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 for mantic’s Scent Off 2013 is the entry from the fellows over at How to Grow a Moustache. Delicious Pumpk’n 3.14! Pumpkin π? Pumpkin Pie! It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to try one of their products, and I was rather looking forward to it. Here’s what everyone else had to say about it.

So, since it’s the scent off, let’s talk about the scent first. It seriously smells exactly like a pumpkin pie. I’m not too big of a fan of the taste of pumpkin pies, but even I’ll admit they smell quite nice, and it also got the “girlfriend’s seal of approval”. Naturally, I think this is a damned great fit for the theme of the contest (for which it’ll be getting a bonus point). The strength level is just about perfect as well; since it’s not really a scent you want too strong, but it stays at a nice medium-strong level throughout.

The lather is quite nice. I understand that a different formulation was used for the scent-off than their normal one, however the differences appear to be relatively minor. Honestly, thus far it seems like the lather category of the contest is going to be the tightest by far; every one I’ve tried has been quite good, the Synergy being no exception. These artisans certainly aren’t phoning it in! It lathered up easily, a tad on the thirsty side, and gave a good balance of glide and thickness, with a reasonably wide “sweet spot”. And afterwards, the skin was feeling great.

8/10 Scent Pleasantness

10/10 Scent Strength

9/10 Lather Quality

My overall assessment is a nice solid 8/10.

Cost: Unlike the others thus far in the contest, H2GAM still has some left for sale! 8 oz of soap in their large format (5 inch diameter) tin will set you back $15.95. Note the gold tin shown might not still be available, in which case you’ll get the silver tin they usually use.

Gear used:

Ingredients: Ingredients: Organic Kokum Butter, Organic Mango Butter, Organic Cocoa Butter, Chaulmoogra Oil, Organic Avocado Oil, Organic Pumpkin Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Neem Oil, Safflower Oil, Glycerine, Purified Water, Sodium & Potassium Hydroxcide, Soy Bean Protien, Aloe Extract, Pumpkin Powder Enzymes, Yellow Dock Root, Maca Root & Essential Oils