Item Description
Fitjar Såpekokeri is an artisan soap company based in Norway and is run by a woman named Jorunn Hernes.
I first came about these creams after reading a review of the soaps that a gentleman posted on SMF. I later ordered the sample satchel of creams to get a sense of the fragrances of each product. The products produced by Fitjar are all natural and contain only essential oils for fragrance.
I found that all of the creams lathered equally regardless of the fragrance and thus this review is of the creams produced by Fitjar.
Price: As with any artisan soap/cream with EO only fragrance additions the price is not cheap but it is affordable and is worth it.
Quality: Artisan creams that are all natural and strictly EO are hard to come by. And when you do the creams are often poor quality or don't lather very well. These are an exception to that trend. They are not whipped like AOS creams, and are not 'cold cream' textured with a shiny sheen, but are comparable to the English creams: Harris, Floris, Penhaligons in their texture. They are all a shade off white depending on the colouring of the EO introduced to the cream.
Scent: I was not fond of all of the scents when I ordered the sample satchel. But of the many I did like seven of them and later ordered seven regular sized tubs and have been using them exclusively for the better part of a month. Some of the scents are...similar to one another. But they are not too strong and not too soft (with the exception of Fjellheim, an exceptionally strong pine scent). Of the seven I chose to buy in the full size my favourite three are Miklagard, East Indies, and Calmolilia.
Latherability: I have four brushes a Silvertip, a Finest, a Pure and a Boar; none of them has had any difficulty lathering any of these creams and they lather very very easily. They produce a thick, slick long lasting lather that doesn't dry out even when you have to spend a little more time shaving due to unexpected time delays in the shave routine.
Efficacy: The beard softening qualities of these creams are perfect. I have used a lot of products and these are my top choice. This is a personal opinion as I am prone to have sensitivity issues with most creams if used for more than 3 or 4 days consecutively. Nonetheless, the beard softening and skin protection is optimal for me.
Moisturizing Properties: I compare this to my favourite soap: Tabac; it feels just right after the shave and almost makes you want to leave off the aftershave. Not too much and not too little. A great post shave feeling.
Packaging: Pretty much the same as say a Mama Bear soap container. white base and black lid. It came from fitjar wrapped and bound with a twine ribbon, a nice touch in my estimation.
Also as these products will ship internationally to nearly all who buy them the packaging was appropriate and transit time was prompt. I ordered quite a large order including soaps etc and Jorunn split the shipment in two to save on shipping costs.
I mentioned on the SMF board that I have phased out all of my other creams due to finding Fitjar.
These creams are definitely not a gamble. They are very high quality all natural products that deserve a high ranking and that's what I give them.
On another note, Jorunn is always very prompt in answering emails and is fluent in English
I first came about these creams after reading a review of the soaps that a gentleman posted on SMF. I later ordered the sample satchel of creams to get a sense of the fragrances of each product. The products produced by Fitjar are all natural and contain only essential oils for fragrance.
I found that all of the creams lathered equally regardless of the fragrance and thus this review is of the creams produced by Fitjar.
Price: As with any artisan soap/cream with EO only fragrance additions the price is not cheap but it is affordable and is worth it.
Quality: Artisan creams that are all natural and strictly EO are hard to come by. And when you do the creams are often poor quality or don't lather very well. These are an exception to that trend. They are not whipped like AOS creams, and are not 'cold cream' textured with a shiny sheen, but are comparable to the English creams: Harris, Floris, Penhaligons in their texture. They are all a shade off white depending on the colouring of the EO introduced to the cream.
Scent: I was not fond of all of the scents when I ordered the sample satchel. But of the many I did like seven of them and later ordered seven regular sized tubs and have been using them exclusively for the better part of a month. Some of the scents are...similar to one another. But they are not too strong and not too soft (with the exception of Fjellheim, an exceptionally strong pine scent). Of the seven I chose to buy in the full size my favourite three are Miklagard, East Indies, and Calmolilia.
Latherability: I have four brushes a Silvertip, a Finest, a Pure and a Boar; none of them has had any difficulty lathering any of these creams and they lather very very easily. They produce a thick, slick long lasting lather that doesn't dry out even when you have to spend a little more time shaving due to unexpected time delays in the shave routine.
Efficacy: The beard softening qualities of these creams are perfect. I have used a lot of products and these are my top choice. This is a personal opinion as I am prone to have sensitivity issues with most creams if used for more than 3 or 4 days consecutively. Nonetheless, the beard softening and skin protection is optimal for me.
Moisturizing Properties: I compare this to my favourite soap: Tabac; it feels just right after the shave and almost makes you want to leave off the aftershave. Not too much and not too little. A great post shave feeling.
Packaging: Pretty much the same as say a Mama Bear soap container. white base and black lid. It came from fitjar wrapped and bound with a twine ribbon, a nice touch in my estimation.
Also as these products will ship internationally to nearly all who buy them the packaging was appropriate and transit time was prompt. I ordered quite a large order including soaps etc and Jorunn split the shipment in two to save on shipping costs.
I mentioned on the SMF board that I have phased out all of my other creams due to finding Fitjar.
These creams are definitely not a gamble. They are very high quality all natural products that deserve a high ranking and that's what I give them.
On another note, Jorunn is always very prompt in answering emails and is fluent in English
