Myrica Glycerine Soap (notice to Gannets)
- Thread starter Briallen
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Ok, I tested two this morning. I´ve got soft water, very soft. I soaked the Citrus Silk in warm water for approx 5 min and then gave it a good 2 min whip, but it ended up to dry and with a bubbly foam (couldn´t get the air out of it, strange). The glycerin soap was much better, I think, even if both had lovely scents. Todays SOTD: http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5634&p=77981#p77981
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You got the Honeyspice I assume, Mikael?
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I promised Elaine a public review of her soap samples, and then life went all complicated, so here we go, better late than never.
I got three samples, rather nicely packaged: Citrus Silk, Myrica and Honeyspice. All three are firmish soft soaps, or at least started out that way.
Citrus Silk
This is a cake of brilliant white soap, and Elaine warned me that I was unlikely to get on with it, and so it proved. Once I got it wet the cake decided to disintegrate, and I haven't been able to squash it together again - rather odd that. It's one of those soaps which gives a profuse, coarse grained lather which never really builds to a properly protective consistency and deteriorates on the face rapidly. I didn't attempt to use a straight razor with this one, but managed a quick shave with a DE with no ill effects. Although it could hardly be called a resounding success, there's a couple of good points: it's very slick, and the scent is one of the better citric ones I've come across, and I hope it makes a reappearance in another soap.
Myrica
Another firm but not hard soap, this time supplied in a small plastic tub. It's off-white with a subtle bluish green tinge, and an equally subtle faintly medicinal fragrance which I can't quite put my finger on, but it reminds me of old fashioned chemists' shops. This scent seems to hang in the air for a long time after use, and since I like it a lot, that's a bonus. In use, it lathered readily and the consistency is fine: creamy rather than airy, and it's very stable on the face, in a bowl or a scuttle. It doesn't offer that much in the way of cushion and isn't as slick as one might hope for, but it's perfectly usable and I managed a good three pass cut throat shave without much bother - mind you I was concentrating. I had a go with a fairly aggressive DE last night and found the soap eminently suitable. This soap gets a thumbs up with only very minor qualifications.
Honeyspice
Supplied as a cake but easily pressed into a dish, similar in consistency to the Myrica, but this time a beige colour, and smelling of caraway seeds amongst other things I can't put a name to. I've saved the best for last, and this soap is excellent in my estimation. The lather comes easily, and can readily be developed to a thick, glossy cream which closely resembles what you get from Cella. There's good cushioning, and it's quite slippery stuff, not unlike Mitchell's Wool Fat in fact, although you'd really have to work hard to get MWF quantities of lather in the brush if face lathering is your chosen method. Straight razor - no problem at all. This soap contains clay which seems to be beneficial for cut throat users, well, this one anyway. Of the three soaps, this is the formula which I think should go to market as it is, and it gets an enthusiastic recommendation. I'd like to think that Elaine might offer it with a choice of scents, and the Citrus Silk one seems an obvious possibility.
Conclusion
What I haven't mentioned is the post shave skin feel. In common with a lot of artisan produced soaps, this is noticeably excellent, with no trace of drying or tightness. Over the last year or so I've tried a lot of new soaps, most of which have been successful, but as a rule it's the ones from small producers which have impressed me most and left my skin in the best condition. Myrica and in particular Honeyspice are in this category and deserve to do well.
I got three samples, rather nicely packaged: Citrus Silk, Myrica and Honeyspice. All three are firmish soft soaps, or at least started out that way.
Citrus Silk
This is a cake of brilliant white soap, and Elaine warned me that I was unlikely to get on with it, and so it proved. Once I got it wet the cake decided to disintegrate, and I haven't been able to squash it together again - rather odd that. It's one of those soaps which gives a profuse, coarse grained lather which never really builds to a properly protective consistency and deteriorates on the face rapidly. I didn't attempt to use a straight razor with this one, but managed a quick shave with a DE with no ill effects. Although it could hardly be called a resounding success, there's a couple of good points: it's very slick, and the scent is one of the better citric ones I've come across, and I hope it makes a reappearance in another soap.
Myrica
Another firm but not hard soap, this time supplied in a small plastic tub. It's off-white with a subtle bluish green tinge, and an equally subtle faintly medicinal fragrance which I can't quite put my finger on, but it reminds me of old fashioned chemists' shops. This scent seems to hang in the air for a long time after use, and since I like it a lot, that's a bonus. In use, it lathered readily and the consistency is fine: creamy rather than airy, and it's very stable on the face, in a bowl or a scuttle. It doesn't offer that much in the way of cushion and isn't as slick as one might hope for, but it's perfectly usable and I managed a good three pass cut throat shave without much bother - mind you I was concentrating. I had a go with a fairly aggressive DE last night and found the soap eminently suitable. This soap gets a thumbs up with only very minor qualifications.
