Reviews of BlueBell Artisan Soap Brought to you by RMS

8/21/2016 - BlueBell Peppermint shave #1

Razor: Navy G-Type Schick Injector
Blade: Chinese Schick
Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
AS: Proraso green splash

View attachment 682867

Packaging: Still great

Scent: Peppermint has never been one of my favorite things, but it is a pleasant scent. The peppermint scent in this soap is one note. It is a very nice note, but I didn't detect any nuance to the scent. It is peppermint for the sake of peppermint. Again, the scent is quite strong when you stick your nose in the tub, but it mellows out in the lather bowl. This is a scent I could shave with every day happily.

Lathering: Today's lather was more successful. Perhaps it was the change of brush? I still loaded the brush twice, but this time the lather was dense, slick, and had decent cushion. I did add a bit more water than yesterday's first pass lather. When I finished whipping I had about enough lather for four passes.

Shave Performance: Three rounds with a Schick Injector for mostly BBS. (I left myself with a couple of rough patches. Grr.) I am not sure what the difference is, but today's lather had enough cushion that I didn't feel the blade scraping as much. The peppermint oil gave the lather a very nice menthol chill. Also, the slickness was still there like yesterday. Overall it was a much better shave.

Post-shave Feel: Again there was still a bit of soap residue after I gave my face a final rinse. Witch Hazel got rid of it and Nivea PSB + Proraso splash left me with a nice post-shave smile. Two hours later there is still no detectable irritation.

Overall: I like this soap more than the Spice Rack so far. Most of that is scent preference, but I did get better performance out of the Peppermint. I will have to try each of them one more time before I send the box on to the next person. This is a soap I will consider buying.

Thanks for the reviews Doug! Sounds like you really liked the performance, but maybe a different scent would be better for you?

Jaidmaster said:

Thanks for the reviews Doug! Sounds like you really liked the performance, but maybe a different scent would be better for you?

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I would buy the Peppermint, but the Spice Rack is not for me. I would also like to try the Barbershop and the Sandalwood.

Hhmmm... I also see now (looking at the website) that Bluebell recommends blooming the puck before loading. I am not sure how much that would have changed the performance for me. But it is good information for the next person in line.

8/22/2016 - BlueBell Spice Rack shave #2

Razor: Gillette fat-handle NEW LC
Blade: Voskhod
Brush: RazoRock barber handle 24mm Finest Badger
AS: Old Spice Classic



Overall: Shave #2 with Spice Rack was better than shave #1. The lather was better, but I still got more blade feel from it than I did from the Peppermint. I wonder if one of the essential oils is reacting with my skin to increase my sensitivity. I don't know. It more likely has something to do with the changes in hardware.

Lather: Lathering was easier today. That could have to do with the hardness of the soap and moisture content. I saw on BlueBell's website just a few minutes before starting this post that they recommend blooming the puck before loading. Perhaps the soap was too dry during my first attempt? It could also be the change in brush. Either way, I had an easy time loading the brush. Making the lather in the bowl was also easy. This soap seems to be able to handle quite a bit of water.

Shave Performance: Today's shave performance was better. I got more cushion out of the soap, but not as much as the Peppermint seemed to have. It is likely due to differences in brushes and razors. However, my wife (who has some knowledge of Chemistry and massage) mentioned that some essential oils can heighten skin sensitivity. I don't know if there are any of those in the formula, but I am left wondering if maybe there something that I am reacting to. It is probably just variations in lathering technique and equipment.

Post-shave: Still great. I have been soft and smooth all day. The conditioning properties of this soap are definitely good.

8/23/2016 - BlueBell Peppermint shave #2

Razor: Fatip Piccolo
Blade: Voskhod
Brush: Omega S-Brush Pro S10049
AS: Walmart Witch Hazel & Proraso green splash

View attachment 683330

Overall: Today was another really good BlueBell shave, and my lather was the best yet. I still wish that the soap had a bit more cushion, but again the slickness and post-shave feel really make up for it. At $15.00 US per 5 ounce tub, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up some of this. Although, if you are considering the Spice Rack scent, I recommend picking up the 0.75 ounce sample of it to try out first because it is a unique scent. Kudos to BlueBell for coming up with a proprietary signature scent. It is not for me, but I am sure there are lots of B&Bers that would absolutely love it. I am very glad that I got to try both of these soaps.

