AJS
01-03-2009, 04:55 AM
I shaved with xpec shaving soap for the first time this morning, and although I will leave it for sometime before I post a full review, it's an interesting product and I thought I'd offer some initial impressions.
The soap is sold by www.xpec.co.uk and retails for 22.50 GBP for 150g of the shaving "soap." They company seem to be aiming for the high-end of the fragrance and personal care market, so I was surprised to see that it has not yet been tried by any of the pioneering souls who populate the English-language shaving boards.
First the fragrance, you can get full details of the composition from the website, but the back of the box describes a, "warm and sensual blend of, featuring top notes of Tuberose and Thyme, interwoven with Ginger, Pepper and Fennel Oils, and the richness of Cedar and Oakmoss."
They talk a good fragrance, no? I have seen it compared to Czech and Speake no. 88 on one of the German language boards where this has been reviewed, and although I don't have the matching edt, I can see this as being a fairly accurate comparison. The packaging the soap came in smells peppery with some floral notes giving it a very powdery nose, once lathered however, it is a raw, agressive pepper scent, very powerful indeed.
Onto the performance, this is sold as a shaving soap, however when I opened the tub, I was greeted by what looked like a shaving cream, a very dense shaving cream, but cream none the less. However, the dip and twist method didn't put any product onto the bristles of my shaving brush, so I resorted to lathering on top of this strange cream/ soap hybrid. Think Acqua di Parma SC, but even more dense.
I loaded my brush like I do with all soaps and this was a big mistake. I used way too much product, and after about a dozen tsps. of water later my 21mm EJ silvertip had vanished in a mountain of lather. When you apply the product to your face, any similarities to other shaving soaps end immediately.
The resulting emulsion is very rich and very thick, just like the high-end creams of yore before they fell prey to the scourge of reformulation. Plenty of cushion and a reasonable amount of glide. It cuts closer than all other creams I've tried, but not as close as I like being a "soap-guy."
This is a very thirsty product, as I've said before, living in a hard water area I've often found that my lather dries out in between passes and any attempt to add more water simply washes the lather out of my brush, not so with Xpec, it took an additonal 6 tsps. of water before my second pass. The lather did seem to dry out on my face towards the end of my first pass, but this was my fault for not using enough water, as what was left in the brush was very well hydrated.
The floral notes present when packaged, disappear entirely when lathered up and the scent becomes entirely that of pepper, and it is even stronger. If you like pepper then this is the only product you will ever need, me, I'm not so keen.
I completed the shave with no irritation or redness, my skin was smooth and very comfortable. I did notice a slight warmimg sensation on the skin to begin with, but feel that this was due to the pepper, it never developed into a burning sensation.
Overall, it shaved very nicely. Pricewise, this is at the top-end of the scale, but I feel it performs comparably with anything similiar like Acqua di Parma or Castle Forbes. I'm not at all keen on the scent though, it may grow on me, and I will buy the A/S splash to see if the pepper is drowned out in a different scent matrix.
Ingredients: Aqua, Stearic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis, Parfum, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Triethanolamine, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil, Calendula Extract, Ivy Extract, Gingko Bilboa, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben, Eugenol, Geraniol, Linalool, Benzyl benzoate, Citronellol, Limonene, Evernia Prunastri Extract and Treemos.
It's supposed to contain Shea Butter too, but it's not included in the ingredients. Still, lots of good stuff in there, and it is very moisturiong, but I suspect some will be put off by all the parabens included as well.
I'd like to know if anyone else has tried this, and what your impressions were.
The soap is sold by www.xpec.co.uk and retails for 22.50 GBP for 150g of the shaving "soap." They company seem to be aiming for the high-end of the fragrance and personal care market, so I was surprised to see that it has not yet been tried by any of the pioneering souls who populate the English-language shaving boards.
First the fragrance, you can get full details of the composition from the website, but the back of the box describes a, "warm and sensual blend of, featuring top notes of Tuberose and Thyme, interwoven with Ginger, Pepper and Fennel Oils, and the richness of Cedar and Oakmoss."
They talk a good fragrance, no? I have seen it compared to Czech and Speake no. 88 on one of the German language boards where this has been reviewed, and although I don't have the matching edt, I can see this as being a fairly accurate comparison. The packaging the soap came in smells peppery with some floral notes giving it a very powdery nose, once lathered however, it is a raw, agressive pepper scent, very powerful indeed.
Onto the performance, this is sold as a shaving soap, however when I opened the tub, I was greeted by what looked like a shaving cream, a very dense shaving cream, but cream none the less. However, the dip and twist method didn't put any product onto the bristles of my shaving brush, so I resorted to lathering on top of this strange cream/ soap hybrid. Think Acqua di Parma SC, but even more dense.
I loaded my brush like I do with all soaps and this was a big mistake. I used way too much product, and after about a dozen tsps. of water later my 21mm EJ silvertip had vanished in a mountain of lather. When you apply the product to your face, any similarities to other shaving soaps end immediately.
The resulting emulsion is very rich and very thick, just like the high-end creams of yore before they fell prey to the scourge of reformulation. Plenty of cushion and a reasonable amount of glide. It cuts closer than all other creams I've tried, but not as close as I like being a "soap-guy."
This is a very thirsty product, as I've said before, living in a hard water area I've often found that my lather dries out in between passes and any attempt to add more water simply washes the lather out of my brush, not so with Xpec, it took an additonal 6 tsps. of water before my second pass. The lather did seem to dry out on my face towards the end of my first pass, but this was my fault for not using enough water, as what was left in the brush was very well hydrated.
The floral notes present when packaged, disappear entirely when lathered up and the scent becomes entirely that of pepper, and it is even stronger. If you like pepper then this is the only product you will ever need, me, I'm not so keen.
I completed the shave with no irritation or redness, my skin was smooth and very comfortable. I did notice a slight warmimg sensation on the skin to begin with, but feel that this was due to the pepper, it never developed into a burning sensation.
Overall, it shaved very nicely. Pricewise, this is at the top-end of the scale, but I feel it performs comparably with anything similiar like Acqua di Parma or Castle Forbes. I'm not at all keen on the scent though, it may grow on me, and I will buy the A/S splash to see if the pepper is drowned out in a different scent matrix.
Ingredients: Aqua, Stearic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis, Parfum, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Triethanolamine, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil, Calendula Extract, Ivy Extract, Gingko Bilboa, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben, Eugenol, Geraniol, Linalool, Benzyl benzoate, Citronellol, Limonene, Evernia Prunastri Extract and Treemos.
It's supposed to contain Shea Butter too, but it's not included in the ingredients. Still, lots of good stuff in there, and it is very moisturiong, but I suspect some will be put off by all the parabens included as well.
I'd like to know if anyone else has tried this, and what your impressions were.