In praise of Stirling Soaps...

I hope y'all caught that was said 'tongue in cheek'...

I was being facetious. I know people hate some of the stuff I really like. It makes me chuckle when I read some desriptions people use.

 

I understand!

 

I have a few of their scents including Black Cherry and Curveball both of which are excellent. Especially for the price.

 

Vanilla Sandalwood:
I like vanilla but got a little burned out on it as a scent several years back with all the candles, lotions (girlfriends wore), bathroom sprays, incense, etc. I still liked the vanilla scent but sort of steered away from it because of that. Sometimes vanilla has too sweet of a smell to me, but not so with this soap mixed with sandalwood! I love it! For me, it has just the right amount of vanilla to bring some warmth and sweet-spicy scent to the sandalwood to keep the soap from being a single tone. This soap is very nicely done. The scent lasts through the lathering and smelled great on my face each time I made a pass. I thought using my Captain's Choice Sandalwood A/S would nice. Once I began loading and lathering this soap, and the scent was all over my face, there was absolutely no doubt that I'd use the CC Sandalwood A/S. The Vanilla Sandalwood paired very well with the Thayer's Rose Witchazel, and the CC Sandalwood was outstanding paired with this soap. I used Polo Black cologne, and again, this scent flowed with the Vanilla Sandalwood and the CC Sandalwood. I'll definitely been using this combination again and again!! If you have the Vanilla Sandalwood, CC Sandalwood, and some Polo Black, then I highly recommend trying it. You may hate it, but it's certainly worth a try if you like those scents.

The lather was just like the other Sterling soaps, so I won't beat a dead horse to death with how I lather it and the kind of slick thick lather it makes. Awesome stuff!

 

The Stirling Vanilla Sandalwood was my first real shave soap. Your description is spot on. I would add that the scent lasted for me well into the day.

 

I'm behind on a few Stirling scents that I've tried, so I'll catch up:

Barber Shop:
I had gotten early from work on Friday, and much to my surprise, I had my new shipment of soap samples in from Stirling - I was expecting the shipment on Saturday. I had to go meet one friend to help him set up some campaign stuff, and then meet other friends out to eat. So, I hurriedly opened the box and began giving each same the sniff test. I didn't know what to expect with Barber Shop, but I was pleased with the scent. While I'm not sure it reminds me of a Barber Shop, per say, I do enjoy the scent and look forward to using it more. The scent fades a bit when lathered and was barely noticeable after I finished shaving. This may be exactly what some people like about this particular soap. I prefer a strong scent, perhaps because I did enjoy this scent so much that I didn't wouldn't have minded it being stronger and longer lasting. Do not purchase this with the expectation that this scent will smell even remotely like Pinaud Clubman. My cousin was a barber and cut my hair most of my 40 years of existence, and I have to say, again, this doesn't remind me of a "barber shop" smell, but it is certainly a really good smell. YMMV.

Glacial Spearmint:
This is gonna be a hard scent to describe (*sarcasm*)...it smells like, umm, SPEARMINT! Exactly like spearmint gum, double mint gum, etc. It is a spot on match and is very intense in the scent department! It is also extremely cold. I love it. I used it again this morning. I honestly can't see where it is colder than the Glacial Wintergreen or Glacial Lemon Chill. I do think the scent is a bit stronger than the Wintergreen and the Lemon Chill. YMMV. You won't go wrong with this one if you like a cold face while shaving and also the spearmint scent!

Glacial Lemon Chill:
To me, the best way to describe this scent is a Hall's Lemon-Honey Mentholyptus cough drop. It definitely smells like lemon, and it is definitely cold!! While I love menthol shaving products on my face, but I did not in any way enjoy this freezer for shaving my chest. I didn't care for that feeling. I look forward to using this one on my face again!

FYI...NOT a shave soap, buuuuut the Stirling Spice (bath soap) this smells just like the Stirling Spice shave soap, and just like Old Spice (older version)...the soap lathers great, is very slick, and even has a slight oily feel, but that oily feeling disappears easily and quickly when rinsed. I will definitely be buying more bath soaps in various scents!

 

All the Glacials are equally cold. I think tomorrow I'll start my new Obsidian puck. How do you find the lather of the new Spearmint? To me it lathers with less effort and the lather quality has improved well. My last year's Spearmint was difficult to lather and it gave rather thin lather than I would have liked. This one's excellent.

 

A little late in posting this but last Thursday I made a repeat trip to see Rod and Mandy at Stirling. Their product line has grown tremendously since I was there last November and they have expanded their staff to include a full time packing and shipping employee so that everyone's orders are going out ASAP. Just like my last trip I was traveling through their town for work but this time I brought one of the flight nurses I work with and within an hour Rod had converted him to wet shaving and sold him everything needed but a brush (which I loaned him to use).

I continue to stand by my previous statements about Stirling Soap Co. Not only are their products extremely high quality but they are really cool people and they genuinely care what their customers have to say. This is shown by the fact that Stirling soaps tend to be recommended on TSD more than any other soap even though they have only been in business for about 3 years. Several of their product improvements and recent ingredient changes can be directly linked to comments made on TSD which shows they are paying attention and catering to the needs of their customers.

I am still using all of the products I got on my last trip (and two orders I made at Christmas) but there were several new items that I wanted to try so I came home with a handful of full size and sample soaps (most notably Executive Man which may replace my SDM and a couple new glacials for summer time) as well as some post shave balm, bath soaps and MITA witch hazel and aloe aftershave.

Although I have tried and enjoyed other soaps I can honestly say that no other soap company has so many products that appeal to both my nose and skin and without a doubt no one else provides the level of customer service that I have seen from Stirling. As long as Rod and Mandy are making soap somewhere in the world I will continue to over-fill my bathroom cabinets and drawers with it.

