A Year of Queen Charlotte Soaps

[JeffJ]

I should be getting my 4 hand & body bars and 4 shampoo bars later today. This is my first time using QCS and I'm very excited. I also threw in a Chocolate fudge lip balm.

Here's what I got

Cafe Mocha (tallow)
Caribbean Coconut (vegan)
Cucumber & Melon (vegan)
Orange Spice (tallow)

Cafe D' Amande
Cedarwood & Rosemary
Lemon Bergomot
Orange Spice

Great order. The Cucumber Melon body soap is one of my all time favorites. Family really likes it also. I haven't tried the other three. Would be interested in what you think of the Cafe Mocha and how close the Orange Spice body soap is to the shampoo bar scent. Would also be interested if you can tell a difference between the tallow and the vegan body soaps.

On the Shampoo bars, Cedarwood & Rosemary and Lemon Bergomot are fantastic. I also have used several bars of the Orange Spice.

 

[SafetyRZRBgnr78]

Yeah I'm looking forward to seeing if the scents are the same in the two Orange spice bars. The two coffee scented bars will be interesting to compare also.

I do want to compare the tallow and vegan soaps too but It might be awhile before I get to any of them. I have 2 Honeybee shower gels and 1 Honeybee enriched shampoo that are almost half way through. Plus I got another shampoo and body wash to get through but I couldn't pass up the 15% off sale.

The reason for the Cucumber & melon and the Caribbean coconut is I just finished the Honeybee version of Caribbean coconut and awhile ago finished the C&M from HB too, want to make a comparison of scent, performance and longevity.

 

[JeffJ]

The third shampoo bar is QCS Lemon Bergamot. The scent strength is medium and the lemon is strong with a nice note of Bergamot. Like the Volcano hand soap, the QCS lemon scents are very nice and smell to me like a fresh cut lemon. Similar to my other shampoo bars, I cut the bar in half.

View attachment 447111

The lemon bergamot shampoo bar is working down rapidly. It might be slightly softer. Also, when there is pool chlorine in the hair I seem to need to double the load to get a decent lather. The "repeat" lather is normal.

 

[JeffJ]

I have 2 Honeybee shower gels and 1 Honeybee enriched shampoo that are almost half way through.

The reason for the Cucumber & melon and the Caribbean coconut is I just finished the Honeybee version of Caribbean coconut and awhile ago finished the C&M from HB too, want to make a comparison of scent, performance and longevity.

Honeybee makes very good shaving soap and bath soap. Sue's soaps were my first foray into shaving soaps outside VDH/Williams drugstore soaps.

 

[JeffJ]

The Month 6 body soaps came today. Goat Milk Honey & Oats and Ginger Lime. Ginger Lime is my all time favorite bath soap.

 

[SafetyRZRBgnr78]

Well I got my soaps Friday and smelled all them and they all smell good.

I noticed the Cafe Mocha is a hand soap. I swore it was in the regular tallow section but now it's in the specialty. I wanted to try the Cafe D" Amande shampoo bar with it as a bath bar. I might just go ahead and use it as a hand soap then maybe next month I'll buy something else that might go well with the Cafe d' Amande.

 

[JeffJ]

Well I got my soaps Friday and smelled all them and they all smell good.

I noticed the Cafe Mocha is a hand soap. I swore it was in the regular tallow section but now it's in the specialty. I wanted to try the Cafe D" Amande shampoo bar with it as a bath bar. I might just go ahead and use it as a hand soap then maybe next month I'll buy something else that might go well with the Cafe d' Amande.

I'm betting the specialty soaps work just fine as body soaps and appear to be classified that way on the QCS site. Please let us know how you like the Cafe Mocha.

 

[JeffJ]

The [post=6234260]QCS Lemon Bergamont Shampoo Bar[/post] first half and [post=6280747]QCS Ocean Breeze body soap[/post] are both down to about a quarter remaining. Like both a lot.

 

[JeffJ]

Finished the [post=6280747]QCS Ocean Breeze body soap[/post] yesterday. Great soap. Will definitely replace. QCS Eucalyptus is up next.

 

[Toothpick]

Trying to keep up but it's hard....

doesn't seem like the body soaps last very long. Not even a month on the Ocean Breeze? Are they sample size or full size bars?

