2nd round Soap Pass-Around

Ok, so here's a pic for today: Under all that lather from #137 lies a Whipped Dog Silvertip badger brush. This was my first Silvertip and it's an excellent brush. About the best $35 Silvertip brush I've found. Sorry the pic is so dark.



137 is a Glycerin soap from a manufacturer that's well known to me. the jar is all cracked up but the soap is in tact. I'm not a fan of Glycerin soaps for the most part as they just seem cheap to me. I do like Synergy soaps quite a bit, which are melt and pour, but my preference is for a nice soft Artesan soap with some shea butter or lanolin added.

Back to the soap. I've tried the Barbershoppe soap from this same manufacturer in another passaround box and thought the smell was absolutely terrible. About two users later someone chose that same soap and absolutely loved it. His wife renamed it "Gettin Lucky" or something to that effect because she liked it so well also.

Well I'm not Gettin Lucky with this one as my Wife and I both think is smells terrible. It says sandlewood but I'm not getting that at all. It's not for me as the smell is giving me a slight headache in fact. That's not to say that someone else won't love the scent. It's just a bit unique and not for me.

This is not the Birthday soap as you'll know which one that is the minute you open the box. It's really obvious. Don't even smell that one, just keep walking by as you just can't undo that. You've been warned.

Scent aside, I put some in the bowl and lathered it up. I thought I had too much water on the brush as it ate up all of the soap in the bottom of the bowl quickly and I had a sloppy mess. I kept mixing it for a little while and it exploded with lather. What's on the brush isn't half of what's in the bowl. So lather wise it was likely a bit above average.

Slickness was average to slightly above as well. It's definitely plenty slick to get a good shave. Maybe that's why the jar is all cracked up. Hold onto your soaps people.

Since I'm not fond of the scent I was hesitant to put this one on my face. I though about you guys and took one for the team. After shave feel on this one is just average.

Overall this soap was about average for me, though someone else will rate it higher. The scent is unique and one of those love it of hate it type scents. I think that someone will love it eventually. A solid performer but I'll steer clear of this one.

Maybe we should ask Jason to have us add "date added" to the bottom of each soap. I like the idea that if it makes a birthday (or more) in the box it should probably be pulled (by Jason? I dunno). There were 2 in the box when I got it on the first pass that I had a very solid feeling would still be there when I get it some 20+ people from now.

oteixeira said:

Maybe we should ask Jason to have us add "date added" to the bottom of each soap. I like the idea that if it makes a birthday (or more) in the box it should probably be pulled (by Jason? I dunno). There were 2 in the box when I got it on the first pass that I had a very solid feeling would still be there when I get it some 20+ people from now.

Click to expand...

Send me a PM and I'll let you know if they are still there. If a soap has gone through that many people it likely doesn't belong in the box anymore. As far as how to remove them I'm sure something can be thought out. For example, if it's a undesirable soap then maybe after so many weeks in the box a numbered soap can be changed to a PIF and someone can then have it as one of their takes without having to trade anything for it. If it still sits for a while after that then it can be removed. Nobody wants these to take up room in the box or circle the globe for no reason.

However, if it's the one I've dubbed "The Birthday Soap" I'm not pulling it, that one has in until it's taken or it reaches it's 18th birthday.

I really like the date idea and I'm all for it. The only negative is that you could figure out who added it. A month and year would suffice if we still wanted to retain privacy so that nothing ever gets personal with something someone added.

I've noticed that the idea of only reviewing specifically numbered soaps seems to have gone out the window. I noticed that others before me have reviewed many that aren't numbered in a specific way so I went with it as well. Likely many are from the first pass. I like that fact that everything is being reviewed. As long as it's kept all about the soap and not a personal attack then I think that it's more enjoyable to hear about everything in the box. Plus it will deter people from dumping garbage soaps in the box.

A month and year would be perfect, as it would make it more anonymous. Jason, what say you? Are we asking for too much to add a date as well?

As for what soaps to review, etc, I love more reviews. I actually encourage people saying they are new to try as many soaps as they can in 5 days, so they know more about what soaps they like the feel of. Scent is not everything, as I am sure you know. One of my favorite parts of all this is admitting that I can not pin down what a soap smells like, and then someone comes behind me and says it. It is totally a light bulb moment, like a long lost friend has returned to you when you hear it.

I think this round the soaps were supposed to be 200-399, but I agree that the numbers are out the window in terms of following format.

