Review of 70+ Soaps

[shavefan]

New reviews on the way. The first one is of Stone Cottage Creams. I had tried these a couple of years ago and found them to be a decent cream, but nothing stood out to me, and I didn’t care for their scents. Since that time, they’ve apparently gone to a 2.0 formula which whips up a nice rich lather that is much richer and slicker than what I remember from the previous cream. If it weren’t for an overall line of scents (that my wife refers to as “Old Lady” scents), I might be a fan. I really do like the improvement in the creams, as the lather they provide is really great, but the scents are a complete nonstarter for me, as I find them quite offputting. As always YMMV.

This was my experience as well. I tried SC during the passaround last year and thought they were good, but not remarkable. The scents, to me, were all very 'candle shop' for lack of a better term. And the scents overall were very strong, a few samples irritated my face.

 

[frenchy]

...The scents, to me, were all very 'candle shop' for lack of a better term.....

+1....You totally nailed it!

 

[BaylorGator]

Well, Groundhog Day was interrupted a bit today with a few fireworks. As stated in my previous review the large number of good soaps out there makes a lot of them run together without standing out. Kind of like the movie Groundhog Day... a few nuances are different here and there, but basically at the end of the day you end up in the same spot with the same net result. I’m kind of a glutton for punishment, too, in that I use the same brush same bowl, same razor, same everything for my evaluation. You know, the scientific method. Keep all the variables constant, so the soap itself is the only variable.
Well today I was tired of Groundhog Day so swapped out my “test equipment”. I paired up my new Rex Ambassador with my favorite ridged shaving bowl and a favorite Elite Manchurian knot. I loaded my brush heavily for my first shave with Siliski Soaps, and I’ve got to say it outperformed my expectations. Was the equipment the reason? Maybe, but I don’t think so. This soap was very rich and creamy, but also provided a lot of slickness and residual thickness. In my experience, a lot of soaps provide one or the other, but very few soaps deliver both. This one appears to. On a side note, the Midnight in Tunisia scent wasn’t my thing, but the performance of this soap on its first go-around was enough for me to investigate more. Back to the scientific method and some head to head shaves with my better soaps for this one.

 

[Clay S]

Well

I saw your "name" and thought, either from Waco, TX or Florida. Have a good 4th!

 

[BaylorGator]

I saw your "name" and thought, either from Waco, TX or Florida. Have a good 4th!

From Florida. I got my Bachelors at Baylor and Masters at UF, and am both a proud Bear and Gator!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'm not sure what residual thickness is. Could you explain that term?

Thanks and happy shaves,

Jim

 

[BaylorGator]

I'm not sure what residual thickness is. Could you explain that term?

Thanks and happy shaves,

Jim

Sorry. Apparently that’s autocorrect’s spelling of residual slickness. Residual slickness is how slick your face is after lathering up and doing a pass with the razor. When you finish your pass is your face still slick enough that you can go back and touch up or even do another pass without re-lathering? If so, the soap has residual slickness.

 

[Clay S]

From Florida. I got my Bachelors at Baylor and Masters at UF, and am both a proud Bear and Gator!

LOL. Hit both nails with one hammer
[leaving to buy lottery ticket]

 

[pbrmhl]

Hook ‘em Horns.

 

[Southsider]

Hook ‘em Horns.

University of Texas not Baylor.

 

[pbrmhl]

University of Texas not Baylor.

I knew that. As a proud alum of UT, from back when the ‘Horns could beat the varsity Bears by fielding a freshman team, I was simply jabbing @BaylorGator... God bless the mighty, mighty Longhorns.

 

[Southsider]

I knew that. As a proud alum of UT, from back when the ‘Horns could beat the varsity Bears by fielding a freshman team, I was simply jabbing @BaylorGator... God bless the mighty, mighty Longhorns.

Yes. Sorry. As a long time college football fan, I have always enjoyed watching the Longhorns. Great history in the Sport.

 

[pbrmhl]

Yes. Sorry. As a long time college football fan, I have always enjoyed watching the Longhorns. Great history in the Sport.

No need to be sorry—you just gave me another chance to jab @BaylorGator! Seriously, I appreciate your appreciation of the ‘Horns. They were easier to appreciate when I was in college. I was Earl Campbell’s class, and we were ranked number 1 in football my entire senior year. Then we played Notre Dame and Joe Montana in the bowl game...

Anyway, back to the soaps!

 

[BaylorGator]

Hex Tex! @pbrmhl!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Sorry. Apparently that’s autocorrect’s spelling of residual slickness. Residual slickness is how slick your face is after lathering up and doing a pass with the razor. When you finish your pass is your face still slick enough that you can go back and touch up or even do another pass without re-lathering? If so, the soap has residual slickness.

Ah, I thought I was really missing something. Sometimes I just hate autocorrect.

