Review: Stirling's "Glacial Obsidian" Shave Soap
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 12:18 pm
If you enjoy the aroma of black licorice whilst shaving your menthol-numbed face, look no further than Stirling’s ‘Glacial Obsidian’ shave soap. [1]
Upon opening my new jar, I was immediately impressed by the really strong aroma of anise; I could not distinguish it from the black licorice candy pipes that I used to buy as a lad at the corner store. It was simply intoxicating.
It was with more than a little enthusiasm that I loaded up my favourite brush – the Semogue 1305 boar – and went straight to lathering. I worked up a great lather in short order and eagerly applied it to my face. This was my first experience with such a highly-mentholated soap, and it was quite a shock. My face felt like I’d dunked it in ice water, and my eyes teared up to the point where I could hardly see myself in the mirror.
My first thought was, “This must be wet shaving’s answer to monastic self-flagellation.”
In spite of the watery image before me, I managed to get through the first pass without bloodshed. I dreaded the thought of a second application, but by the third pass my face had become enured to the menthol and I was really enjoying the experience.
Did I mention the aroma? Oh, my – it’s fantastic, but it’s strong! So strong, in fact, that my wife called out from the bedroom, “Is that your new soap? I can smell licorice all the way down the hallway.”
In the end the soap gave me really good glide with no irritation, and an exceptionally smooth shave.
One word of caution, though: you might want to use a synthetic brush with this soap. Even after rinsing my 1305 three or four times it still smelled like anise (and lent that wonderful aroma to the bathroom). It wasn’t until after I lathered with Mitchell’s Wool Fat the next day that the aroma finally surrendered and died. As a test, I also lathered with my one and only synthetic brush (an AP Shave Co ‘Tuxedo’) and it shed the aroma after only a quick rinse.
I’ll grudgingly have to admit that the synthetic is clearly the better brush in this case. (More about that in a later review.)
To sum up:
Aroma: 5+/5 (simply astonishing)
Lather: 4/5 (very good)
Performance: 4/5 (if you can handle the substantial menthol)
Value: 5/5 (excellent – at $18.75CAD for a 5.8 ounce / 172 gram jar, it’s good value for your money)
[1] https://www.stirlingsoap.com/collection ... shave-soap
Edit: grammar
Upon opening my new jar, I was immediately impressed by the really strong aroma of anise; I could not distinguish it from the black licorice candy pipes that I used to buy as a lad at the corner store. It was simply intoxicating.
It was with more than a little enthusiasm that I loaded up my favourite brush – the Semogue 1305 boar – and went straight to lathering. I worked up a great lather in short order and eagerly applied it to my face. This was my first experience with such a highly-mentholated soap, and it was quite a shock. My face felt like I’d dunked it in ice water, and my eyes teared up to the point where I could hardly see myself in the mirror.
My first thought was, “This must be wet shaving’s answer to monastic self-flagellation.”
In spite of the watery image before me, I managed to get through the first pass without bloodshed. I dreaded the thought of a second application, but by the third pass my face had become enured to the menthol and I was really enjoying the experience.
Did I mention the aroma? Oh, my – it’s fantastic, but it’s strong! So strong, in fact, that my wife called out from the bedroom, “Is that your new soap? I can smell licorice all the way down the hallway.”
In the end the soap gave me really good glide with no irritation, and an exceptionally smooth shave.
One word of caution, though: you might want to use a synthetic brush with this soap. Even after rinsing my 1305 three or four times it still smelled like anise (and lent that wonderful aroma to the bathroom). It wasn’t until after I lathered with Mitchell’s Wool Fat the next day that the aroma finally surrendered and died. As a test, I also lathered with my one and only synthetic brush (an AP Shave Co ‘Tuxedo’) and it shed the aroma after only a quick rinse.
I’ll grudgingly have to admit that the synthetic is clearly the better brush in this case. (More about that in a later review.)
To sum up:
Aroma: 5+/5 (simply astonishing)
Lather: 4/5 (very good)
Performance: 4/5 (if you can handle the substantial menthol)
Value: 5/5 (excellent – at $18.75CAD for a 5.8 ounce / 172 gram jar, it’s good value for your money)
[1] https://www.stirlingsoap.com/collection ... shave-soap
Edit: grammar