Good Evening Ladies & Gents!
It seems like a slow day on B&B so I thought I'd finally get around to reviewing one of my recent favorite soaps, Calani Highland Honey. I've used my Calani Highland Honey four out of my last five shaves, and I just can't shake it, it's really that good. In fact, this is the only lathering product that has ever made me seriously consider joining in on the 3017 thread fun.
What is this stuff?
How did I get mine? Where could you get yours?
Baseline for the reviewer
Without further adieu, here's some review material!
Calani comes in a 65g puck. I've placed mine in a $1 antique store crystal dish that seems great for loading hard pucks. Here it is along with my Semogue 1460 and GEM Pushbutton...
I've been attacking this puck with my Rooney Beehive 1 and my hjm synthetic, but tonight I decided to give it a "marco" spin with my one and only boar. I don't count spins or time my loading - I just load until the proto-lather looks rich and sufficient. This soap loads about the same as a DRH puck in, in my humble opinion. This definitely isn't as slick as loading MdC or even an italian soft soap, but there's no special coaxing or rain-dance about it either.
Taking the loaded brush to my face rewarded me with some fantastic, cream, "wet yogurt" lather. Here's a pic of the brush right after finishing my first pass / lather building along with the residual proto-lather sitting on the puck.
The scent for this particular soap really shines through in the lather and during the lathering process. I'm the farthest thing possible from a basenoter, but I'll do my best to address the scent below. Suffice it to say that this is a complex scent that keeps me (and my wife) coming back to the puck for more and more.
Three minutes later with my lather just sitting on my face...
*** disclaimer: this is not an entry into a "your lather should look like this" contest - it's broken down over time but still very functional... don't hate, appreciate ***
I'm leaving numbered ratings off of these categories as I feel they're pretty subjective...
It seems like a slow day on B&B so I thought I'd finally get around to reviewing one of my recent favorite soaps, Calani Highland Honey. I've used my Calani Highland Honey four out of my last five shaves, and I just can't shake it, it's really that good. In fact, this is the only lathering product that has ever made me seriously consider joining in on the 3017 thread fun.
What is this stuff?
Calani is an artisan made German veggie soap. It's gotten a lot of worthy notoriety and praise lately along with some other German veggie soaps like the Klar products, of which I have "sport" in the mail 
. Your guess is as good as mine as to why these soaps have experience such a spike in popularity... musings about tallow vs veggie?... admirations of artisans who do their jobs exceedingly well?... some B&B soap heavyweights such as GreekGuy mentioning they're in his top five?
. Your guess is as good as mine as to why these soaps have experience such a spike in popularity... musings about tallow vs veggie?... admirations of artisans who do their jobs exceedingly well?... some B&B soap heavyweights such as GreekGuy mentioning they're in his top five?How did I get mine? Where could you get yours?
I have four Calani pucks, each acquired via our B/S/T. If you're interested in trying these out, the only two purchasing options I'm aware of are:
Royalshave.com - $15.95 each with free shipping over $25... let's say two pucks for $32 or
Directly from Calani at http://www.calani-seifenmanufaktur.de/Calani-Rasierseifen. If you're willing to use google translator and wait on longer shipping time, you can nab three pucks shipped to the US for that same $30.
Royalshave.com - $15.95 each with free shipping over $25... let's say two pucks for $32 or
Directly from Calani at http://www.calani-seifenmanufaktur.de/Calani-Rasierseifen. If you're willing to use google translator and wait on longer shipping time, you can nab three pucks shipped to the US for that same $30.
Baseline for the reviewer
Began shaving like a man in Feb 2012, joined B&B in March 2012. I'm by no means a pro, but I've really been around the block in my short time with regards to lathering products.
I've enjoyed MdC, Sir Irisch Moos, MWF, DRH, La Toja, Speick, All RazoRock lines, Vitos, TFS, Mike's, & Mystic Waters.
My favorite soaps include: SIM, Arlington, Mike's Orange/CW/BP, 888, and Don Marco.
My favorite creams include: AOS, Proraso Red, Musgo, and La Toja
My RazoRock ordering (seems to tell a little about a person's preferences?) is most definitely: Lanolin Line, La Famiglia, Artisan, Original Croaps
I enjoy long walks on the beach.
I've enjoyed MdC, Sir Irisch Moos, MWF, DRH, La Toja, Speick, All RazoRock lines, Vitos, TFS, Mike's, & Mystic Waters.
