Mama Bear Soaps – Tangerine and Tulip

Tags

6/10, citrus, floral, Fruit, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps, shaving soap, tangerine, tulip

Mama Bear Soaps Tangerine and Tulip is a pleasant enough scent, IMHO. It’s a bit heavier on the tulip than the tangerine. Reasonably nice, but not one of those ones that I have any compulsion to just keep sniffing.

The strength of the aroma is ok. It’s of middling strength when lathered up, but at least didn’t fade noticeably during the shaving.

As for the lather, here’s the Mama Bear boilerplate review: Lathers up nice and thick to begin with; be sure to add a decent amount of water to get enough glide, but not too quickly as it’s easy to over-shoot the mark and be left with something too runny; if you’re using a scuttle, the heat will cause the lather to break down between passes, but a few extra drops of water and a quick stir will fix that up nicely. Gives a perfectly nice shave.

As an aside, I’ve also amended my scoring for lather, since I’ve been giving out too many 9’s. So it got split up into 8s and 9s, and everything below it got bumped down, including this one. Hence the fact it’s getting a 7 instead of a 8 now.

• 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality

6/10 overall. It’ll definitely do the trick, just don’t expect much in the way of tangerines.

• Cost: $9.99 for a tub worth, or the samples can be had for $1.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech
• Blade: Shark Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Mountain Waters

Tags

6/10, blackcurrant, citrus, cologne, Glycerin, green tea, mama, Mama Bear Soaps, musk, shaving soap

Mama Bear’s Mountain Waters is their take on Creed’s Silver Mountain Water scent. The overall impression is freshness; a nice combination of citrus, green tea, and blackcurrants, with a hint of musk.

It is however, fairly weak. Just barely noticible when lathered up and applied to the face, and even that fades a fair bit during the shave.

As for the lather, here’s the Mama Bear boilerplate review: Lathers up nice and thick to begin with; be sure to add a decent amount of water to get enough glide, but not too quickly as it’s easy to over-shoot the mark and be left with something too runny; if you’re using a scuttle, the heat will cause the lather to break down between passes, but a few extra drops of water and a quick stir will fix that up nicely. Gives a perfectly nice shave.

• 9/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 6/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

6/10 overall. Not nearly strong enough of a scent to really make the shave more enjoyable.

• Cost: $11.99 for a tub worth, or the samples can be had for $1.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Merkur Progress
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Creme Brulee

Tags

6/10, caramel, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps, shaving soap, vanilla

My first review for a while comes after the first shave for almost a week, shocking I know. So, to combat 5 days of growth, I naturally reached for the vintage Bakelite slant; some damned fine cutting power there.

Mama Bear Soaps’s Crème Brûlée (Actually, they spell it without the accents, but hey) smells mostly sweet, with hints of caramel and vanilla, and I’m also picking up something that seems a bit citrus-y. It’s fairly nice when sniffing the soap directly, unfortunately it’s not all that strong, so once lathered up, that mostly fades to just the vanilla.

As for the lather, here’s the Mama Bear boilerplate review: Lathers up nice and thick to begin with; be sure to add a decent amount of water to get enough glide, but not too quickly as it’s easy to over-shoot the mark and be left with something too runny; if you’re using a scuttle, the heat will cause the lather to break down between passes, but a few extra drops of water and a quick stir will fix that up nicely. Gives a perfectly nice shave.

• 7/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

6/10 overall. Definitely would have fared better if it was stronger, but the scent wasn’t anything to write home about either.

• Cost: $10.99 for a bowl worth, or a dollar for a sample as shown. It’s also included in the “everyday favorites” sample pack, along with 17 other scents for $14.99.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Vintage Bakelite Slant
• Blade: Lord Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Citrus Basil

Tags

4/10, basil, citrus, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps, shaving soap

I really rather didn’t like Mama Bear’s Citrus Basil shaving soap. The scent was not really what I would consider to be a good combination; if it reminded me of anything, it’s cheap bar soap.

Strength-wise it was… middling, which considering I didn’t like the aroma is probably a good thing.

As for the lather, here’s the Mama Bear boilerplate review, since there’s not really any difference in performance that I’ve noticed between different scents: Lathers up nice and thick to begin with; be sure to add a decent amount of water to get enough glide, but not too quickly as it’s easy to over-shoot the mark and be left with something too runny; if you’re using a scuttle, the heat will cause the lather to break down between passes, but a few extra drops of water and a quick stir will fix that up nicely. Gives a perfectly nice shave.

• 4/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

So, I’m going with a 4/10 overall. I didn’t like it, your mileage may vary I suppose.

• Cost: The sample was a dollar. Pucks go for 9.99.

Gear used (Roadshow edition!):

• Brush: Wee Scott
• Razor: Bic Comfort Twin
• Scuttle: A empty tub that formerly contained the Body Shop’s Maca Root shaving cream.

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Toasted Coconut

Tags

7/10, coconut, Fruit, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps

Mama Bear’s Toasted Coconut scent is a pleasant coconut aroma, that avoids being overtly sweet, unlike a lot of the coconut scents out there. Which isn’t to say that I inherently like the less sweet versus the sweetness better mind you, but it’s a nice change of pace.