 

My first experience with Stirling was about 3 weeks ago. While I was a wet shaver with canned shave cream, Im brand new to the lathering with a brush, using a bowl, hand lathering, and face lathering...and I love it! All of it! So, I dont know about any of their previous batches, although I have read your posts and some others post about previous formulation not yielding as much or the desirable quality that Stirling is known for. With all the Stirling products Ive tried, they all seem to be about the same with producing a very thick and slick lather. I even got one of my friends who isnt a forum member to order from Stirling. It was his very first experience with a shave soap, although he has used TOBS sandalwood cream. He bought the spearmint and raves about it. He didnt have any trouble lathering his (we did talk on the phone about how to lather and different ways). He thinks Im crazy for even considering putting M-Bomb drops/more menthol into the Glacial Spearmint. Hahaha.

 

Great review and comments, Dubs, there's a lot of love for Stirling soaps. I'm definitely a fan boy

 

The main problem was with the Glacial soaps. It seems like the formula for these soaps is much more complex than with most other soaps. They seem to need a much, much longer curing period in order for the ingredients to all blend together. The fact that they're so heavily-mentholated also seems to have a lot to do with it. Last year when I got the Spearmint sample I noticed that it didn't seem to be completely ready because it must have been cut from a puck which needed more curing time. When I bought my Glacial Lavender soaps this past December the one I'm using now was definitely not ready, so I let it sit out uncovered for around 4 weeks and when I started using it again the lather exploded off the brush beautifully. The same thing happened with the 2nd Wintergreen puck because it was from one of last year's batches. The first time I used it I had a lot of trouble getting it to lather, but a month of letting it sit out gave it the time it needed to cure properly. I shaved with it this morning and the resulting lather was enough for 3 guys to shave. Did it ever freeze the hell out of my face as well. Hahahahahaha, I would never even think about trying to make these Glacials any colder - they're immensely frigid as they are!

 

Glastonbury:
I have about 8-10 more Stirling samples that I have not even opened yet. Ive been smelling the samples through the shrink wrap, and I picked Glastonbury as my next scent to try. This may have been my favorite scent of the lot of samples I have left. This scent is nice and relaxing. I definitely get a grassy, earthy, slightly minty, woodsy smell that comes together for a subtle floral scent that is rounded out by the aforementioned scent descriptions. I thought about when I was 9 years old and laying in the grass at the edge of my parents' yard where daffodils grew. The Glastonbury scent brings back that memory more so than it literally smelling like daffodils - and what a great memory!! My only critique of this scent is that it unfortunately does not transition as strongly through the lathering and shaving phases. The scent is still there, no doubt, but significantly more subdued. I will certainly enjoy this sample and will more than likely order this particular scent in a bar or 3 of bath soaps.

These Stirling soaps lather great. Period. I dont even see the point in beating a dead horse to death. I love the lather that Ive gotten from each and every Stirling soap.

 

This was the first soap I got from Stirling (bath and shave). I too am not a Vanilla guy, but my gf kept harping "When are you gonna get something vanilla?", lol. So I figured Vanilla Sandalwood was a good compromise. I'm now very angry with her, because I love the stuff!! Even on days I dont shave, I still use the bath soap, and it has made such a HUGE difference over the store bought "soaps" I used to use. My skin looks and feels great; and it smells sooooooo good. I'm actually saving up right now to place a big order with Rod! =)

 

I used the Glacial Wintergreen soap for my shave this morning. It's from a last year's batch, but it performs wonderfully. It gives a dynamite freezing sensation with perfect lather and skincare. The matching witch hazel and balm are both heavenly.

 

I love my Glacial Wintergreen (and Spearmint and Lemon Chill...), but I don't own any of the A/S, witch hazels, or balms "yet." I definitely would like to sample some . That wintergreen scent is a dead on ringer, as well as the spearmint.

 

Bay Rum:
My first experience with Bay Rum scent was with Captain's Choice aftershave back in November 2014. I remember smelling it and wondering why in the world anyone would intentionally rub Bay Rum A/S scent on themselves and wear it around...hahaha! Boy, has my taste in this scent changed since my initial impression of it! I honestly have to say that Captain's Choice A/S is solely responsible for me liking the Bay Rum scent. Bay Rum will be a permanent staple in my shave den, no doubt about it. Stirling's Bay Rum scent is a close kissing cousin of Captain's Choice Bay Rum scent, imho. While there are subtle differences between the two, with Captain's Choice's choice being a slightly more robust and "full" smelling version, Stirling's Bay Rum version is not lacking in the scent department - not by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps this is explained by one being an A/S and the other being a shaving soap?! But, then again, who really cares cause this stuff is awesome! Period. The Stirling Bay Rum let me know during the loading, lathering, and shaving phases that the scent was there to stay. It did not wane. Very nicely done! The follow up with Captain's Choice Bay Rum A/S was a very nice experience. I look forward to sampling some of Rod's aftershaves, etc., in the near future. I will soon be ordering a full puck of this, as well as some soap bars and aftershave and/or witch hazel.

 

I love black liquorice, but the scent on my face while shaving is a little much for me.
I just put in an order for a puck of Frozen Tundra, though, and a sample for my dad. I love that scent.

 

Just used the Black Ice this morning - it's awesome.

 

I got return from elba in a trade recently and i love the scent. It smells like razorock xxx. Unfortunately it doesnt lather at all.

So i think ill just add it to a unscented cream when i want to use it.

 

Frozen Tundra is another Stirling delight. Its menthol effect is also very strong - in fact, after the Glacials it's the next coldest of their menthol soaps. It's even colder than the MITA.