

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Shavemas!

Today I’ll be doing a combined review, of an assortment of Christmas / Winter themed scents from Mama Bear Soaps.

First off, we’ll tackle the lather. If you’ve been following my reviews, you’ll have noticed that I consistently put Mama Bear Soaps at a 8/10 for lather quality. It’s a good soap, but it can be a bit finicky for getting the right amount of water to provide a good level of glide without going too runny. I find it’s best to to load the brush a lot, and then add water gradually. So, that 9/10 Lather score will be taken into account for the overall score for each of the individual reviews below.

And now, the scents (in the order they appear in the picture above, from left to right):

Frankincense and Myrrh -This is a warm woodsy spicy scented soap. It’s rather nice. I frankly don’t really have any idea what either Frankincense or Myrrh are expected to smell like, but this’ll do the trick. It manages to stay reasonably strong without any noticeable fading throughout the shave. Aroma:8, Strength:9, Overall:8

Welcome Home – Sue says she was going for more of a “spiced apple cider” approach, but what I got out of this was more of a nice sweet apple pie. Either way, it’s a nice scent. It came on somewhat faintly, but didn’t fade noticeably during the shave. A:9, S: 8, O:8

Winter Woods – Winter woods is a rather nice blend of “evergreen and ozone, moss and musk, wildflower and herb”. The flowers seem to dominate the first impression of the scent, with the other stuff providing a backdrop. It’s a complex combination that seems to mesh together rather well. It wasn’t the greatest in the strength department, being only somewhat noticeable when the lather is applied to the face. A:8, S: 7, O: 7

Christmas Forest – Well, in the words of my girlfriend, who I had sniff it (without telling her what it was first) “It smells like a Christmas tree”. Piney, and kind of seems like there might be a bit of something spicy to it too. Was nice, however the scent faded rather fast. A:9, S:7, O: 7

Gingerbread – Nice and sweet and gingery; I like the scent quite a bit, it’s a bit lacking in the strength department, but is still there in the background during the shave, just not by very much. A: 9, S: 7, O: 7

Sleigh Ride – This one is sweet and fruity; minty and spicy. It combines orange, green apple, peppermint, and cloves. I’m not all that much of a fan, it kind of seems like a bit of a mishmash. It wasn’t all that strong, only being barely detectable while lathered on the brush, and not really noticeable at all once applied to the face. A: 7, S: 6, O:5

Christmas Rose – The rose and pine made for an interesting combination. The lather wasn’t strongly scented, but was noticeable without any significant fading throughout the shave. A:8, S:8, O: 7

Winter Grapefruit – This is, thus far, my favourite soap from Mama Bear. It’s cool and grape-fruity, with just a hint of evergreen to give it a “winter” theme. It smells wonderful, and comes on nice and strong without significant fading. Highly recommended. A: 9, S: 9, O: 9

With the exception of the Winter Woods, these can all be found as part of Mama Bears’ “Seasonal and Holiday Favorites” sample pack, which gets you these and a few autumn-themed scents for $6.99. The Winter Woods is considered part of their “Everyday favorites” lineup, and a sample goes for $1. For full size, most are currently only available in her older style 4 oz pucks in a plastic bowl, for $9.99, or extra for a wooden bowl, whereas the Sleigh Ride is available in the newer style 5 oz puck for $7.99, with the option for a plastic tub or wooden bowl for extra.

Ingredients: Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.