Has anyone tried these? What do you think? Jim wrote a good review, but he seems to be the only one who has commented. I just order the Old Spice and Victorian Rose soaps.
Honeybee Soap
- Thread starter bokaba
- Start date
The Mocha Java is completely wonderful! 
H
Hanzo
Leisureguy also recommended the soaps highly, his reviews coupled with Jim's made me try them. They work pretty good,are expceptionally well scented, shipped promptly and are very reasonably priced. My personal faves are the Mayan Gold and Ye Olde Barbershop.
My honeybee jasmine is a little thin in the lather department. However, the scent is wonderful.
I ordered the Green Irish Tweed, Ye Olde Barbershop and the Sandalwood Musk, the GIT smells great, the Ye Olde smells nice but is a bit weak in the scent dept., I have not used the Sandalwood. I had better luck face lathering. They are nice soaps but I don't use them much, if you like em let me know, I might be interested in a trade.
Cheers,
David
Cheers,
David
It seems that Honeybee soaps are water-dependent. With my city water I have excellent results, with my parents country-water less so. But with my water, I get a lather that I would on par with any other soap and it also does a good job with beard-softening.
Of course, the price can't be beat and generally I enjoy the scents, particularly the Bay Rum, but this is entirely subjective.
The lathering process is easy and forgiving but my best results have been when I've spent a bit longer on the soap to really get a thicker paste-like consistency which you can then either bowl or face lather with.
Did you read this review?
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4701&highlight=honeybee
Plenty of comments and feedback under Jim's initial one.
John
Of course, the price can't be beat and generally I enjoy the scents, particularly the Bay Rum, but this is entirely subjective.
The lathering process is easy and forgiving but my best results have been when I've spent a bit longer on the soap to really get a thicker paste-like consistency which you can then either bowl or face lather with.
Did you read this review?
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4701&highlight=honeybee
Plenty of comments and feedback under Jim's initial one.
John
I have Honeybee Spa violet in my rotation, and it's a good soap. I find that I gravitate more towards my tallow based Old Spice (the original stuff), since it's easier to make a nice lather, but if you take the time to swirl a good amount of product onto your brush, the Honeybee Spa soap can produce some really great shaves. By the way, if you like floral scents, the violet is incredible.
I have the HBS Tea Tree EO SS. As far as the performance of this soap is concerned, I find it to be very much comparable to QED and TGQ soaps (for me, TGQ moisturizes a bit more). I have had no issues getting abundant slick lather with the HBS soap but as always YMMV.
If you enjoy glycerin soaps, giver em a try. I find them comparable to all the other vendors that offer these soaps that I have had the pleasure to try.
I'm just in a tallow phase now.
I'm just in a tallow phase now.
I have Patchouli, Old Spice, and Yuzu. I just received them a few days ago. I have only tried Patchouli as of today. The fragrance is very nice. Shea butter and kaolin clay are the two ingredients that attracted me to these soaps. And I believe they work well on my face. I get a slick lather with a good cushion. And my face feels great afterwords.
Are there any other soapmakers that use shea butter and kaolin clay in their soaps?
Are there any other soapmakers that use shea butter and kaolin clay in their soaps?
I'd like to know that too. Though I'm concerned about ordering from them. I don't do PayPal (and won't for reasons that I won't share here) and I can't tell if you can order from them without using PayPal.
Another good shea butter option here. I've enjoyed mine.
Edit: saw the kaolin clay part too late. Susie uses bentonite clay. I don't know what the difference is, but I do heartily recommend them.
Another good shea butter option here. I've enjoyed mine.
Edit: saw the kaolin clay part too late. Susie uses bentonite clay. I don't know what the difference is, but I do heartily recommend them.
Thanks for the comment. I do intend to try some of her soap. From what I have read, bentonite clay is more common in shaving soap. But, kaolin is supposed to be a milder clay and not have a drying effect on the skin. I guess which one is best for a particular individual would depend on whether or not he/she has oily or dry skin.
