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PIF: The Eight Soaps of Hanukkah - 2019

Here is my review of the Siliski Frigid soap I received in the PIF.

First, here is what was in the package:
IMG_20200101_124104.jpg


@bobmsp was generous enough to send a tuck of blades and a sample of Tallow & Steel's Morocco soap as well. I will do a review of these later so back to the Frigid review.

When I first opened it up, it smelled like a light version of Vick's Vapo-Rub, not surprising since menthol is used in both.

Siliski's description is: "Frigid is Japanese peppermint coupled with herbaceous and slightly woodsy eucalyptus. Added menthol adds a wonderful cooling effect."

Once I read that peppermint was an ingredient, I took another smell and the peppermint came right out and the menthol went into the background, but I could not pick up any eucalyptus.

The soap is soft and I would classify it one step below a croap. Loading my brush up was what I expect of a soft soap - about 15 seconds and I had more than enough on the tips. I then proceed to build a lather in my bowl which seemed to take a little longer to develop than what I have experienced with other soaps. It wasn't bad, just different. Anywho, about 2 minutes later I had enough lather for a 3 pass shave.

Lathering my face was uneventful. The lather was about what I have experienced with other soaps, however, the scent had an impact. The peppermint and menthol while not overtly strong, did make my eyes water a little for the first minute or so. Not chick flick watering, just a little misty eyed. (NTTAWWT but I don't watch those kinds of movies ... :001_tongu )

The shave was uneventful as well. The soap provided a nice cushion and held enough water to provide a good slide. Again, about what I have experienced with other soaps.

HOWEVER

The after shave feel is where this soap stands out. The menthol provided a nice cooling affect especially when I rinsed my face off - it was like putting ice cubes on my skin. I did not use any aftershave and my skin did not feel dry and felt very 'conditioned' - very nice.

Overall, I would rate the soap as average compared to others that I have tried. To be fair, I have not found one soap that is heads above all others, but I have tried soaps that are definitely below average and this is not that.

I like the soap and will continue to use it especially in the summer but its not something I would have sought out and purchased. This is best part about PIF's - getting to try different things without breaking the bank.

Hope this review was helpful and I'm grateful for getting a chance to try it but as always YMMV. I will review the Morocco soap probably this weekend and will post my thoughts on that as well.

Thanks again,
Carl
 
So I have used the flowers in the dark soap a couple times now and I must say I really like it. I've been looking for a lavender soap I enjoy and I have found it. When you open it you get hit in the face with lavender but as you load the brush it really mellows out and the wood base starts coming through. Again I dont know what "ozone" is supposed to smell like but I do like the soap. I also found it pairs nicely with lucky tiger aftershave. I am so happy I received the soap. First for the label design but now for the soap itself. Thank you again for the PIF.
 
So I tried the Morocco soap today and here are my thoughts.

Before we get into that, I thought I might explain how I approach my reviews. I take into account who makes the product when I give an opinion. So if its mass produced, I don't expect a lot (ie Williams or even Proraso :devil2:). If its artisan, then the bar is already at a higher level and I'm expecting the product to stand out.

Its like watching a football game. If its high school, I'm expecting there will be lots of missed tackles and bad play calling. However, if its the NFL, I'm not expecting that and when I see it - I start to think negative thoughts about who is running the show there :001_tongu . Hopefully that makes sense.

Back to the review of Morocco.

Tallow and Steel's description of Morocco is:
"Walk through the fields of wild roses, growing high up in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains with this smoky floral scent made from essential oils native to Morocco."

Uhh - not really.

I got nothing floral. It smelled like wet clay and smoke. I asked the wife and daughter's (I have four of them - yes four) what they thought and they all said smoke and possibly a pottery stand at the bizarre. The scent wasn't that pleasant.

I put about half a pea size amount in my bowl and started to work up the later. Wow. It generated a massive amount of thick lather quickly. Probably one of the best I have experienced; so that is a +1.

Lathering my face was uneventful however the lather had a very good cushion and a really good slip, very nice.

After shave feel was very dry, but I didn't have any irritation. My skin started to tighten up quicker than normal so I rubbed some water on my face and that helped a little but I ended up using an aftershave after about 5 minutes to combat the dryness.

So I would rate this another average artisan soap. While the lather was very thick and slick, the after shave dryness and the scent really distracted from the overall experience. I suspect that another scent and possibly a little extra glycerin would have elevated this soap to an overall +1 rating.

If I were to compare this to a mass produced soap, it would be at least a +3 or even a +4, but alas, its right inline with other artisans.

Hopefully this was helpful, but as always YMMV.
Carl
 
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