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Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet

I cannot possibly add anything to Todd's review except my agreement!

Well said Todd!

Excellent review!

The one thing I'll note is that when it comes to price, you often get what you pay for. People who can afford Ferrari's don't complain about the half million dollar price tags. Sure the cost of this soap may be a concern for those of us on a tight budget and many of us may even have a hard time justifying the price tag. That said, if you can afford it or are willing to budget for it you won't be dissatisfied. This sits squarely in my top 5. Its too bad they are no longer making this exact formula. One can only hope that the new formulation performs just as well, though I suspect it will be Tallow free. :eek:

I got my first puck in a PIF from our very own ProfessorChaos, thanks Henry!

Since discovering just how fantastic this soap really is I was able to score a second NOS/Sealed puck on the bay and have added the ASB and EDT to my Den.
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Introduction: Penhaligon's is known for producing some of the finest fragrances and shaving gear. Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet was Winston Churchill's favorite scent; it is also one of my favorites. Let's see how the shaving soap compares to the colognes.

Price: $29.99 for a refill and $64.99 for a wooden bowl is ridiculous. I would say that at least 50% of the price goes towards paying for the name. At this incredible price, there really are many more creams and soaps to try. And seriously, $35 for the bowl alone? You've got to be joking...

Lather: I got a good lather. It wasn't that great. Maybe I need to load the brush more next time.

Scent: I love the scent. Unfortunately it fades after a while.

Shave: I got BBS in three passes with my Mergress.

Moisturizing properties: My face feels moist and healthy.

Packaging: The refill and bowl both come in nice boxes. The packaging is very nice and luxurious.

Final thoughts: There is no denying that the soap is overpriced. If the soap was $25 for a refill and $40 for a wooden bowl, it would be worth it. Like this, however, it is not.

Where to purchase: You can purchase this soap at VintageBladesLLC.com. For $29.99 you get a 3.5 oz. refill and for $64.99 you get the same refill in a bowl.
Price
2.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
3.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
3.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
No question, my favorite soap.


1) Cost is a bit much. $30 for the puck and $65ish for the bowl. I dropped it because I heard so much about this stuff. I'm glad I did and it will last a long time.

2) Quality. No question, best soap I own.

3) Scent. Not exactly like the Edt, but close enough to do an all Penhaligon's shave/Edt and no one will notice.

4) Lather. I get the best lather out of this soap vs. any other SS in my collection.

5) Efficacy. It does the job I intend it to do very well. Provides great slickness, amazing cushion and a great scent!

6) Only soap I can think of I've tried with better moisturizing properties is MWF.

But this stuff blows MWF away IMHO.
Price
3.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Where to begin...

I DO love the Blenheim Bouquet EDT, and I guess I was really let down that the soap didn't smell IDENTICAL to the superlative cologne - but, honestly? It's pretty good still. It's not the incredible mind-blowing class of the EDT, but it's Close Enough for me. It's certainly missing something - an earlier review said pine, and that's possibly it.

The price - 8
Well, the cost-for-entry is steep, with the bowl included... but the refill puck isn't all that bad, and being a triple milled soap - it's gonna last forever. I've used it 4 times now, and I can't see ANY erosion of the top yet.

Quality -
HOLY cow what a product! Beautifully made wooden bowl, shipped in a gorgeous box, and the soap is exactly what a high-end soap SHOULD be.

Lather -
I now am completely spoiled. Its lather is easily as good as Tabac and Art of Shaving, if not better. It takes very little effort to generate incredible mounds. Awesome for face lathering, LOVES water.

Efficacy -
Yes. Yes yes, yes. It does everything I would want it to do. Softens the beard, protects the skin, etc etc etc.

Moisturizing -
Meh. It's okay. It's not nearly as drying as most, but not as moisturizing as some. I always use a splash and balm afterward anyway, so as long as it's not too drying I'm fine.

