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Stirling Syndicate

dangerousdon

dangerousdon

So I shaved with Tiki Bar Soap - The Captain this morning. Again I will post first impressions now and do an in depth later. So I really like the scent. I am usually adverse to trying tobacco scented soaps, but this is definitely the exception. The scent is wonderful and definitely as Amanda (it is Amanda isn't it) describes it...it's manly. Lathering is a joy because it does so very quick. The "in shave" experience is really great also. First impressions are that this soap like water. Not in a way where you have to keep adding and working, adding and working. But in a way where a little goes a long way. The Captain is definitely slick and provides good protection. So far...and I mean I am still waiting to formulate my thoughts...if I have to give it a knock, I wish the post shave feel was a little bit better.

Okay, later, after I have experienced the entire shave and soaked it all in, I will post a better review. Have a great day guys!
 
BJ Rose

BJ Rose

dfoulk said:
Don,

The experience was just as cool for me as it is for you guys. I was like a kid in a candy store with all that the vendors sent my way for the box. I'm looking forward to trying all of the things that were added once the box returns to me between rounds.

I like your choices. You're not choosing more than one from each brand which is smart and you've chosen some really great soaps. Here's how I'd rank them today, keep in mind that tomorrow's ranking might be different.

1. WSP Formula T - Barbershop - a must try, this stuff is excellent. Think MdC with added shea butter.
2. PannaCrema - San Francesco - All PannaCrema is excellent. The lather is super thick and rich.
3. Strop Shoppe - Special Edition Russian Tea - Strop Shoppe SE soaps are excellent with a ton of moisturizing ingredients. If you use a Strop Shoppe SE w/tallow soap for a week or two you'll notice a positive difference in your skin.
4. Phoenix Artisan - Cucumber - I love their Cucumber soap, a very spa like scent. Just really clean and fresh. This one is up this high because of the scent. The Reef Point is a slightly better product performance wise but this scent is excellent.
5. Reef Point Soaps - Submariner - I liked this one as well. Reef Point makes a great soap that's a bit under the radar.
6. Stirling - Executive Man - I have this one and really like it. Stirling soaps are more of a sticky gel like lather, so don't try for a fluffy lather as it's not going to happen, but they are slick as can be and always give a great shave. Every time I use a Stirling soap I wonder why I don't use them more often. An excellent vendor and a great value.
7. Catie's Bubbles - Celtic Knot - This one is nice, what a great scent. Catie's Bubbles soaps for me lack a little of the protective qualities that I like to see in a soap but they are still very good and definitely enjoyable. If the vendor were to add more Shea butter to the formula then I'd really like the soap.
8. Tiki - Cabernet Neroli - This smelled better in the jar than lathered but it's still nice. Love their The Captain soap (which I would have ranked higher at around 4th)
9. Mike's Peppermint & Rosemary - Mike's is a great soap as well. I love their Orange Cedar and Black Pepper one. If that were this one it would be up a few spots or more as well at around the 5th spot. It's too bad that one's not in the box.
10. Soapy Bathman - Black Jack - I haven't tried this one as I'm not a fan of the scent.
11. Saint Charles Shave - Sandalwood - I can't do SCS soaps myself as they make my face feel like it's on fire so no comment here. Ranked last for me because I don't like to feel like my face is on fire. For you maybe move it up.
Click to expand...
mbkinter added Mikes Orange Cedar and Black Pepper when the box passed him. It's a nice scent, and one I own myself.
 
dfoulk

dfoulk

BJ Rose said:
mbkinter added Mikes Orange Cedar and Black Pepper when the box passed him. It's a nice scent, and one I own myself.
Click to expand...

Cool, I'm glad that one's in there. I just really like that scent and the soap performs great as well. It has to be one of my favorite soap scents.

Another is the Ogallala Bay Rum and Orange scent which is outstanding, but I just didn't care for the performance of the soap. I must admit that I've thought about picking up more of that soap just to use it for showering. It was cheap enough to use as a shower soap.
 
dangerousdon

dangerousdon

So I almost forgot to complete the review of Tiki Bar Soap's The Captain. I think this soap performs about as good as any soap that I have tried. Previously I stated that I wish it had a better post shave feel. I need to revise that. May face actually felt better as the day went on. It lathers great, provides slickness and protection, and just feels great on the face. I would be very interested in trying other soaps from Amanda (although she lives in that accursed Crimson town - Tuscaloosa, AL for those who don't know...I'm in the Baton Rouge area where Louisiana State University resides). At any rate...great soap all around...I guess I need to ad Tiki Bar Soap to the ever growing list of soaps I want to try.

