I received a half a puck of this product as part of a PIF on the Great Southern Land group (thanks Luc), so it didn't cost me anything.
Initial impression was the scent - the whole package smelt strongly of it to the exclusion of everything else despite it being mummified in cling film. The scent is pleasant - slightly spicy, a little bitter fruit (cherries presumably) and a hint of sweet tobacco. It reminds me a of a hippy bookstore. The puck, or rather half puck in my case, is a sort of raw hemp cloth brown, which reinforced the hippy feeling, and quite hard. Scratch a bit with your thumbnail and rub it between your fingers and it's smooth and slightly creamy.
Now before I completely bag Charismata for it's lather, a disclaimer: I have hard water, doubly so in summer which it is now. Having said that, I could not get a good lather from this soap. Thin, watery and dried before the first pass is really done. I tried varying the amount of water, working time, loading - it made no difference or got worse. What lather was usable was very slick but totally lacking in cushion. I suspect if I could get a decent lather, it would be a really good shave. As it is my shaves got worse the longer I used this soap.
All in all, I'm disappointed - I wanted this stuff to be good because of it's scent and having a soft spot for artisan manufacturers in general. Charismata Cherry pipe tobacco hard soap failed to perform for me, I hope it is my hard water and others might have better results.
Initial impression was the scent - the whole package smelt strongly of it to the exclusion of everything else despite it being mummified in cling film. The scent is pleasant - slightly spicy, a little bitter fruit (cherries presumably) and a hint of sweet tobacco. It reminds me a of a hippy bookstore. The puck, or rather half puck in my case, is a sort of raw hemp cloth brown, which reinforced the hippy feeling, and quite hard. Scratch a bit with your thumbnail and rub it between your fingers and it's smooth and slightly creamy.
Now before I completely bag Charismata for it's lather, a disclaimer: I have hard water, doubly so in summer which it is now. Having said that, I could not get a good lather from this soap. Thin, watery and dried before the first pass is really done. I tried varying the amount of water, working time, loading - it made no difference or got worse. What lather was usable was very slick but totally lacking in cushion. I suspect if I could get a decent lather, it would be a really good shave. As it is my shaves got worse the longer I used this soap.
All in all, I'm disappointed - I wanted this stuff to be good because of it's scent and having a soft spot for artisan manufacturers in general. Charismata Cherry pipe tobacco hard soap failed to perform for me, I hope it is my hard water and others might have better results.