Strength-wise it’s ok. It’s not terribly strong either when lathered on the face, or just the soap itself, however it’s still noticeable while shaving, without significant fading, just not strongly so.

As for the lather, here’s the Mama Bear boilerplate review: Lathers up nice and thick to begin with; be sure to add a decent amount of water to get enough glide, but not too quickly as it’s easy to over-shoot the mark and be left with something too runny; if you’re using a scuttle, the heat will cause the lather to break down between passes, but a few extra drops of water and a quick stir will fix that up nicely. Gives a perfectly nice shave.

• 9/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 8/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

7/10 overall. I’d say it’s worth a sample. And…. I just noticed it’s currently unavailable on the website. Hmmm. How embarrassing. However, their Facebook page specifically mentioned yesterday how they were whipping up some more Toasted Coconut, so I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that’ll be fixed up shortly.

• Cost: When I bought it, the samples were a dollar. Likely will be again. Not sure what the cost of the full tubs or the mug soaps would be.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Vintage Bakelite Slant
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – British Leather

Tags

6/10, cedarwood, citrus, cologne, floral, Glycerin, leather, Mama Bear Soaps, musk, Rose, shaving soap, vanilla, vetiver, wood

Mama Bear’s British Leather is, from what I can recall, a fairly decent re-creation of English Leather, the classic cologne scent (it’s been a while since I’ve smelled that). As per usual, my nose isn’t up to picking out unique scents amongst an aroma this complex, but they say that it is a “mix of bergamot, lemon, orange with notes or rose, honey, orris and ferns” with base notes of “cedarwood, leather, vetiver, musk and vanilla.” I see no reason not to believe them there. It’s a reasonably nice scent, and I’d bump it up a couple points if you’re a big fan of the cologne.

Strength-wise it doesn’t really cut it though. It’s easy to pick out when smelling the soap itself, but when lathered up and applied to the face, there’s pretty much nothing.

As for the lather, here’s the Mama Bear boilerplate review: Lathers up nice and thick to begin with; be sure to add a decent amount of water to get enough glide, but not too quickly as it’s easy to over-shoot the mark and be left with something too runny; if you’re using a scuttle, the heat will cause the lather to break down between passes, but a few extra drops of water and a quick stir will fix that up nicely. Gives a perfectly nice shave.

• 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 6/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

6/10 overall. The scent really isn’t strong enough to enhance the shaving experience.

• Cost: $9.99 for a bowl worth. For some reason the samples aren’t currently available, although I suspect that’s an oversight that will be rectified once they get back from vacation in a few days.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Lord Platinum
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – White Grapefruit Ice Mentholated Shaving Soap

Tags

7/10, citrus, Glycerin, grapefruit, Mama Bear Soaps, menthol, shaving soap

First up, a slight policy change announcement. Up to now I’ve been giving each soap I’m trying out at least two days worth of shaves. This was primarily in order to ensure that I didn’t accidentally give a soap a bad review based upon me just having a bad shave, or bad luck once with building lather.

But I’ve also noticed that a lot of brands seem to have a lot of consistency in the behaviour of their lather, with the only real variation being in the scents. So, in order to allow me to get through the backlog of soaps I’ve got to review a bit faster, if I decide this is the case, I’ll only be giving soaps of that type 1 day of shaving per scent. As this has definitely been the case with Mama Bear Soaps (and as I’ve still got almost 2 months worth of Mama Bear reviews to do even with the 1 a day amendment), they’ll be the first to be added to this list. I suspect I’ll probably be adding at least Honeybee Soaps, and The Shave Den to this list shortly as well.

So, on to today’s review: Mama Bear’s White Grapefruit Ice. She says that “Grapefruit is great for oil skin.. combined with the menthol, this is a great summer soap for those who want something for their oily skin that is cooling and refreshing…” So naturally I waited until a chilly day in fall to test out this soap.

The grapefruit is quite nicely done, which makes sense considering it’s apparently done with 100% essential oils, instead of artificial fragrances. And the menthol adds quite a nice kick to both the scent, and in the cooling sensation on the skin. The aroma was noticible throughout the shave, but not strongly so.

As for the shave itself, as I mentioned, consistent. Load your brush a lot, add water slowly, and you’ll end up with a nice thick lather with a decent amount of glide; just be sure not to over-shoot on the water. If you’re using a scuttle, expect to have to re-whip the lather between passes (add a few drops of water too), as I’ve found the heat to increase the rate at which the lather breaks down.

• 9/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 8/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

So overall, I give it a 7/10. As per usual with Mama Bear, trying it won’t hurt the pocket much… until you decide to try them all.

• Cost: $11.99 for a 5 oz puck, plus a bit extra if you want a plastic tub or wooden bowl; $4.69 for a 1.5 oz “mug soap”, or $1.00 for a sample sliver.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Lord Platinum
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Autumn Afternoon Glycerin Shave Soap

Tags

6/10, crisp, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps, shaving soap, wood

It was a dismal dreary rainy morning, typical of fall / winter in Victoria BC, when I was choosing what soap to use next. So I plunged my hand into the box o’ Mama Bear samples, and grabbed a few. One stood out as a promise to remind me that fall need not be all that bad. So next, I’ll be reviewing Mama Bear’s Autumn Afternoon.

