So, when Melissa over at the Elegant Rose boutique contacted me about reviewing her soaps, I was initially reluctant, after having a look at the ingredient listing on her page. Well, turns out I was at least a bit mistaken, she had completely reformulated her soap, this time not falling into the whole “slight alterations to a hand soap” trap that so many artisan soap makers do when they want to branch out into shaving soap. She just didn’t have it up on her website for sale at that point; now she does.

And the product that she did provide to me is pretty darned good.

Latherwise, it’s a reasonably thirsty soap. Not quite as much needed as, say, Mike’s Naturals or Barrister and Mann, but you’re definitely going to want to add a small splash when lathering to help develop it. It’s too finnicky, so absolute precision isn’t a worry here. It develops into a nice thick lather with pretty good glide, although perhaps not quite what I’d say is great glide. After the shave, it leaves the face feeling nice and moisturized, smooth, etc. I’d imagine that’s in no small part due to the kokum and shea butter?

Anyways, it’s good stuff; she obviously actually did her research and tested thoroughly. And, as a bonus, it smells nicely too!

The woodland spice is, well, pretty much exactly like what it sounds like, a woodsy scent combined with spicy notes, most notably the cloves and the cinnamon. With some sweetness too, from orange and probably at least some influence just from the kokum and shea butter in the soap itself. A very deep invigorating scent, great for the winter months. As far as soaps go, it’s not too shabby in the strength department; once lathered up and applied to the face it presents itself rather noticeably, with only some fading during the course of a pass.

10/10 Scent Pleasantness

8/10 Scent Strength

9/10 Lather Quality

I think it’s reasonable to give this one a 9/10. I’m really glad that she managed to reformulate her soap with this much success!

Cost: As mentioned, I was provided this soap sample for the purposes of this review. Pucks of the soap can be obtained from the Elegant Rose website, for 14.95 per 4 oz. Just keep in mind that this review is valid only for their artisan shaving soap. As well, Melissa provided a coupon code “Shave” which could get you 10% off your order until April 24th.

Gear used:

Ingredients: Saponified Oils of vegetable stearic acid, organic shea butter, kokum butter, organic palm oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, castor oil, apricot kernel oil, organic jojoba oil and essential oils.