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Ogallala Bay Rum Soap review (picture heavy)

Recently I purchased a few inexpensive soaps from Maggards to see how they performed.

This is a review of two of those: Ogallala's Bay Run, Limes and Peppercorn and Ogallala's Bay Rum and Sweet Orange Shaving Soaps. Each soap cost 5.75 USD so I had to try them out.

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These come as a hard puck in a plain cardboard box sealed in a bag. The puck is about about 2 inches wide and about 1 inch tall.

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Before I opened the bag the small was awesome. The Lime and Peppercorns had a lime-y citrus type smell to it (I did not pick up pepper - yet). The Sweet Orange smelled like an orange creamsicle or even orange sherbet. Both were very nice scent wise.

Ogallala says that the pucks can be heated in the microwave and poured into smaller containers. I wanted to use one of the larger tubs I have so I decided to try it out.

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45 seconds in the microwave and it melted like butter and firmed right back up ... :stuart:

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I have been using the Limes and Peppercorn for about a week and haven't tried the Sweet Orange yet, however the recipe appears to be the same and I suspect they will perform the same except for the scent. If that changes, I will post a follow up. The rest of the review will be on the Limes and Peppercorn version.

So, lets see how it lathers. Here are the belligerents: A Maggard 24mm Synthetic brush and the Captains copper lather bowl (the smaller one).

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First is to load up my brush. I have never used a hard soap before so this is a little different for me.

I only load the tips when I load my brush so this time will be no different. I had to do this twice because my first attempt didn't have enough water in my brush and I didn't get that much soap onto the tips - lesson learned. The second time worked perfectly. After about 20 seconds I had this:

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On to building a later. I have to say, even though this is not a tallow based soap, it builds lather very quickly. I had no problems getting more than enough for a 3 pass shave after about one and a half minutes

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Lathering my face was fairly uneventful. The lather itself was not thick, but was not thin either. After I lathered my face, I started to pick up different smells including pepper and clove. Again, very nice! The lather was also very slippery meaning the razor seemed to glide over my skin very easily.

The shave was uneventful (meaning it was a DFS - as always) and the aftershave feel was good as well. My skin did not feel dry and I did not have to use any aftershave. It was nice.

Overall I am very impressed with Ogallala. Its not a Martin De Candre soap but it can hold its own against any other in the 10 - 20 USD price point. I would recommend you giving it a shot since it only cost 5.75 USD.

Anyway, these are my impressions and as always YMMV.
 
I bought this soap along with another brand when I first started de shaving. Loved the aftershave, and just now realized I have never actually used the soap for a shave. I will have to add that to my to do list. I will be curious to see how it compares to everything else I have tried in the journey deep into the rabbit hole. I was put off on the idea recently as I had learned this is an off the shelf melt and pour type soap that is only unique because of the Ogalalla fragrances... I was hoping for something a little more unique or crafted. But the price is good and the scents are really quite good. I have the bay rum and cedar.
 
Interesting that it might be melt and pour. I think that even if it was, for this price point its not bad.
 
I have around 40-45 soaps/creams including Ogallala Bay Rum Limes & Peppercorns, BR & Sandalwood & BR with Sweet Orange. They are always a part of my regular rotation, mostly for the smell but the performance is very good too. Their aftershaves are excellent also.
 
Ogallala Bay Rum with Orange has been one of my epiphanies.
Smells great, lathers well, and it’s in Ogallala!
Sand hills and ranch country.
 
Unfortunately, I never got to evaluate Ogallala properly. I purchased the original bay rum version. I loved the smell of the soap, but the clove was so intense that it burned my face as soon as I applied it. From what I could tell before I had to rinse it off, I was not impressed with the lather. However, for those looking for an inexpensive soap, it is a decent option, as long as you are not sensitive to the clove content.

I do like bay rum scents as long as they have limited clove content. I have several other bay rum soaps in my den. Ogallala ended up in the trash as I was afraid to use it in the shower.
 
It's the only soap I've owned that I've been unable to lather. I really wanted it to work out because the scent is as lovely as it is powerful, but alas . . .
 
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