QED Violetta

Allow me to first say that I am big fan of the florals. In fact, my entire den is comprised of florals. Trumpers rose and violet, AoS rose, TOBS rose, QED sandalwood rose, etc... Even so, I was extremely disapointed with this soap's scent. The soap can lather up really well, better than most, if not all, glycerin soaps out there. QED however is not only known for its high quality soap and its ability to produce a rich and rewarding lather, but also for its nose blasting, room filling scents. This scent horribly fails in every way, and I say this with such strong words because of the quality I have come to expect from QED based on my experience with sandalwood rose.

Some of the members on here have said in other forums that Trumpers violet is sweeter than QED. No way. IMO QED's violetta scent is WAY WAY WAYYYYY sweeter and thicker than Trumpers. Trumpers violet is a dryer, cleaner scent with a powdery freshness as it comes down. The QED smells like violet flavored candy. The scent might be for some, but its not for me. I really wanted to like this soap.

This soap can lather like a beast and beats nearly every glycerin soap out there. It produces a thick firm lather that is usually uncharateristic of many glycerin soaps. It almost has the firmness and thickness that Irisch Moos has. Almost.

I received my tub from a fellow B&B member and will likely be selling it soon. I only did one test lather and that was enough for me. I'll likely be selling it soon.

The sandalwood rose however is out of this world good Sometimes I stop in the bathroom just to smell that soap I would love to try QED wild rose, and QED sandalwood at some point. Maybe I'll buy the sandalwood soon.

Please note that this review is not to blast the quality of the soap. Minus the scent, this is one fantastic soap and it can stand up to my tallow soaps any day of the week.

I received this soap as a gift from my brother for my birthday last year. I used it up very fast. I found that it produced a wonderful lather faster than any of my other soaps (except for it's sister Wild Rose) and the lather didn't dry out if I took a bit longer completing a pass. I didn't have a problem with the razor skipping accross my face, as I get from my C&E soaps (still trying to tame that beast). The soap just gave me really enjoyable shaves...and the scent wasn't too strong, but just right.

Really I can't say anymore than I LOVED this soap, and I wish the puck was bigger!

What a nice surprise.

I'm using Harris' Arlington this week, and am forcing myself not to return to this tub every morning.

Notes:

The colour changed after a few days. Bad form perhaps, but it has little to do with the shave.

Lathers much better than other soaps, except for the VERY best tallow based products. I think that concerns about moisturizing noted above should be viewed as relative. Not many soaps are as creamy as this stuff.

QED products are EXCEPTIONAL value, as defined by PERFORMANCE/PRICE.

The scent is violet, as promised. I'm soon returning to buy some other classic scents from Charles.

It's a shame Charles is not located in London. He'd be wealthy. (Maybe he is!)

Surpringly few reviews of this soap, considering it was a group buy.

Another winner from Chuck. These may not last as long as the harder, triple milled soaps (ie: forever), but you get a goodly amount in the tub, which is perhaps the most useful enclosure for any soap I've tried.

Smells heavenly. Good lather. Great shave. Hard to dislike.

I think I'll have to buy the rest of his portfolio.

i got a tub of this second hand from the second group buy

one of our members found it too irritating, so sold it to me; and MAN what a soap.

I BARELY put the brush in and i had amazing lather; and well the scent; if this is what some of this other products are like my RAD is about to go haywire.

great product

As a general note, I'm buying any and everything Charles at QED offers us from now on immediately. I'd advise the same for all of you.

Price: This category seems negligible, because it really means value. Some people value money more, and some people value quality more. All I can say(quietly) is that I would pay more for this than I did. It's great stuff.

Quality: Outstanding, but you could gather that from the categories below.

Scent: The strongest point of this soap; It is a beautifully fruity, floral, and sweet scent; much like an intense violet lollipop. It's difficult for me to not put my shaving brush in my mouth. It makes Trumper's Violet smell bland and powdery. It also has another note which I'm not completely sure about, but I would guess a bit of amber. Charles could have included it as a fixative for the more delicate violet fragrance. Regardless of what it is, it gives this scent amazing depth, and is only noticeable itself with your nose against the puck inhaling like a madman (trust me, you'll do this).

Lather: Simply put, it lathers well, and the lather holds up well.

Efficacy: This soap is very slick, and softens the beard quicker than most anything else I've tried. It provides a most comfortable shave.

Moisturizing: This is the real weak point. I found the soap more drying than average, but this may go along with it's above average beard softening. After a few uses, I've nearly decided to put it up for the next month or so while we are in the driest and coldest part of winter, but I doubt I will.

Dave was right. This stuff is spot on very intense violets with an added something else....can't describe it, but I'd like to see this offered from QED as a regular item. I gave the quality a 10 because, like the other QED soaps, it is just outstanding. If it were to be offered as a full time soap, I'd say we could skip the colorant since there has been some variation, but I do kinda like the pale purple color of it

Overall, a very good soap. I will use this on occasion, and smell it every time I pass the bathroom.

Here is an image of QED Violetta from the Score post announcing its arrival. 102 Tubs were produced for this special B&B group buy.



Comments on this product:

This soap shaves very well, in line with the other QED soaps I've tried. I didn't have any reactions to Violetta. Some report reactions to various QED scents due to the very generous additions of essential or fragrance oils (Violetta is FO based).

I droped the Quality rating a bit as there was some significant variation in the color of the soap in the tubs. Charles explained that the colorant used was very natural and would have variations between the small batches he made to produce the total order size for this group buy.

I went a bit lower with the Moisturizing rating as in general soaps tend to be that way for me. QED is less drying than some of the triple milled English soaps I use.

Scent: Here is where this soap stands out for me big-time. Forgive my inability to describe scent well:

When I smell this soap in the tub and while lathering, I get a huge whiff of pure Violet right away. I literally see violets dancing before my eyes. Next comes a bit of a perfumy scent that I can't quite put my finger on. The last thing I detect is a bit of a "soapy" smell. I love the scent and think it is a truly unique and outstanding offering from QED.

Again, this scent is very strong and very unique. As such it might not be to everyones' taste. And while I really like this scent I feel like it is one that I'll use on occasaion as a special treat. It's a bit much for me to use as an everyday soap. One last note - it is definitely one of those scents that has you opening the tub and taking a whiff every time you walk by the bathroom. Come on, You know you all do it

Link to the discussion thread for this QED Violetta review