Super Smooth V2 Testers needed
- Thread starter Fox
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Third go with Russian Leather V2 this morning. My confidence in this soap has grown considerably since the first trial. If I'd bought this I would consider it one of my better soaps. High marks in all areas and personally I'm happy that the scent is not too strong. I like the Russian Leather but a classic scent doesn't need to be in your face like some of the new kids on the block.
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First shave with the Russian Leather and I was using the same set up as in my previous tests. Namely, my Gillette Aristocrat open comb, an Astra Platinum blade and my Rudy Vey synthetic brush. My pre shave prep was just my morning shower with no post shave additions other than a wash off with warm water a couple of splashes of cold wather and a pat dry.
Once again the soap lathered up quickly and easily. The lather itself had a nice "yogurty" texture with no tingles when applied to my face. As with the Lemon Cool the lather had enough glide and cushion for my needs and I was left with enough lather in my scuttle for a three pass shave with plenty left over.
Post Shave I had no immediate issues whatsoever with dryness or tightness and this remains the case three hours post shave. Overall a very enjoyable shave.
This leaves just my impressions of the Russian Leather scent. For me this is a winner - I love this scent, one I will immediately associate with Wickham's (along with Spice Trade and the Imperial Trevor of course) and one I will be happy to use over and over again. Where do I stand on the strength of the scent? Well I am siding with Uncle Bertie on this one! While loving the scent would not, necessarily, make me adverse to the volume being turned up a notch or two I like its current understated nature and the subtley that that brings to the overall shave experience. Dulce et decorum est.
Once again the soap lathered up quickly and easily. The lather itself had a nice "yogurty" texture with no tingles when applied to my face. As with the Lemon Cool the lather had enough glide and cushion for my needs and I was left with enough lather in my scuttle for a three pass shave with plenty left over.
Post Shave I had no immediate issues whatsoever with dryness or tightness and this remains the case three hours post shave. Overall a very enjoyable shave.
This leaves just my impressions of the Russian Leather scent. For me this is a winner - I love this scent, one I will immediately associate with Wickham's (along with Spice Trade and the Imperial Trevor of course) and one I will be happy to use over and over again. Where do I stand on the strength of the scent? Well I am siding with Uncle Bertie on this one! While loving the scent would not, necessarily, make me adverse to the volume being turned up a notch or two I like its current understated nature and the subtley that that brings to the overall shave experience. Dulce et decorum est.
Wickham Super Smooth V2 Russian Leather - Shave #3
The scent of the soap is very nice, quite old fashioned and grown up. I think the scent could be a bit stronger though. No adverse skin reaction at all.
Overall I'm really pleased with this soap.
- Plisson synthetic brush
- Wickham Super Smooth V2 Russian Leather
- Schick N3 injector
- NOS Schick Twin blade (2)
- Alum block
- Cella Colonia Classica
The scent of the soap is very nice, quite old fashioned and grown up. I think the scent could be a bit stronger though. No adverse skin reaction at all.
Overall I'm really pleased with this soap.
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- 643
I used the lemon sample again this morning lathered with my Muhle synthetic. Great thick lather again that takes plenty of water to get it going, although that may be me putting too much soap in the bowl to start with.
I decided to test the protection with the Muhle R41 and I'm pleased to report an excellent close shave with no nicks or weapers. The soap certainly provided adequate protection during the shave.
After rinsing the skin felt nice and not dry or tight, although I did apply a bit of Stirling Balm as a matter of habit.
On second use the scent seemed slightly better but I've used better citrus scents, but again I didn't notice any cooling from the menthol.
I decided to test the protection with the Muhle R41 and I'm pleased to report an excellent close shave with no nicks or weapers. The soap certainly provided adequate protection during the shave.
After rinsing the skin felt nice and not dry or tight, although I did apply a bit of Stirling Balm as a matter of habit.
On second use the scent seemed slightly better but I've used better citrus scents, but again I didn't notice any cooling from the menthol.
