REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau 'Spitfire' Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Spitfire - A tallow shaving soap with the apparent ability to bend time.

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:

SCENT:
When the soap was announced, I almost anticipated the profile as it was delivered.  I expected leather, and tobacco, but not so much the gin (juniper).  It makes perfect sense, the sharpness penetrates the smooth leather to bring balance to the profile.  The tobacco is almost a supporting scent to my nose, acting as a mixer if you will.  All in all, it evokes the true spirit that must have existed in the squadrons of pilots who so bravely piloted Reginald Mitchell's masterpiece (Reginald Mitchell is a local hero around these parts, Stoke on Trent).  This is top draw scent profiling, I can see EXACTLY what Kerry was aiming for here.  One thing to note, like many soaps that are a great blend of fragrances, face lathering changes how you perceive them.  Try it, I personally love how it changes this scent, bringing to me, more tobacco to the front.

LATHERABILITY:
I tested this soap with various brushes in both the bowl and on my face, and find this soap to be on par with the rest of the P&B range.  Easy to load, easy to build, and almost foolproof.  It doesn't take long at all to get a bowl or face full of rich, dense lather at all.  Top marks yet again Kerry, guard this soap recipe with your life!

PERFORMANCE:
Excuse the Uncle Albert moment here, but during the war, you needed an airplane that could do it all, and do it all well.  During a shave, you need that too.  This soap (as I've come to expect from P&B) delivers in spades in terms of slickness and in cushion.  The soap allows the blade to glide across the face with almost reckless abandon, it is that good.  I wouldn't of course recommend complacency when using any soap, but you get that level of reassurance that when you're feeling the results of the mess hall from the night before, Spitfire will guide you through the dogfight and safely out the other side.

POST SHAVE:
When you have a great shave, you feel good, and when your skin feels good post shave, you feel even better.  Here we have a soap that delivers that feel, gives that glorious finish that really shouldn't be possible given what your skin has been through. 

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
We traditional wet shavers enjoy our shave.  We enjoy not only the act of shaving, but the ritual and experience that come along with it.  There is an experience to be had here that is very different from other soaps.  Whilst some soaps have the ability to evoke powerful memories, this soap appears to have the ability to bend the space/time continuum.  You're transported to a time gone by when men were men, when you stared death in the face and radioed back to base to 'cancel two late lunches', when Britain was truly Great.  The soap itself is fantastic, the scent nostalgic, the experience?  Magical. 

REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau 'Balm' (post shave balm)

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau 'Balm'

From the Phoenix & Beau site:
"Our balm is something that can be used in a variety of ways, e.g. conventional skin moisturiser, post-shave, beard or moustache conditioner, post-surf, post-sun, post-ski, etc.

Carefully crafted to include conditioning and moisturising oils and waxes, we use unrefined shea butter, locally sourced organic beeswax, argan oil and jojoba oil to provide the nourishing foundation; a rich preparation which deeply moisturises and protects your skin (and facial hair). Shea butter is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D and E. It is also UV protective and combats skin conditions such as dry skin, dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. Beeswax is known to have anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties which can help to protect the skin from the elements, smoke and airborne particulate. Our balm also contains virgin hempseed oil and black sesame oil.

Like our soaps we make our balm in small batches and with our own hands."

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
Again, from Phoenix & Beau site:
"Super moisturising with powerful conditioning properties our balm will turn from semi solid to near liquid once it reaches body temperature. A little goes a long way and so we recommend placing a pea sized amount (perhaps a little more) in to your palm. Use the back of a nail to extract it from its tin before warming it with a brisk rub of palm to palm or finger to palm - now apply / rub in to your chosen area and ensure it is thoroughly absorbed.

Equally you can apply the requisite amount to a fingertip and dab it on to the specific area you want to moisturise before using small circular motions to warm and accelerate absorption."

I use the former, and treat it like an oil based pomade, rubbing vigorously between my palms, and then apply slowly to my face.  During use, I can detect a honey scent, that is almost savoury if that makes sense.  Taking the time to rub the balm into your face pays dividends because you get nice even coverage, and can detect any areas that you may have missed during the shave.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
I'll be honest, I don't often need a balm, particularly now I am using the Phoenix & Beau range of soaps.  That said, there is always a place for a balm with such restorative qualities such as this.  There are days where I want to use a different soap that doesn't give the finish I love of P&B, so the balm is used then, like today whereby an otherwise good soap leaves my face dry.  This mornings shave was brought up to scratch in the post shave department by the use of Balm, ensuring my face is as moist as a morning dew, and twice as fresh.  Some post shave products I find I am sensitive to, leaving a slightly unpleasant tingling sensation.  I get none of this with Balm.

It also works wonderfully on cold days.  I went for a 6 mile walk yesterday in the bracing wind, something that would ordinarily leave my face dry.  I applied the balm that morning prior to the walk, and my face felt fantastic despite the cold wind and rain.

If you're looking for something to give a fantastic finish to your shave, or just to your face in general, you'd do well to give Balm a try. 

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.