CBL Soap’s new Tonsorial formula: Review and PIF

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by thevez2, Oct 25, 2019.

  1. poppi

    poppi Well-Known Member

    Here are my thoughts as I have used it for 5 days now

    Ease of Lathering - no problems here, easily produces a thick creamy lather regardless what type of brush used

    Longevity of Lather - never a problem, lather stayed stable for a lllooonnnggg time

    Scent - I got a crisp, fresh linen scent that stayed nicely through the shave but was pretty much gone after the final rinse. Didn't conflict with A/S

    Skincare - a bit disappointed here. The lather was/is plenty slick but seemed lacking cushion. My face needed help after the shave every time

    Price - N/A, was gifted this one

    Buy? - I don't think so. This is a pretty good soap, just not for me.
     
  2. ghostlife

    ghostlife Well-Known Member

    I think you'll find that's half the point with simpler soaps like this. I personally would never not use a soothing/moisturizing aftershave, and skincare is not a big draw for a soap to me. Many of us aren't a fan of the expensive ultra-moisturizing artisan soaps.
     
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  3. terstation

    terstation Active Member

    Well my I don't think my review will be as good as @poppi, but here are my thoughts after having used it for three days now. And I will use the same format.

    Ease of Lathering - my first day was Abit thin due to a little too much water, but the last couple of day has been a rich, creamy lather

    Longevity of Lather - I am not much for whip cream lather, so it's ability to stick around for a long time is not much concern. I will say it didn't break down in the bowl during either of the last two shaves

    Scent - I had the Jeris scent and really didn't get much scent but a lite clean smell reminiscent of Ivory soap. So honestly that was a good thing for me. It didn't stick around and wouldn't interfere with A/S

    Skincare - Much like my vintage Colgate, as I have only used modern Williams, I wasn't expecting much moisturizing. It was plenty slick and didn't leave my face dry, but a little aloe or balm after the shave did the trick

    Price - generous PIF from @thevez2

    Buy - Probably not as I prefer stronger scents in my soaps, but I am well aware that scent has nothing to do with performance just preference.

    Reading that they were going for something as close to vintage Williams as possible. I would say it is very close to my vintage Colgate. I think they did well and it works great, just not for me.
     
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  4. dmshaver

    dmshaver Well-Known Member

    I've received my Money soap end of last week. I've been under the weather for a week & haven't wanted to use it yet because I want to do a fair evaluation, not one influenced by my illness. I'll be reviewing it in the next couple of days. Looking forward to using it based on the reviews this soap is getting on the interweb. Thank you @thevez2 for choosing my name in your pif!
     
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  5. thevez2

    thevez2 uses Gillette's new Tarantula Razor - 8 blades!!

    This soap is designed to be no frills. It's supposed to do exactly what shave soap is supposed to do, and that is to be a good medium for shaving your face. It purposefully lacks the special fats/oils/butters that make other premium shave soaps have amazing post shave feel. That's what also keeps the price down. Personally, I feel that the post shave feel is perfect. It just leaves my skin feeling like my skin. It isn't overly moisturized, nor is it dry. It just leaves my skin feeling the way I think it is supposed to feel. Then, I get to decide based on the day how I want to proceed with aftershave. I know some folks enjoy a heavily moisturized soap, and then they will skip the aftershave, but that's not the intent of this soap. (His premium line is what you want if you're looking for amazing post shave feel.)

    Chis has admitted that the scent on the Jeris pucks was a failure. Don't use the lack of scent in that soap be an indicator of the scent strength in the rest of his line. The jeris scent was actually a special request by me, because I love the scent of Jeris hair tonic. To me, it is THE barbershop scent. Well, this was an experiment to see if he could scent the soap by using actual Jeris hair tonic in the soap recipe, rather than adding specific fragrance oils. Sadly, the scent of the soap overpowered the scent of the Jeris, so it comes off mostly as unscented. I did state this was lightly scented in my initial post.
     
  6. poppi

    poppi Well-Known Member

     
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  7. thevez2

    thevez2 uses Gillette's new Tarantula Razor - 8 blades!!

    Of course!
     
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  8. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Interesting feedback, thank you. It seems from what I read, that this soap doesn't really raise the bar. How many new soaps that are just ok can the shaving market support?
     
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  9. terstation

    terstation Active Member

    I tried to sum it up saying I think the soap did a marvelous job with what it was designed to do. I rarely use my vintage Colgate or modern Williams for the same reason CBL probably won't be in my regular rotation and it is all about scent.

    If the CBL Tonsorial is reasonably priced, then I see no reason why folks who are Williams fans wouldn't consider it.

    Again thank you @thevez2 for the generous PIF and it will get used for sure, just over time.

    Sent from my BND-L34 using Tapatalk
     
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  10. thevez2

    thevez2 uses Gillette's new Tarantula Razor - 8 blades!!

    I see what you are saying. And no, this soap is not meant to raise the bar. It's meant to be an affordable, back to basics soap. Price wise, it's on par with Stirling. But in my opinion, it out-performs stirling. I think it totally out performs any soap at similar price points. This is what I will be recommending now for anyone who is looking to get into artisan soaps and doesn't want to spend a bunch of money.

    In a way, it actually does raise the bar a little. If you look at the ingredients list, it is about as basic as it comes: Tallow, Stearic Acid, Water, Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Glycerine. Now if you compare CBL to other soaps made with similar ingredients, CBL definitely comes out on top. Making soap isn't just about the ingredients, but also about the process and what you add at what point. CBL has figured out how to get an optimal soap out of basic ingredients.
     
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  11. dmshaver

    dmshaver Well-Known Member

    I'm finally over this crud, so broke out the Tonsorial Money I received from @thevez2 as part of his pif. First impressions - it lathers like a champ, is slick as all get out, & does a very nice job doing what shave soap is supposed to do. I am a very satisfied customer one shave in. I'll be using it several more days then write a more complete review. But first impressions is two thumbs up!
     
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  12. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    That is a quite a statement. I need to hear from some of our dedicated Stirling users, myself included, before I believe that.
     
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  13. Lancre

    Lancre Well-Known Member

    Here are my thoughts after using it for about a week:

    Like WMS of MWF, it needs to be hydrated. For my first shave, I tried scraping a bit off the puck and lathering that. Thin, disappearing lather, but slick. Starting with the second shave, I just loaded off the full puck. The day after that, it was working great, and that's what I'm basing the review on.

    Ease of Lathering - no problem, easily produces a thick creamy lather with a variety of brushes.

    Slickness - Very good, not quite as good as WMS, but close.

    Longevity of Lather - no problem, lather stayed stable throughout the shaves.

    Scent - Stout probably isn't for everyone, but I liked it. No real complexity, but moderately strong.

    Skincare - N/A, it's intended to be a simple soap. This is what Nivea ASB is for.

    Price - N/A, this was gifted to me by a compatriot on another board.

    Buy? - Oh, yeah. I'd rate this soap just behind WMS, MWF, and Stirling.
     
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  14. dmshaver

    dmshaver Well-Known Member

    I've used my Tonsorial for many shaves & am quite impressed. I received mine by winning the pif. This soap lathers easily & produces volumes of slick, protective lather. It is, as is already known, not moisturizing my face. I have balm to moisturize. I've used Tonsorial several days without applying balm, just AS splash, & I'm happy how my face feels - not oily, but smooth, well-groomed, & feeling healthy. Tonsorial does what it states, it delivers an exceptionally good lather. I'll keep using it, & will buy it when I run out. I highly recommend. It's very affordable too!
     
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