In praise of Stirling Soaps...

I have solution brother. Buy all of rods stuff so he'll have enough money to keep soaps in stock

 

I will ask my wife for that for my birthday.

 

I ordered my Cocoa Forrest (3 pucks)... how bout you?

 

I first started hearing about the Stirling soaps the summer before last but until last November I never tried them. Now I have trouble staying away from them!

 

I got my order in for 3 pucks! Did you get yours?

 

I got my 3 pucks!

COCOA FORREST $9.00ea
http://www.stirlingsoap.com/cocoa-forest-shave/

"What do you do when you guzzle down sweets? Eating as much as an elephant eats. What are you at getting terribly fat? What do you think will come of that?"

Hey, Wonka. It's the 21st Century and Augustus Gloop is no longer stuffing chocolate down his gullet. He's a grown man and he's whipping that chocolate into a creamy lather and using it to shave his chiseled jaw. Now tell your condescending Oompah Loompas to shut up and get out of the way. You're blocking the mirror.

Made with cacao absolute, vanilla, fir needle, cedarwood, allspice, cypress, and ground cardamom seed. (Essential Oil)

 

Anise shave soap.

its easy to lather, has a light cooling touch of menthol and yea, ultra slick. Awesome.


the smell of black licorice is light and does not linger. That's fine. I think it makes an excellent counterpoint to the cool smelling menthol. It's a very fresh and clean scent without being heavy or muddled up. If you splash on some aftershave it will likely cover up any hint of anise or licorice. If not you may catch a whiff during the day but likely it will be gone soon after the shave.


For me The little samples last for about a week and then they sort of fall apart into a cream or very thick "soft soap". That's ok. I keep them in a bowl and am able to continue to use them as a sort of protolather. Just dip a damp brush in the bowl and then get to lathering in a bowl or face. I think I am going to try exploring this further and see if I can soften a sample to the point I can load it into a gotoob bottle for use during air travel.

 

Aqua DGO for me this morning. Really nice! Not sure what the original cologne smells like, but this is the typical Stirling soap - just a great shave!

 

SOTD
Maggard MR2
Super Max Blade (1st)
L'Occitane Plisson
Stirling Cocoa Forest
Stirling Sandalwood

2 Passes
3 Weepers
BBS

Chocolate scented shave soap is my favorite. This new Stirling is VERY-VERY different from their other soaps. It's scent profile is woodsy, spicy, then it middles then finishes with a soft Cocoa scent. It's Stirlings most complex scent. Suprisingly, it has ground Cardamom seed which is giving the soap its spicy aroma as it pairs up with the allspice. It says it has vanilla but honestly i can't detect a drop yet. I'll be shaving with this exclusively for about 5 days to know what exactly i am smelling. Performance is stellar. About 15 seconds of swirls and i had enough soap in my Plisson to bust a 5 pass. Though i gave myself a couple weepers I know it was my heavy handedness. Though I know Rod over at Stirling is still on Generation 5 formula, I think he's done something extra perhaps because this puck lathers like a dream! Face moisturizing was typical Stirling. Thick-Slick-Dream-Cream is how this performs!

I would only say one thing... a touch of sweet like the deep sweet in say Hawaiian Sandalwood could sweeten it without holding back the manliness of the wood scent. It really reminds me of the depth of scent inside of L'Occitane BAUX! This is a winner people! This is a ridiculously manly Chocolate scent! How in the heck did they successfully combine the ULTRA Hetero of cutting down trees with the seduction of Chocolate ? Pure Genius you ask me. This is one scent from Stirling I repeatedly keep smelling! Order a sample ya'll... I can see this pairing with: Ozark Mountain, Sandalwood, Chocolate, leather, Barbershop, or even deep Vetiver type aftershave!

Now this is a first impression shave. My number 5 shave will be the real truth bearer! I do have one thing, the scent changed as I swirled it, then again when I face lathered! I'll see where this shave takes me!

 

SOTD
Maggard MR2
Super Max Blade (2nd)
Omega Hi-Brush Synthetic
Stirling Soaps Cocoa Forest
Stirling Soaps Sandalwood Aftershave
SimpleMan Beardbalm
Cliff Original SS Stache Comb

3 Passes
0 Cuts
0 Weepers
0 Nicks
0 Blood
BBS
S.A.S. ( Smooth A-- Shave)

Lather is absolutely insane... look at the remaining after 3 Passes! Slick as oil!

Scentwise.... this new Stirling soap COCOA FORREST is sweet chocolaty spicy woodsy... very original smelling!my cousin is right, the only thing that comes remotely coat is L'Occitane BAVX... another deep woodsy scent.

You should get a puck or sample! The puck is very-very soft... very croapy! Easy lathering!

This is how I like to start a new day after prayer!

