Creed Green Irish Tweed Shaving Soap

I tried this as part of a free trial PIF from the wonderful Mr. Scruffy, so at first glance my price analysis may seem unfounded. However, assuming you're reviewing with the intent to purchase, I think the rating is more than fair. To sum up the soap, you're getting a really good shave at a really steep price.

Not that the soap isn't a good soap and the shaving experience doesn't border on great--it is and it does! The soap is an easy latherer--you'll have suds flowing just loading up the brush, and that load is enough to really bust out the scent--and oh what a scent!

The scent is flat out wonderful--the best, most pervasive and most long-lasting of any soap I've tried. Equally good lathering up in the bowl or on the face, I still found the end product a bit thin--if still quite efficacious.

Defying the seeming thinness of the lather, it provides fine slickness and a good quality shave. It lacks cushion, but it doesn't effect the comfort of the shave. Indeed, you'll get a wonderfully close shave and it'll feel good to boot!

You'll get a good quality shave, good quality lather and an amazing scent. The problem is it'll set you back more than your fair share of cash to do so. In the end, I just couldn't see myself being happy with the purchase if I payed full price for a puck. I think for the money there are better soaps and there are equally as good shaves to be had for 1/2 the price.

I was fortunate to be included in Mr. Scruffy's puck pass for this one. As a result, I don't think it's fair for me to comment on price, even though I know what the soap sells for. Beyond that, I must say that I'm happy I tried the soap through the pass, rather than purchasing it. The details follow:

Quality - Creed is a known entity here on the forum, and has certainly been around long enough to have developed a reputation for making quality products. I did not see the unfinished pine bowl the soap originally shipped in, but that aspect of the soap is well documented. I deducted some points from my evaluation because I am confident the consistent and collective experience of fellow members here is accurate. The soap itself appears to be of high quality.

The puck I received had been through a number of hands, yet it was still in respectable condition. It was not suffering from any odd breakdowns, splitting or other visible issues.

Scent - What is not to love here? I asked to join this puck pass, in part, because I am a fan of the Green Irish tweed scent. I own the EdT, and so I had to try the soap. Fans of the cologne will NOT be disappointed. The soap is a dead ringer for the juice! Lathering the soap simply left me elated as the scent quickly filled the shave den. It was as if I was floating in a pool of Green Irish Tweed, and I had to struggle to wipe the smile off my face so I could shave without cutting my cheek open!

Lather - Here is where my disappoinment creeped in. It took a bit of time to figure out the lather on this one. In the end, I got what looked like a decent lather. It appeared creamy and thick. It had a beautiful shiny sheen. But no matter what I did, the lather simply would not last. I quickly adapted by attempting to face lather, but even then, I was constantly having to go back to the puck because I couldn't generate a lather that would stay with me for any length of time...

Efficacy - The GIT Soap was very slick. I was excited when I felt just how smoothly my fingers slid through my first test lather. The down side to this was that there was no resistance from a "cushiony" lather. As a straight razor user, I want a lather that gives me both a good cusion, but also a very slick surface. I got one, but not the other. For this reason, I must take away a large number of points. For soaps, my two reference points are Tabac and BentonClay. The GIT falls far short of either reference.

Moisturizing - Next to the scent, this was my favorite part of using the GIT. My face was left feeling nice and moist every time. Of course, this is not my most important criteria, because I always use a balm and look to that product for moisture, but when a soap doesn't dry me out, it's definitely a plus.

Overall impression - I'm really happy I got to try this through the puck pass. I love the scent, and I managed to get BBS shaves, but there are simply too many great products available at a much lower price point to justify a great smelling product that is, at best, a mediocre performer. I don't have to worry about SSAD being ignited by this experience!

I received this soap as part of the pass organized for contributors by Mr. Scruffy.

Price: I have marked it a 1 because it can be purchased (so, it has a price), but that price is wildly unjustified for the performance. I did NOT pay the purchase price.

Quality: It seems to be a quality soap, with good density and a reputable name. There is nothing here that sets it apart, however.

Scent: I have to admit, I just don't like Creed as a house. This is unmistakably Creed. Bold, brash, opulent. I just find most of their scents very synthetic compared to some other houses, such as Tom Ford and Pen's. This soap smells very, very "cologne-y," if that makes sense.

Lather: The soap lathers as easily as you'd expect from any reputable soap vendor. Fairly easy to get it going, low brush loading needed.

