Well instead of sitting here wondering if hurricane Irma is going to hit us, I've decided to occupy my mind elsewhere and do a soap review of Mike's Natural. I did a sniff-a-thon with the scents in the box, and found that I preferred scent of Orange Cedar and Black Pepper as well as the Lime and the Vetiver. I will say that most of the Mike's soaps have an underlying smell in the base that I've smelled in other soaps (for example PAA, TSE, Dapper Dragon). It's not objectionable, and many people apparently are nose-blind to it (my wife included), but it is very noticeable to my nose. It comes off like a strong waxy/nutty fragrance that must be overpowered by a strong scent for me to enjoy the soap. Because of the strength of fragrance, I did not notice it in the Orange Cedar and Black Pepper. Regardless, the performance of the soap (as with almost all the soaps I've picked so far) was better than average. Lather, cushion, and slickness were all good. The shave felt pretty comfortable, but the AS I put on burned more than normal, so I'm not sure what to do with that. Either way, it's hard to complain about a comfortable BBS shave by any stretch. I'm gonna put this one as my top "didn't make the cut" soap so far, but if I had this in my den, I wouldn't be looking to get rid of it by any means. Another very solid soap choice. Keepers For My Den Barrister and Mann - unique, complex scents and rich, thick lather. Some scents can be polarizing. Honorable Mentions Midnight and Two - nice scents...although they could be a bit stronger, good lather... although it could be a bit thicker, good slickness when watered down, great face feel and moisturizing properties. Didn't Make My Cut (YMMV) Mike's Natural - a good, solid soap choice. I pick up an off scent in the base, which is not objectionable, but very distracting to me with some scents. Martin De Candre - a solid, well respected soap, but nothing jumps out as being really outstanding to me. Also a bit pricey. I Coloniali Mango - great scent, but discontinued, too expensive, and I had issues with lathering properly.
Nice review. I have one Mike's soap - Coconut. I agree that it's a solid performer. It's enjoyable to use and works well but I won't look to replace it once it's finished.
I am enjoying your reviews, thank you. I like the acronym: YOMV (You're Opinion May Vary). For me Mike's is top notch in every way. The Hungarian Lavender and Barbershop are fantastic. I Coloniali, yes it's discontinued, but lathers like a champ and the scent is addicting. Pairs wonderfully with Alt Innsbruck and Czech & Speake Cuba. MdC, $$ yes, but the Fougère and the Lavender (Original) still are two of the best soaps in my den.
Thanks for chiming in @Primotenore! I don't disagree that every soap I've tried is a good soap that has a large following of fans. The Pass Around I'm participating in has over 400 soaps and I'm trying to give reviews for only the 30 or so best ones, so the feedback you're giving is what I'd hoped and expected to hear. I'm being uber picky about what I add to the 50 or so soaps my den, which means it needs to fill in a gap or be notably better than what I already own. As you stated, that's largely a matter of personal preference (or YOMV). Keep adding your feedback and opinions, brother!
That's the second time I saw you describe some soaps as "waxy"(in the base). And second time you listed TSE in the group. I have my eyes on TSE. Specifically, their Texas Leather. I hope all those Wild West fragrances overpower any oddities in the overall appearance
Let me know what you think of those PAA soaps I sent you, Paul. If you can't smell it in those, you are good to go. I suspect it is one of those things that some people can smell and some people cannot. Kinda like only a tiny percentage of people can taste some rancid oils (tastes like soap), while it goes unnoticed by most everyone else in the population. I've also noticed with this particular underlying fragrance in the base, strong scents will drown it out completely. I had a sample of TSE espresso where I couldn't detect the underlying scent at all.
What a cool method of analysis. I like the way you are not analysing each minute aspect of performance but more overall and general in nature. It's interesting and I'll keep following!!
I have a horrible feeling someone walked off with the soaps!!! I saw something with my name on it, and figured I'd pick it up on the way back from the gym. Came back-no box! Hopefully a good samaratin brought it over to the office.
OK, today was the first wildcard in the box that I tried. I have no knowledge or experience with the soap. It's Wet Shave Obsession - Zaro. It is supposed to be a Fougere scent, but the main (and only) note I smell is caramel. I don't know if it's an old sample, or something weird going on, but since I really love the scent of caramel, I figured I'd give it a go. Again, a solid soap. It whipped up into a very creamy lather that performed well in all aspects. Not my closest shave ever, but certainly nothing to complain about. My only mild complaint here, is my face definitely felt dry at the end, so the soap appears to be less moisturizing than the others I've used so far. Also the smell is nothing close to what is advertised. Also, this soap maker apparently has dropped off the map, so the soap is unobtanium. Between that and the dryness and the smell that doesn't match the description, I'll probably rank this the lowest of the soaps I've tried, but at this point we're really splitting hairs. So much so, in fact, that because of how much I liked the smell, I'd be very tempted to buy a tub of this one if one became available. The fact that I'd be willing to buy the lowest ranked soap should give you an indication of how good these soaps have been so far. In fact, there really hasn't been a bad soap in the bunch. Because of the storm, I'm going to try and get this box out today to avoid transit issues during the storm. In the meantime, I'll be shaving with and reviewing my own soaps that are also in the box for comparison. Bonus reviews baby.
