Shaving soap & aftershave reviews
All reviews are links to instagram reviews.
Here you will only find a minimal summary on the soaps and/or Splashes/Balms/Creams.
For more info, thoughts on both soap and shave, and videos...
click on the link, the review will open in a new window.
Products are in Alphabetical order by manufacturer
All soaps reviewed with same tech: Safety Razor used: Focus Tritoc Concave (a medium agressive razor). Brush, 3 € "No name" synthetic from Flying Tiger shop; soaked 30 sec, gentle squezed post soak.
Soaps in big cans lathered/loaded in can. Samples lathered in a Scuttle by DsCosmetic.
Ps. Artisans can change their bases, both in soap and aftershave products. So look at the date of the review on instagram. I will mention if recipe is changed (if I know of it during the addittion of the review here)
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AA Shaving
Overall impression, soap: 7,5/10
Overall impression, splash: 7,5/10
Notes: Calone, clearwood, Cedarwood, sage, applewood, Blackwood, Ho wood, geosmin.
Base, soap: Beef tallow
Base, splash: Witch Hazel
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Abbate Y La Mantia
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Overall score: 8,5
Notes: Traditional Italian Krumiri biscuit.
Base: NB! Old base, recipe has been renewed post review.
Base (old): Alcohol
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Areffa Soaps
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NB. This soap is too soft to lather in can, had to use scuttle.
Overall score, soap: 9,5/10
Overall score, splash: 9/10
Notes soap & splash:
Aroma: fruity
Top note: pineapple
Heart note: strawberry, raspberry, apple
Final note: malt liquor
Base, soap: Beer, shea butter, kaolin clay.
Base, Splash; alcohol & Witch hazel
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Ariana & Evans
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Overall score 10/10 Soap
Overall score, splash 7,5/10
Notes: bergamot, pear, dried fruits, tobacco, tonka bean, coffee, jasmine, sandalwood, cedar wood.
Base, Soap: Kaizen (has been changed to Kaizen 2e after review)
Base, Lotion: Alcohol & Aloe vera juice.
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London. Aftershave & Skinfood
Should smell like tea...but smells like Gin & tonic to me.
Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Tea & Lemongrass
Base: Alcohol & aloe vera juice
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Overall score: 3,75/10
Notes: Top notes of fresh strawberries, melting into a heart of soft flowers and a hint of rum, which in turn diffuses into woody base notes of cedar, sandalwood and a touch of patchouli
Base: Alcohol & Aloe vera juice.
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Turkish Coffee. Soap & Splash.
Overall score 9/10
Scent notes: Bergamot, Arabic Coffee, Fig, Cedarwood, Cardamon, Australian Sandalwood
Base: Kaizen
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Overall score: 6/10
Strong scent. Lingers long.
Notes: Pink pepper, pink grapefruit, tangerine, lavender, cinnamon, pink rose, myrrh, black currant, sandalwood, Haitian vetiver, amber, patchouli, musk and vanilla.
Base: Alcohol & Aloe Bardensis leaf juice.
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Barrister & Mann
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Overall score: 9/10
Notes: Crepuscular gloom of the woods at dusk, all purples and greens and blues.​
Blackberry, Balsam fir, Oakmoss and vetiver, Mossiness and wood.
Base: Shea butter, Glycern, Coconut milk
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Black ship Grooming
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Overall score: 8,5/10
Notes: Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Fir, Patchouli, and bergamot.
Base: Coconut oil, shea butter, glycerin.
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Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Fresh fallen snow, juniper, snow-covered pine and cranberries simmering on the hearth. winter berries and ozone
Base: argan oil, lanolin, sunflower oil
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Catie's Bubbles
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Irish coffee. Soap (travel size)
Overall score: 8,5/10
Notes: sweetned, fresh brewed coffee and irish whiskey.
Base: Coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba oil.
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Chiseled face
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Great for tobacco scent lovers.
Overall score: 7/10
Notes: Tobacco, toasted caramel, black pepper, moist dirt, finished with a touch of leather, moss, mandarin, honey and rose.
Base: Tallow, Aloe vera juice, coconut oil
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Declaration Grooming
Overall score, soap: 8/10
Overall score, splash: 5,5/10
Notes: Saltwater, shore, sand.
Base, soap: Milksteak
Base, splash: Wtch hazel & alcohol.
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Overall score, soap: 6/10
Overall score, splash: 6/10
Notes: wet pine, muted lavender, cedar, and white pepper.
