Mama Bear soap challenge

I am a big fan of artisan soaps. You simply cannot get more bang for the buck. I am also a big believer in samples. I mean, seriously...I cannot afford 400 soaps, but I can afford tons of samples to see what I like.

That brings us to my challenge. I just got my shipment of approximately 60 mama bear soap samples. I love her soaps, and I really wanted to try as many as I could, so I took the plunge.

I am going to try to give reviews of them all on this thread. If you like mama bear and/or artisan soaps...stay tuned.

If you have a review of any of her soaps, please feel free to chime in as well.

 

Excellent idea. I've heard good things about Mama Bear soaps, but I have never tried them. I will be keeping an eye out for your opinions on each.
Thanks.

 

Are you in the "soap passaround 2016"? If so, i will be leaving some samples

 

I love Mama Bear soaps and I'm a big proponent of artisan soaps in general. There's nothing quite like buying a quality homemade and handmade product from a very friendly seller.

I have tried four different fragrances so far and Northwoods is my favorite. I also think that Mysore Sandalwood is a unique scent that smells like something from south Asia. I only realized after the fact that Mysore is actually a city in India. I'm still waiting for her to restock the wooden and ceramic bowls but as soon as she does, I'm going to buy a bunch of soaps from her.

I'm pretty interested in her cologne scented soaps so if you have any of those samples, let me know what you think.

 

Mama bear's quality is very, very high. I also like the northwoods and mysore sandalwood. I tend to enjoy scents with many layers ( i.e. complexity) like yourself.

I will get more into depth as I delve into these, but right now I will give you my first impressions of her cologne scents based upon smell.

I would first say that they are ALL top notch. If I only had access to mama bear soaps and no other shave soaps whatsoever...I would still be a VERY happy guy. Her descriptions are on point. The smells all closely mimic the originals, so if you are familiar with the corresponding cologne, then you already have a great idea of what you would like.

Having said that, my top picks are (in no particular order):

Black code: mama bears's description - "Sleek and sophisticated, Armani's Black Code combines lemon, bergamot, guaiacwood and tonka bean in a sexy, oriental presentation. Nearly mystical and incredibly sexy....."

Phoenix Rising: mama bear's description - "The Phoenix is a symbol of rebirth, a new beginning.This mysterious and invigorating soap evokes the sense of anticipation. What the day may bring or what the night has in store.
This wonderful scent is warm smoldering embers and vanilla containing notes of charred birch, pine and cedar with a balsamic vanilla, amber, sandalwood and musk drydown. One of my favorites!"

Dublin Tweed : mama bear's description - "This majestic fragrance was originally created by the House of Creed for actor Cary Grant and it's a favorite of Prince Charles and many actors like Richard Gere, Nicolas Cage and Robert Redford. It has notes of Mysore sandalwood, ambergris, violet leaves, French verbena and Florentine iris. It's very fresh. It was the award winner for the best men's fragrance in 2005."

Amber Romance: mama bear's description - "This is one of my absolute favorite fragrances! This has rich amber notes, complimented by fruity top notes of irresistible black currant, plums and juicy pineapple."

Gucci for Him and Gentlemen are my runners up.

My last picks (out of what I have smelled) are Joop, Brute, British leather, Drakkar, and aged spice (which does smell very much like the original old spice).
Note: it is worth noting, once again, that I don't think any of these smell bad...I just don't like them as much as the others. These all tend to be very simple scents, especially when compared to the others above. Of course, they are based on very simple scents from the respective colognes/aftershaves they represent. I just have a personal preference for more complexity.

 

Did I just read that correct "60" sixty samples? My goodness.

I enjoyed her mysore sandalwood and black code as well.

Great soap...often not on the radar.

 

Thats correct. About 60.
I like buying huge amounts of samples when i can. Mama bear and stirling make it easy.

 

I keep telling people to join the soap passaround, because those that come after me are going to reap major benefits

 

How big are her samples? I know Stirling's are about 1 oz each which is a great size to sample.

 

They are smaller...Stirling's are huge. Of course, mama bear's cost $1 each (and they are even cheaper when in the sets), while stirling costs $2.75 each...but they are pretty huge.

