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QED "Bathtub Gin" Shave Stick

My first shave stick ever-and it was worth the wait. In fact, because of this I can see many more shave stick purchases in the future-which will be measured against this one.

The scent had me saying 'Bond,James Bond' all day.

Great lather and ease of usage.

I can see why one of our members(??? I forget which) ditched his creams and soaps to go all shave stick. After using this offering from Charles, I am tempted to do the same(actually, I'll just add more shave sticks to the club!)


Marty
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
5.00 star(s)
This is my second group-buy soap from Charles at QED (the first being Wild Rose), and he managed to go 2/2 in making phenomenal quality soaps!

Price - Not dirt cheap, but a good value for the quality. Besides, I'm willing to pay a premium for custom soaps.

Quality - Absolutely superb. Charles makes fantastic products, and this is no different. This was my first shaving stick, and I was a bit concerned about that whole process, but the instructions on the stick make things easy for even a newbie. I'll echo JBHoren in wishing this could be made regularly available and in a tub form!

Scent - Out of this world amazing! Smells like a freshly poured G&T made with the finest of gin and fresh limes. I have to spend a considerable amount of time each morning convincing myself not to take a bite out of the stick, it is THAT good. I don't know how he does it, but Charles really succeeds at making superb quality scents for his soaps.

Lather - As the previous two have said, rubbing on the face followed by a wet brush produces mounds of thick, cushy lather that still manages to be slick enough for a BBS shave. Yet again I constantly have to remind myself it is in fact soap lather on my face rather than Gin & Tonic flavoured whipped cream.

Efficacy - I have used this soap for every single one of my last 5 shaves, which says something in itself because I almost never do that. I simply get a superb quality shave with plenty of closeness and no irritation. My tendency to pour myself a real G&T after shaving with this, however, may be a hamper to my efficacy!

Moisturizing - I almost never have problems here, particularly in the summer, and this soap is no exception to that rule.

I really cannot say enough positive things about this soap. My only other comment will have to match JBHoren's: bring on the matching EDT!
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
As you may or may not know, I'm a total QED Fanboy. I'd follows Charles around if I could. Watch him from across the way at the mall, ask for his autograph with tears in my eyes and after he does I'd drop to my knees in scream "OH MY GOOOOOODD!!!" in some prepubescent school girl glass shattering tone.

Well...maybe not. But I really like his soaps!

Price - Hey, we all got to make a living. $12 for a shave stick is tolerable, especially considering how great this one is.

Quality - It's QED. Do you really need to ask? I'm glad Charles has switched to a spin from the bottom(like a deodorant stick)style rather than the push up style container. Just personal preference, but I prefer the spin up.

Scent - This is what made me want to write a review for this stuff. In my personal experience, most creams and soap's scents are most concentrated before you lather with them, and then linger off a bit. Not so with this product. Once you touch the brush to your face the scent pops and you can enjoy it all throughout your shave. No other product I have used has ever done this. I like this a lot!

Lather - Give your face a good scrub with the shave stick and the second you touch a wet brush to it lather will explode onto your face. I'm not kidding, this stuff is ridiculous. Charles' soaps lather so well I often wonder why I use anything else. It's effortless to build the lather, and it's perhaps the thickest, cushy, slick stuff you will ever find.

Efficacy - I kind of summed that up in the last section. In my findings, nothing lathers as easily as QED.

Moisturizing - I have fairly dry and sensitive skin. Never had issues with any of Charles' soaps and this is no different.

Another excellent product from Charles that you can't go wrong with in my book. You have a lot of options when it comes to soaps, a lot of great options from our various vendors and you would be right in purchasing products from any of them. And that is a true testament to how great QED products are. He has some VERY stiff competition, and in my book, he comes out on top.
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
When Seth came-up with two extra shave sticks of QED Bathtub Gin, he sold them on the condition that the buyer would write a review of the product. So, without further ado, here are my findings:

Scent: In Bathtub Gin, Charles has blended essential oils (EO) of juniper berries, lemon, and lime in a balance which seems to switch back-and-forth between lemon and lime as the predominant scent, with the aroma of juniper berries always present just below those of the other two. I like that, and found that the dominance-switching keeps me much more aware of them than would usually be the case. Unlike with FO-based citrusy scents, Bathtub Gin has none of the harsh chemical odors; instead, the EOs used have a clean, natural feel to them. In all honesty, I wanted to wet my face and brush with tonic-water!

Lather: Once I'd rubbed the shave stick over my face, going against the grain, I began making gentle swirls with a damp shaving brush. Like a good shaving cream, Bathtub Gin burst forth with a thick and plentiful lather. Lathering on my face, rather than in a mug, I had enough high-quality lather for my regular four-pass shave.

Efficacy: Bathtub Gin is good... almost too good; I found several places where the slickness of the lather after making a pass prevented me from feeling patches where I'd not shaved close enough. I don't view this as a negative, because multi-pass shaving is a process of gradually reducing one's beard, rather than in a single pass.

Moisturizing: There are several places on my face (below the chin, on the right underside, for one) where I always have to make multiple passes, with resulting irritation. This time it was a different story -- Bathtub Gin kept my skin moist and I had no problem with rash or redness. Throughout the day my face felt comfortable.

Quality: What can I say? Bathtub Gin is one more in a long line of high-quality shaving products from QED. This user wishes that Bathtub Gin (along with Mocha Java) would be offered in tubs, as well as in stick form.

Price: Higher than usual -- even with the recent price rise; but considering that Bathtub Gin was a limited-edition run, the cost was worth it, and not out-of-reach.

All-in-all, my only issue with QED's Bathtub Gin is what the hell do I use for a matching EDT?!
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
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