Updated December 19, 2016

Ratings:

Overall:

Value:

Cushion:

Slickness:

Scent Pleasantness:

Scent Strength (balance):

Moisturising:

A few weeks back I picked up a stick of Arko Shave Soap (my first experience with a shave stick), I had so much fun I thought I would try again, this time with a stick of Derby Shave Soap. I’m not a big fan of Derby blades, in fact we really don’t get along so well, but I decided to not let it influence my experience with the Derby soap.

Not that it matters but the packaging in the Derby stick has nothing on the Arko shave stick. The Arko provides you with a nostalgic feeling while the Derby provides you with a wrapper. The less than impressive packaging made it a lot easier to rip into the soap, which in the end is what we all care about – right?

Scent

The first thing that came to mind when I opened the package and took a smell was European hotels. I did quite a bit of travelling through Europe (currently on a bit of a travel hiatus while I wait for my twins to hit two or three), one of the things that made that possible was no frills hotels, in particular Hotel Ibis. The Derby shave stick smells remarkably, at least memory tells me so, like the soaps provided in the no frills hotels in Europe. The best way to describe it is clean. To take it a step further – slightly lemony. The smell is a bit subdued compared to that of the Arko shave stick. I prefer the more extravagant fragrances offered by other creams and soap, but I don’t mind that of the Derby stick – especially not for the price.

I decided to stick to face lather for my first pass and brush to stick for my second. Results are below. (I rinsed my brush off after my first pass to have a clean start but I think it resulted in a brush that may have been too wet for an ideal lather.)

Lather

The lather was quite good, keeping in mind that a stick of Derby soap cost less than some cups of coffee. My face was slick, the scent was evident but not overpowering and no irritation. The soap didn’t leave my face dry, but can’t say it did much to help the issue.

As with my Arko shave stick, I see the Derby Shave Soap being more of a travel soap (once travel starts up again) than one of my regular rotation soaps, not because it doesn’t work but my other creams provide more of an all around experience.

For more on shave sticks check out How Do I Use A Shave Stick? and Shave Sticks The Ignored Soap.

Tools used:

Merkur 180

Astra Blade

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