Lather: Today's lather was the easiest. I wet the top of the puck a with a small amount of water and dumped it off, so there was just a small layer of moisture on top, before hopping in the shower. After the shower I put a bit more water on top for a couple of minutes while I applied my pre-shave oil. I dumped that water into the bowl and proceeded to load my brush. I loaded 2 grams easily, and probably a bit more (including the proto-lather that didn't stick to the brush that I removed from the container with a finger). I whipped it into a nice lather as I slowly added what must have been close to a tablespoon of water. This soap seems to be able to handle quite a bit. The Omega brush created some large bubbles early on, but those were quickly worked into a very nice lather.

Shave Performance: Nice and slick, but still giving me a bit more blade feel than I like. However, I do feel like it has improved a bit with each shave. This may never be a soap that gives the "I don't feel the blade at all" level of cushion, but that shouldn't keep you from trying it.

Post-shave: Who can complain about four straight days of smooth, soft skin?


Now to try the other samples that are in the box and then it is off to the next person in line.

The eagle has landed! I will be trying these out over the next week. Out of the container Spice Rack has a bit of a Bay Rum undertone with nice spice on top. Looking forward to it!

Bluebell Spice Rack - Shave 1

R41-13
Ladas (2)
Shave Rev EVO 24mm Synth
Bluebell Spice Rack
Witch Hazel
Captains Choice Bay Rum

When I first smelled Spice Rack, I immediately though CC Bay Rum base. I smelled them side by side and definitely similar. Spice Rack has quite a bit more going on though. A bit sweeter on the top than CC Bay Rum. I like it.

I did about a 20 sec load and bowl lathered. Once to the right consistency I worked it into my whiskers and then evened it out.
Felt nice and thick going on.
Was slick and protective and the R41 glided along very nicely. It made me think of Strop Shoppe SE for some reason.
Rinsing my face after pass 1, I noticed how soft and moisturized my face felt. Very impressive!
Pass 2 and 3 were similar and my face was feeling very good. No reaction to the spices!
Squeezing out the brush for touch up yielded plenty of thick lather. The cell phone pics don't do it justice!
I rubbed the remaining lather on my face and cleaned up.
Rinsed off and splashed some witch hazel on.
Once dry, I splashed some Captains Choice Bay Rum and they 100% go together to my nose!

20 min later and my face feels very soft and smooth, but not sticky or greasy at all. Perfect!

Enjoy the pics!

As received:

Lathered and ready to go!

Razor on first pass:

After 2nd Pass:

Squeezed out after 3rd Pass:

That is some awesome lather!

This message brought to you by Chad's phone.... most likely with typos

Shave 2 with Bluebell Spice Rack

Same setup as first shave but decided to face lather this time. Left it a little bit drier also.
The slickness suffered a little bit (I prefer wetter lathers) but the post shave moisturizing was again outstanding!
While I like this scent, I'm not blown away by it and not sure it's the one I would choose.

After face lathering:


Rinsed and dried. 1.75g per shave. I loaded a bit on the heavy side for me, as I wanted to get a good feel for the soap. With the amount of lather left at the end I could go lighter and still have plenty for my 3 passes + touchup.

Nice, I can't wait for thr sample pass even more

I was planning on 1 more shave, but I may just scoop enough for that shave and get this box moving...

Jaidmaster said:

I was planning on 1 more shave, but I may just scoop enough for that shave and get this box moving...

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No big rush. Enjoy your shaves! Either is acceptable.

Bluebell Peppermint and Final Thoughts

I'm not usually a big peppermint fan, but I must say that this was an amazing shave.
Bowl lathered ~0.9g of Bluebell Peppermint with the Shave Rev EVO synth brush.
Had a few bubbles, but they went away pretty quickly once I went to the face.
The slickness and residual slickness are excellent and after rinsing it was hard to hold onto my salsa bowl!
The Peppermint gives a slight cooling effect and felt very nice on rinsing the face. It's not a really strong Peppermint and was quite refreshing.
Finished off with Pacific Rush splash and the menthol felt awesome.
Skin very moisturized.

