Review - Mystic Water Soap / Lemon Verbena

Company: Mystic Water Soap

Product: Lemon Verbena Shaving Soap

Founder: Michelle Burns, Soap Artisan

Location: Riverdale Park, MD 

Website - http://www.mystic4men.com

Ok, let me start off by saying I screwed up. I ordered a refill instead of tub and because of that I can’t really say much about the packaging. I did however create my own out of a Pine Brother plastic case for cough drops. It was the perfect size after I sliced the puck down the middle and the label fit just right.

Michelle runs her shop out of Riverdale Park, MD where she’s been making artisan soap for over fifteen years. Her first foray into shaving soap was an eye-opening experience she quickly found out that it’s not as easy as making bar soap. So, after many failed attempts and reformulations Michelle got it right and lucky for us because her shaving soap is truly outstanding. 

Review - WSP Formula T BarberShop

Company: WSP

Product: Formula T BarberShop

Founder: Lee

Location: Chandler, Arizona

I’ve always been impressed with the vegan rustic line of shaving soaps from WSP. The performance and value are outstanding. We now have FormulaT with shea butter and tallow. Lee has taken the existing rustic line and over time has transformed them all into Formula T which in my opinion has increased the performance of the outstanding shaving soap.  

This impressive barbershop scent is typical of classic America from years gone by. The scent includes a base of powdery musk, some bergamot, orange zest, oakmoss, patchouli, and finished it with a hint of geranium. The full list of natural ingredients includes: stearic acid, water, tallow, coconut oil, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, butyrospermum parkii (Shea butter), fragrance, & sodium hydroxide. Free of synthetic dyes & preservatives.

Review - Through The Fire Fine Craft Bay Rum Shaving Soap

Company: Through The Fire Fine Craft

Product: Bay Rum Shaving Soap

Location: Alanson, MI

Website: http://www.TTFFCraft.Com

A few weeks back I was given some items to try and sell on my flea market. I present yet another shaving soap called Through The Fire Fine Craft Bay Rum. I’ve never used this before and last week I was so impressed with this soap I wanted to keep it for myself but I did promise to put it up so I will.

The soap comes in a clear 4.0oz tub with screw on lid. The labels have a great color combination of red, gold and black. Each tub has a simple but direct statement of what the scent is. At the time of this writing the website seems to be under construction. I can’t figure out if this Bay Rum is part of the of the Premium collection for $14.99 or the classic at $12.99 because it wasn’t listed on the site for sale. I even tried Maggard Razors and found lots Through The Fire soaps but no Bay Rum.

Review - L'Occitane Shaving Soap

Company: L'Occitane

Product: Shaving Soap

Location: Paris

Website: http://usa.loccitane.com

Being an I.T. consultant in Manhattan you get to see some amazing places like the Trump Tower, Russian Tea Room and Rockefeller Center to name a few.  I also came across one place I always wanted to go into and that’s L'Occitane. A high-end company from Paris that carries Men’s shaving products I’ve always wanted to try them. I’m currently on a budget so I had to be very selective and I finally picked the modest $12.00 shaving puck called Savon A Barbe Shaving Soap in the Cade scent.

The puck comes in a simple box but the cashier gave me this little bag to carry it in. I didn’t want to walk around the city with this so I stuffed it in my tool bag until I got home. When you open the box the puck was wrapped in cellophane but I did see that you can purchase a beautiful aluminum shaving bowl and the puck together for $40.00. If I had the chance to do it again (and budget) I would opt to purchase both.

Review - Olivina Shaving Cream

Company: Olivina

Product: Olivina Flash Foam Shaving Cream

Website - https://olivinamen.com

New Company 2016-2017

Last week I thought I found what had to be the worst product ever for shaving but my last shave with Olivina Flash Foam Shaving Cream has made me crown a new King. All Hail The New King!

The first thing that caught my eye was the packaging. This bronze and white tube popped right out at me from the shelves at Target. I picked one up and did the next thing any respectable wet shaver would do I tested the scent and what a scent it is the bourbon and cedar was so intoxicating I knew this was going to be a great shaving cream. To be honest I made the mistake of judging something purely on scent alone and should have known better.

Review - Bull Dog Shave Cream

Company: Bull Dog

Product: Original Shave Cream

Location: United Kingdom

Website: https://us.bulldogskincare.com/

When I was roaming the aisle of Target last week I came across a new shaving cream called Bull Dog. A product of the UK this “Original Shave Cream” comes in packaging reminiscent of days gone by it’s in a squeezable metal tube. This tube retains the shape of where you pressed. I’m not a fan of this kind of packaging the product looks terrible on the counter after a few uses. I found out from the company’s website that they do sell it in the plastic tube but I couldn’t find it here in N.Y. but I was able to locate it online.

The cream includes Aloe, Camelina and Green Tea on the package I’m not sure what they bring to the product but my assessment is not much.    

Review - Lather Bros / Calle Ocho

Company: Lather Bros.

Product: Calle Ocho

Location: Miami Lakes FL.

Website - LatherBros

Today we have something new in the den from Miami Lakes FL a company called Lather Bros provided us with one of their shaving soaps and after shaves called Calle Ocho or “Eight Street” the center of Cuban life and culture in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. This vibrant street is known for its Cuban restaurants, popular ventanitas, Cuban bakeries, Cigar Shops, Domino Park and colorful street festivals.