Numbers have always been optional; that is, for those who wanted to participate in the fun of the guessing game. This goes back to the first round (mid-way through?). Some people who followed the thread closely enjoyed guessing the different numbered soaps based on the reviews, but the use of numbers kept an element of surprise. The concern about using numbers was that numbers would take away from the anonymity of the contributions, and that numbered reviews might possibly hurt feelings. If people choose to add numbers in the second pass, those numbers helped distinguish those soaps that remained from the first pass.

Personally, I like having experiences with a wide variety of soaps. I like having a chance to experience all kinds of soaps without purchasing them. I don't have the extensive experience with soap that some people in the pass have, and experience with a variety of soaps, even "birthday" soaps, provides a context for me in which to compare the others. If the benchmark is putting things into the box that you genuinely love, that is good enough for me. I enjoy seeing what other people love, even if I wouldn't touch a particular soap with a ten-foot pole.

I have no objection to putting dates on mine.

I have no problem if someone knows what I add and I welcome your honest reviews. I'll even give you my thoughts on each soap I add if you'd like to hear them.

If you love a soap great, if you hate it then say so and maybe that one's not for you.
Sure, I'd be happier if you liked what I put in but everything isn't for everyone.
That's what this whole thing is all about, trying someone else's favorites and seeing if they become yours too.

So I tried another soap in the box just now. This one is #237.




It's made by a soap manufacturer that makes some great menthol soaps. This one is a Bay Rum scent. For me Bay Rum scents can go bad really easily. I've found a couple really nice ones, like Barrister & Mann's Bay Rum and Los Angeles Shaving Soap's Bay Rum, lots of average ones and some really bad ones. There's another Bay Rum soap in the box that the clove scent is a little heavy and I just can't do it because it's giving me a headache.

This one I didn't care for the smell in the container at first but not too bad overall. Lathered it was much softer and I liked it a lot better. If I owned this soap I could actually use it which isn't an easy accomplishment for me and a Bay Rum soap.

As far as the lather goes this one produced a nice average lather. Slickness was average as well. After face feel was the same, average. Nothing stood out as being terribly good or terribly bad with this soap. To me it's a nice solid average performing soap that I can't really find anything wrong with. Cost of this one is about $15. however, for that price tag I'd pick up the Barrister & Mann Bay Rum which performs better and has a sweeter more cider like scent that I really enjoy.

So I used #236 for my shave today.




This is one I've been wanting to try for a while now. I found out about it after it was discontinued so I never got the opportunity to try it before now. It's the same formula as another very popular shave soap but with a different scent. I don't care for the scent of the other one as it smells like an cigar smoking old man to me. This one is clean and fresh, sort of like Irish Spring soap. It's in the form of a shave stick but I cut off a small piece and put it in the salsa bowl. The scent is clean and fresh. I like it quite a bit and wish they would have discontinued the other one instead, or kept this one as well. It smells refreshing and the scent isn't too strong though I wouldn't mind if it were stronger at all.

In lathering this one it was about average here. I got lots of lather from about an average amount of work. Plenty for about 5 passes and I only cut a small sliver of soap. Slickness was about average to a little above. I'm trying to learn to shave with a straight and I'm getting better at it, but I can't get a perfect shave yet. Changing soaps every day likely doesn't help. So I've been getting as good of a shave as I can from three passes with a straight they doing a quick evaluation of my end result and where I need to figure out a better plan of attack. I'll then touch up with my ATT razor for cleanup giving me a perfect shave. I have to get away from the DE and get this completely figured out but I love a great shave and have a hard time settling for anything less than perfection. Today was my best straight shave so far. Only a little stubble on my neck under my jaw where the hair grows at odd angles and I have no idea how to position the razor to cut it. The rest of the shave was perfect bbs which shows me that I'm making progress. After slightly rinsing my face I did some quick touch up without lathering again and encountered zero irritation whatsoever, so this soap did exactly what it was supposed to do. Overall an extremely comfortable shave. After shave feel with this one was well above average and my face felt great after using this soap.

This is one that I may keep before passing the box along. I was incredibly surprised to find it in the box so it was a really nice add. I didn't like it any better than my favorite artesian soaps but I can't argue with the results. Plus, I've been wanting to try it for so long that it makes me want to hang onto it.