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2nd shave - Lemon Cool
Scent:
Lemony, albeit slightly synthetic. My lemon scent preference is my Turkish cologne. Negligible menthol detected, hence little cooling.
Lather:
Smeared a thumbnail of the soft soap into my TSR bowl and lathered up very easily with my Zenith synthetic, adding water and working it easily into a copious thick lather which I like. 3 passes with no change in consistency, just like the Russian Leather.
Shave:
The 3 pass shave with an Ever Ready Streamline/Rocnel handle w/GEM stainless on #10 was drama free with great protection. Slickness was excellent, even after 1st rinse. Post shave was slightly drying, so followed with a moisturiser.
Overall the performance was just like the Russian Leather. However the lemon scent was OK, but would prefer a fresher, more zingy scent. And an increase in cooling menthol.
Link to my SOTD.
Scent:
Lemony, albeit slightly synthetic. My lemon scent preference is my Turkish cologne. Negligible menthol detected, hence little cooling.
Lather:
Smeared a thumbnail of the soft soap into my TSR bowl and lathered up very easily with my Zenith synthetic, adding water and working it easily into a copious thick lather which I like. 3 passes with no change in consistency, just like the Russian Leather.
Shave:
The 3 pass shave with an Ever Ready Streamline/Rocnel handle w/GEM stainless on #10 was drama free with great protection. Slickness was excellent, even after 1st rinse. Post shave was slightly drying, so followed with a moisturiser.
Overall the performance was just like the Russian Leather. However the lemon scent was OK, but would prefer a fresher, more zingy scent. And an increase in cooling menthol.
Link to my SOTD.
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- 964
First shave with the Russian Leather.
First off, this stuff smells amazing! Really brings up memories of my mum buying Imperial Lather when I was a kid. Really lovely scent, never realised that it was so floral.
Anyways, the big Omega 49 did the task of lathering it up and did a marvolous job. It felt as if this soap lathered easier than the lemon, with less loading, into a thick lather very quickly. Maybe thats all in my head as it should be the same soap in theory, different scent?
3 pass shave and I can honestly say that my face hasn't felt this smooth in ages. I dont try and get a BBS these days, just happy for it to look clean with no tufts anywhere but my fave is like a babys arse tonight.
Feels lovely and mousturised too, this stuff is the tits. Sorry about the bit of blue there but this stuff is great. My favourite by far, don't change a thing.
First off, this stuff smells amazing! Really brings up memories of my mum buying Imperial Lather when I was a kid. Really lovely scent, never realised that it was so floral.
Anyways, the big Omega 49 did the task of lathering it up and did a marvolous job. It felt as if this soap lathered easier than the lemon, with less loading, into a thick lather very quickly. Maybe thats all in my head as it should be the same soap in theory, different scent?
3 pass shave and I can honestly say that my face hasn't felt this smooth in ages. I dont try and get a BBS these days, just happy for it to look clean with no tufts anywhere but my fave is like a babys arse tonight.
Feels lovely and mousturised too, this stuff is the tits. Sorry about the bit of blue there but this stuff is great. My favourite by far, don't change a thing.
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- 1,437
Hi
Apologies for not posting sooner but I have had other things on my plate.
I have tried both soaps, and they are a joy to lather, but I find them to be a little airy looking. I therefore lather for longer than with V1 and the airyness does disappear little. I'm being hyper critical here, but that's what was asked for. To be fair, it seems ok in use, but the lather doesn't seem quite as thick on my face as v1. If you could resolve this it would be epic, as the post shave feel is awesome, and is better than v1.
Now for the scents..... Russian leather is nice and it reminds me of my grandad who always shaved with a bar of imperial leather soap at the kitchen sink. I don't get the lemon one, it's ok but nothing special or new.... and this leads me on to a little criticism, which I am a little sorry for, but Darron did ask for honesty....
