So far Ginger's Glycerin Shave Soap has been the first thing to show up from the May NEWBIE giveaway. I've had the chance to use it twice. It actually arrived Friday of last week, but I left on a business trip Saturday morning. First thing I did when I woke up at home Wednesday morning was to set up my shave with Ginger's Lime Yuzu. At first I wasn't sure what to expect. The soap is well packaged and has a clear ingredient list. I'm not really allergic to anything, so I just read it out of curiosity. The cool thing about the ingredient declarations are that there is a bit of commentary along with a few of the items. Such as the reason why there is clay in it "for slip" and that was my first clue there. Those little details that made me think I was about to experience something special. My hands were wet when I opened the package. Whatever kind of ink is on the label got all over my fingers. No big deal. It rinsed right off. The smell of the soap itself was not intense straight out of the wrapper. I left it in my lather bowl and took a shower. With my Berkeley brush soaking in hot water my shave was just moments away. After my shower and a little toweling off, I dropped a blade into a New Standard head from a TuckAway set and threaded it onto a bull mastiff handle from cooncatbob. I grabbed my brush and gave it one half shake. I wanted a lot of water into my bowel. I commenced with swishing and swirling. To my surprise I caught a whiff of Lime and spice. Before I knew it, my bowel was filled up and my brush had peaks of dense cream half way up the handle. I applied the soap and it went on thick. It went on 1/4 inch thick. Like white frosting that smelled like lime zest and fresh cracked pepper. I don't have the best sniffer, I smoke cigarettes occasionally, but I can say without a doubt the fragrances are great. Nothing overpowering or any sickening intensity. The Goldilocks amount of scents. Well I wasn't shaving yet. My lather just wasn't wet enough. What amount of water would have made any other soap sloppy just wasn't enough for this soap. I used my razor like a ladle and dribbled more water into my bowel a few times. A few more swirls of the brush and a couple of strokes across my face with my dense little Simpson's 46 and everything looked just right. So I widened my stance, leaned forward, and took the first stroke with my razor. Right handed approach at the right sideburn. Whoosh- my blade was singing and my face had a clean path from my ear to my jawline. I rolled to the other side of the blade and ShhhWooOSH- repeated the step on the left side of my face. A vigorous swish in a sink full of hot water and I was in the groove. Since I usually shave in the shower, I felt the urge to rinse after the first pass was complete. Luke warm water on my face and a quick rinse from the tap into the sink. Wow that lather bowl looked like thick plaster. I left my face dripping wet, gathered up the mini mountains of cream onto my brush and smeared them all over my face. Ahhhh pass number two, here I come. Here's where I had issues. This is actually my fault and really not a mark against the soap. I was using a fairly 'hungry' razor and had a touch of jet lag. So what occurred on the second pass is a fluke in my opinion. AGAINST THE GRAIN!! Wow is this soap slick. I can't believe I can hear whiskers zinging this loud after I've already taken one pass. Umm, that looks like a weeper- and so does that- ahhh where's my styptic and alum.. The second pass was mix of poor technique, the wrong angle, and giddy enthusiasm. A cold water rinse and an alum bar sliding all over my face was very refreshing. No major damage. Nothing to use the styptic for. After the final rinse and alum I wiped a splash of Mama Bear's Summer Lilac milk all over my face and into my hair. I had a nice base note of Ginger's Garden Lime Yuzu and the menthol in the after shave balm and that subtle Lilac scent went together like they were made for each other. I glanced over at my lather bowel and laughed out loud. It was like the old first shot out of an aerosol shaving cream can. I considered calling friends and neighbors to see if they had shaved yet. There was plenty left and probably could have shaved a few dozen more faces with what I had whipped up that morning. I rinsed out my brush and enjoyed the nice smell of Ginger's glycerin soap one more time. I double checked my weepers had been successfully tamed and moved on with my day. A day full of face rubbing and amazement. I was left with a smooth, irritation free, BBS face that hardly needed touched with a blade the next morning. Any other soap would have left me with a miserable day had I done that kind of damage to my face. I'd rather have a little straight nick than rash myself with little weepers like that. Only thing is, the soap was so rich and neutral that I didn't feel greasy or dried out. It was as if I had some kind of secret nectar on my face that balanced out the poor form my razor had taken. All in all I'd rate this soap a 10 out of 10. Lathered quickly Held tons of water Lather held up for a long time (no melt or drying out) Great smell Luxurious feel Slippery when wet Clean rinsing Not more to ask for here. I can't think of anything about the soap I didn't like. Aside from feeling bad when I rinsed some of it down the sink. Stay tuned as I'll be sure to post here and there as items arrive from the Giveaway. So far I've discovered one item I may have never purchased on my own, and definitely plan on buying in the future. Again~ Thanks to everyone involved for the generosity. I'll reciprocate in a small way by sharing my opinions of everything I receive!!
Nice write up. I haven't heard of this soap. Sounds worth trying out though. Just where are you building your lather? :happy102
http://tinyurl.com/6klq9mm I got an old lather bowl about half the size of a cereal bowl with a New Standard razor from eBay last year. It's super old and came with a brush that was unsalvagable. I use an African Violet self watering planter like a scuttle sometimes too. This soap really does explode with some dense, creamy, slick lather. T, just fooling with the link above. Stay away from my antique stores you rascal!! Nice to see you here!! Great place for sure!!
Great write up. There are too many venders that I want to pick up a sample of soap from. Still have yet to try Ginger's Garden as well as Mama Bear. Both are on the top of my list to try.
Ice Mint soap from Irena I used the Ginger's Garden Ice Mint soap from Irena this morning, and it is beautiful stuff. The lather builds easily and creamy when you get the water/soap ratio right, and the scent is so nice--my wife says it fills the bathroom. It is very minty and fresh, and it has a very, very strong menthol effect which I love. It leaves my skin feeling cool and well-moisturized. Great soap indeed.
