In praise of Stirling Soaps...

Thanks!

 

Wa Allahi Azim - every Stirling soap is the best! Enta awi, awi, awi!

 

Got sample pucks of Stirling glacial obsidian and glacial wintergreen the other day and so far I've only used the Obsidian, so here's the Obsidian review:

Ease of lathering: 8/10--It was a bit hard to lather at first using my normal method of wetting my brush slightly and tapping the brush on the side of the sink until it's no longer dripping. However, once I added a lot of water and did not tap it out so much, I was able to get a nice lather fairly easily.

Longevity of lather: 10/10--I was able to get enough lather for my head and face and do 2 passes. No complaints there!

General skincare: 9/10--Not as moisturizing as QCS Vostok, but still pretty good. My skin felt pretty nice afterwards so I can't complain there.

Scent: 10/10--Incredible and very unique. I'm not a fan of the taste of black jellybeans/licorice, but I do love the scent and that is exactly what it smells like. It is a STRONG scent, but it does not linger too much. My girlfriend said she couldn't really smell it after I shaved.

Price: 10/10--At $2.50 for a sample puck and $8.00 for a fullsize, it's a pretty good deal especially with the quality shave it produces. I like it and can't wait to try my Glacial Wintergreen.

Efficacy: 10/10- It cools and it provides a great shave, so it does what it's supposed to. What more could you ask for?

Cooling: 10/10- I'm a MENTHOL JUNKIE. I mean to the extreme as in you could probably put Cryogen in my shave soap and I'd be able to tolerate and enjoy it. Out of the face freezer soaps I've tried - TSD Iced Subzero, QCS Vostok, QCS Iced Key Lime, and Mama Bears Awakenings- this is probably the coldest to me. It gets colder as time goes on and I was definitely not disappointed.

Recap: This is a great soap and I absolutely would buy from Rod and Mandy again. Quality stuff and they even threw in a free bath soap sample with my order. Maybe they could make a Glacial Obsidian shave stick. I'd definitely buy that.

 

I have a full-sized Obsidian from an older batch which lathers quite easily. I find the menthol effect not only very strong, it's also very aggressive and it hits harder and harder with each pass. Yet, the skincare is so gentle. Like a mother kissing her baby softly.

 

Used my Stirling Rose stick today....Maaaahvelus!

 

A great bone-chillingly cold shave awaits me tomorrow morning. I'll be using my Glacial Lavender soap!

 

I have several Stirling Soaps but Black Cherry is my favorite scent. They all work superbly.

 

Glacial Wintergreen - my first time using any Sterling soap. I ordered 4 full size pucks of different scents and also some samplers. GW was not hard to lather. Im new to traditional wet shaving with brush and DE, so my lathering skills arent the best. However, GW produced the thickest and slickest lather of other soaps and creams I have used. I didnt think GW was hard to lather. I placed the puck in a soup mug from Walmart, let a couple teaspoons of hot water soak on top of the puck, and squeezed out the excess hot water from my badger brush. I began swirling and pumping the brush and in no time, I saw a very thick lather forming. I added a few more drops of hot water and continued loading. I could see when the brush was loaded. I wet my face, and the brush seemed to form a mild suction against my face. I really liked the very thick and slick lather! I had a very good shave with only one minor weeper on my chin (no others on my face) but still having some weepers on my neck - due to my inexperience. I shaved WTG, XTG, and ATG on my face, even fool's pass and corners of my mouth without any nicks or weepers.

Back to the scent - This was a slick thick lather with a very nice and accurate wintergreen scent. To me, it smells like the Trident sugar free wintergreen gum, Wintergreen Lifesavers, etc. When I removed the shrink wrap from my order and smelled each scent, I could smell the wintergreen scent on the wrapping on both samples in front of and behind the GW puck. The scent is strong, and I like it! IMHO, most soaps and creams that I have tried dont have a strong enough scent to last through the lathering, much less the shave. The GW scent lasted even after the cold water rinse. Nail, head, bingo! I followed up with some Thayers Rose Witchazel, some Aqua Velva Musk, and then applied Jovan Sex Appeal to my head, neck and forearms. The GW scent seems very flexible with adding and mixing other scents.

Crackstar and other Menth-heads have already very accurately described the cold factor. I agree. It is very cold but not in a painful way. It is extremely enjoyable. I love my TSD soaps and creams, but I have to say Sterling GW is about as cold as Iced Subzero with around 3 drops of M-Bomb added. Since this was my first time to use any Sterling product, much less the Glacial line, I opted to try adding the M-Bomb on the next time I use GW.

 

It's funny how YMMV applies to us all because I find the Glacial Wintergreen has a menthol effect which is more potent and aggressive than the Iced Subzero. In fact, I find all the Glacial soaps to have that same menthol effect.

 

Here's a review of the Frozen Tundra soap which I used today for the first time.

