REVIEW - Faena Mastic Tree Shave Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Faena 'Mastic Tree' - 100% vegetable soap.  If I need to tell you what a shave soap does, well, I think we need to start at the beginning!

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
It's simple.  I choose not to bloom the soap as it is very soft (I moulded the puck with my thumb to fit the pot without any issue at all), a quick 10-15 seconds load on the brush and away to the bowl we go.  Once built, I tend to lightly swirl on my face, then paint to get it even.

SCENT:
The scent to me was the original drawing point to the soap.  I had never heard of, nor smelled a mastic tree in my life.  This of course piqued my interests, aroused my suspicions as to what it could smell like.  Well, when it arrived, I had no expectation, so opened the pot and took a long slow inhale.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find a fresh, heady scent, reminiscent of a herb garden (think rosemary) with a hint of cut grass.  All together a very inviting, summery scent that could quite literally be found if you were to shave in your herb garden.  Very subtle when lathered and on the face.

LATHERABILITY:
With a quick 10-15 second load on my Body Shop synthetic brush, I got an copious amount of pre lather, thick and chewy in texture.  In the bowl, it took a reasonable amount of water to make a yoghurty lather that was almost bereft of bubbles from the outset.  A very pleasant soap to lather.

 
PERFORMANCE:
I had high expectations from the naming of the product (Premium Handmade Shaving Soap), and for the most part, I agree.  The lather is rich and creamy, providing more than adequate cushion against the blade.  In terms of glide, the performance is not bad at all, very similar (if not identical) performance to other all vegetable soaps I own.  It could use a little more glide, but it is not lacking, as the shave is performed without issue.

When a preshave oil (in this case olive oil) was used, the glide was perfect, nothing to note that could deduct points so to speak.

POST SHAVE:
This is one of the most important factors for me in a soap, particularly on days where I don't want to wear a fragrance.  I found that with the Faena, I didn't get the best post shave finish (when using the soap on its own), I got a mild amount of dryness/tightness after the shave.  I get this with just about all vegetable based soaps, and some of the cheaper tallow soaps.  Granted, I can negate this dryness with some balm, but it's worth noting that there must be something causing the dryness (comparable to that I get with Palmolive Sticks).  I suspect it could do with either some more glycerin or another ingredient to enhance the post shave feel.

When used in conjunction with a simple preshave oil, the post shave finish is absolutely spot on, cannot fault in any way the feeling on the skin.  It seems perfectly at home with a simple olive oil rub prior to lathering, in keeping with the Greek origin, my olive oil was of Greek origin.  Lovely stuff.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
Well, it's an unusual position I find myself in.  I love the scent, I love the lather and in shave performance.  I'm not 100% certain on the post shave finish, given what I know is out there.  I'm not put off mind, as I know I can rectify the finish with a little balm or use of a preshave oil, so that one downside is a bit of a moot point.  Would I buy it again?  I would, as the scent is wonderful for summer or an evening shave, very fresh and the performance is good overall.