Next up...Phoenix Artisan Accountrements - Cucumber.
 
dangerousdon

dangerousdon

So this morning I sampled PAA Cucumber. I am really taking a liking to these "fresh" scents. This one is no exception. I don't know if this soap is indicative of all soaps, but this soap lathered nicely. Again, I face lather and this went on my face very thick and rich. I was able to get a real nice paste before I started working the water in. Once I got a desirable lather I went ahead and shaved. This is definitely a solid performer. I got a slick lather which resulted in a great shave.

So I am going to stop with the review right there, because all my reviews are starting to sound exactly alike. I want to give an honest review, but I don't want to report something negative just for the sake of reporting something negative. By the same token, I don't want to keep repeating positive thins that are the same for every soap. The truth of the matter is that I am enjoying all of these soaps. Some of these are only varying in small degrees.Am I getting the best shave of my life with all of these? No. Am I getting pretty damn good shaves? Yes! Out of the ones I have tried so far in this box (PannaCrema - San Francesco, Tiki Bar - The Captain, and PAA - Cucumber) would I be happy to have any of these...yes! WIll I buy them soon? Well other than the PannaCrema (just bought some), probably not. They are great performers but as I am learning that there are more soaps out there than I can even contemplate trying, I am probably only going to buy the best of the best.

I didn't want to go off on a rant, but I wanted you all to know that I am taking these serious and if I leave a review of a soap, I want it to be useful. That being said, PAA - Cucumber...great soap that smells incredible, probably lathers better than 90% percent of the soaps out there. Nice post shave and in shave, but will end up down the list of priorities.

For my next shave, I can't decide on Stopp Shoppe Russian Tea or the WSP Formula T Barbershop.
 
M

mbkintner

BJ Rose said:
mbkinter added Mikes Orange Cedar and Black Pepper when the box passed him. It's a nice scent, and one I own myself.
Click to expand...
Mike's Orange Cedarwood and Blackpepper is my Monday through Friday soap at the moment. It's not the best lathering soap I have but the smell, performance, and post shave feel are all great!
 
dfoulk

dfoulk

dangerousdon said:
So I am going to stop with the review right there, because all my reviews are starting to sound exactly alike. I want to give an honest review, but I don't want to report something negative just for the sake of reporting something negative. By the same token, I don't want to keep repeating positive thins that are the same for every soap. The truth of the matter is that I am enjoying all of these soaps.

For my next shave, I can't decide on Stopp Shoppe Russian Tea or the WSP Formula T Barbershop.
Click to expand...

You've picked some really great soaps to try, some of the very best brands in my shave den. The next two on your to try list are just as good as the first three you've tried.

The Strop Shoppe SE w/tallow soaps are excellent. They are full of moisturizers and will noticeably change your skin for the better after using them for a week or so.

The Formula T soaps are outstanding as well. The WSP Rustic soaps are by far the closest anyone has gotten to cloning the MdC formula. The Formula T is that formula with added tallow and Shea butter. If you ever wondered what MdC would be like if they added some moisturizing ingredients this is what you'd get.

There's plenty in the box that don't hold up to these and that would give you a significantly different review than you've been posing. What it comes down to it that you've chosen well. If you'd like a recommendation for a really bad soap there are some of those in the boxes as well. I initially threw some below average stuff in there maybe thinking someone would use them as a baseline or that trying it might keep them from buying them. There was a lot more room in the boxes at that time and it seemed like a good idea, so I'll likely remove some that I deem not worthy once the box returns to me for refill at the end of the round.

As far as being selective I'm all for that. Even being very selective, after I went through both boxes, I think I bought like eight soaps.
 
tclobaugh

tclobaugh

dfoulk said:
You've picked some really great soaps to try, some of the very best brands in my shave den. The next two on your to try list are just as good as the first three you've tried.

The Strop Shoppe SE w/tallow soaps are excellent. They are full of moisturizers and will noticeably change your skin for the better after using them for a week or so.

The Formula T soaps are outstanding as well. The WSP Rustic soaps are by far the closest anyone has gotten to cloning the MdC formula. The Formula T is that formula with added tallow and Shea butter. If you ever wondered what MdC would be like if they added some moisturizing ingredients this is what you'd get.

There's plenty in the box that don't hold up to these and that would give you a significantly different review than you've been posing. What it comes down to it that you've chosen well. If you'd like a recommendation for a really bad soap there are some of those in the boxes as well. I initially threw some below average stuff in there maybe thinking someone would use them as a baseline or that trying it might keep them from buying them. There was a lot more room in the boxes at that time and it seemed like a good idea, so I'll likely remove some that I deem not worthy once the box returns to me for refill at the end of the round.

As far as being selective I'm all for that. Even being very selective, after I went through both boxes, I think I bought like eight soaps.
Click to expand...

