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B & M Cool (soap) review

So I haven't seen a new review in a bit so I figured I'd do one.

In the batters box is the new Cool soap from Barrister & Mann. I received a sample from a different order, than I bought the sample pack to try the other two. Samples were surprisingly generous so I have 6 or 7 shaves with the product in question.

Scent - from the container smells very nice, can't put my finger on any one thing, just I really like it. Most B&M offerings really open up once lathered and this followed suit

Prep - shower, 24mm Finest fan knot from Stirling soaking during shower

Lathering - since I only had 2 samples to work with I scooped a bit out and smooshed it into the bottom of my Fine lathering bowl, let the swirling begin. This base is supposedly different and creaminess of the lather was visible, when you can see how creamy it is you know a great shave is coming. Like all B&M soaps it's thirsty

Painted on my copious amounts of lather and began shaving with my ATT S2 slant with a Gillette Platinum blade on it's 4th shave. 2 passes, zero nicks, weepers, BBS and man is this stuff slick!

Scent revisited - B&M soaps have a tendancy to really open up once lathered and as soon as I did it hit me, Floid Blue! I started not knowing which aftershave to use but I immediately reached for my Floid Blue for a perfect pairing, post shave was really good feeling

Thoughts - working through the samples I ordered a tub of the Cool Reserve soap when it went live, I love my Floid Blue so I will always have a tub of this on hand. I am not a B&M fanboy that gush over every one released, that being said I really, really like this one!

P.S. - the Spice is same performance, scent is nice too, on par with Stirling Spice both Old Spice recreations. I'll stick with my Stirling Spice though based on the price point.
 
Thanks for the review. I want to get samples of the reserve soaps and splashes. I have never tried Floid, but, blue is hard to come by now, so it is great that I can try the B&M version. I am curious about the differences in face feel. If you ever try the cool splash let us know.

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I haven't tried the B&M splashes because I am well stocked on Floid Blue and I buy vintage Old Spice (Shulton versions) on eBay, it's actually cheaper than the new stuff and has more bite to it.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
thanks for the review. I have a sample of cool soap but havent tried it yet. used the sample of cool AS sample size is good quantity for several uses but I ended up spilling it .. twice. the little paper container is cute but hard to manage (stand up) for more than one use. based on sample use I bought the full size AS. I used it in the afternoon when received to try it out. its nice but didn't blow my socks off. (for a second it felt like a hint of aqua vela which I can not stand) I added menthol to it at home and will try it again soon. overall it seems like a decent summer AS.
 
The scent is the same as my deodorant (Degree, Cool Rush) I don't know if they copied it from somewhere else though.

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I picked up the Cool soap and AS splash and tried it for the first time this morning. This was my first experience with the Reserve line from B&M and man was it great. The lather was slick, on par with the slickest soaps. The splash was really nice as well. The soap and the splash are pretty close to Floid Blue, but the B&M splash is thicker and the smell is stronger, and I detected a tad more menthol in the B&M. Definitely glad I got these.
 
I picked up the Cool soap and AS splash and tried it for the first time this morning. This was my first experience with the Reserve line from B&M and man was it great. The lather was slick, on par with the slickest soaps. The splash was really nice as well. The soap and the splash are pretty close to Floid Blue, but the B&M splash is thicker and the smell is stronger, and I detected a tad more menthol in the B&M. Definitely glad I got these.

Gettin' me some - fast!!
 
I picked up the Cool soap and AS splash and tried it for the first time this morning. This was my first experience with the Reserve line from B&M and man was it great. The lather was slick, on par with the slickest soaps. The splash was really nice as well. The soap and the splash are pretty close to Floid Blue, but the B&M splash is thicker and the smell is stronger, and I detected a tad more menthol in the B&M. Definitely glad I got these.
Glad you enjoyed it, maybe partially based off my recommendation so I feel good about that.

Slightly off topic, I'll be doing a review soon of a soap who's big brothers get all the attention, but I am absolutely in love with the stuff and to say it rarely gets mentioned would be a gross understatement. It may be, dare I say it and commit blasphemy, the slickest soap I have ever used - unseating the king of slick my beloved I Coloniali Mango soap, not the cream.....stay tuned for a different thread!
 
Glad you enjoyed it, maybe partially based off my recommendation so I feel good about that.

