REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau Solaris Tallow Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Solaris Soap - A tallow based soap, that gives exquisite shaves.

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As I found with the early samples of the P&B tallow soap, this soap loads nice and easy, and gives a lather that is dense, rich, creamy and almost totally void of visible bubbles.  Using any type of shave brush, you can get a quality lather that is a joy to use...read on!

SCENT:
This is the most delicately fragranced so far of all Phoenix & Beau's offerings, but that's not to say it is lacking in scent, only that like a summers meadow, the scent is gentle, almost caressing of your nose.  The strongest note is the bitter lemon, followed by the balancing mint that brings an element of a balmy summers evening, sipping a G&T on the picnic blanket in said meadow.  Very fresh, ideal for a day where you want something slightly cooling.

LATHERABILITY:
As we've come to love (and expect), Solaris lathers up a storm very quickly indeed.  A wet brush taken to the soap brings oodles of prelather that creates this beauty in the bowl:

PERFORMANCE:
Performance is clearly something very important to Phoenix & Beau, as Solaris has all the boxes ticked.  More glide than a figure skater on ice and more cushion that your local DFS (or indeed any other sofa superstore).  I am in no doubt that this is a result of the thorough testing that occurred prior to launch, something I love about the P&B ethos, involve the customer in every stage.

POST SHAVE:
Yes, yes and more yes.  I tried a new razor today (see photo below) and found that even with a fearsome blade, there is no degradation in PSF (post shave finish).  My skin feels exactly like it should.  Top marks again.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
Well well well, a full house of brilliant soaps in the Phoenix & Beau collection.  To be honest, I had no doubt that this would be the case.  The care that goes into making these soaps is evident in every aspect.  This is an ideal soap for someone wanting a fresh scent, amazing performance and unparalleled post shave feel.  I leave you with this photo of what was a glorious shave of the day, brightened indeed by the rays of Solaris.

REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau Sanskrit Tallow Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Sanskrit Soap - A tallow based soap, that gives exquisite shaves.

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As I found with the early samples of the P&B tallow soap, this soap loads nice and easy, and gives a lather that is dense, rich, creamy and almost totally void of visible bubbles.  Using any type of shave brush, you can get a quality lather that is a joy to use...read on!
SCENT:
As I've mentioned to Kerry, I had visions of how Sanskrit would smell in my mind.  The notes mentioned are contained in one of my favourite fragrances, however, Sanskrit manages to do it's own thing, and boy does it do it well.  The dominant scent to me is the lemony zest of the cardamom, with cloves coming through here and there.  The warm, sweet notes of sandalwood peek through on occasion, with the black pepper becoming the soaps parting gift as the scent begins to wane after your shave.  It is certainly a spicy scent, with a nod to scents our grandfathers would likely have been familiar with.  A grand scent indeed.

LATHERABILITY:
We have no issues here, but this is not unsurprising.  A good load produced copious amounts of prelather, which in the bowl translated to ample lather for 5 passes easily.  Built to a wet but not runny lather in almost no time, I found myself yet again with no bubbles, only creamy (in texture and almost in colour) dense lather ready to adorn my waiting face.

PERFORMANCE:
With two of P&B's soaps under my belt, I had set my bar high for this.  I had hoped that I would find the same immense levels of performance in Sanskrit as I had the others.  Well, I am pleased to say that the hope was not in vain.  The performance is there in spades.  Fantastic glide as I've come to expect from Kerry's soaps.  Cushion was spot on again.  I like to be able to just about feel the blade, to know what it is doing, otherwise I feel I might get cocky with the blade and push things too far.  I am allowed to feel the blade, but not too much.  Perfect.

POST SHAVE:
As with the other two P&B soaps, I have found post-shave nirvana here with Sanskrit.  Not dry at all, in fact, quite the opposite, my skin feels like I've applied balms and creams until the cows come home.  Very, VERY good finish.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
My honest opinion?  You'll do well to find a Oxford English Dictionary, look up the word excellence and revel in everything that follows.

REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau 'Citra Royale' Tallow Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Citra Royale Soap - A tallow based soap, that gives exquisite shaves.

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As I found with the early samples of the P&B tallow soap, this soap loads nice and easy, and gives a lather that is dense, rich, creamy and almost totally void of visible bubbles.  Using any type of shave brush, you can get a quality lather that is a joy to use...read on!

SCENT:
In the pot, the scent is a fresh, punchy citrus scent, with a woody undertone that invigorates the senses. Ideal for a morning shave where you need that perky lift.  When mixing your lather in the bowl, the sweet burst of lime that comes through really lifts your spirits, with the woody balance of the cedar and litsea cubeba coming through to balance the scent perfectly.  On the face, the scent is there, but not too much to become imposing or unpleasant, enough so you know it is there and catch your attention.  Very nice indeed.

LATHERABILITY:
We have no issues here.  The new pots in which the soap comes are nice and wide, allowing for very easy loading.  Once in the bowl, the lather becomes very elastic quickly, and with the addition of water, expands and becomes almost like chewing gum.  I'm a light loader as I don't like to waste a good product, a 10-15 second load gives me enough lather for 3 passes and easily enough for two more plus touch up.  A very simple soap to lather.

PERFORMANCE:
I had some amazing results from the early sample of the unscented soap, and my understanding is that the base recipe is the same.  This did indeed translate to the same performance here.  Glide for days, and just the right amount of cushion from the blade in my Merkur 39C.  There is more than enough glide to perform blade buffing on my heaviest growth, as well as allowing the blade to slide effortlessly over my problem areas below the jawline without so much as a whisker of a problem.

POST SHAVE:
This was the highlight area of the test samples, and I am pleased to announce that this has not diminished in the slightest when it comes to the production soaps.  I like to finish my shave with a cold towel and nothing else, Citra Royale allows this perfectly.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
In short, this is one amazing soap.  It performs how a soap should (other manufacturers take note!), smells divine and is VERY good value for money.  For the small price of £10.95 you get the highest performing soap I've ever used, with a scent that wakens the senses in the best possible way.

REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau Tallow Soap - Unscented.

OK, so I am posting this review over several days using different equipment and will update this post as I go.

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Soap, Tallow Formula (unscented for purposes of testing).

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
OK, so, I pressed the soap into an old cereal bowl quite easily, so a soft soap indeed.  I bloom it for the duration of my hot towel and scrub preparation, and use the bloom water to help load the brush.

SCENT:
I'll not comment on the unscented aspect, more what I think would work wonders for me with a soap of this nature.  I'd like to see woody, masculine scents here, so sandalwood, maybe something peppery.

LATHERABILITY:
A short bloom ensured the Body Shop synthetic brush loaded with ease.  I loaded for about 15-20 seconds, which gave ample pre-lather that I transferred to my 'The Shaving Room' bowl, added a moderate amount of water to start the building of lather.  The lather never had that large bubble phase I get with some other soaps, but I did need to add plenty of water.  The lather as it started building had an element of elasticity that I've not seen in any other soap I won.  Added a little more water to thin the lather slightly as I was using a shavette today.  The lather when formed was rich and yoghurty, built without any real effort at all.

Tomorrow (day 2) I will lather using a boar brush to see if there is any discernible difference.  I'll update accordingly with new photos and comments on lather.

DAY 2 - No issues building a lather here either.  Had to add a little more water as the brush seemed to soak up plenty during the building of lather, but not exactly a problem at all.

DAY 3 - Used the mighty Omega 49 today, and boy did this brush make mincemeat of the soap!  Knowing the lather hogging properties of this brush, I did load it for a bit longer, and proceeded to the bowl with the chewing gum consistency spoken of by others.  Plenty of water later, I was greeted with more lather than you'd need to shave a Grizzly Bear!

This is the remaining lather from day 3 shave!  So much lather left, might not use this brush with the soap long term.

DAY 4 - Back to the Body Shop Synthetic brush today, with a little added glycerine.  No difference in lathering at all.