Mama Bear describes this one as a clean blend of herbs, falling leaves, and clean fresh air. And, as per usual, it smells exactly like it sounds. It’s a nice pleasant fresh smelling scent that reminds me of a walk through the park on a crisp day in the fall.

The strength could have been kicked up a notch. It was noticeable, but not strongly, when the lather was applied to the face, however it seemed to fade fairly quickly. Sniffing the soap directly is reasonably strong.

And the shave was the usual from Mama Bear. Decent glide, as long as you’re not too stingy on the water, but careful not to go overboard either or you’ll kill the cushioning. Lather will break down between passes if you’re using a scuttle, but can be re-whipped up easily enough (and you probably want to add a couple drops of water each pass as you do).

• 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

Overall, I give it a 6/10. Give it a shot if you’re looking for a light fresh scent.

• Cost: $9.99 for a jar full. The samples used to be available for a dollar each, and it is for the other scents I checked; that option seems to be broken for this scent, however I suspect this might be an oversight.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Vintage Bakelite Slant
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower , Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Phoenix Rising Shave Soap

Tags

7/10, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps, shaving soap, vanilla, wood

Time for another Mama Bear soap review (because I’ve got like 60 samples to get through!). Up next is Sue’s Phoenix Rising (from the ashes) scent. To start off, here’s what she has to say about the scent:

The Phoenix is a symbol of rebirth, a new beginning.This mysterious and invigorating soap evokes the sense of anticipation. What the day may bring or what the night has in store.

This wonderful scent is warm smoldering embers and vanilla containing notes of charred birch, pine and cedar with a balsamic vanilla, amber, sandalwood and musk drydown. One of my favorites!

The woodsy / smokeyness of this soap is tempered quite nicely by the sweetness of the vanilla. It’s a combination that, where I to guess based on just the description, I probably wouldn’t have thought would be something I liked, however in actually smelling it, it came together really well. The scent is patterned after a now-discontinued line of scented candles called “Fireside” which was produced by Bath and Body Works in collaboration with Sir Elton John.

The only complaint I have is my most common complaint with soaps from manufacturers across the board: not quite as strong of a scent as I would have liked. I was still able to pick it up throughout the shave, but not easily.

As for the shave itself, it’s the usual from Mama Bear. Decent balance of glide and cushioning, as long as you’re careful about the amount of water added. Start dry, add it in slowly, otherwise you’ll risk making it too runny. But you do need to be sure to add enough, otherwise you’re not going to get enough glide. And you’ll probably need to re-work the lather between passes if you use a warmed scuttle, as the heat causes it to break down.

• 9/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

Overall, I’d say it’s a solid 7/10. The beauty of Mama Bear is the wide variety of scents available and how easy it is to sample them. This is worth adding to a sampler pack.

• Cost: $10.99 for a jar full, or $1.00 for a sample, (or as one of 11 samples in the $8.99 “Men’s Cologne Favorites” sample pack) which should easily last a 3 – 4 shaves even if you’re wasteful with lather like I am.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Lord Platinum Class
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower , Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.

Mama Bear Soaps – Sandalwood Rose Shave Soap

Tags

5/10, Glycerin, Mama Bear Soaps, Rose, sandalwood, shaving soap

Sandalwood Rose is an intriguing combination of two classic shaving soap scents. The rose seems to beat out the sandalwood. It’s interesting, but I don’t quite think it does it for me. Something about the combination just doesn’t mesh; overall I think I’d prefer either just rose or just sandalwood. Mind you, I think I’m finding that I’m generally not all that much of a sandalwood fan in the first place, so naturally your mileage may vary.

As for the strength, not bad but not quite there. You could catch some of it in the lather once applied to the face, but not too much. It didn’t fade all that much however, which helps.

As for the shave itself, Mama Bear is nothing if not consistent on that front. Lathered up nice and thick, decent volume; be sure to use a fair bit of water for slickness, but be careful not to add too much or you can end up too runny.

As promised in my last review, I did a little experimentation, and didn’t heat up the scuttle to see what effect it had on the rate at which the lather broke down between passes. It definitely seemed to make a difference. That having been said, I have a scuttle because I enjoy the nice warm lather, and I’m not about to abandon that just because of the added work of a few seconds of re-mixing each time I want to lather up my face.

• 5/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 7/10 Lather Quality (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

Overall, I give it a 5/10. I probably won’t use it again. But of course, as per usual with Mama Bear, at a dollar a sample, it might be worth the shot for you. That’s the beauty about having such a wide wide range of options to pick from; there’s gotta be something for everyone.

• Cost: $1.00 for the sample used, which should last a 3 – 4 shaves easily. Larger amounts range from $4.49 for a 1.5 ounce puck, to $10.79 for a 5 ounce puck, with containers available for extra.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Merkur Progress
• Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Safflower , Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner), Wheat protein and fragrance either natural or synthetic.