Base, soap: Milksteak
Base, splash: Alcohol
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Derby international LLC
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Overall score: 5,5/10
Smells like urinal cakes
Notes: Powdery citrus scent
Base: Tallow
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Dick Johnson
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Rosted liqorice Shave soap super mousse (travel size)
Overall score: 7,5/10
Notes: Roasted liqorice
Base: Parkii butter, Ricin seed oil, coconut milk
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Overall impression: 7/10
Notes: Orange flower water, birch, cornflower, bourbon, vanilla
Base: Orange flower water, water, glycerin, hyaluronic acid
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Dr Jon's. NB! They closed shop April 2023...so might be impossible to get.
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Overall score: 9/10
Notes: Lemon & Geranium.
Base: Vegan
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E & S Rasage
Moana. Aftershave
Strongly reminds of many sunscreen scents. Packs a punch
Overall score: 7,5/10
Notes: Top notes: Coconut, Orange blossom and Bergamot.
Heart Notes: White Flowers, Rose, Jasmine, Iris.
Base notes: Vanilla, balsamic, woody sandalwood, mu
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Hags
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Overall score: 4,5
Very strong scent, almost too much so.
Notes: Top: Oregano, Pepper, Bergamot
Middle: Incense, Opoponax, Amber, Labdanum
Base: Leather, Agarwood (Oud), Sandalwood, Patchouli
Base: Alcohol
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Overall score: 4,5/10
Top notes: Sea Notes, Grapefruit, Mandarin Orange
Heart notes: Bay Leaf and Jasmine
Base notes: Ambergris, Guaiac Wood, Oakmoss, Patchouli
Base: Alcohol
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Overall score, soap: 9/10
Overall score, splash: 8,5/10
Notes:
Top notes: Grapefruit and Mandarin Orange
Heart notes: Sea water and Juniper
Base notes: Musk and Amberwood
Base, soap: Guiness (no longer available w. this base)
Base, splash; alcohol & aloe Bardensis Leaf juice
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House of Mammoth
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Overall score: 7,5/10
Notes: sweet orange, bergamot, fir, juniper, oakmoss, amber, frankincense, musk, and castoreum
Base: Old V1 base, replaced with V2 base post review.
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King C Gillette
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Transparent shaving gel with white tea.
Overall score: 4/10
Notes: White tea. "kinda barbershop"
Base: Not mentioned
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Kepkinh
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Overall score: 8/10
NOTES (these are guesses by me, no official info found)
Floral, fresh cotton, cinnamon
Base: Mountain tea, fresh Buffalo milk, extra virgin Olive oil
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Macduff's Soap Company
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Quite cooling due to peppermint.
Overall score, soap: 8/10
Overall score, splash: 7/10
Notes: Peppermint, Eucalyptus Dives, Blue Malle Eucalyptus, Musk, Vanilla, Benzoin, Tonka Bean, Cocoa
Base, Soap: Goat milk.
Base, splash: Aloe vera, Witch hazel, eucalyptus essential oils.
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Michael & Elena Artisans (closed shop, so hard to get)
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Overall impression, soap: 9,5/10
Overall impression, splash: 7/10
Notes: Amaretto
Base, soap: tallow
Base, splash: alcohol
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Moon Soaps
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Trade Winds, soap & balm
Super mild scent, so a good choice whe scent needs to be mild
Overall impression, soap: 7/10
Overall impression, splash: 6,5/10
Notes: Caribbean Bay Leaf, warm Tobacco, Cedarwood, a touch of Bergamot, and a zap of Key Lime
Base, soap: Tropical tallow
Base, splash: Grapeseed oil, squalane oil, orchid extract, buckthorn oil
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Noble Otter
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Overall score 8/10
A cooling soap that chills the skin.
Notes: Bergamot, Eucalyptus, Atlas Cedarwood, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Frozen Space
Base: Beef Tallow.
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Nordic Shaving Company
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Birch. Soap. (Travel size can)
Overall score: 7,5​
Notes: Birch tree
Base: Glycerin & Shea butter
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Phoenix Artesan Accoutrements
John Frum. Aftershave & Cologne
Packs a punch and lasts long. Avoid if you hate musk.
Overall score, splash: 6,5
Notes: Sicilian Cedrat, Black Pepper, Sea Salt, Ambergris, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, Kava Kava, White Musk & Animalic Musk.
Base: Alcohol
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Pinnacle Studios
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Overall score, soap: 9/10
Overall score, splash: 8/10
Notes: A spoof of "le Male" by Gaultier.