DAY 5 - As per yesterday, Body Shop Synthetic brush, no glycerine, usual bloom - fantastic lather

PERFORMANCE:
This for me is key.  Having read some of the initial comments on the quality of the lather, I had high expectations.  With that in mind, I chose a shavette for DAY 1 shave.  I painted the lather over my prepared (hot towel and face scrub) skin and proceeded to take short, deliberate strokes with the razor.  I could tell instantly that the lather protected the skin when taking off two days growth (I purposely didn't shave yesterday to give a good test).  I felt confidence in the lather to let the razor slide over the skin also.  I performed a two pass shave with the shavette, and not once did I feel tense or unsure of the soaps abilities to allow a safe, close shave.

DAY 2 - With the 39C and a 7th shave Astra SS, I felt this a good test for the soap.  The blade wasn't as sharp as I like, but the lather protected diligently, gave ample glide and no drama at all.

DAY 3 - Used the DE89 today and a fresh Astra SS.  First use of the razor meant there was an element of figuring out the nuances of this razor, so a good test for the soap.  The lather coped well with the lack of intuition for the razor, ensuring plenty of glide and cushion where needed.  Whilst the razor isn't my favourite, the lather certainly ensured there was no 'falling off a bike' type problems.

DAY 4 - Merkur 39C and Astra SS (2) with the glycerine enriched lather.  Oddly, I prefer the soap in its raw state, the glycerine didn't really add much to the shave that I could notice, testament to the initial very high quality lather of the soap.

DAY 5 - The lather was exceptional as usual, and with the added protection of my home blend pre shave oil, I think I've got a combination that will be impossible to beat when it comes to the shave quality.

POST SHAVE:
DAY 1 (shavette) - Here's the second most important thing for me.  Some soaps leave me tight and dry.  This was the polar opposite.  Not dry in the slightest, no taught sensation at all.  Top marks there.  The third and final element of post shave for me is alum feedback.  Previous history with shavettes showed strong to severe feedback under the jawline, with mild to moderate above.  This was massively reduced to zero feedback above the jawline, with mild to moderate below, testament to the protective qualities of the lather.

DAY 2 - As with day 1, plenty of good things to say about the post shave finish.  No dryness, tightness or any other drama you can speak of.  All looking good!

DAY 3 - Post shave experience is as good on day three as it was on the preceding days, superb finish.  Definitely a market leader in my humble opinion.

DAY 4 - Still a very good finish, not improved by the addition of glycerine to the lather.

DAY 5 - Sublime finish today, with the same level of softness and zero dryness as I've come to expect from this soap.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
DAY 1 (shavette) - Well, it's a definite thumbs up here so far.  The soap gave fantastic protection against the fearsome shavette.  Not once did I feel any decline in protective qualities, every aspect of the test sample stands up so far.  Loads and lathers well, protects and offers superior glide.

DAY 2 (Merkur 39C) - A great shave despite having a blade not at its peak in terms of sharpness.  I'll load a fresh blade tomorrow in to the DE89 for a fresh blade test.

DAY 3 (Edwin Jagger DE89) - Whilst the razor isn't my favourite (touch ups needed), the lather didn't let me down, it protected against any issues that can be found when using a razor for the first time.

DAY 4 - (Merkur 39C) - A great shave was achieved this morning, even with a sense of rushing the shave a little so we could visit the inlaws.  Still cushioned and protected as it has consistently done.

DAY 5 - (Merkur 39C) - Quite simply the best shave I've had in terms of performance and post shave finish.  If the scents I like will be included in the product that goes to market, then this will be an unbeatable product in my humble opinion.  Currently awaiting the product to go to market so that I can purchase...


UPDATE - Well, Phoenix & Beau launch on Monday 29th February, and I've already earmarked all four launch scents (including this unscented option).  I strongly urge you to try them out.  By doing so not only will you be using a vastly superior quality soap, you'll be supporting an English artisan.  The site is http://www.phoenixandbeau.uk/ and will be live on Monday at 6am!  You'll be silly not to!