 

I think I will feel at home in this thread:

 

I am a huge fan of Rods soaps, my top 6 in order have to be:

Margaritas in the arctic
Ben Franklin
Nag Champa
Sharp dressed man
Tuscany
Bay Rum

Yes that's right, I have a top 6, really like stirling, I have tried around 15 or so different Artisans and Rod tops them all.
I own:
- Old Spice
-Ben Franklin
-Scott's pine sheep
-Nag Champa
-Vanilla Sandalwood
-Noir
-Sharp Dressed Man
-Bay Rum
-Black Ice
-Tuscany
-Port au prince
-Margaritas in the Arctic
-Bonaparte(sample)
-Gin and tonic(sample)
-Texas on fire(sample)

The only one I didn't love was Texas in fire, smelled like Burnt chipotle and wood to me.

 

Dude, your messing up not getting that Cocoa Forrest... it's such a good soap. The scent is straight outta heaven!

 

Shaved with Tea Tree on a stick today. I take back all the ugly things I've said about Arkansas.

 

I'll join in the fun. Just got my first Stirling soaps dor Christmas.


I went with Sharp Dressed Man first.

Performance seems really good so far. Plenty of thickness and glide, although I may try using a little more water. Scent is good. Earthy and a little floral without being feminine. Wife likes it, though it isn't her favorite. My favorite thing about this soap so far is that it completely covers the scent of the Noxzema pre shave. It also lingers lightly for much longer than other soaps I've tried.

 

Ok, here a review of the Glacial Lavender which is one of Rod's latest creations:

Ease of lathering: 8/10--A little extra effort is required to produce the right kind of lather.

Longevity of lather: 8/10--Pretty good. It doesn't dissipate while you're shaving.

General skincare:10/10--FREEZING-COLD, and so gentle and soothing. A brilliant soap.

Scent: 10/10--I absolutely love it. A perfect balance of intense menthol and refined lavender.

Price: 10/10--I paid so little for it because it was on sale. However, Rod's prices are always very reasonable.

Would I buy again: 10/10--Without any hesitation whatsoever.

Many thanks again to my dear friend Rod, who whipped up another winner. Glacial Lavender may be a bit tricky to lather, but if you play with the soap/water ratio and put in a bit of effort you'll get a nice, slick, and very protective lather which will freeze your face to the point where you'll almost need a space heater to warm up. lollllll Rod also worked so hard to make sure that the menthol didn't drown out the lavender scent, and it smells magnificent. Besides being so bone-chillingly cold, it's also very moisturizing and comforting. Rod, as we say in the Middle East - mabrouk, wa mashalla! (Congratulations and well-done!)

 

I received a puck of Barbershop as a bonus gift. The smell out of the package was enough for me to want to try it. It lathered easy, provided a great shave but I found the scent to be a little to subtle for me once lathered.

 

Here is a First impressions of my order:
Everything Smelled Fantastic for the most part, here are my first impressions:
- Old Spice: really similar to Shulton Old spice, nice strong scent.
-Ben Franklin: I already had a sample, this stuff is great, you have to smell it to get it. 10/10
-Scott's pine sheep: already reviewed this scent, Fantastic, so slick due to the Tallow and Lanolin, my skin feels great hours later, smells like pine and sheep fat.
-Nag Champa: Smells EXACTLY like the Incense, love it! 10/10
-Vanilla Sandalwood: nice subtle scent, sweet and pleasing.
-Noir: Smells like a Cologne, not bad, I like it.
-Sharp Dressed Man: Previously I had only smelled Mama Bears take on it, I have to say, this smells Excellent, one of my Favorites.
-Bay Rum: Smells EXACTLY!!! like Razorock Captains choice Bay rum, to a T.
-Black Ice: Already had the glacial black, this smells more like Anise, excellent
-Tuscany: MY absolute Favorite out of the order, Smells clean, flowery, sweet, warm, a little spice, a little of this and that, I cant describe it, you need to smell it. 10/10.
-Port au prince: My least favorite out of the Batch, smells like a mix of candles, one of those Vegetable shakes, and incense, not terrible but I don't like it to much, will have to see how the French clay performs. EDIT: I recently just test lathered and this stuff smells amazing, disregard previous opinion, must have been all the scents mixed, I smell nice fresh Spa now.
-Margaritas in the Arctic: Excellent as always, smells like a frozen Margarita without the alcohol. Cold, slick amazing. 10/10
-Bonaparte(sample): Glad I ordered a sample, it smells like a strong soap with some bath salts, my Girlfriend loves it, I think it is good, not great.
-Gin and tonic(sample): Akready reviewed this one, okay.
-Texas on fire(sample): I pifed this one a long time ago. NO.
Scent wise I love: Tuscany, MITA, SDM, Ben Franklin, Nag Champa. 10/10
I Really like: Old spice, Vanilla Sandalwood, Black ice, Bay Rum, Scots pine sheep, Port Au prince 8.5/10
I like: Noir, Gin and Tonic. 7/10
Texas on fire: Somone spilled a bottle of chipotle on the fire, in a small enclosed space 2/10

 

OK, you folks have me convinced. My next soap order will be for a couple pucks of Stirling soap. If these soaps are as good as people are saying here, then that might well become my standard shaving soap.

 

@Shaver X so what did you order?