image postingI received a tub of Shannon's Soaps Rebrab. I know, weird name. Rebrab is the surname of one of the richest men in the world. I don't know if she named the soap after him, or not. However, it is a nice, sophisticated scent. I bought it because it was said to be a barbershop scent with a twist. It isn't like anything I think of as an American barbershop scent, but it is very nice. It has a bitter citrus opening note with some other things going on that can't explain. It then has lower notes that are more tobacco, just a little, but not like cigarettes or anything. It is more like a cologne scent to me.
I let it air out over night and the scent got better. I lathered up and all sorts of notes started hitting my nose vying for attention. Not bad. There is just enough menthol to make one feel fresh, but not enough to over power and demand attention. But, scent is not what I was after. I wanted a tallow + lanolin shaving soap that performed well. I got both of those things and more. I actually laughed when I read that the soap base name is Chupacabra.
Ingredients: Tallow, kokum butter, avocado oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, stearic acid, coconut, glycerin, lanolin, coconut oil, goat milk, mallow extract, buckthorn extract, meadowfoam seed oil, Vitamin E, essential oils, fragrance oils, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide (made by hot process),Menthol
I loaded my brush and noticed that I needed a bit more water. I added a few drops and then started building the lather on my moistened face. I got a huge amount of lather using a APShaveCo G5C knot brush. I could tell the lather was good, just by the feel and by looking at it. I took my S.K. Colling 6/8 straight razor and started under my lower lip. On the first downward stroke, even though short, I knew I had a winner. Shaving WTG, ATG, and XTG posed no issues. The residual slickness was there in spades, too. I mean, Folks! This is a $9.99 soap, not a $30 soap!
Slickness: 9.75/10
Cushion: 10/10
Scent: 9.5/10 (This is just me. I like a regular barbershop scent most of all).
Post shave face feel: 9.7/10 (It isn't MWF, but it is really very good).
Closeness: 10/10 (near BBS and I wasn't trying)
Skipping/Dragging: 10/10 (Nada, none)
Price: 10/10 (this is a real value)
Total score: 9.85/10
Someone who loved the scent even more might score it higher on that, as scent is subjective. I like the scent a lot, but as I said, a regular barbershop scent is more to my liking. I am not a cologne kind of guy, but this is manly, so no worries there.
Shannon's Soaps Chupacabra base is a hidden gem! I have got to try some more. This is better for me (YMMV) than Stirling, B&M early bases, and is as good as B&M Omnibus base. All I need to do is find the right scent and I'm all set.
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