Not much of a soap, but it's better than williams and can bre relaitively easily found in Canada. The soap is very inexpensive but doesn`t last well compared to the more expensive soaps. I have almost completely used up my puck after 4 months of use. As another reviewer has stated I believe that there is a lot of air in this soap to make you believe you are getting more than you are. As for scent, I like the industrial, and clean smell this soap offers. It lathers ok, but not as good as other soaps. I find that it does an ok job moistorising my face.

It's the smell that put's me off this product. Smells like cheap soap.



Don't get me wrong, This was the first soap I used and thought it was brilliant. So as a start up Soap to introduce yourself into wet shaving its not half bad. Especially if you don't want to shell out a lot of money.



Since spening a bit more on soaps and creams, I've found it's not exactly the best. But price wise you cant go wrong.



As a Starter soap to introduce yourself Its Brilliant.



As a long term soap you'll use everyday, Probably not.



Bellow is a pic of a 3 pass on my hand with a body shop brush.

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Razor: Wostenholm IXL / Sanguine XD20
Blades:Gillette
Brush: Body Shop (just found out it's not real!) poo!
Cream: Ingrams
Aftershave: Nivea

Hi Gang:

This review is coming from a Newb. Being as i have just gotten into the wetshaving world with some hand me downs to get me going this was the first soap i invested in. Surprisingly it was better that i hoped for being as it was easily accessible and cheap as well. The Scent was pleasant it was nice mild and fresh as compare to the nasty Can goo. With my first few shaves i had to really work in the soap then I finally got my technique down which i would like to share with you and hopefully u get the same results.



1. Run brush under hot water n soak for few minutes

2. Kill time

3. take brush flick it but make sure there's plenty of water inside

4. run hot water onto the soap directly for 5 -10 seconds

5. Load brush

6. Lather to face.



I got a pretty nice creamy lather a bit more that the picture posted above but once again this is my first soap and i have nothing to compare it against . Its worth the try . Hope this helped for anyone using this.



Regards

KEn

This was the first shaving soap that I bought some time ago. I whizzed around a sopping wet brush, failed to get a lather and dismissed the whole soap thing.



Some time later and largely thanks to this forum, my technique has improved. So I dusted off the blue bowl and gave it another try.



It's a budget soap. There is no doubt about that. However as with many of the products at the lower end of the price scale, this one makes me question why I spend more money on the established big names when there is quality to be had at a fraction of the cost.



The quality of the lather is ok. Takes a bit of work, but you get there in the end. Maybe sits a little thin on the face, but that's only a small criticism. You still get a good cushion and it works well with the razor.



The scent is that generic citrus/cologne/toilet cleaner smell. A little too perfume/chemical smelling for my taste, but it's pretty unoffensive, and Mrs Smell The Glove likes it. Says that it smells 'clean'.



All in all it's a good everyday shaver, and a good soap to practice on. It's part of my rotation. But if this is your only soap you will no doubt hanker after something a little more luxurious after a while.

(we talk about the blue bowl)



This soap is just the worst soap I never tried



- Yes, It smell very bad.

- The lather is just too airy.

- The lubrication in the lather is totaly inexistant.



enough?



Don't waste your money and keep your money for a better soap. If you are very tight on your budget, go with prorasso, else, don't bother with these cheap soap, go with high end soap, there's a plenty of very fine soap out there. And, never forget, you get for what you pay for. Even in this case, quality/price is not there.

My first foray into shaving soaps was the Wilkinson Sword Black Bowl shaving soap, which I thought was pretty dire. The lather was weedy and very dry. Took me a long time to get a good lather with it.



I saw this Blue Bowl version in my local supermarket for a couple of quid, so I thought I'd give it a go.



On getting it home, I took the lid off to get a glimpse of it. First impressions were pretty good, a nice neat cake inside the bowl. The smell of it was okay. It could be described as 'antiseptic' but overall the smell is reasonable.



On lathering up, I was surprised at how well it lathers. Ive read other reviews that it doens't lather too well, but for me it does a good job, almost on a par with my Trumper's shaving cream. Shaving was comfortable and smooth, leaving nice soft skin afterwards.



Im aware you can buy better soaps, but for the price I'd definetly recommend this as a starter/practice soap. Recommended.

Only a couple of quid, so I thought "why not" well... now I know



Since changing to DE again a few months back, I bought this soap as it was the only one in the local shops !

Pain, rash, burn and cuts were the order of the day...I put this down to technique and "tools", so persevered.

During the past few months, Ive experimented with blades and lubes, finally ended up with feathers+oil ! = BBS zero rash etc !



Today I saw the WS Soap in the cupboard, so I thought Id give it a revisit...