To be honest I haven't been overly impressed with any of the scents from the samples. It's only my opinion, and others will differ, but I have been a REALLY big fan of Wickhams soaps for ages and have V1 SS is my favourite soap, with at least 3 of the scents in my top 5. Here's the thing.... those scents were new, and I haven't smelt them elsewhere. They weren't 'lemon', or 'mint' or 'another soap we already know', they were Darron's creations. I smelt them and thought WOW, that's like bakewell tart and custard, or "I have no idea what it smells like, but I love it".
The scents I loved the best were Dandyism, Club cola, and Imperial tonic, and I dont think any of the new ones come anywhere close. I am just a little disappointed as I so much like the Wickhams brand that I want to keep using them for a long time, but 'mint' or 'lemon' you can find elsewhere, it's nothing that stands out. I think the soaps will always be great, but I would be really disappointed if the old wonderful scents were replaced with the less complex, simplified versions that I have tried so far.
I don't know what you did to create the scents you came up with before @Fox, but I would love something new like that.... I.e. something ..... different. If you could invent some new scents as good as those mentioned then your new soaps would fly off the shelves.
Just my thoughts.
Matt
Apologies for not posting sooner but I have had other things on my plate.
I have tried both soaps, and they are a joy to lather, but I find them to be a little airy looking. I therefore lather for longer than with V1 and the airyness does disappear little. I'm being hyper critical here, but that's what was asked for. To be fair, it seems ok in use, but the lather doesn't seem quite as thick on my face as v1. If you could resolve this it would be epic, as the post shave feel is awesome, and is better than v1.
Now for the scents..... Russian leather is nice and it reminds me of my grandad who always shaved with a bar of imperial leather soap at the kitchen sink. I don't get the lemon one, it's ok but nothing special or new.... and this leads me on to a little criticism, which I am a little sorry for, but Darron did ask for honesty....
To be honest I haven't been overly impressed with any of the scents from the samples. It's only my opinion, and others will differ, but I have been a REALLY big fan of Wickhams soaps for ages and have V1 SS is my favourite soap, with at least 3 of the scents in my top 5. Here's the thing.... those scents were new, and I haven't smelt them elsewhere. They weren't 'lemon', or 'mint' or 'another soap we already know', they were Darron's creations. I smelt them and thought WOW, that's like bakewell tart and custard, or "I have no idea what it smells like, but I love it".
The scents I loved the best were Dandyism, Club cola, and Imperial tonic, and I dont think any of the new ones come anywhere close. I am just a little disappointed as I so much like the Wickhams brand that I want to keep using them for a long time, but 'mint' or 'lemon' you can find elsewhere, it's nothing that stands out. I think the soaps will always be great, but I would be really disappointed if the old wonderful scents were replaced with the less complex, simplified versions that I have tried so far.
I don't know what you did to create the scents you came up with before @Fox, but I would love something new like that.... I.e. something ..... different. If you could invent some new scents as good as those mentioned then your new soaps would fly off the shelves.
Just my thoughts.
Matt
OP
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I get what your saying Matt and it's a valid point, leave this with me and I will give this some thought. I would like to nail this Lemon Cool though, for me this is personal. It's not easy to get a good Lemon menthol scent, I think Ingrams do a good job but their soap sucks. I would be happy to get close to what they have with my Lemon Cool, but I am after a menthol kick with it to. Also while we are talking about this, the jojoba oil was indeed the culprit for killing the coolness from the menthol. I have not got it quite where I want it but it is getting there.
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Second go with the RL.
Face lathered and it was fab. None of the lather-hog brush issues from last time, the face stayed beautifully covered.
Interestingly I didn't get as good cushioning as last time, I suspect it wasn't quite as well hydrated.
I'm moved by the "softness" of the lather, the feel is really silky. Again, if there is no tallow, it's remarkable.
I disagree on the scents.
The RL is top draw. Wickham standard top draw.
The lemon is, by fox's admission, a work in progress. Early testing of the SSv1 found some scents that didn't make the grade the first time round. Wasn't there a lavender and mint one in the early days?
