, nothing stands out that would separate this from some of the other very good soap that I've used. That said, it is a very good soap.
Next up: Seaweed Shaving Soap. I did catch a whiff of seaweed/fish when I open the tin and sniff quickly, but the funky part of the scent fades quickly when the tin is left open.
- Thread starter
- #90
Thank you!! This soap does produce a good amount of lather and it does not take a lot of effort. Being a DE shaver, I prefer slickness over thickness, and would like this soap to be a wee slicker. That said, I'm having a blast trying these soaps!!
Natural Ireland - Seaweed Shaving Soap
TL;DR - another good shaving soap, thicker lather, a little less slickness, some irritation...
My equipment: Gillette Gold Tech, Dorco Prime(1), Plissoft brush, cheapy salsa bowl
Lather: NI Seaweed Shaving Soap was easy enough to lather, but I tried to push the soap a bit by adding more and more water. The soap took the extra water just fine and rewarded me with a lather that was thicker than Natural. I used my typical almond sized sample and smeared it into my cheapy salsa bowl. There was plenty of lather.
Slickness: for whatever reason, Seaweed didn't seem as slick as Natural and there wasn't as much residual slick. That's not to say that there wasn't any, there was, but comparing it to Natural, Seaweed seemed less slick.
Scent: I did get the seaweed/fish initial scent which I think is from the soap's ingredients, but it very quickly faded. the remaining scent smelled just like Natural, with bergamot being the most pronounced, and the other scents there but not distinguishable to my nose.
Results: I had a decent shave but experienced some skin irritation. Most of the burning sensation left with the final rinse and there was no skin redness.
Next up: Irish Stout and Seaweed. Like Seaweed, I do catch a whiff of seaweed/fish, but it fades quickly. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the others.
YMMV > Natural > Seaweed
Natural Ireland - Irish Stout And Seaweed Shaving Soap
TL;DR - decent shaving soap, nice lather, good slickness, still experienced some irritation...
My equipment: Gillette Gold Tech, Dorco Prime(2), Plissoft brush, cheapy salsa bowl
Lather: Like the other 2 NI soaps, Irish Stout and Seaweed lathered easily, good denseness, and produced a good amount of lather. I typically use only about an almond sized sample and I had plenty of lather and then some.
Slickness: I would put Irish Stout and Seaweed in between the others for slickness. It has good slickness and some residual slick.
Scent: Like the Seaweed Soap, I smelled a whaff of seaweed/fish scent and it quickly dissipated. Then all I could smell was the same scent as the other 2 - bergamot and friends.
Results: another good shaving experience...but...there was some skin irritation, no redness.
Summary: Big Thank You, @Rory1262, for organizing this and giving us the opportunity to try these Irish made soaps!! I love trying new soaps!! For me, these Natural Ireland soaps performed well and produced a very good lather, but the irritation I experienced with the 2 seaweed based soaps causes me to take a pass on them. I did enjoy my turn with these!!
The Box Is On The Move: The Irish Natural Soaps Box has been shipped out to... @ShavePastor!!
YMMV > Natural > Irish Stout and Seaweed > Seaweed
TL;DR - decent shaving soap, nice lather, good slickness, still experienced some irritation...
My equipment: Gillette Gold Tech, Dorco Prime(2), Plissoft brush, cheapy salsa bowl
Lather: Like the other 2 NI soaps, Irish Stout and Seaweed lathered easily, good denseness, and produced a good amount of lather. I typically use only about an almond sized sample and I had plenty of lather and then some.
Slickness: I would put Irish Stout and Seaweed in between the others for slickness. It has good slickness and some residual slick.
Scent: Like the Seaweed Soap, I smelled a whaff of seaweed/fish scent and it quickly dissipated. Then all I could smell was the same scent as the other 2 - bergamot and friends.
Results: another good shaving experience...but...there was some skin irritation, no redness.
Summary: Big Thank You, @Rory1262, for organizing this and giving us the opportunity to try these Irish made soaps!! I love trying new soaps!! For me, these Natural Ireland soaps performed well and produced a very good lather, but the irritation I experienced with the 2 seaweed based soaps causes me to take a pass on them. I did enjoy my turn with these!!
The Box Is On The Move: The Irish Natural Soaps Box has been shipped out to... @ShavePastor!!
YMMV > Natural > Irish Stout and Seaweed > Seaweed
Box is in my possession. Sorry I've been busy. Will use the Natural one for tomorrow's shave & report back.