Honeyspice
Supplied as a cake but easily pressed into a dish, similar in consistency to the Myrica, but this time a beige colour, and smelling of caraway seeds amongst other things I can't put a name to. I've saved the best for last, and this soap is excellent in my estimation. The lather comes easily, and can readily be developed to a thick, glossy cream which closely resembles what you get from Cella. There's good cushioning, and it's quite slippery stuff, not unlike Mitchell's Wool Fat in fact, although you'd really have to work hard to get MWF quantities of lather in the brush if face lathering is your chosen method. Straight razor - no problem at all. This soap contains clay which seems to be beneficial for cut throat users, well, this one anyway. Of the three soaps, this is the formula which I think should go to market as it is, and it gets an enthusiastic recommendation. I'd like to think that Elaine might offer it with a choice of scents, and the Citrus Silk one seems an obvious possibility.
Conclusion
What I haven't mentioned is the post shave skin feel. In common with a lot of artisan produced soaps, this is noticeably excellent, with no trace of drying or tightness. Over the last year or so I've tried a lot of new soaps, most of which have been successful, but as a rule it's the ones from small producers which have impressed me most and left my skin in the best condition. Myrica and in particular Honeyspice are in this category and deserve to do well.
- Thread Starter
- #42
Ta
I certainly will be doing - I've a few essential oil blends which I'm thinking of using, when I can come up with names. For instance the "HoneySpice" was a quicky name for the soap which had honey in but if I make a Honey range and with more than one spice blend fragrance the name will have to be different - I used the blend initially in a moisturising lotion and have the fragrance on my file as "CuckooSong", OK for products aimed at the ladies but I don't think it's quite suited to gents' shaving products.
I certainly will be doing - I've a few essential oil blends which I'm thinking of using, when I can come up with names. For instance the "HoneySpice" was a quicky name for the soap which had honey in but if I make a Honey range and with more than one spice blend fragrance the name will have to be different - I used the blend initially in a moisturising lotion and have the fragrance on my file as "CuckooSong", OK for products aimed at the ladies but I don't think it's quite suited to gents' shaving products.
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This morning I used Honeyspice and it was good, I´ll buy if you make any more. Some here: http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5752&view=unread#unread
... and some pics from the lather, it was a strong and good lather (my test: can the brush stand alone, without pushing it down - and that is a long and rather heavy brush handle):
... and some pics from the lather, it was a strong and good lather (my test: can the brush stand alone, without pushing it down - and that is a long and rather heavy brush handle):
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I do that too, and the soap passed with flying colours. Despite the fact that I'm much meaner with quantities than Mikael so it seems.
Firstly apologies to Elaine!
I was sent this soap along with the Citrus Silk and Honey Clay samples. Due mainly to an impending baby arrival (that was due over a week ago!) and lots of snow causing more than a little bit of tense nervous headaches I didn't get a chance to try any of them. I've checked in here and noted the updates on the Citrus Silk s will give that a miss. I tried the Myrica today and would just like to say that it was very very good! The smell was certainly mossy which I liked. It lathered well and reasonably easily. The only thing I found was that there didn't seem to be much lather in the brush however it was certainly still producing well for the 3rd pass and I reckon I could have got a few more from it. What I mean is the brush wasn't a mass of creamy lather obscuring the ends of the bristles like I get with MWF. The lather was slick and provided plenty of cushion and my skin felt good afterwards.
I would buy this.
Sorry for the dealy and thanks for the sample.
I was sent this soap along with the Citrus Silk and Honey Clay samples. Due mainly to an impending baby arrival (that was due over a week ago!) and lots of snow causing more than a little bit of tense nervous headaches I didn't get a chance to try any of them. I've checked in here and noted the updates on the Citrus Silk s will give that a miss. I tried the Myrica today and would just like to say that it was very very good! The smell was certainly mossy which I liked. It lathered well and reasonably easily. The only thing I found was that there didn't seem to be much lather in the brush however it was certainly still producing well for the 3rd pass and I reckon I could have got a few more from it. What I mean is the brush wasn't a mass of creamy lather obscuring the ends of the bristles like I get with MWF. The lather was slick and provided plenty of cushion and my skin felt good afterwards.
I would buy this.
Sorry for the dealy and thanks for the sample.