I feel the strengths of the Bluebell soaps are the slickness, residual slickness and post shave moisturizing which were all above average to me.
I thought I'd really like the Spice Rack, but it didn't blow me away as I thought. I'd probably try the Barbershop or Sandalwood as a purchase. Out of the 2 I tried, I actually preferred the Peppermint, which was a surprise to me!
Straight out of the bowl:


After the face:


Thanks Bluebell Soap for allowing us to try your soaps, and Chad for putting this together! I really enjoyed them!
Elvis has left the building!

For reference, my current soaps:

B&M Latha Lavanda (sample)
Chiselled Face Sherlock (sample)
Panna Crema Lavandotto (sample)
Panna Crema Vetiver (sample)

Great reviews sir

This message brought to you by Chad's phone.... most likely with typos

Ok, I received the soap on Saturday and have shaved with it twice, so a review is plenty overdue.

I'll mostly use the format that [MENTION=87630]cvargo[/MENTION] has used.

Bluebell Spice Rack:


Latherability: 8.5/10
Lather Stability: 9.5/10
Glide: 8.5/10
Residual Slickness: 9/10
Scent Strength: 6/10
Scent Likeness: 8/10
Post Shave: 8.5/10

Latherability: I've face lathered this soap with my Wolf Whiskers Envy White and Omega pro 49, and have gotten plenty of lather very easily with both, though it did take a little more work with the Omega. A bit less than 20 seconds load time for both and there was plenty left over at the end of the shave

Lather Stability: I was very impressed with this aspect of the soap. I noticed almost no lather degradation from start to finish, and I took my time with the shave. This has been a deal breaker with a couple of soaps in the past, and I was thrilled with how this on held together.

Glide: Very solid in the slickness department. Not the best I've used, but possibly top 10 material.

Residual Slickness: I probably could have done the clean up pass by just splashing a little water on my face. The residual slickness was almost on par with what I get from Saint Charles Shave, and it is stellar.

Scent Strength: More than enough to notice it, but it didn't reach out of the tub and grab me by the nose either. I do like more strongly scented soaps, but this is not at all a deal breaker.

Scent Likeness: This soap smells a lot like Sudsy Soapery Citrus & Bay to me, but with something a little darker lurking in the background that doesn't pop up until the tail end of the sniff. It's a good scent and paired well with Avon Spicy aftershave.

Post Shave: This is a deal breaker for me. With as many veggie soaps out there that have great post shave properties, I'm still wowed when I come across another, possibly because they are still in the minority percentage. This soap left my face feeling great, nicely moisturized and smooth.

Bluebell Peppermint:

Pretty much the same as Spice Rack, but take a couple points off of Scent Likeness. Peppermint doesn't really do it for me. It has more than the average menthol kick, though nowhere near B&M's Arctique, which I call a good thing.

Overall: This is a great soap, and I will be purchasing a tub. I'll be using it for a couple more days, but at this point it looks like it will fit solidly in my top 10.

Awesome glad to see that you like the soaps

This message brought to you by Chad's phone.... most likely with typos

Smattayu said:

Ok, I received the soap on Saturday and have shaved with it twice, so a review is plenty overdue.

I'll mostly use the format that @cvargo has used.

Bluebell Spice Rack:


Latherability: 8.5/10
Lather Stability: 9.5/10
Glide: 8.5/10
Residual Slickness: 9/10
Scent Strength: 6/10
Scent Likeness: 8/10
Post Shave: 8.5/10

Latherability: I've face lathered this soap with my Wolf Whiskers Envy White and Omega pro 49, and have gotten plenty of lather very easily with both, though it did take a little more work with the Omega. A bit less than 20 seconds load time for both and there was plenty left over at the end of the shave

Lather Stability: I was very impressed with this aspect of the soap. I noticed almost no lather degradation from start to finish, and I took my time with the shave. This has been a deal breaker with a couple of soaps in the past, and I was thrilled with how this on held together.