"Friday the thirteenth" AGAIN .... blood, pain - sore as anything, and shaving rash I thought was a distant memory.... This rubbish is going in the bin

I bought this as an alternative to my Proraso. This stuff works up a decent lather. Not really that thick unless you really work it, but if you work hard you will be rewarded with a near-cream consistency. It will do the task of hydrating your skin fairly well. It has a soapy/body wash smell that is strange for a soap.

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-Ivan.

The scent is horrible, every time I smell it, I get a headache.



It is a relatively cheap soap, therefore not much to blame on it.



Doesn't lather very well and dries your skin afterwards.

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Ro

-Tempus fugit, memento mori-

What this soap has going for it is mainly its price and accessibility. It is the only cake soap available on the high street in England - Boots, Superdrug etc. It lathers up well if you soak your brush in hot water for a couple of minutes first and it smells much like hand soap does, albeit a little more faint.



As a good, reliable starting soap it is unsurpassed. However, don't pay more than £2 ($3 or so) for it because it's fairly bare bones in all departments. I use it because it's available without mail-order. You won't be impressed by this soap but it will deliver what it promises: a clean, smooth, close shave. Not one for the connoisseur, though.

This was the first soap I ever used, having gone down to the supermarket the day my HD razor arrived and got it and the cheap brush alongside it. It was all of £2 so exceedingly cheap. Although my first attempt was pretty bloody the scent of this stuff always reminds me of the day I took up DE wetshaving.



I have been working on getting a good lather from TOBS soap and found a stiff boar brush is better for this. I decided to give the Wilkinson another go when I got a cold and couldn't smell a thing. That's not to say the Wilkinson scent is unpleasant, it's just incomparable with the TOBS. It reminds me of roll-on or stick deodorants.



I've used it for the last couple of days with my favourite razor - an English Tech with a Derby blade - and my 404 Vulifix brush. I must say the results are pretty damn good. I could definitely use this every day if it was the only soap I could get. I might get a little bored with the monotony but the shaves would be OK (besides I spent 4 years slapping gel on my face and this would be far better than that).



I dump a good quantity of hot water on the puck before going into the shower so it's softened by the time I come to lather up. Given the soap is so cheap, I go right ahead and mash the brush into it and get a good quantity of soap on to it. This does get suds over the sides but you can easily rinse that off once you're finished shaving. I usually lather in a latte mug and after a minute or so there is a sufficient enough quantity to do my normal 3 and a half passes.



It is a fairly thin lather but it's perfectly adequate for shaving



Some people have reported this soap dries out their skin. I've never noticed this with any soap or cream, however I nearly always finish up with an aftershave balm.



In conclusion, this is a very cheap soap which is widely available (in the UK at least) which gives a decent shave. You can get it at most supermarkets but don't pay more than £2 for it and it's definitely not worth hunting out or ordering it online and paying shipping for.

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Razors: English Gillette Tech
Blades: Derbys
Cream: TOBS Shaving Shop, Proraso
Soap: TOBS Sandalwood, Wilkinson Sword
Brush: Tweezerman
AS - "Noir", Old Spice

"Bruce Willis's ability to maintain a wry smile whilst being blown backwards through a plate glass window is an inspiration to men whose daily challenge consists of nothing more than sitting in front of a computer screen contemplating the message: "There has been an error. Do you wish to report it?". "

Clive James

Like a few other reviews on here, this was also my first soap, which I thought was doing a good job until I tried a cream. I thought soaps just weren't for me, then I tried a 45p soap stick which put the wilkinson soap into perspective.



I can't get a decent lather from it, although a usable one at a push. It smells the same as shaving foam/gel from a can. Not offensive, just not great. If you need soap in an emergency, this is still better than canned stuff, there are in my opinion better products for similar money.

First shave soap that I used...I did really like the smell as it brought me back to the days when I first used after shave and would use some really cheap stuff lol. Price was decent too. However, the lather was basically just a bunch of bubbles it seemed like. You could tell that this is low end soap.

Blue bowl purchase was my first attempt at wet shaving. It has a pleasant scent, and easy use when I'm on the road.



The lather is a bit challenging at first, but needs to be soaked in hot water, and it will improve.



Normal moisturizing, but nothing to write home about.

Like many others above, this was my first soap as it's easily available in the UK and cheap.



I agree with most of the comments regarding lather - I need to soak the puck with a little hot water, othewise I have to work hard to get a decent lather even with my fairly stiff Omega boar. Forget using a badger for this soap! I get enough for a couple of passes, three if I'm lucky.



Pleasant, clean scent and adequate lubrication, but not very moisturising. It leaves my skin feeling a bit dry and tight.



Still, it does give me a consistent, smooth shave. There's only a small dent in the puck and I've used it about a dozen times, so it seems like it'll last a while.



On balance, I'd say it's worth keeping in reserve for those times when you just need a quick shave.