As the title says...I think I am in love with Noble Otter soaps. Let me rewind a sec and start from the beginning.
As is usually the case, I was perusing this forum and a few others and saw someone mention that Noble Otter soaps were fantastic. So I did my homework, saw they were from Houston, saw they offered a sample pack and figured I would order it.
A few days later I received the package (fast shipping!) and test lathered all 5 soaps to get a feel for the lather consistency and scent. It was quickly apparent that I loved all 5 scents and that the lather quality was pretty good.
At that point, I started shaving with all 5 soaps and I again quickly figured out that the performance isn't quite as good as the top-tier performers I have tried (GD, DG, WK, BM Reserve). Rather, the performance was just short of those 4 and roughly in the same league as Oleo (which is still pretty high praise IMO). But since I was so enamored with the scents, I went ahead and bought a full tub of all 5 scents.
I received those tubs on Monday and have been shaving with these soaps since. What I have learned since is that I needed to add more water more slowly to get the lather texture I was looking for. I also learned that if I get the lather right, the performance of this soap is just as good as that of others in my den. But it does take a lot more effort. I also realized I like the scents even better than I thought because while they smell great in the tub, they reveal a great deal of nuance on the face.
With that said, here are my scent notes...
The Trail: Pine and fir centric. Hard to smell much else but that is OK. It is a fantastically manly scent that is made with all Oregon essential oils and a perfect match for Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet which is one of the EdTs in my wardrobe.
Lonestar: Leather and floral notes dominate, but citrus and cedar peek out from underneath. Another manly scent that will pair well with many EdTs...I personally like pairing Floris Special 127 with it, but that is just a personal preference.
Flying Hide: Initially my least favorite of the scents because it seemed like straight leather and somewhat repetitive if one already had Lonestar in the den. But now that I have been able to try it a few times, it has revealed itself to be far more than just leather. It is actually very close to CRSW's Bergamot & Bay with added leather scent. As the lather unfolds, the bergamot and bay really show up on the scent profile. Just awesome. And of course...very manly again.
BarrBarr: This is a crowd pleaser. Still manly but beginning to veer into unisex territory with a citrus and spice profile that strongly reminds me of Eufros Zanzibar. Unsurprisingly, I use Eufros Zanzibar AS balm after this soap and I pair it with Floris Santal EdT to capture the spice component.
THÉ Noir et Vanille: This one is fantastic. The only soap that is firmly unisex, it really smells like a cup of Hong Kong Milk Tea. If you think of black tea, most people think of Breakfast Blends, but this is more in the vain of Darjeeling tea with super floral and marzipane notes.
Not only are all 5 scents fantastic, I appreciate the fact that Noble Otter got the amplitude right. Just strong enough on the face to please, but not overpowering to the extent that an open tub it will scent an entire bathroom or linger on the skin for hours, which makes it pairable with a range of AS/balm and EdT.
In all honesty...between the cost/price, the scents and the performance, there is no better soap right now FOR ME. If Cody improves the base a little to get it in the same ballpark as the performance top dogs, I could see this statement be more broadly appliccable to many others in this community.
So yeah...I am pretty much smitten with these soaps.
As is usually the case, I was perusing this forum and a few others and saw someone mention that Noble Otter soaps were fantastic. So I did my homework, saw they were from Houston, saw they offered a sample pack and figured I would order it.
A few days later I received the package (fast shipping!) and test lathered all 5 soaps to get a feel for the lather consistency and scent. It was quickly apparent that I loved all 5 scents and that the lather quality was pretty good.
At that point, I started shaving with all 5 soaps and I again quickly figured out that the performance isn't quite as good as the top-tier performers I have tried (GD, DG, WK, BM Reserve). Rather, the performance was just short of those 4 and roughly in the same league as Oleo (which is still pretty high praise IMO). But since I was so enamored with the scents, I went ahead and bought a full tub of all 5 scents.
I received those tubs on Monday and have been shaving with these soaps since. What I have learned since is that I needed to add more water more slowly to get the lather texture I was looking for. I also learned that if I get the lather right, the performance of this soap is just as good as that of others in my den. But it does take a lot more effort. I also realized I like the scents even better than I thought because while they smell great in the tub, they reveal a great deal of nuance on the face.
With that said, here are my scent notes...
The Trail: Pine and fir centric. Hard to smell much else but that is OK. It is a fantastically manly scent that is made with all Oregon essential oils and a perfect match for Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet which is one of the EdTs in my wardrobe.
Lonestar: Leather and floral notes dominate, but citrus and cedar peek out from underneath. Another manly scent that will pair well with many EdTs...I personally like pairing Floris Special 127 with it, but that is just a personal preference.
Flying Hide: Initially my least favorite of the scents because it seemed like straight leather and somewhat repetitive if one already had Lonestar in the den. But now that I have been able to try it a few times, it has revealed itself to be far more than just leather. It is actually very close to CRSW's Bergamot & Bay with added leather scent. As the lather unfolds, the bergamot and bay really show up on the scent profile. Just awesome. And of course...very manly again.
BarrBarr: This is a crowd pleaser. Still manly but beginning to veer into unisex territory with a citrus and spice profile that strongly reminds me of Eufros Zanzibar. Unsurprisingly, I use Eufros Zanzibar AS balm after this soap and I pair it with Floris Santal EdT to capture the spice component.
THÉ Noir et Vanille: This one is fantastic. The only soap that is firmly unisex, it really smells like a cup of Hong Kong Milk Tea. If you think of black tea, most people think of Breakfast Blends, but this is more in the vain of Darjeeling tea with super floral and marzipane notes.
Not only are all 5 scents fantastic, I appreciate the fact that Noble Otter got the amplitude right. Just strong enough on the face to please, but not overpowering to the extent that an open tub it will scent an entire bathroom or linger on the skin for hours, which makes it pairable with a range of AS/balm and EdT.
In all honesty...between the cost/price, the scents and the performance, there is no better soap right now FOR ME. If Cody improves the base a little to get it in the same ballpark as the performance top dogs, I could see this statement be more broadly appliccable to many others in this community.
So yeah...I am pretty much smitten with these soaps.
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. Just ordered a tub of The Noir ET Vanille. Looking forward to giving it a try in a few days!
