Very fast shipping. Ok cheap shave soap.
First, the shipping from this company was very fast and arrived before the expected date.  Kudos to them, especially since it's not Prime.<br /><br />As for the soap, it's just ok. For reference, I use a DE Muhle razor with Feather blades.<br /><br />If your biggest concern is price, this will serve you well as long as you have a shave brush. If you rub it on your face without lathering it with a brush, it's way too thick and will build up heavily on your razor. With the lather and brush, it's very smooth, but has an odd tingle to it; not a nice feeling that you would get from Menthol, but rather a very mild burning sensation that will stay with you for the rest of the day.  I must admit that I have very sensitive skin, but I'm definitely not used to my face feeling irritated all day.  This isn't to say that it gave me razor burn, but it sure felt like it.<br /><br />As for the smell, it's pleasant, but it just smells like traditional soap. This is unfortunate, as other reviewers have noted, because one of the luxuries of DE wet shaving is having those really nice scents that add to the experience.  This will not give you that addition.<br /><br />I could, however see this being nice for travel given that it's a hard cream (it's definitely not a hard soap).<br /><br />The bottom line is this: I can see why people like it, I don't mind the smell, it delivers a good shave with a smooth feel afterwards (likely because of the animal tallow), but due to the slight burn and simplicity of the product, I'd rather spend the extra few dollars on Proraso White or even a few more dollars on a D.R. Harris product.<br /><br />Update as of 3/21/15: I forced myself to use this soap again and the more I use it, the more I like it. As I said above, the smell is average but once you learn how to use it, this soap will give you one of the best shaves available.<br /><br />Here are a few tips:<br /><br />Rub it on a wet face against the grain. You'll begon to see a very slight white buildup. Stop. If you keep going, you'll have used waaaaay too much and it'll buildup like I described above. Now take a firm brush (I like a boars hair over badgers hair for this) and lather extensively on your face. You'll notice a good buildup on your brush and face. Now do your normal shaving routine using the lather from your brush when needed.<br /><br />You're face will be baby butt smooth and soft. I also haven't had any burning issues since so it may have been the blade. I don't lnow.<br /><br />I still only give it 4 stars because it just smells like traditional soap. If I could give it 4 and 3/4 I would.
Rating: 4 stars