Efficacy: Try as I might, using my normal prep and a more careful prep, I just couldn't get this soap to glide all that well. Lots of pulling, tugging, skipping, and what not. Never really felt like an easy, slippery shave.

Moisturizing: This is another area where the soap consistently fell short. I was dried out after every shave, regardless of prep or ASB. Maybe it is the high cologne content that does it, but I was always red and irritated after each shave.

Conclusion: Not the soap for me, and difficult to recommend for anyone unless they are both 1) a GIT nut and 2) possessed of significant disposable income, in which case they should pick it up to smell it but not bother trying to shave with it.

Tried multiple times as part of the GIT soap trial

Price: Not exactly a bargain around $70, but I would consider this if it were closer to the cost of DRHarris

Quality: Rates overall with the best of them as a high quality soap in that it doesn't crumble as some do, and is hard enough to last a good long time. This impacts loading the brush and building lather somewhat though, but I have an easier time with with other equally hardened soaps such as DR Harris Marlborough.

Scent: Wonderful and strong enough without overpowering as I like it. My thought was that it was a refined and complex version of CK Eternity.

Lather: Tended to be on the weak side for me. Not necessarily easy to build, and when it did it wasn't as billowy as I typically like. A bit like MWF in that respect.

Efficacy: Get the job done - better than average.

Moisturizing: Did a decent job, but not as well as other soaps & have used. Perhaps this ties back to the issue of building proper lather in a good water ratio.

Final thoughts: Good stuff, but not nearly worth the price. My 2 favorites in the rotation are the Body Shop Maca Root, and Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna, both of which perform better than this for $16 and $8 accordingly (not including sales)

I received this soap as part of a "Creed GIT soap trial."

I had trouble generating a voluminous, thick lather with this soap. The first few tries were really disappointing. I realized that it had been a while since I cleaned my brush, so I decided to see if that could be the issue. After cleaning, I was able to get a larger volume of lather, but it still seemed to go on thin. I could always see my skin tone through the lather, but at least the lather lasted through a 4 pass shave. Since some were able to get good lather from this, I suspect I just need to learn this soap better. But, I don't think I'll be investing in any to do so.

Price: I get better performance from soaps far less expensive.

Quality: I could never get a good lather from it, but that could be just me.

Scent: The scent is where this soap shines. Like another reviewer, the scent is SWMBO approved, and that's no small task!

Lather: The best I could do was fairly thin lather.

Efficacy: Well, it did the job, just not as slick as I'd have liked.

Moisturizing: Can't complain here. Mayhaps a bit better than par for the course.

Overall: With soaps that perform better for me, and at far less cost, I don't see myself purchasing this soap. I do, however, greatly appreciate the opportunity to give it a shot - thanks!

I received this soap as part of Mr. Scruffy's soap puck pass so I didn't pay retail price for it.


Price: At $70 for a puck with a pine bowl that warps after several shaves this isn't a value by any stretch of the imagination.

Quality: It is a quality soap, one of the better vegetable based soap that I have used.

Scent: Wonderful.

Lather: I found the soap to be a lather bomb. Lots of slick, creamy and protective lather.

Efficacy: Worked great, every time I used it.

Moisturizing: My face felt fine after the shave.


I really liked the soap and It could be a regular player in the rotation but not for $70. If Creed sold a refill puck for $30 I would order it without hesitation.

I was also a member of the contributor pass and I enjoyed the soap quite a bit this morning. I had a great shave, but I must admit that the Creed soap does not really do as well for me as my benchmarks: the Valobra lines (most notably the C&S soaps) and the Tallow Prairie Creations line.

This is not a terrible thing, though, as the Creed GIT does hold up very well compared to a lot of soaps I have tried... if I had to rank it somewhere I'd put it probably right around Tabac in terms of performance.

In terms of scent I'd rank this one in the same ballpark as Tabac as well. I have bought a sample of Creed GIT before, and I must say that this soap is pretty much a dead ringer for a match to the fragrance. However, it's not my favorite and that is purely personal preference. I know a lot of guys love GIT. If this soap struck me like Oxford and Cambridge or Endymion do, I'd have probably gushed about this soap. Scent goes a REALLY long way for me... almost to the point where performance is 2nd in line. No. 88 and O&C are my favorite soaps, and all the creams offered by the fragrance boutiques rock my world (most recently, Pens "Endymion", thanks to xillion's generous sample). DC1913 is a favorite. Anyway, enough about scent.

