A few weeks ago I was browsing through the various online shave retailers. I was looking for something or somethings specific, when I came across a shave soap and after shave that I was not familiar with...Noble Otter. Artisan soap makers are popping up left and right and with really stellar products. So why not try Noble Otter. So I took a chance and purchased a soap and matching after shave in the Lonestar scent.
According to the Noble Otter website, the Lonestar scent comprises:
Notes:
Lemon, Sage, Magnolia, Texas Cedar, Oakmoss, Leather, Hay
After my shaves this week, my wife said that the scent smells like leather, which I get. But to me it smells like a humid southern day in the late spring when the jasmine, gardenias, magnolias, and crepe myrtles are all in bloom...throw in some fresh cut grass...Lonestar! While we are on the topic of scent...the strength of scent on this is not overly strong, but you definitely notice that it is still there. Ever present before, during, and after the shave. In fact, it is one of the few soaps I can actually smell AFTER the shave. If I am grading on a one to five scale...it is definitely a 4.5.
Let's talk soap...
I had the pleasure to shave with Noble Otter - Lonestar for about a week. Five shaves to be exact. From day one...this stuff was excellent. It really does everything you want a soap to do and in most cases better. Before we get into specifics...let's check out what is in this soap...
Ingredients:
Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Coconut Milk, Aloe Vera, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Lanolin, Tucuma Seed Butter, Kokum Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Bentonite Clay, Tocopheral Acetate, Citric Acid, Watermelon Extract, Whitewillow Bark Extract, Tussah Silk.
As you can see, there is a lot of really good stuff in this soap. A lot of stuff that feels good on your skin!
I loaded this soap with three different types of brushes. A synthetic, a finest badger, and a two band silver tip badger. All loaded and lathered superbly. Loading the brush was a quick 10 to 15 second load with a wet or dryer brush. I mostly face lather, but a couple of times I bowl lathered also. There was no issue with either method. I purposely kept the lather dry...then I over hydrated it as well. In my opinion, there is a very wide margin of error with the Noble Otter soap base. This means that you can use too little or too much water and still come out with a really good lather.
The shave itself was very smooth. Actually that is an understatement. I typically don't chase a BBS shave...but this soap makes it easy to achieve. There is a lot of cushion/protection also with Noble Otter. During my shaves, there may or may not have been a sudden lapse of attention paid to what I was doing...which may have resulted in a serious wound...had I been shaving with an inferior soap. To my amazement...there was no damage done. Some of this protection may be because this soap is also super slick! A word on this...Noble Otter may be the slickest soap I have ever tried! It's really slick!
I usually find that Residual Slickness and Moisturizing properties go hand in hand. It's rare that a soap is a great moisturizer but has horrible residual slickness. This soap is no exception. I really believe that if you shave with this soap for any length of time...it will improve your skin. The residual slickness is off the charts...I could do a complete pass based on just the residual slickness alone! The only other category that I think I can cover here is stability. It is top notch in this department also. It kind of goes with the wide margin of error in lathering...excellent.
An aside if you will...the soap itself comes in an over-sized plastic container that makes it perfect for loading large brushes. Also the label on this product is very professional. A high quality logo/mascot on the label. The label is a water resistant label that is on both the top and the side. This is a quality brand and I appreciate the artisan spending the extra dime to make a good lo
oking product!
I guess to put this in a grading system this soap ranks as such:
Lathering: 10/10
Cushion: 9/10
Slickness: 10/10
Moisturizing/Post Shave Feel: 10/10
Residual Slickness: 10/10
Stability: 5/5
Strength of Scent: 4/5
Total: 58/60
I know this seems like I am a fanboy...well I guess I am...but I promise you, this is a very objective review.
A quick note on the after shave. It smells just like the soap and has some great projection and longevity. My wife says it is borderline too strong...I disagree. It also has longevity. After an entire day at the office, my wife said that she could smell the after shave on me. So it lasts a while. The after shave itself has a some great moisturizing properties...better than my favorites. The ingredients in the after shave are as follows...
Ingredients:
Denatured Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Water, Sodium Lactate, Panthenol, Polysorbate 20, Fragrance, Carrot Extract, Chamomile Extract, Seaweed Extract
All All in all this is a fantastic soap and after shave. I highly recommend purchasing Noble Otter products. At a price point of $16 for a 4 oz. tub of the soap and $17 for a 4 oz. bottle of after shave splash...this may not be the best value of soap...but it certainly isn't the most expensive either. In my humble opinion...this might be the best soap I have shaved with...especially at this price point. And if it isn't the best I have shaved with...then it certainly is one of the best.
