Post by fram773 on Oct 24, 2014 20:01:52 GMT -6
Ease of lathering: 10/10-- This is a hard soap but quite soft for one. Lather picks up on to the brush very easily and no lathering tricks are needed. I had no trouble lathering with an ACE silvertip, Plisson synthetic, Muhle Black Fiber, or Muhle STF v2. My moderately hard Chicago city water was no problem either.
Lather quality: 7/10--Decent stability and what I love most about the lather is that it is dense and creamy but without being greasy or slimy. This is absolutely paramount as I refuse to use a a greasy soap no matter how good it is. The lather has a milky quality to it that is hard to put into words. I am only giving a 7 because it only has decent and not great stability.
Cushion: 7/10-- Like all veggie soaps this one is just a little bit short on this quality compared to the tallow soaps I have used. This was noticeable using uncoated stainless steel GEMs which feel harsh every time I use any veggie soap, including this one. Those I can only use with tallow based soaps for some reason. With PTFE coated blades, either GEMs or injectors, I can not tell the difference at all. It still one of the most comfortable soaps to use and among the veggie soaps with the greatest amount of cushion. It beats the other Provence- Pre de Provence.
Slickness: 7/10-- Good slickness at watery and medium density lather but suffers when the lather is ultra dense.
Beard softening: 7/10-- I only noticed a problem when using the dull uncoated stainless GEMs. Otherwise I had no problems using the PTFE GEMs and Personna PTFE injector blades. High PH soaps are the ones that soften the best but they are more harsh on the skin. This is among the mildest.
General skincare: 10/10-- Absolutely amazing post shave feel. This soap is the best soap I have ever used in this department. And yes it is better than Mitchell's Wool Fat. During the shave my face feels no irritation from any harsh PH or such. This is easily the mildest soap I have used. After the shave my face feels clean yet moisturized and my skin very soft. There is talc in there so it leaves a soft silky feeling to the skin. My skin seems to be smoother after the shave- it hides blemishes, pores, and such ever so slightly.
Scent: 10/10-- This is probably the only scent in my arsenal that I truly love. it is mild but no so much that it is nonexistent. I have the Verlaine and it smells of flowers. It is a little feminine smelling but I am secure enough that it does not bother me. The scent is very relaxing and evokes a calming mood.
Price: 8/10--You can pick this up for around $10 for a 3.5oz cake.
Packaging: 5/10-- Just the soap wrapped in plastic wrap with a label. This is certainly not a bad thing, I'm just dissatisfied with the lack of container available. There is a container, which is quite hard to get and which looks like a flower pot, but I need a cover. I want to contain the scent as well as keep things out; fuzzies, particles of poop that inevitably fly about the bathroom when flushing.
Would I buy again: Heck yeah! In the couple months I have owned this soap it has risen to become one of my favorites. Another position only matched by Mitchell's Wool Fat. I would give MWF an edge in various ratings, cushion, slickness, beard softening; but the results I experience using this soap speak for themselves. I get the least amount of irritation after a shave using this soap (talc is said to have these qualities), the post shave feel, and the scent are greater than MWF making for a very satisfying experience. This one is IMO a must have in any den. I have seen a few members of this forum who use this soap, and I would be interested in hearing their take on this soap.
Attached is a picture of it after I used it and placed in a TOBS container. I'm looking for a better container but this one will do for now.
Lather quality: 7/10--Decent stability and what I love most about the lather is that it is dense and creamy but without being greasy or slimy. This is absolutely paramount as I refuse to use a a greasy soap no matter how good it is. The lather has a milky quality to it that is hard to put into words. I am only giving a 7 because it only has decent and not great stability.
Cushion: 7/10-- Like all veggie soaps this one is just a little bit short on this quality compared to the tallow soaps I have used. This was noticeable using uncoated stainless steel GEMs which feel harsh every time I use any veggie soap, including this one. Those I can only use with tallow based soaps for some reason. With PTFE coated blades, either GEMs or injectors, I can not tell the difference at all. It still one of the most comfortable soaps to use and among the veggie soaps with the greatest amount of cushion. It beats the other Provence- Pre de Provence.
Slickness: 7/10-- Good slickness at watery and medium density lather but suffers when the lather is ultra dense.
Beard softening: 7/10-- I only noticed a problem when using the dull uncoated stainless GEMs. Otherwise I had no problems using the PTFE GEMs and Personna PTFE injector blades. High PH soaps are the ones that soften the best but they are more harsh on the skin. This is among the mildest.
General skincare: 10/10-- Absolutely amazing post shave feel. This soap is the best soap I have ever used in this department. And yes it is better than Mitchell's Wool Fat. During the shave my face feels no irritation from any harsh PH or such. This is easily the mildest soap I have used. After the shave my face feels clean yet moisturized and my skin very soft. There is talc in there so it leaves a soft silky feeling to the skin. My skin seems to be smoother after the shave- it hides blemishes, pores, and such ever so slightly.
Scent: 10/10-- This is probably the only scent in my arsenal that I truly love. it is mild but no so much that it is nonexistent. I have the Verlaine and it smells of flowers. It is a little feminine smelling but I am secure enough that it does not bother me. The scent is very relaxing and evokes a calming mood.
Price: 8/10--You can pick this up for around $10 for a 3.5oz cake.
Packaging: 5/10-- Just the soap wrapped in plastic wrap with a label. This is certainly not a bad thing, I'm just dissatisfied with the lack of container available. There is a container, which is quite hard to get and which looks like a flower pot, but I need a cover. I want to contain the scent as well as keep things out; fuzzies, particles of poop that inevitably fly about the bathroom when flushing.
Would I buy again: Heck yeah! In the couple months I have owned this soap it has risen to become one of my favorites. Another position only matched by Mitchell's Wool Fat. I would give MWF an edge in various ratings, cushion, slickness, beard softening; but the results I experience using this soap speak for themselves. I get the least amount of irritation after a shave using this soap (talc is said to have these qualities), the post shave feel, and the scent are greater than MWF making for a very satisfying experience. This one is IMO a must have in any den. I have seen a few members of this forum who use this soap, and I would be interested in hearing their take on this soap.
Attached is a picture of it after I used it and placed in a TOBS container. I'm looking for a better container but this one will do for now.