I purchased this along with its companion aftershave balm and after it arrived in the mail the other day, I did my first shave with it. I used an Omega boar brush to create the lather. I will give my honest assessment.
There is good and there is bad to report. I will use two criteria: Scent profile and performance.
Soap Base: Canard (Duck Tallow)
The bad I will get out of the way now. The scent is artificial-smelling, like over-strong Kool-Aid, and one can be put off by it unless he really enjoys that aroma. For my part, I was not terribly offended. I have learned from Vida perez, who makes the soaps, that there is no natural cherry essential oil, meaning that artificial approximations are all there are to work with. C'est la vie. She was receptive to tweaking the fragrance to improve the product.
The performance is comparable to Stirling's mutton tallow soaps. I would venture to say that Oleo's duck-base enjoys a slight edge over Stirling's sheep, but your opinion might differ. The lather is incredibly rich, creamy, and slick. I received a BBS shave with a Ladas blade in my razor. The scent does dissipate relatively fast, so there should be no worries shaving with this before leaving for work.
I rate the soap four our of five for performance, subtracting one for the overpowering scent.
I was less impressed with the aftershave balm. It gave my skin a burning sensation upon application, which faded within a few minutes and left my face feeling great. Vida informed me that the irritation is probably due to the fragrance oils, as several customers have noted similar effects. The formula contains cetyl alcohol, a fatty form that is different from the dehydrating variety used in many splashes. I do not think this contributes to the burning sensation. Like the soap, the scent is overpowering. The balm comes in a smallish squeeze-pump bottle. Only a tiny bit is needed to spread over the face, a half pea sized amount.
I rate the balm three and a half out of five, for the scent and burning. I am told Windy City Barbershop is much more subtle and I will make that my next purchase from Oleo.
There is good and there is bad to report. I will use two criteria: Scent profile and performance.
Soap Base: Canard (Duck Tallow)
The bad I will get out of the way now. The scent is artificial-smelling, like over-strong Kool-Aid, and one can be put off by it unless he really enjoys that aroma. For my part, I was not terribly offended. I have learned from Vida perez, who makes the soaps, that there is no natural cherry essential oil, meaning that artificial approximations are all there are to work with. C'est la vie. She was receptive to tweaking the fragrance to improve the product.
The performance is comparable to Stirling's mutton tallow soaps. I would venture to say that Oleo's duck-base enjoys a slight edge over Stirling's sheep, but your opinion might differ. The lather is incredibly rich, creamy, and slick. I received a BBS shave with a Ladas blade in my razor. The scent does dissipate relatively fast, so there should be no worries shaving with this before leaving for work.
I rate the soap four our of five for performance, subtracting one for the overpowering scent.
I was less impressed with the aftershave balm. It gave my skin a burning sensation upon application, which faded within a few minutes and left my face feeling great. Vida informed me that the irritation is probably due to the fragrance oils, as several customers have noted similar effects. The formula contains cetyl alcohol, a fatty form that is different from the dehydrating variety used in many splashes. I do not think this contributes to the burning sensation. Like the soap, the scent is overpowering. The balm comes in a smallish squeeze-pump bottle. Only a tiny bit is needed to spread over the face, a half pea sized amount.
I rate the balm three and a half out of five, for the scent and burning. I am told Windy City Barbershop is much more subtle and I will make that my next purchase from Oleo.