The moisturizing qualities of the soap were pretty good compared to my go-by's. Especially in this weather where the extreme cold sucks all the moisture out of the air, my face felt great today. I do use a balm (444) + splash combination, but I do that every day and the differences in soap moisturizing qualities can be noted when all other variables are kept the same.

Many thanks to Mr. Scruffy for starting this generous offer. Bottom line, I wouldn't buy the GIT soap, but if I had fallen for another Creed scent that was offered as a soap, I might jump on it.

Thanks for reading!

I tried this soap a few times, but never was able to get a good lather out of it. Perhaps, as with MWF, it just takes me a bit longer with some soaps. The scent is really lovely, but it's not unique. For such a high-end soap, I would need a unique scent to make it worthwhile, and to my nose GIT doesn't have it.

I also received this soap as part of a "Creed GIT soap trial."


Price: I am very thankful that Mr. Scruffy allowed me to try this soap for free. At $70, it's too rich to risk buying it sight unseen. It is not worth $70, and I hate that Creed does not offer a refill puck. If they offered a refill for $25-$30 it would be worth the price. If price is not an object for you, then I suggest you buy this soap.

Quality: I loved this soap. I face lathered over the course of four days with a CH1, B&B LE 08, and a Rooney Finest 2/1. All produced a very slick, protective lather. All of my shaves were comfortable and smooth. DFS every time with zero irritation. Prior to two of the four shaves, I used Proraso pre/post. I did find the shave a little better with the pre shave, but only marginally so.

Scent: Scent if fantastic. Best scent of any soap I've tried.

Lather: Face lathering gave me a nice slick, thick lather. This soap likes a little more water than some of my other soaps, but I did not find it finicky. I had no problem getting a great lather every time with no special effort. I have hard water, and was afraid this would be a problem (I don't do well with MWF, for example). My hard water was not an issue with Creed.

Efficacy: The lather was very slick, and I received close, comfortable shaves every time.

Moisturizing: It was neither drying nor particularly moisturizing. My face felt great after the shave.

Bottom Line: I love the soap, but not the price. If the price does not bother you, I highly recommend this soap. If I set aside price, I would rate this soap an overall 8.5 - 9. I really wish Creed offered a refill puck in the $25 range. If they did, I would buy this soap in a heart beat. At $70, it's too rich for my blood. I am surprised that my experience with the soap was a little better than some other reviewers, but I can only review based on my own experience. I think this soap is right up there with the best soaps currently available.

*I received this soap as part of a "Creed GIT soap trial."

I found the GIT soap to be top notch in the scent department but downright nasty in the price department.

Price: If it were $20 I would buy it in a heartbeat. But at $70 just stops my heart.

Quality: It is a nice soap. I did not see the overall presentation of the whole package.

Scent: The scent is what makes this soap sing.

Lather: I have very soft water so this soap lathered very well for me.

Efficacy: I had several consistent BBS shaves while using this soap.

Moisturizing: My top lip felt a bit dried out a bit but I didn't require any more moisturizer than usual.

Last Comments:
The scent was what I enjoyed most about this soap. If it were cheaper I would own it.

*I received this soap as part of a "Pass the Soap" trial.

Price: Would I pay $70 for this soap? Bottom line, No.

Quality: Seems just above average to me. I have had soaps that were worse (modern Williams), and some that were better (Tabac).

Scent: The greatest thing about this soap is its scent! SWMBO approved. It is very refreshing. To me it has a very citrus-y scent. Pairing it with GFT Extract Lime Skin Food brought back strong memories of vacations in Cancun. But that is just me, YMMV as it were.

Lather: It took a few tries before I was able to get a good lather, but when you get the correct water ratio, the lather starts to explode. The problem is, it just did not seem to have the cushion as other soaps have. It would probably work very well with an Uber Lather combo.

Efficacy: I was able to produce consistent DFS shaves every time, and 1 BBS. It does what is needed, but it doesn't "wow."

Moisturizing: I found myself needing to use a bit more GFT Skin Food with this soap, otherwise it left my neck felling very dry.

Last Comments:
I loved the scent. If the price was $20, I would buy it for its scent and use it for special occasions.
It is a tad drying, but that means I get to use more Skin Food . There are better performers out there. At the current price ($72), I cannot recommend the soap to anyone.

