Recently I posted asking about mildly scented stick soaps.

I'd been PIFed a slice of Palmolive and Ogalala, and while too heavily scented for me, I saw the potential of this form of soap. I face lather, and a stick is a natural for that.

Another gent PIFed me a stick of Spieck, Valobra, and a goodly slice of Arko. Here is my experience with them. When you read this, understand that I like light scents.

First, let me get this "out there". None of these products failed, but I find most of the well known shaving products that I've used to work. There's a reason for that- junk doesn't work and doesn't get well known except maybe as junk and then passed by and forgotten. Some well known products are more difficult to use than others, Williams comes to mind, but none of these were at all difficult to use. With all 3 products even with my small face lathering brushes I had enough for 3 passes with touch-up and to brush/wash the rest of my face and I still threw lather away. There was plenty.

First Arko, which also happens to be dirt cheap here in the US. The scent gets bad press from some folks. I didn't mind the light lemony (citronella) scent. I've never read a bad word about the lather, and this certainly does lather! While not as luxurious a lather as the other 2 sticks I tested it's very useable. I was impressed enough with the quality of the lather and the price (15 sticks for $17 shipped) that I bought a mess of them. I intend to make use of it on my face, and for the price every time I PIF I can include a stick for a newbie. If you haven't tried Arko, it's certainly worth a try.

Next I tried the Valobra. I think the Italian words on the package indicated it was for barber use, but maybe what I saw is on every box, I don't know (I don't speak or read Italian). The scent was soaplike, not perfumy; however, there was an added scent, but it was very light and pleasant, so it pleased my nose. The lather was petty incredible. More luxurious than the Arko, maybe not as much lather, but it's a harder stick too, so that might be a function of not getting as much product on my face. The lather was very good, very slick and cushiony. I could very easily make this my everyday soap. BTW, regarding quantity of lather... I had plenty of lather. What I wrote ("maybe not as much") shouldn't be construed to mean there was a lack.

The last was Spieck. It's a little too heavily scented for me (most soaps are), but the scent was very pleasant. I don't quite know how to describe the scent, and neither did the wife. The lather was possibly the best of the three, and it lathered like a champ. I could use this, I just wish it had less scent. I suspect most folks would find this to be a very good stick if they like more scent than I do.

In short. they all worked. The value leader has to be the Arko for the quality of the lather and the incredibly low price in bulk. The other 2 were clearly higher quality soaps for much more $ per stick compared to the bulk price of Arko. None of these sticks will break the bank though.