Like any good vendor or producer of goods, you need to constantly evolve your product in order to stay on top of the ever changing trends and fickle desires of your customer base. So it was no surprise when Winnipeg, Canada-based Tallow + Steel released a new version of their already vaunted soap base with V3 and a trio of new scents. The scents, one of which is a limited release (Kyoto), once again pay homage to locations. Madagascar and Sicily round out the current new crop of offerings. The new soap base does not really offer a bump in performance, but instead tries to tone down the scent of the base so that the fragrance and essential oils used can shine through. The scents that they offer, at least in the past, can be somewhat polarizing; people either love the scents or not. There’s generally not too much of a middle ground. Packaging is absolutely top notch, with matte side labels containing the ingredient list (see below) as well as a tastefully done logo.
Ingredients: Stearic acid, water, organic argan oil, organic glycerin, essential oils, organic castor oil, organic safflower oil, potassium hydroxide, tallow (pasture-raised), organic coconut oil, bentonite clay, sodium hydroxide, vitamin E and silk
Sicily is their take on what it is to walk through a Sicilian countryside, with the smell of the citrus groves wafting in the air. It’s mainly a citrus scent with arboreal notes of the lavender and rosemary playing to create a wonderful feeling of being in a citrus grove. Something similar would be Chiseled Face’s Santa Paula; but that leans much more heavily on the woody notes, with hints of citrus. This is much more evenly balanced, with the citrus honestly playing center stage. Strength of scent off of the tub is about a 2-2.5/5, mid strong. This is where I find the majority of soaps live, so that’s no surprise. Here is the scent notes, and the percentage of the total they take:
Bergamot (24%), Blood Orange (21%), Lemon (20%), Petitgrain (18%), Lavender (9%), Rosemary (8%)
First, the scent does bloom out to about a 3.5/5 once lathered, but not much beyond that. The citrus notes become a little more forward, with at first the sharpness of the bergamot then the softer, sweeter blood orange playing. The lemon is ever-present, but never too forward. As you get more into the lather, the lavender and rosemary really start to become more assertive, and that sense of climbing in an orange tree really takes hold. It’s very nice, and a great wake-up scent.
Speaking of the lather, this soap has gotten some great reviews over the past year for its level of performance. From one use, I can tell you it lived up to the hype. It loads quickly and effortlessly, with 30 seconds being too long in all honesty. The lather has a cool-whip type texture to it, with decent sheen when it’s hydrated enough. Lather can be painted on top of lather, to improve cushion. The in shave cushion is wonderful, amongst the best, while primary slickness is very good along with the moisturizing properties. Residual slickness is excellent as well; a water only pass on my cheek felt like I was shaving with another coat of lather on my face. Protection, (the combination of slickness and cushion) is most excellent. I thought I dug in at one point, and walked away with not even a scratch or any feedback from the alum on that area. Good stuff!
So after one use, this soap definitely met my expectations. It scored higher than just about all other soap bases, as the scores generally move up the more a soap is used and dialed in. Here is the (one use) scoring of the soap base’s performance (as always, strength of scent and preference aren’t included since they’re so subjective):
Lathering: 9/10
Cushion: 9.5/10
Slickness: 9/10
Moisturizing: 9/10
Residual Slickness: 9/10
Stability: 5/5
Total: 50.5/55
Comparable soap bases from a performance standpoint:
Noble Otter (52.5/55)
Wholly Kaw (donkey milk) (52/55)
Soapy Science (51.5/55)
WSP Formula T (51/50)
Saponificio Varesino beta 4.3 (50/55)
Fine Accoutrements (49/55)
Wholly Kaw (regular Tallow) (49/55)
Barrister & Mann Glissant (49/55)
Conclusion: Finalized ratings typically are given after at least 3 uses, but I’ve found that the better a soap performs after one use, that it will generally improve as the user gets to know it. I’m expecting much of the same from Tallow + Steel as I use these soaps more. The scent on this is quite wonderful, giving me the impression of walking through a citrus grove full of bergamot, lemon and oranges. This would easily pair with a classic Colonia or something a little more on the vetiver side of the house to pair with the arboreal notes. A straight citrus such as Aqua di Gio would also work very well. Packaging is about as professional as it gets, and I got a little giddy when I saw the matte finish side labels on the containers. The artwork is very tastefully done as well. Price point gets a little on the expensive side, going for about $5.25-6 per oz., but this is also being imported from Canada. The fact that this score so high after one use tells me that this will be an elite level soap in very short order. If there is a scent out there that tickles your fancy, you’ll be getting a soap that I feel comfortable saying will perform commensurate with its price. This scent is only being offered through their website, and I believe I read somewhere that they are not going to be selling though wholesalers anymore. That’s is ok by me, as I would prefer to support the artisans directly, anyways. For me, this was a very good scent in an excellent soap. But for the price, I would absolutely recommend this soap, if you can swing it in the budget, (or with SWMBO’s approval). You’ll end up with a high quality product that you’ll enjoy!
