Hearing stuff like this makes me think that something could be done to improve the recipe. I know that is entirely a business decision for MW, but still.
Mystic Water? - Thoughts
- Thread starter AgBill
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I, for one, certainly hope that she doesn't change the recipe. As is, it's the best soap I have.
I'm a scuttle guy as well. I found that it is stable in my scuttle if I keep the scuttle warm, not as fully hot as I can make it. It made for a good happy medium on temperature and I had no stability problems.
+1 Easy to lather, amazing performance, and scents are incredible!
The lather is awesome. It took me a little while to dial in the lather process, but once that hurdle is done you can't beat it. It's some of the thickest, slickest lather I have used to date! I've only been wet shaving 4 months now, but Mystic Water Soap has earned a permanent place in my shave den. I was so impressed with the shave soap samples that I added a bath soap sampler for the wife to try out. Michelle is awesome to deal with and she put up with my several emails about the different bath soaps. She has earned my repeat business.
For what it's worth, my favorite soap is the Lavender Lime. It combines both my favorite scents with menthol. This will be one of my go to soaps for this summer!
For what it's worth, my favorite soap is the Lavender Lime. It combines both my favorite scents with menthol. This will be one of my go to soaps for this summer!
IMHO Mystic Water is about as good as it gets. The very fact that there are many here who have thought to compare MW to Mdc--a very high dollar, high performance soap--illustrates the quality of this product. And when you consider that Mystic water is less than a third of the price, and that Michelle offers up above and beyond some of the best customer service around....that just pushes it over the edge for me. There just isn't a good reason not to get a puck of your favorite scent.
My puck of Lily of the Valley is amazing. The scent when lathered up is a favorite now. I would describe the scent as a light but persistant soft and convincingly "summer blossoms" smell with the feeling of intermidant fresh breeze (this soap has a cooling, "evaporating" affect on the skin; no idea why) with wafts of a faint soapyness in the background. For those of you on the fence, just get it. Right. Now.
For those of you who have too many soaps already: I don't care. Sell some and buy MW LotV. Give some of your stash away. Paint your house with it. Start eating them. Whatever it takes to get you to make room to pick up a puck of this scent.
I didn't have trouble getting a great lather from MW. I just pretty much used a wet brush soaked with hot water, the excess water shaken out, and swirled for a minute or so. Then face lathered, adding dabs of water two times. Nice thick slick shiny lather. The razor glided.
And as mentioned several times before, the way your face feels after the shave is something that must be unique to MW. I would almost describe it as an aftershave and soap all in one, saving you that extra step.
If I had to give one negative point, it would be that it seems you have to load your brush a little more carefully so that you are sure you have enough lather for all the passes that you want to do. But with time getting to know it, Im sure that will fade into a non-issue.
I received my samples of Wild Lavender, Prospect Creek, and Lavender Lime. Results of the sniff test: Wild lavender was really different from what I was expecting..It has more of a raw, field/weeds/cut grass smell to it with a top note, I guess you could call it, of faint floral sweetness. It's fresh smelling. Not sure if thid is what REAL wild lavender is meant to smell like or not, but I would imagine it is. Same deal with the Lavender Lime sample, except of course with the lime scent tucked away/bookended between the wild lavender smell, with wafts of cooling menthol. Prospect Creek smells like a candy cane.
Can't wait to shave with one tomorrow and see how the performances are and the nuances between each scent and essential oil. The scents will come into their own and change a bit too when I actually start shaving with them.
My puck of Lily of the Valley is amazing. The scent when lathered up is a favorite now. I would describe the scent as a light but persistant soft and convincingly "summer blossoms" smell with the feeling of intermidant fresh breeze (this soap has a cooling, "evaporating" affect on the skin; no idea why) with wafts of a faint soapyness in the background. For those of you on the fence, just get it. Right. Now.
For those of you who have too many soaps already: I don't care. Sell some and buy MW LotV. Give some of your stash away. Paint your house with it. Start eating them. Whatever it takes to get you to make room to pick up a puck of this scent.
I didn't have trouble getting a great lather from MW. I just pretty much used a wet brush soaked with hot water, the excess water shaken out, and swirled for a minute or so. Then face lathered, adding dabs of water two times. Nice thick slick shiny lather. The razor glided.
And as mentioned several times before, the way your face feels after the shave is something that must be unique to MW. I would almost describe it as an aftershave and soap all in one, saving you that extra step.
If I had to give one negative point, it would be that it seems you have to load your brush a little more carefully so that you are sure you have enough lather for all the passes that you want to do. But with time getting to know it, Im sure that will fade into a non-issue.
I received my samples of Wild Lavender, Prospect Creek, and Lavender Lime. Results of the sniff test: Wild lavender was really different from what I was expecting..It has more of a raw, field/weeds/cut grass smell to it with a top note, I guess you could call it, of faint floral sweetness. It's fresh smelling. Not sure if thid is what REAL wild lavender is meant to smell like or not, but I would imagine it is. Same deal with the Lavender Lime sample, except of course with the lime scent tucked away/bookended between the wild lavender smell, with wafts of cooling menthol. Prospect Creek smells like a candy cane.