Face lathered and it was fab. None of the lather-hog brush issues from last time, the face stayed beautifully covered.
Interestingly I didn't get as good cushioning as last time, I suspect it wasn't quite as well hydrated.
I'm moved by the "softness" of the lather, the feel is really silky. Again, if there is no tallow, it's remarkable.
I disagree on the scents.
The RL is top draw. Wickham standard top draw.
The lemon is, by fox's admission, a work in progress. Early testing of the SSv1 found some scents that didn't make the grade the first time round. Wasn't there a lavender and mint one in the early days?
Finally got the samples today. After a quick sniff I must say I did not like the Lemon sample at all, it felt synthetic almost like a cleaning product. Russian Leather had a nice soapy scent before lathering it, but it had something more compared to MWF for those of you who already used the fat, warmer, more floral, it's discrete but it's there.
I decided to go for a face lather with my Mred Rasage Traditionnel limited edition brush (Silvertip 24mm) and face lathered a small dollop of RL. Boy did it smell good ! It's a clean, fresh floral scent, though I'd suggest making it a tad stronger.
The soap lathered quickly and turned into a nice creamy and slick lather without too much effort (I had the impression it needed less water compared to the 1912, can anyone confirm ?) allowing me to go for a close shave in 2 passes (WTG and XTG).
As for the post shave, my face felt a bit dry but that might've been because it's very hot here in France, nothing a post shave balm can't fix.
I'll give the Lemon Cool a try tomorrow, but I really dislike the scent out of the container.
I decided to go for a face lather with my Mred Rasage Traditionnel limited edition brush (Silvertip 24mm) and face lathered a small dollop of RL. Boy did it smell good ! It's a clean, fresh floral scent, though I'd suggest making it a tad stronger.
The soap lathered quickly and turned into a nice creamy and slick lather without too much effort (I had the impression it needed less water compared to the 1912, can anyone confirm ?) allowing me to go for a close shave in 2 passes (WTG and XTG).
As for the post shave, my face felt a bit dry but that might've been because it's very hot here in France, nothing a post shave balm can't fix.
I'll give the Lemon Cool a try tomorrow, but I really dislike the scent out of the container.
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More apologies for tardy replies here. 
Used the Russian Leather a few days ago and in use it smells much more Imperial Leather than Shulton Old Spice as I had initially whiffed from the sample. No complaints with the copious amount of slick lather but I did find the scent to be a little overpowering after a while although no adverse reaction was experienced and I managed a good close shave with my 34c. No tightness or overt dryness (my skin is always dry after shaving regardless of product used). I think you've nailed the scent despite my comment as I believe this is what most folks that like a leathery smell will be after. It's merely a personal thing with me.
Onto the Lemon Cool. Well, I experienced no cool whatsoever but still managed to really enjoy my shave with this. If anything it felt slicker and more caring of my skin than the RL and although perhaps not entirely natural, the scent was enjoyable, entirely inoffensive and not at all Arko-like. A bit lemon pudding with some sweetness to it but quite enjoyable really. I had the best shave ever with my Fatboy using this über slick soap and for my first, downward pass I dialled the Tubster up to nine and went at it very gently. The first class cushioning and slickness totally protected me from the greater blade gap and I dialled down to five and four respectively for subsequent passes. Face felt better afterwards than it did with either the RL or the Royal Mint. Some Osage Rub followed by a smaller than usual amount of whipped shea butter and my old coupon felt just marvellous. It's been a tough couple days with turfing a 200 sqm new plot by myself but this shave really put me back on track. To sum up: the scent isn't perfect but still enjoyable although sadly lacking in menthol but its performance is outstanding in every way, shape and form. Slight tweaking on the scent and I may well throw my remaining Arko and Derby sticks in the rin-tin-tin! And yes, this is better than my vintage Culmak soap!
Hats off Darron, you're still King of the soft soap hill. Just get that Lemon Cool slighty more natural or zingy smelling and give the menthol train a good stoking.