Bottom line: If you want a KILLER luxury soap, get this.
After shaving with it for a few days all I can say is WOW!!! Superlative results with any brush str8 combination.

The lather jumps out of the bowl and it is slick. The blade seems to just glide on your face while shaving. I almost did not need an A/S balm after using this soap.

Granted it has the price tag to with the performance but a little luxury is good once in a while.
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Surprisingly moisturising for such a strongly scented soap. Incredible, smooth shave, lathers like a dream. The big 'P' is right there up with the 3 T's.
Awesome stuff. Churchill was right.
Price
3.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
I pretty much agree, this is a top-notch soap and easily the equal of T&H or Trumpers. I got the refill puck for $20 shipped from a guy that had used it only a few times, so I thought it was a fairly good bargain :) I love the scent, and while it's not quite the same as the beloved edt it's a very nice manly scent that is compatible with a wide range of summery aftershaves. I've been using it for a few weeks now and will probably stick with it until this fall when I'll switch to something a little warmer like Trumper's Almond.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
I cannot possibly add anything to Todd's review except my agreement!

Well said Todd!:badger:
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
This review concerns the Blenheim Bouquet shave soap from Penhaligon's. I used it again a few mornings ago and nothing has changed. Still dead reliable, oozes class, and only re-affirms my opinion that Penhaligon's is the class of the British perfume houses. I've added rating numbers above to keep in line with review procedures. The only categories lower than a 9 are price and moistruising. It is pricey, though as I've stated I would buy it again. These triple milled soaps seemingly last forever in a good rotation so we are talking pennies per shave. Cost is really not a big factor to me but may be to others. Hence the 8. Same for moisturising. Realise that I gave this an 8. That is not an inconsequential number. It is not the most moisturising soap out there but it is hardly bad either. The following paragraphs are a cut and paste of my posing about this product in the shave soap forum. I hope it is of help. Forgive my choppy review style. Others are much better at this sort of thing and I will try give more concise reviews in the future.


Good morning gentlemen. I thought I'd pass along a few final thoughts about the Blenheim Bouquet shave soap. As a baseline, let me begin with pure shave performance. It's right there at the top. It may not be quite as creamy as Tabac soap(what is?), but that is NOT damning in any way. This soap is superb and lathers with little effort. It is easily as good as T&H Luxury and mayhaps a bit better. It is fully the equal of Provence Sante and other luxury shave soaps. Everything that follows is aimed more toward the packaging, scent, and overall feel of the experience.

Right away lets get something straight. This is a class product. Yes, there are many top shelf, superb shaving toiletries out there. Few can match Penhaligon's in overall effect for the consumer. As mentioned above, when I ordered this soap, it came in it's own shipping box(I had posted earlier on this soap and I was referring to that initial post). No damage to the content was really possible short of completely crushing it. The box the soap was packaged in is impeccable. I would have never thought that cardboard could be so elegant. A royal blue colour with black fleur patterns on it. The royal warrants are embossed in a gold colour along with Penhaligon's name and Blenheim Bouquet on the front. The back lists the ingredients in gold as well. BTW, this is a palm and palm kernal based soap. Tallow is listed as well so it has not been completely eliminated. A wise move I think. The shrink wrap it came in was complete with no holes and it had a label on it as well. Overall one of the best presentations I have experienced.

The scent. Lovers of Blenheim Bouquet need no introduction to this scent. I will however say that the scent is not identical to the edt. The pine note is not nearly as strong in the soap though it's there. It is just softer. This scent is not weak. It is certainly not overowering but it is not subtle either. I love it. I realise this word is used much too often but it applies here; class. End of story. This is most elegant, sophisticated, and manly shave soap around. The entire experience leaves you feeling nothing short of belonging to the gentry. Of course you must evaluate these things for yourselves. This is my experience with Blenheim Bouquet shave soap. Yours may differ. I can honestly say I will never again be without a Penahaligon's product in my toiletry locker.

Regards, Todd
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
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