Can't wait to shave with one tomorrow and see how the performances are and the nuances between each scent and essential oil. The scents will come into their own and change a bit too when I actually start shaving with them.
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Man I can't wait to get this stuff. I ordered 7 different flavors 
I just received my first puck of Mystic Water, "Cedar & Sage" today (thanks Michelle)! Really looking forward to tomorrow AM's shave with it!
Be sure to let us know what you think. I'm curious about that scent.
I really like the scent, nice strong yet mellow (if that makes sense) Cedar and Sage notes, but IMO I could do without the patchouli in the background. Not a deal breaker at all, still a very nice scent, but I'm not a fan of patchouli so I am glad it is just in the background. I'll post some thoughts after I use it tomorrow AM!
D
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I spoke with her today and she said it should be back on the website by Sunday or Monday.
Does she still make lily of the valley? I tried to order one of all her samples but she never got back to me. I don't see lilly of the valley anywhere on the site. Ahh I see its out of stok at the moment.
I used the Cedar & Sage this morning. I was running late so I almost skipped it, considering a lot of people seem to say it's tricky to lather the first time. But, work be dammed
I *had* to try it.So, I grabbed my trusty "lather anything" Muehle Silvertip Fiber brush, dunked it in the sink, shook it out and went at it. I gently swirled the brush on the dry puck for about 30 seconds and went to my bowl. After less than two minutes start to finish I had rich, think, yogurt-like lather with a great scent. 30 seconds on the dry puck with only a damp brush and I had loaded enough product for a 4+ pass shave. I added some water while lathering in my bowl, but getting the right amount seemed to be pretty easy.
My first pass the lather was actually a bit too thick, more cushion than glide. For the second pass I dipped the brush tips in water and face lathered a bit and that was pretty much perfect, cushion and glide. I did my usual 2 passes plus touch ups in record time (seeing as I was running late). Even though I was rushed there wasn't any blood letting and the soap left my face feeling really nice after the shave.
Summary: I'm very glad I bought some mystic water soap. Easy for me to lather, the lather is very stable and moisturizing. Very good cushion and glide. One thing to note is that the scent is rather strong. This works for me as I like strongly scented products, but it is one of the few soaps that I can still smell even after I rinse it off. For me, that's a good thing!
I feel we are really fortunate to have so many talented artisan soap makers in the United States who put their time and energy into formulating what is essentially a niche product within a niche product. Between Mike's Natural, Mystic Water, QCS, and Mama Bear, I am seriously considering selling all of my "mass-produced" lather making products that don't achieve the same quality as the artisan products on B/S/T...
I used the Cedar & Sage this morning. I was running late so I almost skipped it, considering a lot of people seem to say it's tricky to lather the first time. But, work be dammed
So, I grabbed my trusty "lather anything" Muehle Silvertip Fiber brush, dunked it in the sink, shook it out and went at it. I gently swirled the brush on the dry puck for about 30 seconds and went to my bowl. After less than two minutes start to finish I had rich, think, yogurt-like lather with a great scent. 30 seconds on the dry puck with only a damp brush and I had loaded enough product for a 4+ pass shave. I added some water while lathering in my bowl, but getting the right amount seemed to be pretty easy.
My first pass the lather was actually a bit too thick, more cushion than glide. For the second pass I dipped the brush tips in water and face lathered a bit and that was pretty much perfect, cushion and glide. I did my usual 2 passes plus touch ups in record time (seeing as I was running late). Even though I was rushed there wasn't any blood letting and the soap left my face feeling really nice after
That's pretty much how I went about lathering up MW the second time around, except I also gave the soap a quick rinse. The drier loading method that some have decided on just didn't really work for me
Glad to hear you liked it and that the scent was strong yet was good for your skin. And I agree with your thoughts on these small company artisan soap makers. I love Taylor of Old Bond Street and I'm sure I'll like some of the other big guns if and when I get around to trying them...they make good stuff. But it's always nice to support local vendors when they can make stuff as good as this. The attention to detail and the commradery between vendor and customer is an important intangible I never expected, but is good to have for a guy like me who is new and could use all the help and feedback I can get. Hats off to those aforementioned guys and gals.
It takes me longer to get a good lather with this than other soaps. I also find it to be a bit brush dependent. I think it works best with brushes that have a little more backbone. As far as the lather and performance goes, it's the best stuff I've used. It's the only soap I've used that I can skip the AS or balm and have nice feeling skin all day.
I just got a pm from Michelle and it seems my email was lost. Glad to know it wasn't that I was bugging herDoes she still make lily of the valley? I tried to order one of all her samples but she never got back to me. I don't see lilly of the valley anywhere on the site. Ahh I see its out of stok at the moment.
Cant wait to try her soaps!
PS - If you like Pinaud Special Reserve AS, it goes really well with the Cedar & Sage.
What doesn't go well with SR?
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