Used the Russian Leather a few days ago and in use it smells much more Imperial Leather than Shulton Old Spice as I had initially whiffed from the sample. No complaints with the copious amount of slick lather but I did find the scent to be a little overpowering after a while although no adverse reaction was experienced and I managed a good close shave with my 34c. No tightness or overt dryness (my skin is always dry after shaving regardless of product used). I think you've nailed the scent despite my comment as I believe this is what most folks that like a leathery smell will be after. It's merely a personal thing with me.
Onto the Lemon Cool. Well, I experienced no cool whatsoever but still managed to really enjoy my shave with this. If anything it felt slicker and more caring of my skin than the RL and although perhaps not entirely natural, the scent was enjoyable, entirely inoffensive and not at all Arko-like. A bit lemon pudding with some sweetness to it but quite enjoyable really. I had the best shave ever with my Fatboy using this über slick soap and for my first, downward pass I dialled the Tubster up to nine and went at it very gently. The first class cushioning and slickness totally protected me from the greater blade gap and I dialled down to five and four respectively for subsequent passes. Face felt better afterwards than it did with either the RL or the Royal Mint. Some Osage Rub followed by a smaller than usual amount of whipped shea butter and my old coupon felt just marvellous. It's been a tough couple days with turfing a 200 sqm new plot by myself but this shave really put me back on track. To sum up: the scent isn't perfect but still enjoyable although sadly lacking in menthol but its performance is outstanding in every way, shape and form. Slight tweaking on the scent and I may well throw my remaining Arko and Derby sticks in the rin-tin-tin! And yes, this is better than my vintage Culmak soap!
Hats off Darron, you're still King of the soft soap hill. Just get that Lemon Cool slighty more natural or zingy smelling and give the menthol train a good stoking.
OP
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- #317
Yes you're right. They were Garden Mint and English Lavender. Unfortunately not very popular, though the Garden Mint was the better seller. I guess too many soap makers offering Lavender??
OP
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- #318
Yes your right this is where that Lemon scent needs to be, natural top notes with a solid base to hold it there. I will work on it again towards the end of this week once the 1912 pre-orders go out.
Thank you all for the thorough feedback, this is really helping to steer the SS V2 in the right direction.
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- Northamptonshire
I have now had the chance to try both v2 samples: The skin conditioning from both was excellent. No need to use anything afterwards. Neither gave me any irritation.
Russian Leather. I can see what people meant when they mention a clean soap Imperial Leather. Not unpleasant.
Lemon Cool. I did quite like this, but didn't get the menthol hit.
Both samples generated a nice yoghurty lather easily. The slip and protection from both were ok, nothing great. I will try loading more this week and report back.
Russian Leather. I can see what people meant when they mention a clean soap Imperial Leather. Not unpleasant.
Lemon Cool. I did quite like this, but didn't get the menthol hit.
Both samples generated a nice yoghurty lather easily. The slip and protection from both were ok, nothing great. I will try loading more this week and report back.
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- 814
Used the Russian Leather sample last night.
Gillette Slim adjustable on 7
Shark blade (second use)
& new Shavemac TSR brush.
In a nutshell, fixed!
I would buy this.
Still just as easy to lather & slick.
Now has that cushion & reassuring sssssh sound as you sweep the lather away.
No nicks, cuts or irritation.
Very enjoyable.
I like the scent, could be a bit stronger.
Good suds.
Lemon menthol next.
I like the smell of citronella oil a lot, although, not sure in a shave soap. Will see.
Gillette Slim adjustable on 7
Shark blade (second use)
& new Shavemac TSR brush.
In a nutshell, fixed!
I would buy this.
Still just as easy to lather & slick.
Now has that cushion & reassuring sssssh sound as you sweep the lather away.
No nicks, cuts or irritation.
Very enjoyable.
I like the scent, could be a bit stronger.
Good suds.
Lemon menthol next.
I like the smell of citronella oil a lot, although, not sure in a shave soap. Will see.