Ease of lathering: 9/10--A bit of extra work is required, and you get great lather.

Longevity of lather: 9/10--Excellent stability for multi-pass shaves. No problem at all that way.

General skincare: 10/10--VERY strong menthol effect. VERY moisturizing and soothing as well.

Scent: 10/10--Lovely. A mixture of wintergreen, menthol, and other notes I cannot describe.

Price: 10/10--Is 8,00$ for such a big puck expensive? Not at all!

Would I buy again: 10/10--Absolutely. This soap is awesome, and I mean awesome.

Just a couple of years ago I had never even heard of Stirling Soaps and I wasn't even a fan of artisan soaps in general and now they have become my favourites. Frozen Tundra gives terrific, rich, slick lather, a really nice scent, and if you're a menthol lover like I am you'll be on Cloud Nine with this stuff - is it ever brrrrrrrrrr cold and beautiful. Not only that - the price is so reasonable and Rod's customer service is first-class!

 

That was my experience, too. To me it was equivalent to Iced Subzero with about 3 drops of the M-Bomb added. I'll be actually adding some M-Bomb drops the next time I use GW. I really like the scent and the whole shave experience with it!

 

Now, a review of the newest version of the Glacial Spearmint soap:

Ease of lather: 9/10--Very good now. A bit of extra effort really pays off.

Longevity of lather: 9/10--Very good stability. The lather holds up with no problem.

General skincare: 10/10--Oh boy, is this soap ever a face-freezer. Also VERY gentle and soothing. I love it.

Scent: 10/10--Beautiful. Strong spearmint with very pronounced menthol notes.

Price: 10/10--It's so hard not to be able to afford Rod's prices because they're so reasonable.

Would I buy again: 10/10--Without question. This is one HELL of a great soap!

I tried a sample of this soap last year and although I loved everything else about it, I found I had a lot of difficulty getting it to lather properly. Since then, Rod has worked very hard at improving his formula and now this soap is really quite easy to lather and it's much more stable than before. If anything, the menthol effect seems to be stronger than last year because I find that it almost matches the Chiseled Face Cryogen in potency. You can't beat Rod's reasonable prices or his honesty - when he tells you something, you can be absolutely sure he's telling it as it is. He's such a gentleman. If you want to freeze your face off and enjoy a great shave, then this Glacial Spearmint soap is your ticket!

 

Ozark Mountain and Frozen Tundra:

Ozark Mountain - The scent reminds me of pine trees, Zest Ocean Breeze (liquid bath soap), an earthy-woodsy scent with a very slight citrus scent. It smells awesome! I read somewhere (not sure if it was TSD or not) how someone compared it to a bathroom cleaner. The OM scent does not make me think of cleaning a bathroom. I think of being in a cabin in the woods surrounded by long needle pine trees, rich dark dirt with a lush green meadow nearby. To me, OM smells clean. After my shave, I experimented with some scents. I used Thayers Rose Witchazel, then followed up with Masters Lilac Vegetal, then a couple squirts of Aqua Di Gio cologne to finish up.

OM lathered thick and slick. I havent had any real trouble lathering a Sterling soap (yet). I put about a tablespoon of hotwater on top of the puck and let it soak. I also soak my badger brush in hot water while I shower. After, I squeeze out the excess water on the brush and then begin loading. I add a few drops of water if needed. While loading, the lather gets thick like a meringue. I keep loading until my brush is full. Then I splash water on my face and lather on my face. The shaves are slick, and have a really nice scent throughout. The post shave feel with nothing more than a rinse is really nice. My skin feels smooth and tight/toned, much like after using witchazel or an aftershave.

Frozen Tundra - I have no idea what Tundra actually smells like, but if FT is a close match, then I may have to buy a thicker coat and plan a visit somewhere I can take in this scent on location. As I smelled the puck and began to soak it prior to loading and lathering, I immediately thought of using my Masters Iceland Breeze for my post shave. FT reminds me a lot of the 'greenery' smells when Iceland Breeze tones down after the initial floral notes dissipate. Perhaps this is what made me think to use my Iceland Breeze. (Im not a big fan at all of the Masters line of aftershaves, btw. I only like a few of the scents). The shave was great. The lather was very thick and very slick. The scent lasted throughout the shave. FT was cold but not to the same level that the Glacial Wintergreen was. However, it was a good chiily cooling sensation. No complaints. Post shave, I used Thayers Rose Witchazel, and Master Iceland Breeze. The scent pairs extremely well with FT. If you have both FT and IB, then definitely try this. Some Versace Eau Fraiche after would be another great pairing (certainly not the only one that would pair well with the FT and IB). Instead, I tried some Old Spice after the IB. Why? I wanted to see how the scent would transition, if it would clash, etc. I was pleasantly surprised. Old Spice did overtake the FT and IB scents, but there was still a hint of the greenery smell with the Old Spice. I liked it!

