Soap Sample Passaround Box

today is shave 4 from box #2

Today's Shave

Razor: Muhle r41
Blade: Astra SP(3)
Soap/cream: Maggards Mango Sage Tea
Brush: 24mm Synthetic Maggards
Aftershave1: Thayer's witch hazel cucumber
Aftershave2: Fine Santal Absolut




Glide: 8/10
Cushion: 7/10
Latherability: 7/10
Lather Stability: 8/10
Residual Slickness: 7/10
Scent Strength: 9/10
Scent Likeness: 9/10


So today's shave was very nice! This is a good quality soap. My only gripe was that I think I whipped too much air into the lather... sorry forgot to snag a pic. Everything else about this soap is what I have come to expect from artisans and I would recommend this soap. I really enjoyed the scent.

Also I usually try and match my aftershave but the Fine Santal was just staring at me this morning and I had no choice. It is starting to become one of my favorite scents.

today is shave 5 from box #2

Today's Shave

Razor: Muhle r41
Blade: Astra SP(4)
Soap/cream: Dr. Jon's 1803
Brush: 24 mm Razorock Synthetic
Aftershave1: Thayer's witch hazel cucumber
Aftershave2: Fine Clean Vetiver




Glide: 8/10
Cushion: 8/10
Latherability: 8/10
Lather Stability: 8/10
Residual Slickness: 8.5/10
Scent Strength: 9/10
Scent Likeness: 2/10

Okay first of all, every review I have read of this soap has been positive and I have nothing negative to add about the performance. The performance is really good! This is a good quality soap. Here's my problem when I sniffed it out of the container I was like okay I like this. Once I lathered it OMG it was HORRIBLE! What died in my capt. choice bowl this morning??? So a quick look at there website here is the scent description:

The top notes include pineapple, guava, peach and green apple; the middle notes include bamboo, teak wood, blue gardenia, white rose and jasmine; the whole fragrance is tied together with a base of musk, cedar, sandalwood and bergamot.

Yea I didn't get ANY Of that! Now when I smelled it out of the container is a little apple, and my nose caught a little musk. This is why I selected it I thought ooh this could be interesting! After it was lathered I can only describe it as rotting fruit! This was really weird to me, because reading the scent description I like everyone of those scents... just do NOT put them together... clearly.

cvargo said:

Once I lathered it OMG it was HORRIBLE! What died in my capt. choice bowl this morning??? So a quick look at there website here is the scent description:

The top notes include pineapple, guava, peach and green apple; the middle notes include bamboo, teak wood, blue gardenia, white rose and jasmine; the whole fragrance is tied together with a base of musk, cedar, sandalwood and bergamot.

Yea I didn't get ANY Of that! Now when I smelled it out of the container is a little apple, and my nose caught a little musk. This is why I selected it I thought ooh this could be interesting! After it was lathered I can only describe it as rotting fruit! This was really weird to me, because reading the scent description I like everyone of those scents... just do NOT put them together... clearly.

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Huh... Now I'm at least going to need a test lather to smell it.

Interesting review @cvargo I am glad I am not the only one who did not like the scent of 1803. When I reviewed it I did not like the scent... I can't remember exactly what I said but it was off-putting to me and @dfoulk said it sounded like a fruit salad. I think there is too much competition going on within the soap for fragrance and it would do much better with 3 or 4 scents instead of the 10-12 going on currently.
Loving your reviews, keep them coming!

rockclimber said:

Interesting review @cvargo I am glad I am not the only one who did not like the scent of 1803. When I reviewed it I did not like the scent... I can't remember exactly what I said but it was off-putting to me and @dfoulk said it sounded like a fruit salad. I think there is too much competition going on within the soap for fragrance and it would do much better with 3 or 4 scents instead of the 10-12 going on currently.
Loving your reviews, keep them coming!

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Dr. Jon has some really outstanding scents like Hydra and Savannah Sunrise, but he does have some others that are appealing to some and not others. Many of his scents I do like and find enjoyable but there are a couple that don't appeal to me. Overall, I think Jon does a great job with scents but again like everything else here sometimes things are YMMV. The problem is that if he were to pick only three or four scents to produce then we wouldn't all agree on which three or four to produce. After doing this a while I've seen many people love the scents I hate and vise versa, so you never know.

rockclimber said:

Interesting review @cvargo I am glad I am not the only one who did not like the scent of 1803. When I reviewed it I did not like the scent... I can't remember exactly what I said but it was off-putting to me and @dfoulk said it sounded like a fruit salad. I think there is too much competition going on within the soap for fragrance and it would do much better with 3 or 4 scents instead of the 10-12 going on currently.
Loving your reviews, keep them coming!

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Maybe the scent is a fruit salad made in 1803?

