I have three shaves under my belt with Wholly Kaw's latest soap and aftershave, Agrumi in Estate (AE). This latest soap is the donkey milk base, but with added synthetic collagen. I believe the extra collagen is expected to add anti-aging properties. Meaning with continued use of this soap...it should smooth out skin and minimize wrinkles. It's too soon to really know if this aspect will work or not.
Straight out of the tub the scent is definitely a strong citrus...as the name implies. While it is on the fresher side of citrus...to me it smells very much like the candy Lemondrops. Maybe less candy and more in the way of fruit...but that is what comes to mind. The strength of scent is pronounced, but not overly strong. On a scale of one to five...I would say this is in the neighborhood of probably 2.5 or maybe even 2.75. It's about the same when lathered also...ever-present, but not overpowering.
Lathering this soap was very interesting. I used my TSC Member Brush...the "Luca Brasi"...made by Eric Sorrentino and with a Finest Badger knot, twice (a face lather and a bowl lather) and once with my new Stirling synthetic given to me by my good friend TJ @DocHoliday0831. The lather whips up okay...but this soap is rather thirsty. I came out with a very thick lather and probably needed to infuse more water into the lather. The bowl lather I produced on the third day of shaving, I was determined to get the perfect lather...I dumped a ton of water into it. I wish I would have measured out exactly how much water I used, but just know, it was WAY more than usual. After extensive work...I was able to create a perfect lather.
I used my Gillette Slim all three days and was very happy with the qualities of the lather. Properly hydrated, AE is really a super slick soap. As you would expect from a Wholly Kaw soap...all the aspects of a great soap are there. Super slick, great cushion, exceptional protection...really everything you want in an elite or near elite soap. One thing that I did notice about the lather was that this iteration of the Wholly Kaw soap base seemed to be creamier on the face than my King of Oud. Not sure if this is the added collagen or if it's because I added a lot of water to it. This is neither good nor bad...it's just a difference that I noticed. The lather gave me a really great shave.
Two things that I really pay attention to in a soap are residual slickness and post shave feel/moisturizing. These attributes typically go hand and hand...but not always. Both of these qualities are ever present and are exceptional. I was able to go straight to the face with my razor for cleanup without having to wet my face or apply more lather. This tells me that the residual slickness is excellent. Post shave feel was no different. The soap left my face well moisturized. While the moisturizing was really good...I should note that it isn't the best I have had. But definitely toward the top.
Going forward I feel that I need a grading system for soaps. I tried assigning values to qualities and scoring...but I don't think I can be consistent in that. So I am going with something much more subjective and will give me some leeway in my rankings. My categories for grading a soap/cream are as follows: Ease of Lather, Total Lather, Residual Slickness, and Post Shave Feel. Additionally, I will assign to each category the following grades: Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent. I am lumping slickness, cushion, and protection, together as Total Lather. To me, these three work to provide you a comfortable or not so comfortable shave. Therefore they are being graded as one.
Wholly Kaw Agrumi in Estate soap with collagen was graded as follows:
Ease of Lather: Good
Total Lather: Excellent
Residual Slickness: Excellent
Post Shave Feel: Excellent
Average Attribute Grade: Excellent
Is this a perfect soap? No
Is this an elite soap? Definitely
The only knock really on this soap is that it was a little more difficult to lather than I was expecting. Once it is dialed in, it should be easier and quicker to obtain that perfect lather.
A note about the Aftershave...
There is a lot of good stuff in this post shave elixir. It really seemed to sooth my skin and help my skin recover if I was too harsh on it. The scent smells exactly like the soap, with just a hint of alcohol in the aroma. If you are looking for an aftershave with longevity...this is not it. This is truly an aftershave, and with the scent lingering only for a few minutes. No worries at all...as I am not sure I would want to smell like Lemondrop candies all day long. It pairs perfectly with any summertime scented EdT, EdP, or cologne.
Thanks for reading!
