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Lakewood Soap Company - Mr. Powell’s Mellow Honey Mash

I have noted previously that I ‘m not often compelled to provide my thoughts on products. Goodness knows my posts are long enough and I imagine many who read reviews are there to get some kind of enumerative structure or reference point to circle their personal wagons around . . . see what I mean? I could have just stated “some read reviews to get a number rating” and left it at that, but me being me, I have to play with it.

All that being said, when I have warmly positive feelings about a product I always think it’s nice to share my thoughts, because we can always use good news, right?

I had been using Lakewood’s Coquette for a little while when my beloved Denise passed away last year. Since that day I have used Coquette every Monday morning as my small way of honoring her (it’s the soap I used the morning I went to visit her in the hospital). As one may imagine eventually I wore it down to a doughnut and I wasn’t going to stop my heartfelt ritual, so a re-order was a personal moral imperative.

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My prior order from Lakewood left me intrigued by the scent profile of Mr. Powell’s Mellow Honey Mash, but given that I had three of their soaps to work with I’d managed to stave off my SAD for a while. But now, facing that withering ring . . . well, shoot . . . now I had a plausible (if utterly rationalized) reason to, you know, maybe pick up another soap that I didn’t need. I patted myself on the shoulder, told myself I was being a good boy for being able to continue my honor shaves for Denise, so I deserved a treat, a shaver’s Scooby snack. Sans guilt, I clicked on the ‘add’ button for both the soap and balm.

As we all do I eagerly awaited my order and summarily tore into the box upon receipt; word that best fits here (and I suspect with all you gents when you have a new mail call with goodies) is elán, meaning ‘impetuous ardor’. What a great word!

Unscrewed the top and inhaled—yes, I admit it . . . I inhaled (old joke). Man, the scent of honey right off the top was unexpected as the frontman but wasn’t so strong it knocked me over—sweet, but just the right amount of linger. I got honey first, followed by the hint of whiskey, and a little woodsy note. Lakewood calls it the scent of “aged wood”. The honey and whiskey sound like an odd combination, but put together with the woodsy tone it’s really quite something.

Of course to those of us who like scented soaps the olfactory experience is all well and good, but like a good fart the proof is in the performance (we’ll see how many people really read this)—Honey Mash is no shrinking violet when it counts.

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Like a good band vocal performance the scents in Honey Mash don’t strain and try to push each other out of the way; to my nose there’s no mistaking who’s the lead singer—sweet honey. But the backup notes are warm harmony and wrap things together perfectly.
  • Scent from the tub (when you twist the lid off and breathe in): To me there’s a difference between fragrance strength and fragrance presence. I’d give Honey Mash around a 6 straight off the tub, but the overall presence, the way the scent melds and 'holds together' is easily an 8 or 9.
  • Scent when lathering: I think some soaps take on a different character once lathering begins. This doesn’t take a huge step forward, I’d say probably a 7+.
  • Scent durability (while on the face/shaving and pre-pass lathering): Personally I love having a good scent under my nose while I prep for the next pass. I’m not as overtly aware of the scent during the shave because I’m focused on the angle, etc. But I can say it seems to hang around, and pleasantly so. It’s mild enough to not be cloying, but just enough presence to please the nose.
  • Post-shave feel: My skin is pretty normal; I don’t have sensitivity issues or thick stubble, my skin isn’t dry or oily. Guess I’m lucky in that regard. So post-shave feel isn’t something I’m good at assessing. I think most of my shaves have a pretty similar post-shave feel, but I can say none of the Lakewood soaps dry me out nor sting/burn.
  • Performance: My experience with three other Lakewood soaps was absolutely on par with this one. Didn’t take much effort to dial in the lather and it was, as I expected, slick and protective. Tallow (or more technically, tallowate) is the first ingredient listed. Yesterday I used a non-tallow soap I got when I was in Florence, Mondial’s Antica Barberia—I used my daily driver (Merkur 38C) with a Shark Chrome and a synthetic brush, and while the soap did okay I can’t help but feel it just didn’t approach optimal . . . not necessarily bad, but lacking a bit of overall shave satisfaction. But this morning, using the same razor/blade/brush combo with Honey Mash I came away with a decidedly greater sense of performance results, much more satisfied. I’m no scientist, but my guess is it’s due in part to the tallow.
Shortly after receiving my order I received an email in which Linda (the Soap Mixtress) stated she was moving to a 5oz tub for the same price, unifying the branding/labeling, and discontinuing the aftershave balms in favor of splashes. I really enjoy the pairing of the balm with the soap, so I’ll miss the balms, but I’m still a big believer in the soaps, and I certainly encourage anyone intrigued to give them a try.
 
Thanks for the review. I would like to order a tub from them. Would you say the woodsy scent was kinda smokey or was it more of just a wood? I am also considering their Tennessee whiskey, which has notes of oak in it. Can't decide
 
What I get from it is more of the sweetness from the honey, with the bourbon lurking underneath. I don't get wood, per se, but I imagine it's in there with the bourbon. Overall though it's really nice.
 
What I get from it is more of the sweetness from the honey, with the bourbon lurking underneath. I don't get wood, per se, but I imagine it's in there with the bourbon. Overall though it's really nice.

Thanks! I think I may go with the Tennessee whiskey this time then, but keep this one on the list
 
What I get from it is more of the sweetness from the honey, with the bourbon lurking underneath. I don't get wood, per se, but I imagine it's in there with the bourbon. Overall though it's really nice.

Well I ordered the Tennessee whiskey for now. Hopefully it performs as good as a good fart.😉

I will post an update when it gets here!
 
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