Let me know. @Drygulch PIF'd me a tub of TSE Beach Bum, which the underlying scent is very noticeable to me (and apparently to him too). I'd be glad to send it to you if the PAA samples got swiped. Let me know.
Very kind of you...thanks. I used to subscribe to the Sunday Boston Globe, and sometimes would find my coupons missing. Lovely neighbors I had(this was in a different building than now).
This is a sample pass around, so none are the soaps are mine. The way it works is that I get a four boxes of 100 samples each sent to me one at a time. I get each box for a week, and get to shave with whatever samples I want to try for that week. Then I send the box on to the next person. If I found a tub of WSO Fougere, I'd probably buy it for myself because I like the smell so much, even though it is currently in the lower part of my rankings. The soaps I've shaved with so far have all been that good.
Well, they're here . Very odd, they were packed in a box titled "Phillips" and I had to piece together my name from when I saw it the first time last night(before heading to the gym). I'm glad that's overwith. A question-it's best to scoop them out and put them in a mug, then dampen it some, right? Looks like I can just apply it directly to my face,too(?).
Glad you got them. I've had the best luck scooping out an almond sized amount, and pressing it as flat and as thin on the bottom of the bowl to create the most surface area possible. Then you take a wet brush and basically load and lather simultaneously, adding water as needed. By the way, the "off" smell is noticeable to me right from the container, so if it doesn't bother you, you are probably good to go.
Forgot to post the most recent summary: Keepers For My Den Barrister and Mann - unique, complex scents and rich, thick lather. Some scents can be polarizing. Honorable Mentions Midnight and Two - nice scents...although they could be a bit stronger, good lather... although it could be a bit thicker, good slickness when watered down, great face feel and moisturizing properties. Didn't Make My Cut (YMMV) Mike's Natural - a good, solid soap choice. I pick up an off scent in the base, which is not objectionable, but very distracting to me with some scents. Martin De Candre - a solid, well respected soap, but nothing jumps out as being really outstanding to me. Also a bit pricey. I Coloniali Mango - great scent, but discontinued, too expensive, and I had issues with lathering properly. Wet Shave Obsession - Zaro - Another solid soap choice. Good thick lather, good overall performance, but a bit drying post shave feel. The scent doesn't resemble Fougere at all to me, and smells just like caramel. Ironically, I like this smell enough to consider buying it if it were to become available at a reasonable price. (The soap is currently unobtanium.)
Sitting here on the green mile in South Florida I sent away box #1 ahead of the Hurricane. In the meantime, I'll be shaving with my own soaps which match brands in the box. Today was my first shave with B&M Leviathon, which I just got. It's not as strong as I imagined it would be, but I really enjoy this darker scent. It's really a blend of scents, but I the coffee is definitely discernible to me, with leather and a mild sandalwood scent intermingling in there. I gotta say, as much as I consider B&M a keeper in my den, it's mostly because of the unique scents and great lather. Would I say it dramatically outshines any of the other soaps I've reviewed so far? No. To this point, I've had the good fortune of trying and reviewing really good soaps. My summary page remains unchanged.
Interesting thread, and one I will try to follow with great interest. I realize I'm probably a bit too late to the party, but I do believe that trying MdC just once is not sufficient for a proper MdC experience. I remember when I tried it the first time. I was underwhelmed and did not understand the hype. In fact I tried it multiple times before deciding on using this soap for a "one month, one kit" kind of challenge. I ended up using it for two months straight and I did not even have to change my blade. The slickness, cushioning and overall performance is unmatched. I only need 9 seconds to load enough soap for three passes and touch-ups around the horns. I've had my soap for at least three years, I have used less than half of it and it is my most used soap. That being said, I am very curious of that B&M soap. I have read nothing but good things, and all reviews makes me think it may be good enough to rival my beloved MdC. In the end I just want to voice my agreement with your assesment of Mike's Natural Soap. It used to be a favourite of mine, but not anymore. It takes too long to load and although it is still a decent performer, there are too many better options out there. Disclaimer: YMMV