Slightly off topic, I'll be doing a review soon of a soap who's big brothers get all the attention, but I am absolutely in love with the stuff and to say it rarely gets mentioned would be a gross understatement. It may be, dare I say it and commit blasphemy, the slickest soap I have ever used - unseating the king of slick my beloved I Coloniali Mango soap, not the cream.....stay tuned for a different thread!

Eager to hear more about this for sure!

Glad to see this review pop up again. I too am a Floid Blue junky... I have a fresh tub of B&M Reserve Cool waiting in the wings and I'm excited to put it through its paces soon... very soon :a14:
 
Glad you enjoyed it, maybe partially based off my recommendation so I feel good about that.

Slightly off topic, I'll be doing a review soon of a soap who's big brothers get all the attention, but I am absolutely in love with the stuff and to say it rarely gets mentioned would be a gross understatement. It may be, dare I say it and commit blasphemy, the slickest soap I have ever used - unseating the king of slick my beloved I Coloniali Mango soap, not the cream.....stay tuned for a different thread!

I will be tuned in for that for sure. That is high praise from you, because I have read your review of I Coloniali!
 
I like to do my due dilligence before I gush over anything, see how soaps perform on good days, if I have an off day, but all signs are pointing very, very positive

Luv me some I Coloniali Mango!:clap:
 
Hey Gents,

also waiting for my B&M Reserve Cool shaving soap, ordered three days ago on MR. Since it is not possible to get the AS shipped to Germany (I know IB is doing so, but the shipping cost itself is crazy steep) I will have to pair the soap with what is still left in my Floid Blue 400ml bottle (around 150ml). Luckily, I was able to get another 3 new bottles from an official vendor a couple of weeks ago. Will get back on here after my first couple of uses of the soap.

Take care folks.

Christian
 
The Barrister & Mann Luxury Line was added to the soap sample passaround for this round. There are some of the aftershave samples in box four as well. So I've gotten to smell and try the soap as a result, just as all who enter the sample passaround will get to do.

As far as the throwback scents go, some here love them but I'm not a big fan myself. We all smell things differently and I've found that I just don't care for the old school scents. It's not that they are poor recreations as they are very well done. I believe that these offerings are supposed to be renderings of Pinaud Clubman, Floyd Blue and Old Spice. So personally while some will really enjoy them they aren't something that I'd be drawn to myself.

That being said, the performance of the soap is really outstanding with some excellent post shave feel to go along with some really great slickness. I can't find fault in this soap as it does everything right. It's an outstanding performer even by my unrealistically high standards.

In terms of customer loyalty nobody seems to do it better. B&M has quite a following of dedicated users that praise and buy every product that they make while aggressively promoting the brand over everything else. I'm not one of those followers. I tend to tell it like it is and my reviews are as honest and open as I can possibly make them.

So this is my honest opinion of this soap. This is B&M's best work by a good margin as the soaps are knocking at the door of my exclusive tier 1 category that currently contains four soaps or the 600 or so I've tried. Performance wise I'd say they are in my tier 1. So if I was a fan of the old school scents I would have bought the entire Luxury line for myself already and I'd probably be giving it a ton of praise on a regular basis.

Mike's review is accurate and the subsequent praise from others here is justified in this case.
 
The classic was disappointing to me. I get a tiny bit of Pinaud but to my nose it's nearly unscented, maybe it's just me. The Cool and Spice are spot on though
 
The classic was disappointing to me. I get a tiny bit of Pinaud but to my nose it's nearly unscented, maybe it's just me. The Cool and Spice are spot on though

I got a good bit of the scent from what I tried, it's not nearly as strong as a bottle of Clubman but then again not much else is.
 
The classic was disappointing to me. I get a tiny bit of Pinaud but to my nose it's nearly unscented, maybe it's just me. The Cool and Spice are spot on though
I got a good bit of the scent from what I tried, it's not nearly as strong as a bottle of Clubman but then again not much else is.
The Classic isn't meant to be Clubman, but rather Gillette SunUp :)

Will has stated he's not pleased with the Classic scent in the A/S but he feels the soap is spot on, not sure if that impacts your views on the scent or not.

Fern, Lavender, and I think a few more are coming so if you enjoy the Reserve line there may be more opportunities to find a scent that's up your alley in the future.

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I was grasping at what it was supposed to smell like, it's just very weak to my nose. That was the basis of my disappointment
 
No doubt, especially if you were expecting Clubman which is as distinct and strong as they come. Haven't smelled SunUp but would love a top of the line Clubman soap.

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