Item Description
PRICE: Spanish Fig & Nutmeg Shaving Soap retails for 12.95 GBP in a wooden bowl and 6.95 GBP for a 100g refill. This soap is slightly cheaper than comparable British soaps without any loss in the quality of the product; it stacks up very well against the more well known soaps produced by the 3T's and others.
Being a triple-milled soap it is rather hard and, as such, one should expect to get an awful lot of use out of this soap.
Given the quality of the product and the resultant shave, it is priced very competitively and represents good value for the money.
QUALITY: There is no doubt in my mind that this is a high-quality product. It is well packaged, using quality materials, and the shave one can expect from this product is, as has already been mentioned, is as good as one can expect from other vegetable-base, triple-milled soaps.
SCENT: The packaging describes the scent thus,
"Warm spicy notes of Spanish Fig, Nutmeg and Clove resting on a base of Sandalwood, Cedar and exotic Patchouli."
The Nutmeg is definitely the predominant note to my nose and it lends a rich sweetness to a pleasant and powdery fragrance with a definite cola-smelling undertone. The soap itself is well scented, but I have found the fragrance itself to be very light. It certainly won't interfere with any cologne worn with it.
It's not the most complex or dramatic of fragrances, but it is different to the endless number of department store fragrances that use the same ozonic, citrus notes as their base.
Personally, I really enjoy this fragrance, and that enhances the pleasure I get from using this particular soap.
LATHER: In a word excellent. This soap produces a very rich, protective lather, that is easily as good as the offerings of T&H and Trumpers. The lather is very stable and provides an incredible amount of cushion, whilst still cutting closely. Despite the thickness and the volume of the lather it also provides plenty of lubrication.
EFFICACY: This really is a fantastic soap, and it certainly ticks all of the right boxes. It lathers easily and quickly, the lather itself provides great protection without sacrificing lubrication and the end quality of the shave is also superb. This soap works, and it works incredibly well. Despite the slightly lower price point of this soap compared to others, it would be wrong to expect it to be in any way inferior.
MOISTURIZING: Whilst there may be more moisturizing soaps available, this soap is in no way drying. The lather is very moist and it does not dry the skin out in anyway. Spanish Fig & Nutmeg provides a smooth and very comfortable shave without any feelings of discomfort, irritation or tightness to the skin.
OVERALL: If you can't already tell, let me say that I really like this soap. It may not carry the big name prestige offered by the more traditional English companies, but it is every bit as good when it comes to shave quality. Whilst it may never supplant the traditional soaps completely, it is a real shame that so few people seem to know and use this soap, they're missing out on a first-class product which is also very reasonably priced.
The discussion thread for this review can be found here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=931914#post931914
Being a triple-milled soap it is rather hard and, as such, one should expect to get an awful lot of use out of this soap.
Given the quality of the product and the resultant shave, it is priced very competitively and represents good value for the money.
QUALITY: There is no doubt in my mind that this is a high-quality product. It is well packaged, using quality materials, and the shave one can expect from this product is, as has already been mentioned, is as good as one can expect from other vegetable-base, triple-milled soaps.
SCENT: The packaging describes the scent thus,
"Warm spicy notes of Spanish Fig, Nutmeg and Clove resting on a base of Sandalwood, Cedar and exotic Patchouli."
The Nutmeg is definitely the predominant note to my nose and it lends a rich sweetness to a pleasant and powdery fragrance with a definite cola-smelling undertone. The soap itself is well scented, but I have found the fragrance itself to be very light. It certainly won't interfere with any cologne worn with it.
It's not the most complex or dramatic of fragrances, but it is different to the endless number of department store fragrances that use the same ozonic, citrus notes as their base.
Personally, I really enjoy this fragrance, and that enhances the pleasure I get from using this particular soap.
LATHER: In a word excellent. This soap produces a very rich, protective lather, that is easily as good as the offerings of T&H and Trumpers. The lather is very stable and provides an incredible amount of cushion, whilst still cutting closely. Despite the thickness and the volume of the lather it also provides plenty of lubrication.
EFFICACY: This really is a fantastic soap, and it certainly ticks all of the right boxes. It lathers easily and quickly, the lather itself provides great protection without sacrificing lubrication and the end quality of the shave is also superb. This soap works, and it works incredibly well. Despite the slightly lower price point of this soap compared to others, it would be wrong to expect it to be in any way inferior.
MOISTURIZING: Whilst there may be more moisturizing soaps available, this soap is in no way drying. The lather is very moist and it does not dry the skin out in anyway. Spanish Fig & Nutmeg provides a smooth and very comfortable shave without any feelings of discomfort, irritation or tightness to the skin.
OVERALL: If you can't already tell, let me say that I really like this soap. It may not carry the big name prestige offered by the more traditional English companies, but it is every bit as good when it comes to shave quality. Whilst it may never supplant the traditional soaps completely, it is a real shame that so few people seem to know and use this soap, they're missing out on a first-class product which is also very reasonably priced.
The discussion thread for this review can be found here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=931914#post931914