Ratings:

Value: 9

Cushion: 8

Slickness: 9

Scent Pleasantness: 10

Scent Strength (balance): 9

Moisturising: 9

Just over a week ago I received a few shaving products from Elvado. A Canadian company, which if I’m honest, I was unfamiliar with until recently. As always, I was excited to open the package to discover what shaving adventures I was in for over the coming weeks, the package contained four products but the item that immediately stood out for me was the shave stick. At first, I thought it was a deodorant stick due to its size, what was equally impressive was the scent that I came off that stick. A wonderful Almond, that is very reminiscent of Cella shave cream.

If you enjoy using Cella shave cream I don’t see how you wouldn’t love the Elvado Mendera Almond Shave Stick. The almond scent that comes off the stick is much stronger than Cella but not overpowering; the scent lasts longer while shaving, and truly makes you want to have a shot of Amaretto after shaving (which if you plan to, perhaps shave before going to bed, not before heading off to work).

The soap’s performance matches the excellence of the its scent. I was able to produce a full lather with ease – it was quite forgiving when it came to the right amount of water – which is helpful when you are face lathering. The slickness was excellent and the soap provided more than enough cushion for the razor. To be honest I can’t find a single negative thing to say about the soap’s performance. Post shave I didn’t have any irritation and it left my face was left feeling soft.

Oddly, the aspect that I find most interesting is the size of the stick itself. The shave soaps that I have been used to tend to all be smaller in size – think the size of a typical glue stick if you haven’t used a shave stick before. The Elvado stick is much larger making it better to hold and your passes cover more of your face. And unlike an Arko or Palmolive shave stick the Elvado has a plastic casing that makes it that much easier and enjoyable to use. Perhaps it is a strange thing to notice but I feel like it makes a difference and my shave that much more enjoyable.

It’s worth pointing out that Elvado’s soaps are Pure Vegan and use African Shea Butter. On a personal level I’m not too concerned about my soaps being Pure Vegan – perhaps I should be – I’ll be more aware of it now. I am quite interested in the properties that the Shea Butter offers however, if you are interested there is a write-up on Elvado’s website. If its not obvious by the above I am more than impressed with this soap, I love the performance, the size of the stick, and of course the scent. I don’t say this about many soaps I review, but I see myself replacing this once my current stick runs out.

Which leads me to the bad news, after contacted Elvado I was informed that the Almond Shave Stick was a Special Edition, so locating one at the moment might be tough (I did a quick search at online retailers but had no luck). The good news is that Elvado plans to reintroduce the Almond fragrance in the New Year due to popular demand, so bookmark or make a note to search out this gem.

Check out Elvado’s here.

Tools in images:

Merkur 43C

Edwin Jagger Best Badger Brush