Base: Old base, replaced by PGA base post review.
Base, splash: Alcohol
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Once upon a time. Soap & Splash
Overall impression, soap: 7,5/10
Overall impression, splash: 7/10
Notes: Dupe on Costume National Scent Intense
Base, soap: Old base, replaced with PGA base post review.
Base, splash: Alcohol
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Virgin Islands. Soap. (Sample)
Overall impression: 7/10
Notes: homage to Paul Greens Creed Virgin Island water
Base: Old base, replaced with PGA base post review.
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RazoRock
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Overall score: 6,75/10
Notes: A natural bay laurel scent
Base: Alcohol
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Overal score, soap: 7,5/10
Overall score, splash: 6,5
Notes: Dupe of Irish Country side Creed Green
Base, soap: Tallow, Shea Butter, Argan Oil, Aloe Vera and Lanolin
Base, splash: alcohol
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Splash has a really strong scent, packs a punch!
Overall score, soap: 7,5/10
Overall score, splash: 7/10
Notes: Top Notes: Bergamot, Anise, Pineapple
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Violet
Base Notes: Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Hay,
Tonka Bean, Patchouli, Thuja
Base, soap: Thermal mud, coconut oil, tallow acid
Base, splash: alcohol
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Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Top Notes: Peony
Heart Notes: Musk
Base Notes: Vetiver, White Cedar, Patchouli
Base: Alcohol
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Saponifico Varesiono
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Opuntia a.k.a. Icus Indica. Soap
Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Top note: bergamot, pineapple, blackcurrant.
Body note: birch, rose, jasmine.
Base note: white moss, oak moss, patchouli, vetiver.
Base: Ficus-Indica (prickly Pear), Coconut, Rapeseed,
Sunflower oil, shea butter.
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Smoking Monster
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Overall score: 7,5/10
Notes: Wood smoke, Leather, wood.
Base: Beef Tallow
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Southern Witchcrafts
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Overall impression: 7/10
Notes: bourbon, tobacco, pumpkin, sandalwood, nutmeg, oud, incense, amber, vanilla, hazelnut, charred wood, musk
Base: Shea butter, coconut oil
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Stirling soap Co.
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Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Banana, Coconut, Rum, Frangipani, and Tangerine
Base: Tallow
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Overall score: 9/10
Notes: Tea tree oil
Base: Tallow, glycerin, lanolin, shea butter
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Strong Citronella, smells like mosquito repellent candles.
Overall score: 7/10
Notes: lemon, citronella, and eucalyptus essential oils
Base: Alcohol
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Sudsy Soapery
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Overal score: 3/5​
Smells more like wet earth, pumpkin, not so much.
Notes: pumpkin, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg
Base: Tripple butter super cream.
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Summer break soaps
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Overall impression: 8,5/10
Notes: Coffee, Bourbon, Cedar, Pine, Plywood, Motor oil.
Base: Beef tallow, coconut milk
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Topher's
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Tabac and leather. Soap (sample)
Overall score: 9/10
Notes: tobacco and leather, tonka bean and oud wood
Base: Shea butter, lard, coconut oil.
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Manscaping Butter (post-shave care, sample)
Overall score: 8/10
Notes: light cologne fragrance blend
Base: Shea butter
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Twa Burs soaps
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Dark roasted coffee. Soap (sample)
Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Dark roasted coffee
Base: Unknown, but vegetable based glycerine mentioned
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Wickhams soap Co.
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Overall score: 8/10
Notes: Top notes: Lemon, Geranium, Rosemary and Lavender
Heart notes: Clover and Cedar
Base notes: Patchouli, Sandalwood , Oakmoss and Tonka Bean
Base: Cocoa butter
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Wholly Kaw
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Overall score: 7,5/10
Notes: Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Clary Sage, Rose, Aldehydes and Pink Pepper. Middle notes: Angelica, Rosewood, Galbanum
Base notes: Agarwood or Oud, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Patchouli and Amber
Base: Donkey milk, beef tallow, lanolin. (Also vegan option available).
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Zingari Man
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Overall score: 9/10
Notes: Amber, Marine, Musk, Ozone, Water, Bergamot.
Base: Witch hazel
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The Master. Soap & recovery splash.
Think; "Barber shop Noir"
Overall score, soap: 7/10
Overall score, splash: 7,5/10
Notes: Top: Citrus, vanilla, tarragon
Mid: Woods, amber, jasmine, coriander, holy basil, geranium, sweet bay
Base: vanilla, musk, ambrette, sandalwood, patchouli
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