Red Leaf is a shaving soap which, judging by the ingredient listing, is at least partially based upon a melt-and-pour base. That having been said, I think it’s at least on par with one the best melt and pours that I’ve used before, such as Elvado, or Honeybee Soaps.

I didn’t find too much of an issue finding the right amount of water for use with this soap. I do know I sometimes have issues with that with soaps sticks, or cubes I guess, given that it’s a bit harder to control the amount of water you’re using when it’s not being added directly into a bowl or scuttle. But this stuff seemed to be fairly tolerant to different levels of moisture. It provided a good balance of glide and lubrication, and some decent moisturization to boot.

They describe their scent as follows:

The scent of warm toasted tea leaves, Black Tea is a slightly smoky, sexy, and warm scent with a woody natural smell with notes of Sage and Sandalwood.

I suppose that seems reasonably accurate; it’s definitely smoky and warm. I wouldn’t really say that it smells all that much like Black Tea itself, but it’s definitely in the same vicinity. I rather do like it. The strength could use some bumping up; it’s still noticeable, but definitely not strongly so when lathered up and applied to the face.

9/10 Scent Pleasantness

7/10 Scent Strength

8/10 Lather Quality

All told, I think I’m willing to round this one up to an 8/10.

Cost: I got this from MenEssentials, where the 100 g cube goes for $10. Red Leaf also has sample sizes available on their website. I’ll note here that the sample sizes are the same formulation as the cubes; however I’ve confirmed with the owner of Red Leaf that the “travel containers”, the 3.5 oz jars of soap, they are a slightly different formulation from the cubes or the samples, so I make no promises that the performance would match what I’ve outlined here.

Gear used:

Brush: Wee Scott

Razor: 1966 Solid Nickel Gillette Tech

Blade: Shark Super Stainless

Ingredients: Ingredients: coconut oil, sustainable palm oil, castor oil, safflower oil, vegetable glycerin, purified water, sodium hydroxide, sorbitan oleate, soybean protein, wheat protein, fragrance