Catie's Bubbles Mile High Menthol shaving soap

[brothers]

A new one for me. I'm in the process of dialing it in, figuring out the best ways of loading and making lather. It'll take another few days.

[brothers]

Catie's Bubbles Mile High Menthol shaving soap --- it's a good menthol presentation, with a no-nonsense fragrance and good performance. An 8 ounce tub of soft soap made in New Jersey. One of the more recent artisan products that have come along. Now that Krampert's Frostbite has officially brought menthol into the fold of easily attainable shaving soaps with excellent performance, Catie's Mile High shows up and makes itself completely at home, as if it's been there all along. A serious and dependable member of the family.

After a number of actual shaves and test lathers, my initial impressions are positive. I consider my tub to be closer to a slightly firm shaving cream than a conventional hard or semi-hard soap. My first attempts to load the brush directly on the soap did not turn out as expected. I have left the uncovered soap sitting out on in the open on the back porch for the past 3 days, and even though I do bring it inside at night, I leave the lid off. It has firmed up measurably, but I'm not inclined to load my brushes on the soap just yet.

Yesterday's 3 (three) spontaneous separate latherings were quite helpful in my hunt for the best way to load the brushes. I have a stubby little butter knife that I use to skim off about an almond-sized portion of the soap, then using my fingers I spread the easily malleable soap evenly in a thin layer covering the center of the wooden lathering bowl. Next, I run just enough scalding hot water at a slow flow from the tap to cover the bottom of the bowl (with the soap on it) about 1/8 inch deep and then I leave it to soak for several minutes while I'm busy doing my other routine grooming and dressing activities.

When the time comes for shaving, I check to make sure it looks as if the small amount of water has all but dissolved the soap before builiding the lather with a completely dry brush. If not, I don't rush it. This morning I happened to have estimated the amount of water perfectly, and didn't need to add any more water to achieve my expected lather. It lasted through 3 full passes with some left over. At this stage, I am certain that I can duplicate this process again every day with this particular soap, in order to be able to use it with the best results and enjoyment.

Fragrance isn't the primary attraction with this soap. The primary focus is the menthol and the rich non-sudsy lather that easily meets my high expectations in this regard. The fragrance is best explained by saying it seems perfectly submissive for a product whose name is "Menthol". Not a fragrance to wear as an article of dress directed at the nose, but completely successful to gently introduce, support, and to then take second chair to the menthol, which is the entire point of this soap. It's a fragrance that gently announces the appearance of the menthol, then it steps aside and supports the main attraction in a completely appropriate and unobtrusive manner.