Pomona. Other than a city in Los Angeles County, a perfect label for this soap and AS - Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards. I keep repeating the performance of SW's soaps is outstanding, but partly because it's also unexpected. My experience with most vegan soaps has been less than stellar, and most I've used require more work than tallow-based soaps to lather, provide less cushion and protection, and are very particular about water. None of which is true of SW's soaps, so I keep waiting for them to prove my historical experience, but have been so far universally surprised and impressed. A great soap and a great AS from the technical side of shaving.
Scent notes. Two words. Apple. Honey. SW describes it: "apple, honey, red wine, spice, honeysuckle." Probably. My impressions on opening and lathering include those notes, but predominately the apple and honey. And waaay in the back, maybe a light, mulled red wine. And through it all an undefined floral - maybe from the apple (apple blossoms?), maybe from the honey (clover, heather?), maybe from the wine (grape blossoms?). And maybe honeysuckle as well. Whatever from, it's a wonderful fragrance, suitable for either a Spring romp or a turn-of-the-season walk in the Fall. An all-season fragrance, to me, that I could use daily. Another 6 out of 6 tried winner from Southern Witchcrafts for me, and I will definitely keep going.
Increasingly impressed with SW's blend of fragrances, and I haven't discovered any yet that are off-putting, or that I would only use once or would consider (very) polarizing. All have been very mild or mid-range intensity, all have familiar and identifiable bases and all match their described profiles. They don't have any (that I've found) sharp citrus fragrances (a la B&M's Nordost or T+S's Sicily), or edge-of-the-envelope fragrances (B&M's Roam, CFG's Cryogen), or straight florals (A&E's Asian Plum, GFT's Rose), but what they do have, from those I've tried, are consistently complex, varied, easy-wearing fragrances unlike any others in my stable. Performance of soap and AS has been consistently excellent as well. I'm officially a fan.
Scent notes. Two words. Apple. Honey. SW describes it: "apple, honey, red wine, spice, honeysuckle." Probably. My impressions on opening and lathering include those notes, but predominately the apple and honey. And waaay in the back, maybe a light, mulled red wine. And through it all an undefined floral - maybe from the apple (apple blossoms?), maybe from the honey (clover, heather?), maybe from the wine (grape blossoms?). And maybe honeysuckle as well. Whatever from, it's a wonderful fragrance, suitable for either a Spring romp or a turn-of-the-season walk in the Fall. An all-season fragrance, to me, that I could use daily. Another 6 out of 6 tried winner from Southern Witchcrafts for me, and I will definitely keep going.
Increasingly impressed with SW's blend of fragrances, and I haven't discovered any yet that are off-putting, or that I would only use once or would consider (very) polarizing. All have been very mild or mid-range intensity, all have familiar and identifiable bases and all match their described profiles. They don't have any (that I've found) sharp citrus fragrances (a la B&M's Nordost or T+S's Sicily), or edge-of-the-envelope fragrances (B&M's Roam, CFG's Cryogen), or straight florals (A&E's Asian Plum, GFT's Rose), but what they do have, from those I've tried, are consistently complex, varied, easy-wearing fragrances unlike any others in my stable. Performance of soap and AS has been consistently excellent as well. I'm officially a fan.
I'm WAY past 3070 on soaps and splashes (and everything else)! My grandchildren will be stocked for life. SW's splashes are sort of unique - fairly thin, close to Thayers aloe witch hazel in consistency, with a similar post-shave feel. Sort of a balm/splash hybrid. I wasn't fond of a splash that left a film after drydown, but I actually like SW's for their protection, and they seem to calm down irritation very well. Ruds Shave on YouTube has some good videos on SW products. All of their splashes I've tried so far match their soaps in fragrance perfectly, unlike some manufacturers I've used which are more of a counterpoint. None have been what I would consider "strong" fragrances - sort of mid-range that last a few hours. Pomona is a kind of mild (to me, and Rud agrees), fruit-orchard (apple) kind of scent (some have said potpourri, but potpourri had to start somewhere, so a floral, fruity fragrance may be accurate). It's actually, for me, a good everyday scent, not overly floral, not overly fruity but a good blend. More coming, so will continue the quest, but so far SW is on the permanent list.
Word must have gotten around on SW - I noticed several OOS. I'm not normally universally pleased with a product line (T+S and A&E are pretty close), but SW fits the bill so far. I'm guessing Courtney and Steve will be ramping up production, so stand by, and I heard they have some others in the pipeline.