Ye Old Barbershop is just too nice! HoneyBee soaps work perfectly for me, and the shave sticks work even better for me! If I thought she was going to stop making YOB, I'd stockpile a bunch! BTW, her unscented soap placed in a mug is what I put my shave cream on to get that extra slick lather. This morning it was Trumper's Rose on HoneyBee unscented soap! Perfection!
I ordered a 6'er of these as the second shave soap I ever tried. I thought they were great. Loved the scents and they worked good. Two out of the 6 scents I ordered did irritate my face, and from what I've read around, it's not uncommon for some of her soaps to give some irritation. (The two that irritated me were dragon's blood and peppermint).
Now that I've tried a few more brands of shave soaps, I have to say, Mama Bear's soaps edge out HBS in every category. I've actually only used my HBS soaps once or twice since I got my mama bear's soaps. I find that the mama bear's lather up easier, and provide a better lather too. Also, I like mama bear's scents better as well.
That being said, the HBS soaps are a great value. They are pretty cheap in the 6 pack (of just pucks -- just put them in some anchor hocking bowls from Target), and are worth a shot. My favorites are the Vetyver (it's very sweet smelling, not woodsy like the real thing) and the Coffee Mocha. Also, the Yuzu is pretty interesting (Japanese Grapefruit).
Now that I've tried a few more brands of shave soaps, I have to say, Mama Bear's soaps edge out HBS in every category. I've actually only used my HBS soaps once or twice since I got my mama bear's soaps. I find that the mama bear's lather up easier, and provide a better lather too. Also, I like mama bear's scents better as well.
That being said, the HBS soaps are a great value. They are pretty cheap in the 6 pack (of just pucks -- just put them in some anchor hocking bowls from Target), and are worth a shot. My favorites are the Vetyver (it's very sweet smelling, not woodsy like the real thing) and the Coffee Mocha. Also, the Yuzu is pretty interesting (Japanese Grapefruit).
HBS is great soap. Try the Rosemary Mint. It's the bomb. You can thank me later. 
I was always a fan of the performance of HBS soaps. I throw some hot water on top of the soap so it can soften up while I shower, and then load up and bowl or face lather. It's always a very slick and very moisturizing low volume lather for me.
I kinda got tired of most of the fragrances though. Of all the ones I tried, they are pretty heavy handed, pretty synthetic smelling, sometimes cloyingly sweet, and tend to linger for a long time, making any sort of cologne layering difficult.
I tried Ye Old Barbershop, Yuzu, Rosemary Mint, Old Spice, Sandalwood Vanilla, and Jasmine.
Of course I say all of this, and a few of the scents I named are well loved here, so YMMV. Also, Sue sells several essential oil soaps, so these are probably better in my book, I just haven't tried any yet.
If you find fragrances you like, I'd definitely say the HBS soaps are a great value.
I kinda got tired of most of the fragrances though. Of all the ones I tried, they are pretty heavy handed, pretty synthetic smelling, sometimes cloyingly sweet, and tend to linger for a long time, making any sort of cologne layering difficult.
I tried Ye Old Barbershop, Yuzu, Rosemary Mint, Old Spice, Sandalwood Vanilla, and Jasmine.
Of course I say all of this, and a few of the scents I named are well loved here, so YMMV. Also, Sue sells several essential oil soaps, so these are probably better in my book, I just haven't tried any yet.
If you find fragrances you like, I'd definitely say the HBS soaps are a great value.
Honeybee Jasmine is the best scent ever. Reminds me of Hawaii.
I love Honeybee soaps. Unfortunately, I developed a sensitivity to her Sandalwood Vanilla soap, so that one's out of the rotation. If I develop a sensitivity to Jasmine, I'll be seriously bummed.
In order to get a good lather with HBS soaps, I have to start with a dryer brush than I would with, say, Mama Bear. I add the water in drizzles and the lather builds nicely.
Dave