I tried two more today. The first is #7. This one is a faint violet scented soap that is made by a well known soap producer. Unfortunately this one is no longer produced so you can't buy it. On a positive note this is a very large jar that's only about 25% full so likely for you nobody will trade for it and you'll all get to try it. On a negative note, you might want to trade for it and then you'll be cheating yourself because it's not all there. I don't know why it's only 25% full, either it went in there like this (unlikely), it shrank substantially over time (unlikely), someone took some of it thinking it would be a good sample (likely), or my brother-in-law shaved his back with it (I wish). Guys please be respectful and don't steal any soap when it's your turn, this includes the rape and pillage of the sample only soaps tubs as well.

Ok, back to the Violet soap. The sent of this one was faint so it wasn't a big deal that it was a feminine scent. I've tried a violet from another user and it was way too feminine for me. This one was nice. It lathered great in the bowl, so average there. Slickness was above average and post shave feel was above average. This is a very nice soap that you should try when you get the box. If you do find that you want it you should send Jason a pick and work out a reasonable trade value. I'd call this one a slight bit above average.


The second soap of the day was #269. This is one that I'll likely take only because I love the scent. It says sandlewood but that's not what I get from it at all. Think clean fresh dryer sheet kind of smell. Like the best dryer sheet you've ever smelled dryer sheet scent. It's in a wood bowl and I really wish it wasn't. I mean it's a nice presentation and all but I really just want the soap. I usually avoid all the wood bowls and special containers that jack the price up $20 and put all of my soaps into IKEA Grundtal all stainless steel containers. The wood bowls crack and split over time and they're just not worth the extra cost to me.

Upon lathering this soap it lathered easily. I didn't use enough soap and the lather was a bit weak, but that's my fault. I was too lazy to fix it and went on with the shave. I've lathered this one before so I know the problem was me. The lather from this one is average, even when I lathered it earlier. Most soaps are average here to it's about normal. Slickness was about average to slightly above average. Post shave feel after three passes was just average as well. So what we have here is a $40 soap that smells great but is an average performer. This is what I find with most soaps in this price range. You see, #75 can be had for about $8 and is a way better performing soap. It's not about price at all. I'll likely keep this one for two reasons. One, because I absolutely love the scent, and two because it'll allow me to put some nicer soaps in there for you all to try.

Here's a pic:



There are three more soaps that I'll be reviewing #76, #399 and #124 (sample only). The box will get sent out on Friday and I'll try to review some others like the donated samples and some of my additions if I have time before sending the box on.
There are 4 soaps in the box that I won't be reviewing. One is a Iced lime #251 (I often have issues with lime soaps where they sting my face), a bay rum that has too much clove in it for me #142, a menthol one that smells exactly like Vick's Vap-O-Rub #69, a Stirling one that's not numbered in a plastic bag the looks like it's been under the couch cushion for about a year (likely should be pulled from the box), and the infamous Birthday Soap that won't be touching my brush and got put back into the box immediately after I smelled it.

If your number wasn't called it wasn't in the box or was the Birthday soap. The Birthday soap is a scent the my dog enjoys but shouldn't be a shave soap if that helps. If you put it in there you would definitely know. So if you're thinking "could it be mine?" Then it isn't. You'd know for sure without a doubt if you put this mess in there.

#7 is only a 125ML aka 4.2oz soap. IIRC, It came in that large of a container so you didnt need to use a bowl.

ashcampbell said:

#7 is only a 125ML aka 4.2oz soap. IIRC, It came in that large of a container so you didnt need to use a bowl.

Click to expand...

That's good to know, thanks. So #7 is likely not pillaged then and certainly fair game for a soap trade. Not a bad soap either.

It was one I liked and my wife thought was too flowery. It was a smooth or relaxing smell to me.

ashcampbell said:

It was one I liked and my wife thought was too flowery. It was a smooth or relaxing smell to me.

Click to expand...

The smell was very faint, like a lot of the soaps from that manufacturer. They are starting to get some bolder ones mixed in now but the earlier ones didn't have very much scent to them at all. Whatever aftershave you chose would cover this one right up and it certainly wouldn't interfere with any cologne you were wearing. This is sometimes a good thing if you want to wear a lighter summer scent.

I have a Jabonman Violet sample that I got from another user, and while the soap is nice, the scent is way too much for a guy. I'll likely have my wife shave her legs with it as it would be perfect for that.

I'm with you on this one though, I do like it and I could certainly use it and still feel confident in my manhood. After all, guys used to wear rose scented colognes back in the day. I was surprised that I liked this one as I didn't think I would care for it initially, likely because of the other way too strong violet soap I've tried.