Glide: Very solid in the slickness department. Not the best I've used, but possibly top 10 material.

Residual Slickness: I probably could have done the clean up pass by just splashing a little water on my face. The residual slickness was almost on par with what I get from Saint Charles Shave, and it is stellar.

Scent Strength: More than enough to notice it, but it didn't reach out of the tub and grab me by the nose either. I do like more strongly scented soaps, but this is not at all a deal breaker.

Scent Likeness: This soap smells a lot like Sudsy Soapery Citrus & Bay to me, but with something a little darker lurking in the background that doesn't pop up until the tail end of the sniff. It's a good scent and paired well with Avon Spicy aftershave.

Post Shave: This is a deal breaker for me. With as many veggie soaps out there that have great post shave properties, I'm still wowed when I come across another, possibly because they are still in the minority percentage. This soap left my face feeling great, nicely moisturized and smooth.

Bluebell Peppermint:

Pretty much the same as Spice Rack, but take a couple points off of Scent Likeness. Peppermint doesn't really do it for me. It has more than the average menthol kick, though nowhere near B&M's Arctique, which I call a good thing.

Overall: This is a great soap, and I will be purchasing a tub. I'll be using it for a couple more days, but at this point it looks like it will fit solidly in my top 10.

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Nice review Eric! I agree with you, especially the residual slickness! Curious what your other top soaps are and how this fits in? Thanks!

Jaidmaster said:

Nice review Eric! I agree with you, especially the residual slickness! Curious what your other top soaps are and how this fits in? Thanks!

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Thanks! At this point it's tough to pick 5 top soaps. I have several that are wonderful soaps. Right off the top of my head:

Saponificio Varesino
Tabac
Barrister & Mann glissant base
WSP Formula T
Jeeves of Hudson Street
First Canadian
Sudsy Soapery
Fine

I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now lol. All are outstanding performers in every area. And Bain Amour will probably fit in there as well once I get around to buying a tub or two. I was highly impressed with them in the soap sample pass around.

The soap made it yesterday, however, I didn't get it until today. (I'm staying at my brother's for a bit [nothing bad, I promise, we're just in between homes...]). So tonight I got to shave!

I'll bum off of Chad's layout:

BlueBell Spice Rack!

Glide: Whoa! So, I have had some soaps that glide well. This was completely different. I was sporting 5 days of growth going into this shave (3rd shave on the Astra SP) and I didn't feel a thing. Anything with lather was slick as can be. However, residual slickness was very little. What I mean is, anywhere that lather had been, but wasn't felt like dry skin. We'll see if this is the same with peppermint, but It's an experience I've not had. No burn, but not super slick. That being said, I was just in TX for the weekend, and we've got a cold front in CO - so I just went from warm and humid to cold and dry - that may have affected the shave...

Cushion: Not the cushioniest (not a word) shave (I think TOBS gives a bit more). But very reminiscent of B&M to me. Definitely didn't feel the blade one bit

Latherability: Boom! Superb! I can usually get a pretty good lather my first time with a soap, supposing I add water slowyly. There was no question with this one. Not quite the ease of Haslinger, but better than pretty much anything else I've used.

Lather Stability: Excellent. I had some extra at the end, could've shaved all over again.

Scent Strength: I expected it to be overpowering during the shave. My first sniff was pretty strong. However, it mellowed a little bit. It also opened up a lot. I picked up some fruity sweetness during the shave that I couldn't find in the dry puck.

Scent Likeness: Way more than expected. Honestly I used this one first because I thought I was going to like the peppermint more after a sniff test. I'm not so sure now. It was a distinctly more complex scent than I thought it would be. Sort of like a good scotch, the first few whiffs developed some depth that just blew me away!

Container: So, I'm gonna comment here as well - I really like the containers. I wish all my soaps came in these guys. I recently got an MW order and thought that they were presented very well. This is even better.

Latherability: 9/10
Lather Stability: 9.5/10
Glide: 9.5/10
Residual Slickness: 7/10
Scent Strength: 7/10
Scent Likeness: 8/10
Post Shave: 9/10

I'll shave with Peppermint tomorrow, we'll see if the residual slickness improves after being in town for a couple days...