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Great stuff @Nico1970 and if I remember rightly you enjoyed the smokier of my scents, 'Albion'?I tried the tallow sample and am pleased to report it is excellent...
Using a Markus Herber HMW brush (and on another occasion a L'Occitane Plisson synthetic) with The Shaving Room Bowl #2, it was relatively easy to create a yoghurty lather. The mixture took quite a bit of water before breaking down too - which is a good thing.
Glide and cushion are great and the lather maintains its consistency throughout the shave. Post shave moisturizing effect, I felt was above average to good - not absolutely great, but certainly more than acceptable.
All told, the tallow sample gave an excellent shave.
With the right scent, you'll have a winner Kerry @phoenixandbeau.
Some pictures:
Thanks for the opportunity of taking part Kerry.
Sorry to hear you had this experience, can you put your finger on what caused it? Please let me know how it goes tomorrow. Kerry.I'm a bit conflicted on this - my test lather was great, rich and luxurious. My first shave was bad, really bad. But having read these results I think I didn't get the prep right or the blade or something. So I'll give it another go tomorrow afternoon and I'm sure I'll get a great result too.
Brilliant stuff and I'm glad it performed in the way you've described. Please let me know how you find the comparison with the Wickham. Also, what scents do you enjoy, please?Let me start this review by saying thanks again to Kerry for sending the sample out.
I've not got a massive collection and have only experienced 3 soaps. Wickham, Reef Point and Prof Blighty so please bear that in mind when reading.
First impression was that for a sample it was huge! A very soft soap easy to put into an empty TOBS bowl. Hmm don't let the smell or lack of put you off...
Loaded readily with my Muhle synthetic, not unlike the Wickham. I did notice a very thick almost tacky consistency. Adding a little more water and palm lathered to get a feel for the slickness and I wasn't disappointed. This soap is slick! I added a little more water and into the face.
The shave with my trusty DE89 was good and the soap did a good job. No drying out of the lather at all. Felt nice and protective.
After rinsing, skin felt nice and soft again similar to Reef Point and Wickham.
Would I buy? Depending on the scent, yes.
Another shave with this Wednesday for more testing before another go with the Wickham to get a comparison.
First impressions is that this is a soap with great performance that can only get better with a decent scent.
Sanskrit, I think it was Kerry. Albion was well up there too...Great stuff @Nico1970 and if I remember rightly you enjoyed the smokier of my scents, 'Albion'?
@nick_s thanks for taking the time to detail such a comprehensive review, I'm very grateful. I'm also extremely happy that you enjoyed it in the way you describe. Please keep the feedback comingOK, so I am posting this review over several days using different equipment and will update this post as I go.
WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Soap, Tallow Formula (unscented for purposes of testing).
APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
OK, so, I pressed the soap into an old cereal bowl quite easily, so a soft soap indeed. I bloom it for the duration of my hot towel and scrub preparation, and use the bloom water to help load the brush.
SCENT:
I'll not comment on the unscented aspect, more what I think would work wonders for me with a soap of this nature. I'd like to see woody, masculine scents here, so sandalwood, maybe something peppery.
LATHERABILITY:
A short bloom ensured the Body Shop synthetic brush loaded with ease. I loaded for about 15-20 seconds, which gave ample pre-lather that I transferred to my 'The Shaving Room' bowl, added a moderate amount of water to start the building of lather. The lather never had that large bubble phase I get with some other soaps, but I did need to add plenty of water. The lather as it started building had an element of elasticity that I've not seen in any other soap I won. Added a little more water to thin the lather slightly as I was using a shavette today. The lather when formed was rich and yoghurty, built without any real effort at all.
Tomorrow (day 2) I will lather using a boar brush to see if there is any discernible difference. I'll update accordingly with new photos and comments on lather.