According to the Noble Otter website, the Lonestar scent comprises:
Notes:
Lemon, Sage, Magnolia, Texas Cedar, Oakmoss, Leather, Hay
After my shaves this week, my wife said that the scent smells like leather, which I get. But to me it smells like a humid southern day in the late spring when the jasmine, gardenias, magnolias, and crepe myrtles are all in bloom...throw in some fresh cut grass...Lonestar! While we are on the topic of scent...the strength of scent on this is not overly strong, but you definitely notice that it is still there. Ever present before, during, and after the shave. In fact, it is one of the few soaps I can actually smell AFTER the shave. If I am grading on a one to five scale...it is definitely a 4.5.
Let's talk soap...
I had the pleasure to shave with Noble Otter - Lonestar for about a week. Five shaves to be exact. From day one...this stuff was excellent. It really does everything you want a soap to do and in most cases better. Before we get into specifics...let's check out what is in this soap...
Ingredients:
Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Coconut Milk, Aloe Vera, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Lanolin, Tucuma Seed Butter, Kokum Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Bentonite Clay, Tocopheral Acetate, Citric Acid, Watermelon Extract, Whitewillow Bark Extract, Tussah Silk.
As you can see, there is a lot of really good stuff in this soap. A lot of stuff that feels good on your skin!
I loaded this soap with three different types of brushes. A synthetic, a finest badger, and a two band silver tip badger. All loaded and lathered superbly. Loading the brush was a quick 10 to 15 second load with a wet or dryer brush. I mostly face lather, but a couple of times I bowl lathered also. There was no issue with either method. I purposely kept the lather dry...then I over hydrated it as well. In my opinion, there is a very wide margin of error with the Noble Otter soap base. This means that you can use too little or too much water and still come out with a really good lather.
The shave itself was very smooth. Actually that is an understatement. I typically don't chase a BBS shave...but this soap makes it easy to achieve. There is a lot of cushion/protection also with Noble Otter. During my shaves, there may or may not have been a sudden lapse of attention paid to what I was doing...which may have resulted in a serious wound...had I been shaving with an inferior soap. To my amazement...there was no damage done. Some of this protection may be because this soap is also super slick! A word on this...Noble Otter may be the slickest soap I have ever tried! It's really slick!
I usually find that Residual Slickness and Moisturizing properties go hand in hand. It's rare that a soap is a great moisturizer but has horrible residual slickness. This soap is no exception. I really believe that if you shave with this soap for any length of time...it will improve your skin. The residual slickness is off the charts...I could do a complete pass based on just the residual slickness alone! The only other category that I think I can cover here is stability. It is top notch in this department also. It kind of goes with the wide margin of error in lathering...excellent.
An aside if you will...the soap itself comes in an over-sized plastic container that makes it perfect for loading large brushes. Also the label on this product is very professional. A high quality logo/mascot on the label. The label is a water resistant label that is on both the top and the side. This is a quality brand and I appreciate the artisan spending the extra dime to make a good lo
oking product!
I guess to put this in a grading system this soap ranks as such:
Lathering: 10/10
Cushion: 9/10
Slickness: 10/10
Moisturizing/Post Shave Feel: 10/10
Residual Slickness: 10/10
Stability: 5/5
Strength of Scent: 4/5
Total: 58/60
I know this seems like I am a fanboy...well I guess I am...but I promise you, this is a very objective review.
A quick note on the after shave. It smells just like the soap and has some great projection and longevity. My wife says it is borderline too strong...I disagree. It also has longevity. After an entire day at the office, my wife said that she could smell the after shave on me. So it lasts a while. The after shave itself has a some great moisturizing properties...better than my favorites. The ingredients in the after shave are as follows...
Ingredients:
Denatured Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Water, Sodium Lactate, Panthenol, Polysorbate 20, Fragrance, Carrot Extract, Chamomile Extract, Seaweed Extract
All All in all this is a fantastic soap and after shave. I highly recommend purchasing Noble Otter products. At a price point of $16 for a 4 oz. tub of the soap and $17 for a 4 oz. bottle of after shave splash...this may not be the best value of soap...but it certainly isn't the most expensive either. In my humble opinion...this might be the best soap I have shaved with...especially at this price point. And if it isn't the best I have shaved with...then it certainly is one of the best.