Lathering technique I used was same as the other two Sterling Soaps Ive tried with the same result.

 

I used each of these soaps per pass on my Monday morning shave:

Texas on Fire (WTG) - I lathered it the same way that I've been lathering the other Stirling soaps with the same results. I enjoy this smell, but this seems to be more of a novelty scent. I can't identify all the different scents in this, but basically it smells like a combination of campfire, the remains in a pipe after being smoked, and a bit of leather. I have every intention of using ToF when I go to our camp house for a weekend fishing or hunting trip. I'd also use it just hanging around the house, but this isn't something that I would wear to work, a business meeting, on a date, etc. While I prefer strong scents, campfire smoke isn't the scent I want to project in those type settings. Did I mention that this scent is really strong? I had to rinse my hands off thoroughly, twice, to get the smoke scent off (so I could smell the other 2 Stirling scents that I was about to try). That isn't a bad thing either! I simply didn't want that scent interacting with the other two Stirling scents I was about to try. I have allergies and asthma, so it was particularly nice for me to be able to smell smoke without coughing up a lung. Same great shave as with the other Stirling shave soaps that I have used.

Nag Champa (XTG) - I got this sample puck as a free sample included in my order. I have been pleasantly surprised by this scent. It definitely has a soapy smell, but also another scent that I can't quite place (without googling). This scent is clean and is stronger than other soapy scents I have smelled. It is bugging me what the other scent(s) in this are but whatever they are, I will definitely order a full puck of this in the near future. There were no noticeable issues going from ToF to Nag Champa while shaving XTG.

Lavender Sage (ATG & Touch Ups) - This scent popped once I took it out of the shrink wrap. I'm not sure why, but something about this reminds of grapefruit/pink lemonade in addition to the floral scents. The scent remained strong during lathering and application. I've never smelled "Lavender Sage" before and have no idea what the scent is supposed to be. All I know is that I like this scent. The scent died down a little during lathering but it was certainly still present during the shave. I don't know if I'll order a full puck of this or just order a sample puck here and there when I place other orders.

**Maybe I don't have enough experience to tell, but so far I haven't noticed any differences in any of the Stirling soaps regarding lather, slickness, and how it makes my face feel toned and moisturized. **

Scents I hate (although I'm sure the product performs as well as others):

Clubman - I couldn't bring myself to put this on my face. To me, it smelled like Catfish Stink Bait. I didn't even get a hint of "Clubman" or anything pleasant. YMMV, so don't let what I think smells bad turn you away. I was expecting something that smelled like Pinaud Clubman, so this very well could be one of those I just had the wrong expectation and couldn't get past it not matching. I wound up trashing the puck without lathering it on my face or shaving with it.

Glacial Obsidian - I can't even bring myself to take this out of the wrapping, much less put it anywhere on my body. I was hoping that aversion to black licorice had subsided. I was also hoping that the "soap" part would maybe tone down that wretched smell that makes me want to yack. Nope, no such luck for Dubs. It literally made me nauseated to smell. I might as well lather with Nyquil, or at least use Nyquil as an aftershave with its almost perfect scent match.

 

Definitely a case of YMMV because I LOVE the Glacial Obsidian's scent. Indeed, it's strong but I also find that while it's on your face during the shave it starts to mellow out.

 

I wish I did. I wanted to! I hope I don't come across as criticizing Stirling Soap Company. I'm not. I even said I'm sure the products perform as well as the others, but it is certainly a personal preference. The people I've known who like black licorice seem surprised that I have such a hard time with the scent. I have a hard time understanding how anyone would want to smell like that!

 

I also have the nag champa. Definitely sandalwood in there. I absolutely love the scent. Doubles as an air freshener in the bathroom

 

I messaged Rod to ask him some questions for a magazine article I'm writing, and he's just an absolutely great guy. He even sent me out a bar of bath soap and a puck of shave soap (Vanilla Sandalwood) to test. I will officially be a customer for life!!! I thought Arko lathered up good; but Stirling is just AMAZING! It's a 10/10 all the way around for me. It's like there is a layer of liquid silk between my face ad blade. And just for testing sake, I even TRIED to cause irritation. I used some pressure, easily enough to cause irritation, and with a fresh Feather blade no less. Nothing! Not even a bit of redness, it was THAT protective. I even love the scent, and I'm not really a vanilla fan. The bath soap is great too. I'd recommend everyone to try it. I've never felt so clean and refreshed. Heck, I even had a girl at the local supermarket smile at me and tell me how nice I smell. Rod is such a great guy too. I'm going to stay in touch with him just for that reason alone. I do have one very big problem with Stirling soaps though. That being that I don't know which scent to buy next! So I think I may just buy a bunch. lol

 

I think eventually my other soaps and creams are going to either go in the garbage or I'll have to give them away. I'm a Stirling addict.

 

We all have our likes and dislikes.