Growing up in the northeast, specifically in the region that I did, you’re constantly bombarded by ads for both New York City and Boston (I grew up about halfway between the two metropolitan areas). So needless to say, I have been to both quite a bit, both as a kid and a child. Boston was always neat, with the historic locations spotted throughout the city. But it was never as fascinating to me as New York. So, when Ariana & Evans announced they were going to be releasing a NYC soap as a part of their destination series, I knew that I was going to be purchasing it in all likelihood. When I found out that it was a type of fougere, that was that.
I love fougere’s. I think the only one that I really haven’t gotten along with was B&M’s Beaudelaire, as it was just a bit too smokey for me. But outside of that, I’ve really gotten to the point where I just enjoy that green, bright scent of fougere’s. So when I opened this tub of soap and took a whiff, I was confused. I did get the lavender and geranium, but that was almost immediately overpowered by what smelled like coffee and vanilla. Not unpleasant smells at all, I love a good coffee. But not quite what I was expecting. A deeper look into the scent notes revealed there was neither coffee nor vanilla, but a lot of other notes that when combined gave a nice, dark vibe to this scent. Strength of scent off of the tub dry is about a 3/5.
The notes, as listed are: Lavender, Geranium, Orange, Anise, Chamomile, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Cedar wood, Hay, Cardamon, Musk
So, off of the tub, this smells nothing like it does lathered up. It’s a totally different animal, as the lavender, geranium and orange come to the front and really feature. The rest of the notes give the feel of a darker tone, bold. I do get hints of the anise, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, cardamon and patchouli, but they are only acting in a supporting role here. The overall feel is quite nice, similar to the aforementioned Beaudelaire, but not nearly as smokey, which I can deal with quite a bit better. Lathered, the strength of scent ramps up to about 3-4/5, typical of A&E offerings. I did experience a bit of tingling sensation on the skin this morning, indicating that one of the EO/FO’s in the fragrance profile didn’t work well with my skin, but it wasn’t bad; enough that I could still complete a 3 pass shave without having to rush to get it off my face.
Packaging is excellent, with water proof labels on the top and sides, and the ingredient list on the side labels. This soap base is typical of Ariana & Evans recent releases since debuting the goat milk formula. Loading is easy, the proto-lather displaying that stringy type of texture that I have come to love in soaps. It’s a very thirsty soap, as this morning I added about 4-5 tsp of water to a 20-25 second load to get the texture correct. Just as a reminder of the ingredient list of the goat milk formula:
Stearic Acid, Tallow, Goats Milk, Shea Butter, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Castor Oil, Lanolin, Bentonite Clay, Sodium Lactate, Beeswax, Fragrance & EO's
Performance wise, this soap just works, and works at a very high level. As mentioned in previous reviews of Ariana & Evans soaps, it’s one of the top soap bases that I’ve used. It scores near the top across the board in all metrics. Here are the scores for the soap base:
(Strength of scent and scent preference are not included as they are too subjective)
Lathering: 10/10
Cushion: 10/10
Slickness: 9.5/10
Moisturizing: 10/10
Residual Slickness: 9.5/10
Stability: 5/5
Total: 54/55
Comparable soap bases from a performance standpoint:
Declaration Grooming Project Icarus (55/55)
Declaration Grooming Bison Tallow (54.5/55)
Wholly Kaw Donkey Milk (52/55)
WSP Formula T (51/55)
Eufros (51/55)
Conclusion: It’s a shame this soap doesn’t quite agree with my skin, because it’s very enjoyable. Is it my favorite A&E scent? No, that’s still a toss-up between Grecian Horse and SoCal Hipster. But it’s one that I would reach for on occasion. Performance is typical A&E, (excellent), and for those who are worried that you would experience the same tingling sensation I have with it, this is the first time I’ve heard of it in any review of NYC, so I don’t believe that it would be a normal thing. Price point, since you have to be a member, is just over $3 an oz, (about $3.50), so it's quite reasonable, and it punches well above its weight at that price. If you’re a fan of fougere’s, and enjoy darker notes this would be a good one to check out for sure!
https://youtu.be/trnACuISeOY
I love fougere’s. I think the only one that I really haven’t gotten along with was B&M’s Beaudelaire, as it was just a bit too smokey for me. But outside of that, I’ve really gotten to the point where I just enjoy that green, bright scent of fougere’s. So when I opened this tub of soap and took a whiff, I was confused. I did get the lavender and geranium, but that was almost immediately overpowered by what smelled like coffee and vanilla. Not unpleasant smells at all, I love a good coffee. But not quite what I was expecting. A deeper look into the scent notes revealed there was neither coffee nor vanilla, but a lot of other notes that when combined gave a nice, dark vibe to this scent. Strength of scent off of the tub dry is about a 3/5.
The notes, as listed are: Lavender, Geranium, Orange, Anise, Chamomile, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Cedar wood, Hay, Cardamon, Musk
So, off of the tub, this smells nothing like it does lathered up. It’s a totally different animal, as the lavender, geranium and orange come to the front and really feature. The rest of the notes give the feel of a darker tone, bold. I do get hints of the anise, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, cardamon and patchouli, but they are only acting in a supporting role here. The overall feel is quite nice, similar to the aforementioned Beaudelaire, but not nearly as smokey, which I can deal with quite a bit better. Lathered, the strength of scent ramps up to about 3-4/5, typical of A&E offerings. I did experience a bit of tingling sensation on the skin this morning, indicating that one of the EO/FO’s in the fragrance profile didn’t work well with my skin, but it wasn’t bad; enough that I could still complete a 3 pass shave without having to rush to get it off my face.
Packaging is excellent, with water proof labels on the top and sides, and the ingredient list on the side labels. This soap base is typical of Ariana & Evans recent releases since debuting the goat milk formula. Loading is easy, the proto-lather displaying that stringy type of texture that I have come to love in soaps. It’s a very thirsty soap, as this morning I added about 4-5 tsp of water to a 20-25 second load to get the texture correct. Just as a reminder of the ingredient list of the goat milk formula:
Stearic Acid, Tallow, Goats Milk, Shea Butter, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Castor Oil, Lanolin, Bentonite Clay, Sodium Lactate, Beeswax, Fragrance & EO's
Performance wise, this soap just works, and works at a very high level. As mentioned in previous reviews of Ariana & Evans soaps, it’s one of the top soap bases that I’ve used. It scores near the top across the board in all metrics. Here are the scores for the soap base:
(Strength of scent and scent preference are not included as they are too subjective)
Lathering: 10/10
Cushion: 10/10
Slickness: 9.5/10
Moisturizing: 10/10
Residual Slickness: 9.5/10
Stability: 5/5
Total: 54/55
Comparable soap bases from a performance standpoint:
Declaration Grooming Project Icarus (55/55)
Declaration Grooming Bison Tallow (54.5/55)
Wholly Kaw Donkey Milk (52/55)
WSP Formula T (51/55)
Eufros (51/55)
Conclusion: It’s a shame this soap doesn’t quite agree with my skin, because it’s very enjoyable. Is it my favorite A&E scent? No, that’s still a toss-up between Grecian Horse and SoCal Hipster. But it’s one that I would reach for on occasion. Performance is typical A&E, (excellent), and for those who are worried that you would experience the same tingling sensation I have with it, this is the first time I’ve heard of it in any review of NYC, so I don’t believe that it would be a normal thing. Price point, since you have to be a member, is just over $3 an oz, (about $3.50), so it's quite reasonable, and it punches well above its weight at that price. If you’re a fan of fougere’s, and enjoy darker notes this would be a good one to check out for sure!
https://youtu.be/trnACuISeOY