Initial scent impressions: let's just say not very favorable. Actually to my nose, 2 of them are almost downright nasty (the seaweed based ones). The wife nearly gagged also. We'll see how it goes but I'm starting off with the Natural. I can at least handle that one.
Not meaning to be too overly critical, but seriously these smell terrible to me.
I am thankful for the opportunity though & we'll see how they perform.
Initial scent impressions: let's just say not very favorable. Actually to my nose, 2 of them are almost downright nasty (the seaweed based ones). The wife nearly gagged also. We'll see how it goes but I'm starting off with the Natural. I can at least handle that one.
Not meaning to be too overly critical, but seriously these smell terrible to me.
I am thankful for the opportunity though & we'll see how they perform.LOL, my wife didn't like the scents of the two seaweed based soaps either. Up here in the Great Northeast, you know you're close to the ocean when you can smell the seaweed covered rocks baking in the sun near the clam flats!!Box is in my possession. Sorry I've been busy. Will use the Natural one for tomorrow's shave & report back.
Initial scent impressions: let's just say not very favorable. Actually to my nose, 2 of them are almost downright nasty (the seaweed based ones). The wife nearly gagged also. We'll see how it goes but I'm starting off with the Natural. I can at least handle that one.
Not meaning to be too overly critical, but seriously these smell terrible to me.
Be of good cheer, the seaweed scent does fade...mostly...ish...
Love it!! The scent just adds to the experience!!You mean mostly.....fish...
J/K!!
Ok. The shave with Natural was pretty good. It is super easy to get voluminous lather.
Like others have noted, it is definitely not as slick as the soaps I'm used to in terms of both during the shave and residual. It's not anywhere close to Tabac, Haslinger, or Stirling in slickness, but it got the job done adequately.
Used my '64 Slim on setting 6 with GSB, & got a really smooth close shave. And a big plus is that there was no irritation at all with the Natural.
Like others have noted, it is definitely not as slick as the soaps I'm used to in terms of both during the shave and residual. It's not anywhere close to Tabac, Haslinger, or Stirling in slickness, but it got the job done adequately.
Used my '64 Slim on setting 6 with GSB, & got a really smooth close shave. And a big plus is that there was no irritation at all with the Natural.
The time has come for these to be moved along. A big thanks to @Rory1262 for this soap passaround.
My concluding thoughts:
The soaps are very "meh" for me, about average in performance (or maybe below average with the bar continually being raised with artisans). I could feel the lack of slickness. It gets the job done, just not as comfortable or easy as top tier soaps.
The Natural was the best. The other two are just no Bueno for me (scent wise).
@JimDandy PM me your address & I'll get these sent your way.
My concluding thoughts:
The soaps are very "meh" for me, about average in performance (or maybe below average with the bar continually being raised with artisans). I could feel the lack of slickness. It gets the job done, just not as comfortable or easy as top tier soaps.
The Natural was the best. The other two are just no Bueno for me (scent wise).
@JimDandy PM me your address & I'll get these sent your way.
Hi All - I've been out of the loop for a bit during a very busy spell at work. I updated @ShavePastor with my contact info, so once the goodies arrive in my mailbox, I'll let everyone know.
- Thread starter
- #100
Looking forward to their arrival with you, James...hope you enjoy your second round with these too. I remember you liked the samples you got from me before.
I'm not entirely surprised to hear your reactions, @ShavePastor. I remember hearing from another passaround that the scents didn't please everyone (personally, I am definitely enjoying the malty nose of the Stout and Seaweed).
As I noted before, I do believe performance of the Natural Ireland's benefits from generous loading. As for slickness, with any soap I like to take the little island that floats in the sink from rinsing after a pass and rub it over my face again before lathering. It gets pleasantly warm that way. Natural Ireland isn't like Williams, for example, in terms of slickness...but I don't find it lacking on this count.
I'm not entirely surprised to hear your reactions, @ShavePastor. I remember hearing from another passaround that the scents didn't please everyone (personally, I am definitely enjoying the malty nose of the Stout and Seaweed).
As I noted before, I do believe performance of the Natural Ireland's benefits from generous loading. As for slickness, with any soap I like to take the little island that floats in the sink from rinsing after a pass and rub it over my face again before lathering. It gets pleasantly warm that way. Natural Ireland isn't like Williams, for example, in terms of slickness...but I don't find it lacking on this count.
Similar threads
- Locked
- Article