My favorite soaps include: SIM, Arlington, Mike's Orange/CW/BP, 888, and Don Marco.
My favorite creams include: AOS, Proraso Red, Musgo, and La Toja
My RazoRock ordering (seems to tell a little about a person's preferences?) is most definitely: Lanolin Line, La Famiglia, Artisan, Original Croaps
I enjoy long walks on the beach.
Without further adieu, here's some review material!
Calani comes in a 65g puck. I've placed mine in a $1 antique store crystal dish that seems great for loading hard pucks. Here it is along with my Semogue 1460 and GEM Pushbutton...
I've been attacking this puck with my Rooney Beehive 1 and my hjm synthetic, but tonight I decided to give it a "marco" spin with my one and only boar. I don't count spins or time my loading - I just load until the proto-lather looks rich and sufficient. This soap loads about the same as a DRH puck in, in my humble opinion. This definitely isn't as slick as loading MdC or even an italian soft soap, but there's no special coaxing or rain-dance about it either.
Taking the loaded brush to my face rewarded me with some fantastic, cream, "wet yogurt" lather. Here's a pic of the brush right after finishing my first pass / lather building along with the residual proto-lather sitting on the puck.
The scent for this particular soap really shines through in the lather and during the lathering process. I'm the farthest thing possible from a basenoter, but I'll do my best to address the scent below. Suffice it to say that this is a complex scent that keeps me (and my wife) coming back to the puck for more and more.
Three minutes later with my lather just sitting on my face...
*** disclaimer: this is not an entry into a "your lather should look like this" contest - it's broken down over time but still very functional... don't hate, appreciate ***
I'm leaving numbered ratings off of these categories as I feel they're pretty subjective...
| Price: | Yes, these are smaller pucks, but at $10-$15 per delivered puck, I think these soaps are worth supporting an artisan and keeping our hobby alive. No, these won't last as long as a Tabac, MWF, or AOS puck, but IMHO there's an awful lot of enjoyment and indulgence included in these pucks for the price. |
| Quality: | My opinion is that these Calani soaps offer fantastic quality. I think Nick once stated that he used Calani and counted it amongst his favorites for some time before he even realized they were "artisan" products. I'd say these strike a great balance between having some great "artisan" elements while not lacking and still feeling superbly polished. You do not get the impression you're missing out on anything by supporting small business while using this soap. |
| Scent: | As stated above, I'm no basenoter, and I feel that scent is clearly one of the most YMMV areas of all. Suffice it to say that if you're even close to the fence on trying this scent, you simply owe it to yourself to try it out. This is not a one-note-wonder. It's rich and complex and keeps you wanting to come back for more. When SWMBO first smelled this honey soaps, the jokes about me being pooh bear, Doug Heffernan, etc. abounded... now that it's been on the counter for the week I hear her say MMMMMMMM every time she walks by it and picks up the container for a whiff. This is great stuff. |
| Lather: | I've had no issues loading from this soap and getting the heavy "wet yogurt" that I've come to enjoy. The lather provides slickness without feeling dangerously slippery, and I've yet to experience any cuts or irritation while under its wing. Regarding my slickness comment... this soap clearly doesn't rely on added petroleum or surplus glycerin to achieve it's slickness. It's clean, well made, no frills soap in this aspect. One area where this becomes abundantly clear is with regards to buffing between passes... you can try and get away with this, but there's definitely not a residual fat-kid-on-greased-ice slipperiness here. |
| Efficacy: | You saw the lather's ability to hang around above... No bones about it, the soap worked as advertised or better. Great slickness for any blade/razor combo I've thrown at it yet, plenty of cushion to feel like I'm not shaving with a carrot peeler, even with my r41. |
| Moisturizing: | The highly touted after-shave-face-fell is very important to me. While this soap is most certainly good in this area, I feel that the varieties that offer lanolin and mango butter may really push this soap into a league of its own. As is, I would compare the after-shave-face-feel of the standard Calani soaps to that of TFS / La Famiglia (which is a highly favorable comparison). |
| Conclusion: | Is this my ultimate Desert Island soap? No Is this a superb choice for daily use and enjoyment? ABSOLUTELY! If you've been on the fence about this or any Calani scent, I highly encourage you to take the plunge... thanks for reading! |