 

[BaylorGator]

My second shave with Siliski Soaps confirmed what I suspected in the first; this is a really good soap. I went with my usual equipment and shaved side by side with B&M. Although I far preferred the scent of the B&M (obviously a YMMV thing that varies by scent), the Siliski Soap compared very favorably. Normally I am "one and done" with a soap at this point. Like I said, Groundhog Day. White noise. Same/same. Whatever. This one really breaks through and stands out though, so I will be doing a couple more comparison shaves. At this point in the game that's saying something.

 

[BaylorGator]

Since my last report I received some samples of Silisky Soaps in different scents which were much more up my alley: Citrus, Frigid (peppermint) and Appalachian Forest, and I've been using these soaps as a "control" soap to start taking a bit deeper dive on the A and A- rated soaps in my den. (Obviously I can't do this with the highly rated soaps that are not in my den, but that's not to take away from them at all). Anyway, the reason that I'm using Silisky as a "control" is that sometimes we all can be influenced by the reputation and online banter about a soap, and Siliski is one that I really hadn't heard much about before shaving with it. Accordingly, it's a great "litmus test" with no presupposed bias. Again, I don't like to get too caught up into "ratings" as that's very much a YMMV thing. The most important thing in this thread is the evaluation and description of the soap, not it's rating. The opinion, experience and input of others who have shaved with that soap are equally valuable. In fact, just to be clear, the difference between my A and A- soaps is not really a significant difference in performance since soaps all perform really well and are all top notch soaps. The difference is more of that "comeback sauce" factor that I've mentioned before. In entertainment, they call it the "X factor", and it's really hard to describe. Doesn't mean you'll like it, but it does meant that a lot of people recognize something special about it. For example, I don't like Jason Beiber or Celene Dion music at all. AT ALL. Not my thing. Having said that, they wouldn't have the careers they do if they didn't have the X Factor, regardless of whether or not I personally like them. Similarly, my A rated soaps just stand apart from other similar performing soaps to me for one reason or another. For that matter, a number of the B's are easily good enough to be someone's favorite in my opinion. OK, enough soap philosophy, and on to more reviews.

* Note, I have not shaved side by side with my A+ soaps. These just seem to stand alone as excelling in every area to me.

OK, here's how the side by side soap comparisons went so far:

Control Soap:
Siliski Soap - As I said, this is my "control" soap. It has great performance and good scents. One thing I've noticed with it is that it has a relatively small window with water, and you can over hydrate it if you are not careful. This is not in any way a problem; it's just something to be aware of when dialing it in. I'm putting it as an A- since it's a great all around soap that deserves to be among a lot of other really good ones. It really deserves a lot more recognition than it gets on the boards.

A Rated Soap Comparisons:

Barrister and Mann - When dialed in correctly, I'd say the Siliski actually provides a bit slicker lather than the B&M. Both are great soaps, but what sets B&M apart for me is the unique and complex scents. Like them or hate them, they are unique and wonderful in their own way.
Stirling - Slick with strong, likable scents gives this soap serious "comeback" sauce for me. I'm a sucker for new Stirling releases.
Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations - This soap just has fantastic creamy, slick lather. One of the best performing soaps out there. This one deserves more recognition than it gets.
Tallow And Steel - I don't know what it is about T&S, but the whole "scent transports you to a place and reflects the smells of the environment there" just has a unique mystique to it. Are the scents better than others? No, but the performance rocks and I just kind of like the "vibe" of the whole thing.
Sudsy Soapery - As I've used this soap more, I've started to appreciate the soft luxurious feel of the lather and the moisturizing properties.

Also I've shaved against one A- as well.

Soapy Science - I'm tempted to put many of my A- soaps as A's. I can't put my finger on what it would take to bump this soap up. Maybe more scents with more variety and more complexity? Maybe just using it more in the lineup? Maybe the phase of the moon or my mood? I don't know. I feel the same way about Siliski, by the way. These are both great soaps, and from what I know about the artisans, they are great folks. (FWIW I think the same is true of the majority of artisans I've gotten to touch base with or learn about online. Most soap artisans seem to be just really good people for whatever reason.)

OK. That's it for now. In a bit, I'll take a deeper dive into the A- soaps and I'll add a number of new soaps to the list. A number of samples are already lined up in the cue. However, the busyness of the next few weeks probably won't give me enough time to do this and write many reviews. No worries. This thread has really become more of a marathon than a sprint. I started it as my own personal notes for a soap passaround figuring it'd be my own personal reference and last less than 60 days. I'm a bit shocked that its still going strong after 75+ soaps sampled over 11 months now. Crazy.

Randy

 

[Fly2High]

Randy,

thank you and great job.

With much appreciation,
Frank

 

[Boghopper]

Enjoying this thread! Thanks Randy.

 

[dushea]

Great stuff, keep it comin!