Ok, here's another one as my turn with the box approaches it's final day. I want to get it in the mail tomorrow so that it moves quickly to the next person. I'll be shaving with #76 tomorrow which is the vintage soap. I still have a few more soaps to review after I send the box along like #124 (sample only). I own this one so I'll just use my own soap for the review. I'll also review the sample that was donated by Francis at Petal Pusher Fancies (there are 7 of these in the box now). I've numbered and dated the soaps I'll put in with today's date. I may give you a quick review of my thoughts on them and why I put them in there as well. I may review a couple to give you some clues and keep this thread busy while the box moves to the next person. If you have any questions about my additions feel free to PM me. I added them for different reasons and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

After my shave tomorrow morning I'll let you know what my choices to take are. I believe I already have them figured out. I'd love to share with you what I'm putting it but what fun would that be. I will give you some clues tomorrow. This has been fun and I hope I've shared enough detail that you could actually figure out some of what's in the box from the clues. Thanks for reading all of this and for all of the positive comments and great PM's I got throughout this whole thing. By getting involved with this you guys make it much better.

Today's soap is number 399. It's nice and sealed in it's package having never been used before. I left it that way and used my own soap for the review in hopes that someone can take it in the unopened state. This is one that you can pick up at the shaving store at your local mall. They have 3 scented soaps and one unscented. This is their citrus type scent. This store has a reputation of being overpriced and they've certainly earned it by selling specialty plastic fusion handles for $90. I wouldn't personally buy anything from this store with the exception of their shaving soaps, creams, and after shaves which are truly excellent. They are priced a little high for what they are but they're actually worth what they charge or close to it. The shaving soaps last a really long time and cost $30. They do have sales a couple times a year which knocks off about $6 and makes them priced nicely for what they are.

The scent is nice but this one is likely my least favorite of their scents right behind the unscented which is down right boring. Not that it's bad I just like the other two much better. Lathering this soap is simple and it produces a really nice lather. Average to slightly above average here. Slickness is definitely present and above average. Post shave feel is also above average. This soap is slightly expensive but it is actually an above average soap. It is a great addition to the box and I'm glad someone added this one. These soaps were my favorites for a while before finding many others and still strongly hold their position in my shaving den. If you haven't tried a soap from this vendor you really should, just don't buy the really overpriced stuff while you're at the store.

David,

Following you is quiet the double edged sword. On one hand I'm excited to see the contributions you are making to the box. On the other hand any reviews I contribute are likely going to pale in comparison to yours. You've definitely set the bar high in terms of quantity and quality for the reviews. Nice job!

mbkintner said:

David,

Following you is quiet the double edged sword. On one hand I'm excited to see the contributions you are making to the box. On the other hand any reviews I contribute are likely going to pale in comparison to yours. You've definitely set the bar high in terms of quantity and quality for the reviews. Nice job!

Click to expand...

Thanks, no worries though, just have fun with it. You don't have to like the same soaps that I do, just share your thoughts about what you like and dislike and why. If you don't like a soap I added go ahead and say so. People won't all like the same things. I just hope that I put something in the box that will appeal to you and others after you. If not there are a couple other really nice soaps in there already so I think you'll be in good shape. Everything I added is numbered and dated. They are the only ones with dates on them so far. If you have any questions about any of my adds or anything else in the box just let me know.

David already told me in confidence what he is putting in:

A new Williams puck, a VDH, a half used Arko stick, and a used dial bar soap that can be shaved with in a pinch.

Seriously though, we all have different levels of reviewing, just go with what you are comfortable saying, and we will be sure to understand how you feel about what you are using.

mbkintner said:

David,

Following you is quiet the double edged sword. On one hand I'm excited to see the contributions you are making to the box. On the other hand any reviews I contribute are likely going to pale in comparison to yours. You've definitely set the bar high in terms of quantity and quality for the reviews. Nice job!

Click to expand...

Guys, I'm slammed with work and having some trouble breaking away to get the box to the post office. As much as I'd like to get this thing out today, unfortunately it may have to wait until Monday.

My apologies,
David

No need to apologize and no problem as far as I'm concerned.

mbkintner said:

No need to apologize and no problem as far as I'm concerned.

Click to expand...

Thanks, It's been a crazy day. I was hoping to get it in there before the weekend.
I'll make sure I get it out first thing Monday morning.