So, the first review post of the new year was my last shave of the previous year, Kell’s Original Hemp Blend, Sandalwood.

It seems to me that the Kell’s Original version of sandalwood is both a bit sweeter, and a bit spicier than the others I’ve tried thus far. I think the combination works quite well actually.

Strength-wise, however, it could have used a bit more oomph. Once lathered up, your lost most of those nice little details mentioned above. It dulled into a kind of vaguely woodsy scent that you had to strain to notice.

As for lather itself, Kell’s continues to not disappoint. Which isn’t surprising, since other than the fragrance, I’m pretty sure that the only variation in the soaps are between their three different blends (hemp, help/aloe, ultra aloe), and I’ve only been using the one type. It’s still a fairly thirsty soap, which takes in the water and puts it to good use making a lot of a nice thick frothy foam, with plenty of glide. It doesn’t thin out excessively, and after the fact, left the face feeling quite nice.

9/10 Scent Pleasantness

6/10 Scent Strength

8/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

Unfortunately, I think the weakness of the scent is enough to drop the overall rating down to a 7/10. It just doesn’t do much to add to the shave at all.

Gear used:

Hemp blend ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil (Grade A extra virgin), Safflower Oil, Glycerine (vegetable origin), Hemp Seed Oil (unrefined), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer), Soy bean protein (conditioner), Wheat Protein (conditioner)