I would guesstimate mama bear samples are 1/2 oz size...but although stirling claims that theirs are 1.1 oz...i believe they are much larger...like 2 oz each.

 

Thanks, but unfortunately I am testing the pass around soaps now. Someone else will have to enjoy your Mama Bear soaps.

 

I think Mama Bear does samples the right way. There are so many soaps and so many artisans to choose from, so I mostly just want to smell the soap and test it for a few shaves. Her samples are only a dollar and they let me do exactly that. Other samples that I've bought are large enough to last several months of daily use, which isn't ideal if I don't like the scent.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for your reviews. It sounds like the wooden and ceramic bowls will be in stock soon, so I might just go ahead and order full sized pucks based on your reviews. I'm pretty interested in Black Code, Phoenix Rising, and Dublin Tweed now.

 

The word "sexy" appears twice on the Black Code. The point would appear to be made.

 

Since it is summer and I live in Texas, where it always seems to be 100+ degrees, I started off with a mentholated soap called
Bear Ice.
Mama bear's description - lots of menthol and lots of eucalyptus in this one made by request. Another strong scent that is not for the faint of heart.

I find mama bear's descriptions to be very accurate. The smell was highly eucalyptus themed. It was like walking into my grandmother's house with all her potpourri scents. It wasn't really a scent to my liking...it was O.K.

It is a lather monster!!! I used a synthetic stirling kong brush and I couldn't believe the lather spilling out. This soap will last!

The menthol was definitely cooling, but I have had cooler. I would give it a 8/10 cooling factor.

The cushion was tremendous as well. It just glided the razor on my face.

Final results:
Scent: 5/10 - average
Scent strength - 9/10
Lather -10/10
Cushion - 10/10
Slickness - 10/10
Cooling sensation - 8/10
Lasting scent - 7/10

I would buy this if you like the scent. For me is was O.K. so I wouldn't purchase it again. As far as everything else, it has that familiar mama bear quality to it.

 

Im a big fan of her, "Good Morning Honey". The scent is amazing

 

How would you rate the slickness and post shave face feel?

As a fell straight shaver, slickness is at the top of my priority list.

Nice write-up. Thanks for sharing.

Of course.... "no soap review is complete without a lather shot."

 

Sorry, I badly needed a shave and I had things to do after, so no pic

The slickness is tremendous. I forgot to add that in. I edited and added it into the review. From here on out, i will try to give pics

 

No worries my friend. Thanks again for the info.

 

Next up to bat....
Amber Romance

This is what mama bear says about it, "This is one of my absolute favorite fragrances! This has rich amber notes, complimented by fruity top notes of irresistible black currant, plums and juicy pineapple."

When going through my many, many mama bear soaps, I have to agree...it is one of my favorite scents as well. This would make a great cologne. Mama bear's description is very accurate as usual, but it has more amber in it, so it is not as sweet smelling as it sounds. I would think this would be a good unisex soap. Its best season for rotation would be spring or fall.

I used a synthetic stirling kong brush again and I just cant say enough about the lather. Seriously. It started gushing after two turns of the brush. I made 3 passes, but there was easily enough lather for 7 or more.

The cushion and ease/volume of lather on these soaps is nothing short of spectacular.

Final results:
Scent: 9/10
Scent strength - 7/10 it was very nice, but not room filling.
Lather -10/10
Cushion - 10/10
Slickness - 10/10
Cooling sensation - 4/10
Lasting scent - 5/10 average. It went away without lingering.

I would consider this scent excellent. I wish it were stronger though. It would make a great cologne. The performance was terrific.

Brush -Stirling soaps "kong" synthetic
Razor - 1959 e3 tto Gillette fat boy (im experimenting with DEs lately), set to five
Razor blade - Gillette 7 o clock
Soap - mama bear soaps "Amber Romance"
Aftershave - lucky tiger

Result: a near BBS shave. It would have been BBS and not "near", but I need to turn the dial up and/or use a sharper blade.

 

I have an Amber Romance sample. The scent is subtle to my nose but it's good. To me, it actually smells a bit more on the fruity side. Regarding the lack of lasting scent, it would probably be cool if she made some matching aftershave splashes. It's nice when later in the day, your face smells as fresh as when you first lathered up.

I also like your scuttle.