PERFORMANCE:
This for me is key. Having read some of the initial comments on the quality of the lather, I had high expectations. With that in mind, I chose a shavette for DAY 1 shave. I painted the lather over my prepared (hot towel and face scrub) skin and proceeded to take short, deliberate strokes with the razor. I could tell instantly that the lather protected the skin when taking off two days growth (I purposely didn't shave yesterday to give a good test). I felt confidence in the lather to let the razor slide over the skin also. I performed a two pass shave with the shavette, and not once did I feel tense or unsure of the soaps abilities to allow a safe, close shave.
POST SHAVE:
DAY 1 (shavette) - Here's the second most important thing for me. Some soaps leave me tight and dry. This was the polar opposite. Not dry in the slightest, no taught sensation at all. Top marks there. The third and final element of post shave for me is alum feedback. Previous history with shavettes showed strong to severe feedback under the jawline, with mild to moderate above. This was massively reduced to zero feedback above the jawline, with mild to moderate below, testament to the protective qualities of the lather.
CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
DAY 1 (shavette) - Well, it's a definite thumbs up here so far. The soap gave fantastic protection against the fearsome shavette. Not once did I feel any decline in protective qualities, every aspect of the test sample stands up so far. Loads and lathers well, protects and offers superior glide.
Most welcome Kerry@nick_s thanks for taking the time to detail such a comprehensive review, I'm very grateful. I'm also extremely happy that you enjoyed it in the way you describe. Please keep the feedback coming
Kerry.
Well I'm just glad you got through a shave without having to abandon @FergiebillySchick HydroMagic...
Three Shaving Pass Routine..
Hot Water prep & massage with Coconut Oil
Schick HydroMagic
Dutch NOS Injector Blade (New)
Semogue Boar Brush
Test sample shaving Soap
444 after shave gel
Woodsman Aftershave Splash (From USA)
I had my first shave with Vegan Sample Soap and my newly acquired Dutch made HydroMagic & NOS Dutch made Super Stainless injector blades..I found that the soap lathered very well and did not fall to pieces like the previous test sample...The test soap did provide just about a mediocre glide and cushion for me...Bearing in mind I am not using the most aggressive shaving system here but these NOS blades are very sharp indeed...
This second Test sample has vastly improved from the previous sample...By a long shot for sure..It does however fall short of current cheaper brand shaving creams though..In my humble opinion that is to say...The current Test Sample did tend to dissipate on the Face and I had to keep delving into the soap container for more...The soap was also loosing its body in my shaving bowl as I bowl lather...The soap was getting thinner in the bowl and going a sort of soapy bubbles way...
I had a nice irritation free BBS Result though...That said I couldn't have used this soap with the Razor I was using with my Tallow Soap Test Shave...No chance...Moreover...I wouldn't have been comfortable using it with a more aggressive injector either for that matter..
In Sum then...
Lather..10/10
Slickness..5/10
Glide..5/10
Cushion..5/10
Scent..Nothing to mention as its unscented but smelled fine
Post shave...All was well...
The second version of the Vegan Test Soap has moved on leaps and bounds from the previous sample but in my opinion it still needs a lot of development...If I had been using an aggressive razor I reckon I would have abandoned the shave..
Billy
Yeah, the Tallow you have their is a Premium product for sure...That's ready for the Market as is...The Vegan soap I can see you have put a lot of effort into since the first batch but to be brutally honest that would have went in the Bin....Don't get me wrong...Proraso soap is a lot worse than that and it sells...I wouldn't know why....I threw it right in the Bin...I will get jumped on for that..Well I'm just glad you got through a shave without having to abandon @Fergiebilly
It's evident from most that my tallow formula is the clear leader here and so, whilst I'll continue to develop the Vegan, I'll be going to market with the tallow first.
More on that soon.
Can't say but I'm beginning to suspect weak face prep combined with a duff Rapira blade and letting it get too watery for pass 3.Sorry to hear you had this experience, can you put your finger on what caused it? Please let me know how it goes tomorrow. Kerry.
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