The price of Creed's Green Irish Tweed shaving soap has risen to $70 since the first review of this product was posted. Unfortunately, quality has not followed suit. And it's still sold with the same crappy pine bowl.

Price: Yikes!

Quality: I think my comments below support my rating.

Scent: Outstanding! Unmistakably Creed, this timeless scent should have been matched with a better soap.

Lather: The lather is very deceiving. You can load enough on your brush to produce what looks like a rich and creamy lather with self-supporting peaks. But once you put it to your face you can feel the overwhelming absence of slickness. It's like an empty suit.

Efficacy: No better or worse than any other $8 soap on the market

Moisturizing: Not as good as Monsavon or MWF, but it didn't leave my face feeling dry.

For $70 you're better off spending your money on two pucks of C&S Oxford and Cambridge or 10 pucks of Monsavon.

Well, as I stated in my synopsis, the cost-value of a soap that costs $55 (USD), note I paid 7000円 which roughly equates to the $55 price tag, is constantly on your mind when purchasing and thereafter using such a comparably costly product. I put it to use a couple of days after purchasing it from Barney's New York here in Tokyo. I wanted to give it a full week of my attention before coming to any conclusions. Now my 2 cents worth, or maybe it is 55 dollars worth of an opinion.

Price: Well I think that I have covered it. One word: High (yet not unreachable). Yet we all know that soaps last quite awhile. In the long run, probably not as expensive as my Penhaligons Shaving Creams.

Quality: The soap comes in an attractive box. The plastic wrapped soap itself in inside a 'pine' bowl, with a nice seal/sticker on the lid. Let me first comment on the bowl itself. Pine? And...pine! Well I wasn't too impressed with the bowl it is made of pine and is quite rough (no finishing sanding). But I did like the embossed seal on the lid. The soap itself has the CREED crest stamped into it, that is typical in triple milled-style soaps. The initial scent, after taking off the plastic wrapping, is nice and lessens after open.

Scent: The scent, as I just stated, is nice to begin with and lessened after the initial opening. Over the week I would go to my shaving cabinet and hold the soap under my nose and take a whiff and almost smell the pine bowl more than the soap itself. When lathering the soap there is just a hint of the Green Irish Tweed fragrance and it is as most perfume infused soap tend to be fleeting. I didn't get ill at smelling it at 5:00 AM when I do my shaving so I have to say that it was nice. Not outstanding or fabulous but nice.

Lather: As I am more of a cream man than soap I may be little less patient when it comes to creating lather from a puck of soap, but this week I gave it all the time it needed and deserved to get the lather to its max with the tools and skills that I possess. I only have a Shavemac in Silvertip at 23 mm (knot size). This brush has fulfilled all of my basic shaving needs and is all I have need thus far in my shaving career. Although, in the future, I would like to try it with a Chubby-like brush. (Side note: SWMBO has effectively stymied any attempt at SBAD, for the time being. I plan on slowly increasing my repertoire in the years to come. I have found that too much of any good thing deadens the senses (desensitisation) and I would appreciate the increase in variety as the years progress.) Back to the lather; it was good but not great or anything.

Efficacy: I did get a good shave everyday I used this soap. No nicks or painful aftermath. But following the trend of the previous two factors it just left me feeling fine, good, okay. Not that I was expecting anything more than what I got. I am more of a realist and like to be happily surprised. As for an overall outcome it was just fine.

Moisturizing: No drying out of the skin after using this soap. Mind you, I am in the middle of the rainy season and humidity levels of late (namely the last week) have been quite high. I will have to give it another go when winter (less humid) days are more prevalent. Overall it has good moisturizing quality.

I have used this soap for one week only and I will, if I find the need, make additions and alterations to this review if things/opinions change in the future.

I also used the sample Green Irish Tweed Eau de Parfume in combination with this soap. I enjoyed this fragrance and definitely like it but everyday was a bit much for me. Actually I used the Green Irish Tweed soap this morning to complete the week and instead used some Floris JF Eau de Toilette. Would I buy the Green Irish Tweed soap again? I don’t know I’ll have to answer that when this one has been used up. I hope to continue to enjoy fine shaves and mellow fragrances when I do use it. It will be added to my rotation. Perhaps a Sunday soap, when I have fewer time constraints, before going to church.

Discussion Thread below
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22343

以上