La Toja shaving soap

Those who remember, I used this stick as a "reality check" when I was using the De Vergulde Hand shave stick (DVH). The lather was sub-par to the DVH and I always highly regarded the LaToja as a great stick. That one shave changed my opinion on the stick. This is why I found important to use it for 30 days so that way, I can really conclude that I had a bad shave or the stick is really inferior to other products.

The first time I bought the stick, I was in Australia. I got it from Vintage Scent and it took a while to get to me. It's nothing against Vintage Scent as the stamp recorded at the post office clearly indicated that it was in the mail the next day that I bought it. It just took a long time to get to me but only the postal service can be blamed for this. I got the stick I found it to have a strong coffee scent. I was surprised as that scent is not the one that I always see being described when I read a review. I used it a few times (11 times to be exact) and thought, yes, it makes good later (the first 10 times) and then, wow (11th time), what happened? The water changed!

That's right, the first 10 times I was in Melbourne and I am now in Montreal so the water is not the same. I did not encounter such a difference with my products from one city to another until now.

I also decided to buy another one of those as I was wondering if the scent was off. I got one from Italian Barber and the scent is fairly identical to what I remember(and leftover stick from the Vintage Scent). Today, the old LaToja that I have doesn't have a strong scent anymore. It's still there but not nearly like the new one I got.

This 30 days of shave with LaToja made me realise that water plays a huge role in this stick. I had to work a bit harder to get the lather to be like I want it. Also, I noticed that my blades were getting duller quicker. It's not a bad product, I can get good lather out of it. It's simply not as good as recent sticks that I tried like Wilkinson Sword, Tabac, Speick and even De Vergulde Hand. It's unfortunate but that's how it is I guess.

I did a superlather test with some kiss my face lime. It was fantastic (always is with that shave cream). The uberlather was pushed this stick to the next level, the glide was awesome. Without a shave cream or glycerin, the LaToja is no match against Wilkinson Sword stick.

Bottom line, it's a good soap if your local water allows you to work this one easily. In Melbourne I could, in Montreal it's more difficult. This is why I will pass next time. They can't all be fantastic and great!

This is my favorite shave stick, and it sits in my medicine cabinet above the sink I use for shaving. I really like the container design with the cap for storage. I get quality lather from this, in large amounts too. The downside would be it is pricier than some of the budget shave sticks out there ( Arko, Palmolive). I also like the really unique scent of La Toja. I can't really make a comparison scent wise. I will re-order this when it runs out. Thumbs Up!

La Toja is up there with Palmolive in terms of value. I normally don't like using sticks. However, this stick is easy to apply and with a little brush loading as well it is a lather bomb. The lather is slick and protective. Along with MdC, La Toja seems to be a fairly moisturizing soap which is surprising considering neither contain tallow. I didn't care for the scent at first but have come to really like it now.