Edit: It appears that the line has disappeared off the face of the earth, after a small scandal erupted following a few allegations, including that the fellow who ran HTGAM had been under different names reviewing some soaps that he made (under the Petal Pushers brand), and that the ingredient listing for at least some of the soaps was likely falsified. Here’s a bit of an overview.

Frankly, what I saw put a bad taste into my mouth, and I don’t think I’ll be doing any more business with that company. Anyhow, they’ve since rebranded into “Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements”

Next up is the next scent off entry, and the 2nd shaving soap that I’ve tried from Petal Pusher Fancies; Ciderhouse 5. As per usual, here’s what the other judges had to say about it.

I really wanted to give this one top marks for the scent. When I did the initial sniff tests of all of the soaps sent out, I liked this one the most, by a fair margin. A wonderfully delicious and accurate apple cider scent, perfectly fitting for the season. However, unfortunately, once it came time to lather it up and actually shave, I found the scent didn’t transfer to the lather very well. It came across weak, and faded from there.

The soap itself performed much like the previous soap I’d tried from them; a bit fiddly, but still fairly easy to get a great shave, great thickness and glide, with some decent moisturization.

10/10 Scent Pleasantness

6/10 Scent Strength

9/10 Lather Quality

Anyhow; relatively weak scent, but it smells really really nice. Feel free to make your own determinations based upon just how strong you tend to like your shaving soap scents. I’m giving it a 7/10 overall.

Gear used:

Ingredients: Water, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Pure Kokum Butter, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Organic Avocado Oil, Organic Sweet Almond Oil, Pure Essential Oils & Fragrance