- Messages
- 3,042
- Location
- Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire
WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Citra Royale Soap - A tallow based soap, that gives exquisite shaves.
APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As I found with the early samples of the P&B tallow soap, this soap loads nice and easy, and gives a lather that is dense, rich, creamy and almost totally void of visible bubbles. Using any type of shave brush, you can get a quality lather that is a joy to use...read on!
SCENT:
In the pot, the scent is a fresh, punchy citrus scent, with a woody undertone that invigorates the senses. Ideal for a morning shave where you need that perky lift. When mixing your lather in the bowl, the sweet burst of lime that comes through really lifts your spirits, with the woody balance of the cedar and litsea cubeba coming through to balance the scent perfectly. On the face, the scent is there, but not too much to become imposing or unpleasant, enough so you know it is there and catch your attention. Very nice indeed.
LATHERABILITY:
We have no issues here. The new pots in which the soap comes are nice and wide, allowing for very easy loading. Once in the bowl, the lather becomes very elastic quickly, and with the addition of water, expands and becomes almost like chewing gum. I'm a light loader as I don't like to waste a good product, a 10-15 second load gives me enough lather for 3 passes and easily enough for two more plus touch up. A very simple soap to lather.
PERFORMANCE:
I had some amazing results from the early sample of the unscented soap, and my understanding is that the base recipe is the same. This did indeed translate to the same performance here. Glide for days, and just the right amount of cushion from the blade in my Merkur 39C. There is more than enough glide to perform blade buffing on my heaviest growth, as well as allowing the blade to slide effortlessly over my problem areas below the jawline without so much as a whisker of a problem.
POST SHAVE:
This was the highlight area of the test samples, and I am pleased to announce that this has not diminished in the slightest when it comes to the production soaps. I like to finish my shave with a cold towel and nothing else, Citra Royale allows this perfectly.
CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
In short, this is one amazing soap. It performs how a soap should (other manufacturers take note!), smells divine and is VERY good value for money. For the small price of £10.95 you get the highest performing soap I've ever used, with a scent that wakens the senses in the best possible way.
Phoenix & Beau Citra Royale Soap - A tallow based soap, that gives exquisite shaves.
APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As I found with the early samples of the P&B tallow soap, this soap loads nice and easy, and gives a lather that is dense, rich, creamy and almost totally void of visible bubbles. Using any type of shave brush, you can get a quality lather that is a joy to use...read on!
SCENT:
In the pot, the scent is a fresh, punchy citrus scent, with a woody undertone that invigorates the senses. Ideal for a morning shave where you need that perky lift. When mixing your lather in the bowl, the sweet burst of lime that comes through really lifts your spirits, with the woody balance of the cedar and litsea cubeba coming through to balance the scent perfectly. On the face, the scent is there, but not too much to become imposing or unpleasant, enough so you know it is there and catch your attention. Very nice indeed.
LATHERABILITY:
We have no issues here. The new pots in which the soap comes are nice and wide, allowing for very easy loading. Once in the bowl, the lather becomes very elastic quickly, and with the addition of water, expands and becomes almost like chewing gum. I'm a light loader as I don't like to waste a good product, a 10-15 second load gives me enough lather for 3 passes and easily enough for two more plus touch up. A very simple soap to lather.
PERFORMANCE:
I had some amazing results from the early sample of the unscented soap, and my understanding is that the base recipe is the same. This did indeed translate to the same performance here. Glide for days, and just the right amount of cushion from the blade in my Merkur 39C. There is more than enough glide to perform blade buffing on my heaviest growth, as well as allowing the blade to slide effortlessly over my problem areas below the jawline without so much as a whisker of a problem.
POST SHAVE:
This was the highlight area of the test samples, and I am pleased to announce that this has not diminished in the slightest when it comes to the production soaps. I like to finish my shave with a cold towel and nothing else, Citra Royale allows this perfectly.
CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
In short, this is one amazing soap. It performs how a soap should (other manufacturers take note!), smells divine and is VERY good value for money. For the small price of £10.95 you get the highest performing soap I've ever used, with a scent that wakens the senses in the best possible way.
Not to my nose, no. The scent is dominated by the zesty limes and woody litsea cubeba 