(Sorry Jon - couldn't resist. I honestly don't remember trying this scent)

today is shave 6 from box #2

Today's Shave

Razor: Muhle r41
Blade: Astra SP(5)
Soap/cream: Soap of the Gods Fougere
Brush: 222 mm Razorock Synthetic
Aftershave1: Thayer's witch hazel cucumber
Aftershave2: Fine Fresh Vetiver




Glide: 8/10
Cushion: 7/10
Latherability: 7/10
Lather Stability: 8/10
Residual Slickness: 8/10
Scent Strength: 7/10
Scent Likeness: 8/10

So this soap performed pretty well. Cushion lacked a bit for me, and it was kind of difficult to lather. But I attribute that too how soft the soap was... almost cream consistency. I don't think I scooped enough out of the bowl. I did have enough to complete my three pass shave but none left over.

What I really enjoyed about this soap was the scent. This was a very nice clean fresh smelling fougere one of the best fougeres I have smelled. This soap will be added to my list on scent alone, I am confident that with a full tub I can dial it in.

cvargo said:

today is shave 6 from box #2

Today's Shave

Razor: Muhle r41
Blade: Astra SP(5)
Soap/cream: Soap of the Gods Fougere
Brush: 222 mm Razorock Synthetic
Aftershave1: Thayer's witch hazel cucumber
Aftershave2: Fine Fresh Vetiver




Glide: 8/10
Cushion: 7/10
Latherability: 7/10
Lather Stability: 8/10
Residual Slickness: 8/10
Scent Strength: 7/10
Scent Likeness: 8/10

So this soap performed pretty well. Cushion lacked a bit for me, and it was kind of difficult to lather. But I attribute that too how soft the soap was... almost cream consistency. I don't think I scooped enough out of the bowl. I did have enough to complete my three pass shave but none left over.

What I really enjoyed about this soap was the scent. This was a very nice clean fresh smelling fougere one of the best fougeres I have smelled. This soap will be added to my list on scent alone, I am confident that with a full tub I can dial it in.

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That's quite the brush Chad!
View attachment 683778

sfeile said:

That's quite the brush Chad!
View attachment 683778

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Metric system got me again lol

But I do want that brush!

cvargo said:

today is shave 6 from box #2

Today's Shave

Razor: Muhle r41
Blade: Astra SP(5)
Soap/cream: Soap of the Gods Fougere
Brush: 222 mm Razorock Synthetic
Aftershave1: Thayer's witch hazel cucumber
Aftershave2: Fine Fresh Vetiver




Glide: 8/10
Cushion: 7/10
Latherability: 7/10
Lather Stability: 8/10
Residual Slickness: 8/10
Scent Strength: 7/10
Scent Likeness: 8/10

So this soap performed pretty well. Cushion lacked a bit for me, and it was kind of difficult to lather. But I attribute that too how soft the soap was... almost cream consistency. I don't think I scooped enough out of the bowl. I did have enough to complete my three pass shave but none left over.

What I really enjoyed about this soap was the scent. This was a very nice clean fresh smelling fougere one of the best fougeres I have smelled. This soap will be added to my list on scent alone, I am confident that with a full tub I can dial it in.

Click to expand...

Interesting. I thought this could be an above average soap based on some of the stuff I read.

Good thing I read your review (I will have to sample before buying).

Last night I used the Razorock Third Eye Sandalwood for nostalgia sake. It is not the best performer I have ever used, but a very solid performer.

The scent is what draws me to this soap. It is my favorite sandalwood scented soap. I used to use the sensitive skin blend, but it has the same scent. I think I may have the last unopened tub in existence. I have been putting off using it because I know I won't be able to get anymore so last nights shave was special for me.

For those that have never tried it, it is pretty much on par with the other Razorock/Italian Barber soaps I have tried. The slickness is there, decent cushion, and a good post shave feel. The cost is a great selling point, as is the easy lather-ability of the soft soap.

There is always a place in my lineup for the soaps as they have never let me down.

dfoulk said:

The problem is that if he were to pick only three or four scents to produce then we wouldn't all agree on which three or four to produce.

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I read the post from [MENTION=108263]rockclimber[/MENTION] to mean 3-4 vs 10-12 notes within the "1803" soap, not limiting the whole line to 3-4 scent profiles. I'll find out soon enough when that box comes to me. Speaking of boxes, I'm sending box #1 today. I meant to send it Tuesday and got tied up with an out-of-state conference. No, Birmingham does not have post offices. That's my excuse. Nobody check me on that one.

NyquistRate said:

I read the post from @rockclimber to mean 3-4 vs 10-12 notes within the "1803" soap, not limiting the whole line to 3-4 scent profiles. I'll find out soon enough when that box comes to me. Speaking of boxes, I'm sending box #1 today. I meant to send it Tuesday and got tied up with an out-of-state conference. No, Birmingham does not have post offices. That's my excuse. Nobody check me on that one.

