First use of Prof B's Formula 31 which arrived as an unexpected PIF from the Prof. As part of his ongoing "help the aged" programme he's kindly prepared a one off "Brut" scent a like with a special label just for me ! How kool is that. Apart from the personalisation the basic soap is the standard 31 I believe.
The soap is deffo of the soft variety, in fact it looks just like a good quality cream, similar to Castle Forbes, with a silky sheen to it. As the note Martin sent with the package advises, this is a soap which gives of its best with an almost dry brush. I tried working up a lather on my hand, in a scuttle & (as I usually do) on my face. It lathers very easily whichever method is used &, similar to Coates, you don't need as much as you imagine you may.
The copious lather lasted fine for me for my usual two passes & there was still plenty of useable lather left on the brush.
I'm guessing that Martin went easy on the EOs or scents in this particular one off as he'll tailor soaps as needed and he knows my skin can be a wee shade iffy sometimes. The soap had a pleasant faint aroma and really good slippage. In fact it's almost like a top grade glycerine soap to my feel in the way the razor just glides over the face. I would have preferred slightly more body in the lather if I'm hair splitting, however this was my first try of the soap and I'm pretty sure that it's one which gets even better once you get used to its characteristics.
I've saved one of the nicest aspects of the soap to the end, which is that when you finally rinse the face with lukewarm water the shaved area becomes really slick, smooth & feeling lubricated. I've never experienced this before with any product, so I'm finding it difficult to explain. It's not as if a coating or film was left on the face, your skin just gets really slick & smooth. For anyone who doesn't fancy an ASB but likes the idea of a skin soother I'd strongly recommend giving this a try.
So, I'd certainly give a thumbs up to this soft soap and thanks very much agaion Prof B for your time, trouble & thoughtfulness.
JohnnyO.
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