+1. And great reviews, even if you feel like you're saying the same thing. It's because you are trying some of the best there out there. It's a nice problem to have :)
 
calhoun1

calhoun1

I have a couple of reviews to post. Smolder and mudder focker. This week has been busy. Second week of the semester for my masters, and getting over being sick the first week.

Both those soaps though we're great performers with good scents. As is being said above, with the amount of soaps out there now, there are many great soaps. I can't get close to trying and buying all of them. I have a bin of soaps I am trying to get through. No clue how many years worth I have.

I will try to get some more lathers over the next couple of days. Since I am off work, I probably won't shave this weekend.
 
ZeroMinusOne

ZeroMinusOne

I've only tried Stirling's sandalwood aftershave (balm and splash). The splash feels like it has a TON of alcohol in it and the bottle lasts forever. The scent is also long lasting. Not so for the balm though; it feels great, doesn't take very much at all, and the scent smells really good but doesn't last very long.
 
DEsword

DEsword

Alright so mountain man scent is a hit with the future mrs., she even likes it more than executive man and sharp dressed man!
 
TexLaw

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
Yesterday morning, I tried out the MITA witch hazel and aloe, and I liked it! It felt great. The scent did not stay as long as with the splash, but I didn't mind that at all. I could always follow up with the splash, if I wanted.
 
docjude

docjude

blstrge said:
+1 I wanted to like Ben Franklin. What my thought was from reviews was, it was a creamy root beer scent. So, when I ordered my Spice soap, aftershave, and balm, I mentioned in the comments section I wanted to try Ben Franklin. It smells horrible and I'd never drink root beer like that lol. Now I haven't lathered the soap up just because of the bad puck smell but who knows, maybe it would transform into something good. Probably not though.
Click to expand...

It's more like an herbal birch beer to me.
I like the Ben Franklin a lot, but not as much as others such as Ozark Mt, Glacial Lemon Chill, and Spice. Oh, and Arctic Tundra, Margaritas in the Arctic, and Glastonbury.

I like Stirling.
 
dangerousdon

dangerousdon

Had a GREAT Sunday shave this morning. I went ahead and tested out the WSP Formula T Barbershop Shea Butter & Tallow Shaving Soap. I decided that this is the best soap out of what I tried with this box.

So my set-up was a 1972 "Black Beauty" Super-Adjustable with a new Voskhod blade. I loaded my Omega Pro 49 shaving brush in a bowl and then face lathered.

I mean, all the essentials were there with all the really good soaps so far, great lather, shave, and feel. Probably one of the easiest, if not the easiest, soaps to lather. I had enough for my four pass shave (yes I said four passes) and to be honest I really wanted to keep shaving, it felt so good. Additionally, this soap has EXCEPTIONAL glide and cushion, which gave me an exceptional shave. But I am going to say out of all the great qualities this soap has...the best is the post shave feel. OMG!!! My skin feels AWESOME! Like, seriously (yeah I just did the whole Valley Girl thing) as far as post shave feel...this might rival Nuavia (sorry Marco)...I did say might. :wink2: Anyway, I will post a little later and let you know how it feels later on.

So, like I have been saying in all the other threads:

Laissez les bons temps rouler! It's Mardi Gras, Yo! Go see a parade or eat a King Cake will ya!


Don
 
dangerousdon

dangerousdon

dangerousdon said:
Had a GREAT Sunday shave this morning. I went ahead and tested out the WSP Formula T Barbershop Shea Butter & Tallow Shaving Soap. I decided that this is the best soap out of what I tried with this box.

So my set-up was a 1972 "Black Beauty" Super-Adjustable with a new Voskhod blade. I loaded my Omega Pro 49 shaving brush in a bowl and then face lathered.

I mean, all the essentials were there with all the really good soaps so far, great lather, shave, and feel. Probably one of the easiest, if not the easiest, soaps to lather. I had enough for my four pass shave (yes I said four passes) and to be honest I really wanted to keep shaving, it felt so good. Additionally, this soap has EXCEPTIONAL glide and cushion, which gave me an exceptional shave. But I am going to say out of all the great qualities this soap has...the best is the post shave feel. OMG!!! My skin feels AWESOME! Like, seriously (yeah I just did the whole Valley Girl thing) as far as post shave feel...this might rival Nuavia (sorry Marco)...I did say might. :wink2: Anyway, I will post a little later and let you know how it feels later on.

So, like I have been saying in all the other threads:

Laissez les bons temps rouler! It's Mardi Gras, Yo! Go see a parade or eat a King Cake will ya!


Don
Click to expand...

$Formula T.jpg
 
dfoulk

dfoulk

I can't say that I like the Formula T as much as I do the PannaCrema Nuavia soaps but it's one of my top five. Considering how many soaps I've already tried, and how many I currently own, to break into my top five is indeed a hell of an accomplishment.

It's some really great soap. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
 
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