 

[JeffJ]

Trying to keep up but it's hard....

doesn't seem like the body soaps last very long. Not even a month on the Ocean Breeze? Are they sample size or full size bars?

Like many things YMMV. In my experience Artisan soaps are generally softer than detergent style commercial soaps. Shower frequency, duration, and habits as well as the water quality and soap storage may all play into longevity. If I was worried about it, I would still be buying bales of bar soap at Costco. As hobbies go, this is a mild one in terms of expense. Quality soaps are a small luxury.

 

[Toothpick]

Like many things YMMV. In my experience Artisan soaps are generally softer than detergent style commercial soaps. Shower frequency, duration, and habits as well as the water quality and soap storage may all play into longevity. If I was worried about it, I would still be buying bales of bar soap at Costco. As hobbies go, this is a mild one in terms of expense. Quality soaps are a small luxury.

That's a fair summary. I spent $22 on a bar of Molton Brown bath soap back in April. It was a huge bar so I cut it in half. I just finished half. Figure $22 for 4 months of soap.

Now that I add it up it's about the same price as QCS if it lasts a month. I'll be looking for a new soap once the Molton Brown is done

 

[mretzloff]

Trying to keep up but it's hard....

doesn't seem like the body soaps last very long. Not even a month on the Ocean Breeze? Are they sample size or full size bars?

Jason, I generally get a month or two out of one bar. It is definitely a YMMV situation, but you can easily get more out of your soap if you let it dry completely between uses. So, if you are using the soap during the shower, hang it in a soap net behind the shower head or even outside of the shower (i.e. where no water will hit it). If you are using the soap as a hand soap, try using a soap dish that gives the soap plenty of ventilation. I find that both of those can easily get me another two to three weeks of use, but again, YMMV. Also, take into consideration the size of the soap. Some companies sell much larger bars of soap, so their soap will naturally last longer.

 

[Toothpick]

Jason, I generally get a month or two out of one bar. It is definitely a YMMV situation, but you can easily get more out of your soap if you let it dry completely between uses. So, if you are using the soap during the shower, hang it in a soap net behind the shower head or even outside of the shower (i.e. where no water will hit it). If you are using the soap as a hand soap, try using a soap dish that gives the soap plenty of ventilation. I find that both of those can easily get me another two to three weeks of use, but again, YMMV. Also, take into consideration the size of the soap. Some companies sell much larger bars of soap, so their soap will naturally last longer.

large bar of soap you say?

The MB is a brick! I think I'll order a couple QCS bars when the second half of the MB runs out.

 

[JeffJ]

The first half of the [post=6234260]QCS Lemon Bergamot Shampoo Bar[/post] finished today. I liked it and will definitely replace. Rather than starting one of the three half bars from prior months, I'm going to use a sliver of Orange Spice until the July shipment shows up.

 

[SafetyRZRBgnr78]

I will be using Orange spice bath & shampoo bars starting Monday. I got a soap saver bag and will test it out with the new soap.

I might do a little review of it in here if you don't mind?

 

[JeffJ]

I will be using Orange spice bath & shampoo bars starting Monday. I got a soap saver bag and will test it out with the new soap.

I might do a little review of it in here if you don't mind?

Absolutely! Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[JeffJ]

The tenth body soap is QCS Eucalyptus. This is a veg soap that has poppy seeds for flair on the edge and a few in the bar for texture.

I was worried that this scent would be overpowering, similar to a Proraso or Dr Bronner style Eucalyptus scent. It turns out to be very nice. Definitely my favorite of all of the Eucalyptus scented soaps that I have tried and is one that I would replace.

 

[beginish]

How cooling is it, Jeff?

 

[JeffJ]

How cooling is it, Jeff?

As far as I can tell there is little cooling in the Eucalyptus body soap. I get the smell of walking through an eucalyptus grove (which I was fortunate enough to do on a hike yesterday). The soap is perhaps a bit stronger. I'm guessing the cooling effect in other soaps may be from menthol or tea tree oil, not the eucalyptus oil. In the QCS Peppermint Eucalyptus shampoo bar I have the perception that the cooling effect is largely from the mint.

In any case the Eucalyptus body soap is yet another soap that I was reluctant to try that has turned out to be one of my favorites. Top five for sure.