https://youtu.be/7zdG6FH1C2Y
Ingredients: Stearic acid, water, organic argan oil, organic glycerin, essential oils, organic castor oil, organic safflower oil, potassium hydroxide, tallow (pasture-raised), organic coconut oil, bentonite clay, sodium hydroxide, vitamin E and silk
Sicily is their take on what it is to walk through a Sicilian countryside, with the smell of the citrus groves wafting in the air. It’s mainly a citrus scent with arboreal notes of the lavender and rosemary playing to create a wonderful feeling of being in a citrus grove. Something similar would be Chiseled Face’s Santa Paula; but that leans much more heavily on the woody notes, with hints of citrus. This is much more evenly balanced, with the citrus honestly playing center stage. Strength of scent off of the tub is about a 2-2.5/5, mid strong. This is where I find the majority of soaps live, so that’s no surprise. Here is the scent notes, and the percentage of the total they take:
Bergamot (24%), Blood Orange (21%), Lemon (20%), Petitgrain (18%), Lavender (9%), Rosemary (8%)
First, the scent does bloom out to about a 3.5/5 once lathered, but not much beyond that. The citrus notes become a little more forward, with at first the sharpness of the bergamot then the softer, sweeter blood orange playing. The lemon is ever-present, but never too forward. As you get more into the lather, the lavender and rosemary really start to become more assertive, and that sense of climbing in an orange tree really takes hold. It’s very nice, and a great wake-up scent.
Speaking of the lather, this soap has gotten some great reviews over the past year for its level of performance. From one use, I can tell you it lived up to the hype. It loads quickly and effortlessly, with 30 seconds being too long in all honesty. The lather has a cool-whip type texture to it, with decent sheen when it’s hydrated enough. Lather can be painted on top of lather, to improve cushion. The in shave cushion is wonderful, amongst the best, while primary slickness is very good along with the moisturizing properties. Residual slickness is excellent as well; a water only pass on my cheek felt like I was shaving with another coat of lather on my face. Protection, (the combination of slickness and cushion) is most excellent. I thought I dug in at one point, and walked away with not even a scratch or any feedback from the alum on that area. Good stuff!
So after one use, this soap definitely met my expectations. It scored higher than just about all other soap bases, as the scores generally move up the more a soap is used and dialed in. Here is the (one use) scoring of the soap base’s performance (as always, strength of scent and preference aren’t included since they’re so subjective):
Lathering: 9/10
Cushion: 9.5/10
Slickness: 9/10
Moisturizing: 9/10
Residual Slickness: 9/10
Stability: 5/5
Total: 50.5/55
Comparable soap bases from a performance standpoint:
Noble Otter (52.5/55)
Wholly Kaw (donkey milk) (52/55)
Soapy Science (51.5/55)
WSP Formula T (51/50)
Saponificio Varesino beta 4.3 (50/55)
Fine Accoutrements (49/55)
Wholly Kaw (regular Tallow) (49/55)
Barrister & Mann Glissant (49/55)
Conclusion: Finalized ratings typically are given after at least 3 uses, but I’ve found that the better a soap performs after one use, that it will generally improve as the user gets to know it. I’m expecting much of the same from Tallow + Steel as I use these soaps more. The scent on this is quite wonderful, giving me the impression of walking through a citrus grove full of bergamot, lemon and oranges. This would easily pair with a classic Colonia or something a little more on the vetiver side of the house to pair with the arboreal notes. A straight citrus such as Aqua di Gio would also work very well. Packaging is about as professional as it gets, and I got a little giddy when I saw the matte finish side labels on the containers. The artwork is very tastefully done as well. Price point gets a little on the expensive side, going for about $5.25-6 per oz., but this is also being imported from Canada. The fact that this score so high after one use tells me that this will be an elite level soap in very short order. If there is a scent out there that tickles your fancy, you’ll be getting a soap that I feel comfortable saying will perform commensurate with its price. This scent is only being offered through their website, and I believe I read somewhere that they are not going to be selling though wholesalers anymore. That’s is ok by me, as I would prefer to support the artisans directly, anyways. For me, this was a very good scent in an excellent soap. But for the price, I would absolutely recommend this soap, if you can swing it in the budget, (or with SWMBO’s approval). You’ll end up with a high quality product that you’ll enjoy!
https://youtu.be/7zdG6FH1C2Y