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Box 2 will be on its way Saturday!

Back home and shipped box 1. I'll get some reviews posted over the weekend.


1. BJ Rose -
2. rockclimber -
3. Smattayu -
4. elvergun -
5. sfeile - Box 3 received
6. cvargo - Box 2 received
7. NyquistRate - Box 1 shipped
8. bobmsp
9. Grundi
10. huskers
11. Corsair66
12. Jamzdean
13. rx dude
14. samarijack
15. sheashaves710
16. Kaidoh
17. TriggerMan
18. davidr2340
19. tclobaugh - helping to moderate
20. dangerousdon
21. CzechCzar
22. JayEddie
23. Chumango
24. JSouthard825
25. Oteixeira
26. back to dfoulk

Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1259486419

Boxes are moving along nicely and we're getting great reviews. Nice job gents

Hooray!!!!!!

today is shave 7 from box #2

Today's Shave

Razor: Muhle r41
Blade: Perma Sharp (1)
Soap/cream: Sudsy Soapery Almond Vanilla
Brush: 24 mm maggards Synthetic
Aftershave1: Thayer's witch hazel cucumber
Aftershave2: Fine L'Orange Noir




Glide: 9/10
Cushion: 8.5/10
Latherability: 9/10
Lather Stability: 9/10
Residual Slickness: 8.5/10
Scent Strength: 9/10
Scent Likeness: 9/10

So this is a soap maker that has been getting a lot of recognition as of late, and it has all been positive. Well add me to the list of impressed, So easy to lather, and provides a SUPERB shave. My face feels great and my nose loved the smell. It smells amazing the almond scent was more of a roasted almond and it complimented the vanilla perfectly. I have added this to the want to buy list as well. This soap I would recommend to anyone especially newbies because I think anyone should be able to lather this soap.

This marked the end of my journey with box 2. And it will ship tomorrow Here are the soaps I used in order of preference (excluding scent since it is so subjective) Now please realize these are only these 7 soaps and all 7 I was fairly impressed with there was no clear dud performance wise, but I have only added the first 3 to a want to buy list, the fourth to my list as a scent must blow me away, and the last three as there are a LOT of similar soaps out there.

Institut Karit>Sudsy Soapery Almond Vanilla>Mama Bear Aqua Dgo>Soap of God's Fougere>Maggards Mango Sage Tea>Dr. Jons 1803>Reef Point Aviator

Thanks again for the swap [MENTION=78901]NyquistRate[/MENTION]. Just back from vacation and I had a feeling the box would arrive while away. Looking forward to my turn!

Fantastic reviews as always Chad! I'm excited to see what you pick out of box 3, I had a hard time deciding on just seven because it is chocked-full of so many amazing soaps.

Post office delivered early today - was able to get a shave in.

[A few words about how I’m going to review samples. I’ll be using the plastic bowl in the box to start with a bowl lather. I’m also going to try to minimize the number of razors and brushes that I use to keep my reviews of the soap itself as constant as possible.

I have been keeping a spreadsheet of all of the soaps that I’ve tried and have five different final grades that I use, based on whether I’d buy something again: No, Probably No, Maybe, Probably Yes, and Yes.]

Saturday – Box 1, Shave 1


Razor: iKon Deluxe OC
Blade: Polsilver SI (1)
Brush: Omega 11574 Boar – 24 mm
Soap/cream: Sweet Comb Chicago
Aftershave: Chiseled Face Summer Storm



Glide: Perfectly fine. Nothing to write home about.

Cushion: Good. [This is my default comment. If there’s nothing more to report, I’ll just leave things at “Good”.]

Latherability: Lathered quickly and easily. Built the lather a little on my face for nice coverage. Probably could have used a little more water.

Lather Stability: I lathered for my first pass and then realized I was out of new blades. I spent a minute looking for some and then loading my razor. The lather in the bowl was fine, but there was a little degradation of the lather on my face.

Residual Slickness: Not much.

Scent Strength: Very subtle. I could not smell it on my skin at any time.

Scent Appeal: More citrus than honey. It surprised me a little as I was expecting something more along the lines of Haslinger Honig. Still I liked it very much.

Result and Conclusions: After washing the soap off, I felt as if I’d gotten a pretty good shave, but nothing out of the ordinary. After the AS dried down, it ended up being a nice shave. Maybe or Probably Yes

I had been wanting to Sweet Comb Chicago this after [MENTION=73656]dfoulk[/MENTION]’s glowing initial review of it and then subsequent moderation of his praise. I liked this soap, but it’s not one that is on my must-buy list.