Hi, all. I have been a member for a while, but never really posted much. I spent most of my time here gathering information and generally enjoying the conversations. I feel now is an opportunity to make a foray into a review, but first, a bit about my experience with wet shaving. I have been into traditional wetshaving for nearly three years now, and like most "nubes" I was subject to the allure of the big name products, e.g., proraso, merkur, etc. but while the larger company products were still superior in nearly every way to canned foams and gels, I thought there had to be better (and preferably more natural) options other than what I was using. The result of such ponderings led to my first bout of SAD. That having been said, I will state up front, I lean almost exclusively on soaps now with my favorites in no particular order being Barrister and mann, mike's natural, strop shoppe, stirling soaps, and kell's original. With my background listed you can read this review with some context of my preferences:
Product: Al's Sapone de Barba
Cost: 4/10. At 25 dollars for a small tin (not sure of mass) of the soft soap, it is a little on the steep side. However, it is amazing the little amount one needs to get a great lather. I suspect this soap will last me a decent amount of time.
Scent: 9/10 this soap hits you upon removing the lid as a very good rose geranium scent. Almost single note. But don't let that deceive you. Upon lathering this soap has a scent that really opens up to reveal its complexity. I get top note of rose geranium tempered by a very high quality rose scent that takes some of the sharpness off the rose geranium. Additionally, the florals are undergirded by some earthy woody scents I can't seem to place. Great strength and the scent was present the whole shave.
Lather: 10/10. This soap showed me why al must have chosen the mushroom cloud for his labels. This soap when properly lathered just explodes and upon working it forms a very unctuous and slick lather. It's slickness is unbelievable, and is on par or exceeds slightly the slickness of stirling's smooth line. Lasted more than any shaver could ask and would likely stay thick and stable through several leisurely straight shaves.
Post-Shave: 10/10. My skin felt smooth and amply moisturized all day after my shave. It may even exceed my favorite lanolin and tallow soaps in that regard.
Overall, I would say this soap is absolutely top notch. It has all the tactile feedback of the best croaps but with a slicker, creamier lather than most. And the scent is a beautiful, natural, complex and classic one. Other than the price (which given the essential oils I can smell being used here is probably justified) this is a favorite of mine. I can't wait to try some of his creams... Especially interested in the Palermo. Sorry for the long winded review. Happy shaving, gents.
Product: Al's Sapone de Barba
Cost: 4/10. At 25 dollars for a small tin (not sure of mass) of the soft soap, it is a little on the steep side. However, it is amazing the little amount one needs to get a great lather. I suspect this soap will last me a decent amount of time.
Scent: 9/10 this soap hits you upon removing the lid as a very good rose geranium scent. Almost single note. But don't let that deceive you. Upon lathering this soap has a scent that really opens up to reveal its complexity. I get top note of rose geranium tempered by a very high quality rose scent that takes some of the sharpness off the rose geranium. Additionally, the florals are undergirded by some earthy woody scents I can't seem to place. Great strength and the scent was present the whole shave.
Lather: 10/10. This soap showed me why al must have chosen the mushroom cloud for his labels. This soap when properly lathered just explodes and upon working it forms a very unctuous and slick lather. It's slickness is unbelievable, and is on par or exceeds slightly the slickness of stirling's smooth line. Lasted more than any shaver could ask and would likely stay thick and stable through several leisurely straight shaves.
Post-Shave: 10/10. My skin felt smooth and amply moisturized all day after my shave. It may even exceed my favorite lanolin and tallow soaps in that regard.
Overall, I would say this soap is absolutely top notch. It has all the tactile feedback of the best croaps but with a slicker, creamier lather than most. And the scent is a beautiful, natural, complex and classic one. Other than the price (which given the essential oils I can smell being used here is probably justified) this is a favorite of mine. I can't wait to try some of his creams... Especially interested in the Palermo. Sorry for the long winded review. Happy shaving, gents.
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