Faena shaving soap testers

fly3k

fly3k

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I can't see another thread for this at the moment so perhaps those of us lucky enough to receive a sample from retro grooming can add to this thread.

My sample arrived today and I have the mint scent. First shave with it tonight. I'll add to this after a few more goes but these are my initial thoughts.

It's a soft soap of a similar consistency to proraso, maybe a touch firmer. I had no problems squashing it into a newly found shaving bowl today.

Loaded with my frank Purtech 24mm synthetic. It loads well and quickly and went straight to face lathering. It did look a bit flat at first but a bit of water and it soon thickened up. First thoughts are this soap likes quite a bit of water.

The scent is very mild but pleasant and is a kind of typical garden mint type smell. It's not strong but you get the odd smell of it during the shave.

Cushion is very good with this soap. I heard in the video Stavros can barely feel the blade on his skin and I have to agree. Saying that I got a very close shave tonight using this soap. The glide as well is very good with no juddering at any point. It's not the type of soap like mikes or stirling where there is that slickness after a pass but no problems during the shave with glide.

Moisturising properties were middle of the road to me certainly not drying or overly oily afterwards.

First impressions this is a very nice soap. I would prefer a bit more scent to it, but it does perform very well. Certainly in my hard water. I'll have a go with boar and badger brushes and report back.

Thanks to Retro Grooming for providing a sample much appreciated.
 
My sample (Myrtle) arrived today. Too late to shave but I did try a test lather. A great lather with a good appetite for water. I could detect no scent at all and I note Myrtle is not one of the 'standard' scents. Did I really get unscented or is it just very faint? I'm more concerned with performance really so I'll post tomorrow with the important info.

Thanks Stavros.
 
I'm back after a full shave with the Faena.

Results are good. One can quickly build a very creamy lather but I found that, at first, it was a bit thin once applied (I was bowl lathering). The counterintuitive answer was to add more water. This soap is thisty and needs a good drink before giving of its best. What seems a thinner lather in the bowl translates to a better protective layer on the skin.

I achieved BBS without any damage and enjoyed the shave. I think I still didn't get the water balance quite right as there was a bit of drying out happening at the end of the pass.

In summary - a very good product which I would be happy to have in my rotation alonside some big names (Valobra, Pere Lucien, SuperSmooth) in whose company the Faena may be unashamed. I think this will be better still once I get the water right. If scent is what you are looking for then this variety, at least, (scented with Myrtle) will not be right for you as I can detect no scent other than faint natural soap. Skin feel afterwards is pleasant, neither dry nor oily.
 
I shaved with my sample of the mint (think spearmint) this morning. My thoughts are that like others, it is a thirsty soap. Even using a synthetic I found I needed to add a bit of extra water to it. Also the scent is very mild. Less mild than Wickham super smooth which others complain about. Personally I prefer this as it doesn't overpower you like say, Arko.
The cushion of this is very good which I think is its main attribute. However, I didn't find it to be very slick. Also the post shave was just ok to me. If these two factors could be addressed then I'd certainly put it in the rotation as it does probably have the best cushion of any soap I've tried.
I'll have another go with it tomorrow to see if I can add any further.

Thank you to Retro Grooming for the sample. Good service with a nice personal touch.
 
i used the myrtle sample last night, and like others have said the scent is not very pronounced. i found it a decent soap, but nothing better than stuff i already use, ill reserve my judgement until ive used it a few more times.
 
Second use of my sample this morning. Pretty much as before really. If it could be tweaked slightly to provide a bit more slickness then I'd buy it.
 
Reading the two posts above set me to thinking. There has been quite a rash of new soaps on the market recently. When I said I would be happy to use Faena in my rotation (and I would be), it seemed to me that this soap was on a par with others I had been using. Nothing, however, that I have seen recently has been significantly better than what is already available. It seems to me that Faena and other recent soaps have successfully joined the top of the market rather than re-defining where the top lies. Faena, Pere Lucien, Cella, Panna Crema etc are all great soaps and there is, for me, only a small difference in use, mainly in the areas of scent and after-shave feel.

What we need is a mould-breaker.

That said, Faena is good, and this morning's shave, with a little extra water in the lather, was fine - so much so that i have ordered a tin for the rotation and to satisfy my SAD!
 
Can't wait to try this range of soaps... need to clear a few things out first.

Anyone have any experience of the Mastic gum scent?
 
I was very happy to come back from the weekend and find a sample of the Faena Myrtle soap waiting for me.

First impressions - this stuff smells great, not flowery, soapy great, but a strong, kind of spicy/herby great. I love the smell of Musgo Real, hate the smell of Arko and I'm OK with Palmolive soap, so that might give you some idea of my parameters.

This is soft shaving soap, not Proraso soft, more sort of (here it comes again) Arko soft. So I smooshed it into a ramekin and waited until morning for a shave. Using it, it still smells great. I used a vintage badger/boar combo made by Culmak and face lathered. Gave it a good 15 seconds swirl after adding a drop of water to the soap and got to work.

Lathered up well with a nice tight lather without too many big bubbles. Shaved really well, lots of protection, no shortage of glide. Better than MWF for me and just as good as TOBS Sandalwood. This is good soap, very much like Arko without the freshly cleaned toilet smell. It will be on my next to-buy list.

Thanks for the sample Stavros.
 
Having used my sample a few times now, I can only echo what has already been said. The scent, in my case mint was very mild, but pleasant, it lather easily but needed plenty of water. This morning's shave was the best lather yet, by adding more water than I've used on any soap I was rewarded with a fantastic creamy lather, that shaved a dream. All in all a very good soap and one I'd happily add to my rotation, just wish the scent was a little more pronounced.
Thanks Stavros for the chance to try this, much appreciated
 
I have used several time Faena mastic tree shaving soap.
I like it very much, even the particular smell.
Used with a valid synthetic brush which can retain much water it do not have any problem to foam properly.
I was very glad for buying it, but sorry I haven't received Stavros' answer to my email...
 
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