Item Description
Saint Charles Shave has introduced a limited-edition blend of four first-thing-in-the-morning scents for the early-rising gourmand wetshaver: Mocha Creme shaving soap. My two tubs arrived in Wednesday's mail, and I used it this morning; here's my take:
Scent: Although any one of the individual scents could easily overpower the others, SCS has done a great job and managed to strike a balance between them. Rather than giving equal weight to each one, the "balance point" (to my nose) is placed so that Chocolate is the dominant scent, but neither the Vanilla, Maple, nor the Coffee play "second fiddle"; all are easily discernable, and together they smell like a fine chamber-music ensemble sounds.
I would have preferred that the dominant scent be Coffee, with the Maple enhanced and the Chocolate and Vanilla playing subordinate, supporting roles; however, I am by no means dissatisfied or disappointed with this limited version of Mocha Creme.
Lather: No changes from the previous shaving soaps I'd purchased from SCS. Making my requisite forty swirls with a dampened brush, I began building a lather in my shaving mug. With a little less than a teaspoon of hot water, I quickly developed lots of rich, fragrant lather on-and-in my brush.
Efficacy: I hadn't showered just before shaving, but I did rinse my beard repeatedly with hot water, and this, together with the oils on/in my beard, provided a welcoming base for the lather. I continued to develop the lather on my face, and then began my first pass (1927 Bostonian w/3rd-day IP). I shave at a leisurely pace, and by the time I reached my upper lip (end of pass) the lather was still thick and moist. Ditto for the second and third passes.
As with the rest of SCS's shaving soaps, "a little goes a long way", and those forty swirls on the face of the soap puck provided enough lather for four passes, with enough left-over for a fifth.
Moisturizing: I've never been one to suffer from dry skin, or other negative effects from shaving creams/soaps and/or AS/EDT/EDC. Having said that, my face felt refreshed... smooth and silky.
Quality: With the exception of a cake of SCS Sandalwood shaving soap, all the other shaving soaps I own are QED products. SCS's Mocha Creme more than "holds its own" against the competition; its scent, lubricity, and staying-power are on a par with QED shaving soaps in all aspects.
Price: A steal! Given the price-to-volume ratio, the $12 price-tag is really only pennies per-shave.
Packaging: As always, the Mocha Creme container is sturdy, with a friction-closure lid that stays in place, no matter how I tossed, juggled, or otherwise tried to get it to fall off. The only minus is that there's no label on the top of the container, other than the maker's label, which doesn't identify the contents; that's done by a round sticker on the bottom of the container, with the word "Mocha" printed on it.
Overall, I'm a happy fellow, with SCS's new Mocha Creme providing a firm foundation for my Cafe Noir EDP and a French-press pot of my home-roasted, hand-ground "Moka Kadir Blend" from Sweet Maria's!
Scent: Although any one of the individual scents could easily overpower the others, SCS has done a great job and managed to strike a balance between them. Rather than giving equal weight to each one, the "balance point" (to my nose) is placed so that Chocolate is the dominant scent, but neither the Vanilla, Maple, nor the Coffee play "second fiddle"; all are easily discernable, and together they smell like a fine chamber-music ensemble sounds.
I would have preferred that the dominant scent be Coffee, with the Maple enhanced and the Chocolate and Vanilla playing subordinate, supporting roles; however, I am by no means dissatisfied or disappointed with this limited version of Mocha Creme.
Lather: No changes from the previous shaving soaps I'd purchased from SCS. Making my requisite forty swirls with a dampened brush, I began building a lather in my shaving mug. With a little less than a teaspoon of hot water, I quickly developed lots of rich, fragrant lather on-and-in my brush.
Efficacy: I hadn't showered just before shaving, but I did rinse my beard repeatedly with hot water, and this, together with the oils on/in my beard, provided a welcoming base for the lather. I continued to develop the lather on my face, and then began my first pass (1927 Bostonian w/3rd-day IP). I shave at a leisurely pace, and by the time I reached my upper lip (end of pass) the lather was still thick and moist. Ditto for the second and third passes.
As with the rest of SCS's shaving soaps, "a little goes a long way", and those forty swirls on the face of the soap puck provided enough lather for four passes, with enough left-over for a fifth.
Moisturizing: I've never been one to suffer from dry skin, or other negative effects from shaving creams/soaps and/or AS/EDT/EDC. Having said that, my face felt refreshed... smooth and silky.
Quality: With the exception of a cake of SCS Sandalwood shaving soap, all the other shaving soaps I own are QED products. SCS's Mocha Creme more than "holds its own" against the competition; its scent, lubricity, and staying-power are on a par with QED shaving soaps in all aspects.
Price: A steal! Given the price-to-volume ratio, the $12 price-tag is really only pennies per-shave.
Packaging: As always, the Mocha Creme container is sturdy, with a friction-closure lid that stays in place, no matter how I tossed, juggled, or otherwise tried to get it to fall off. The only minus is that there's no label on the top of the container, other than the maker's label, which doesn't identify the contents; that's done by a round sticker on the bottom of the container, with the word "Mocha" printed on it.
Overall, I'm a happy fellow, with SCS's new Mocha Creme providing a firm foundation for my Cafe Noir EDP and a French-press pot of my home-roasted, hand-ground "Moka Kadir Blend" from Sweet Maria's!
