Mike's Natural Soaps

[Nick the Knife]

Gents,

Ok a few weeks ago I placed an order with Mike's Natural Soaps (MNS) after reading nothing but sensational reviews of their products on every shaving forum I'm aware of. I ordered 8 sampler's - which are around 1/2 ounce each (14g)

Sure enough in todays post they'd arrived, very well packed and even with a handwritten thank you! Seriously...it might cost the seller nothing but thats a nice touch IMHO. I've got to give these guys credit too.....I'm all but certain they go backwards and make a loss on the samplers as they charged $USD8 postage for the bunch of them but the postage alone was $USD7.68 and thats not including the big padded bag they went in etc. Not to mention the handwrapped samples etc.....

​

They've clearly really cut it to the bone to sell them at like $1-1.50 each so I think thats a great effort for what I can deduce is a dedicated hobbyist who's operating out of his apartment in Brooklyn (I kid you not). To me this is clearly a guy thats passionate about what he does and giving great products at VERY good prices to his customers. I don't think one can in all honesty say thats the case with a LOT of other manufacturers of other products in the shaving sphere!

So what are my initial thoughts on the products. Well they smell AMAZING......I'd read that MNS had some of the very best smelling soaps around and they certainly live up to this billing. Every soap was 12-15g in weight. I'm unsure how I'll go about using each one as I'm a face latherer....guess I could use each as a small 'shave stick' or I might find a very small jar and squish them in, one at a time. Hmmm prolly go the shave stick method and load onto my face directly.

They're all relatively soft (think Arko hardness) - some seem a tiny bit harder than others but that could just be the varied age of them as the older ones have lost more of their water content.

Colours are pretty much the same ...think varying grades of artisan made cheese, perhaps a brie or gouda.

How do they smell? Here's my thoughts on each one (I ordered every one that was available):


THEY SAY: Barber Shop (FO) - A complex, potent, manly scent consisting of bergamot, basil, oakmoss, and patchouli.
I SAY Definitely a good pick. Quite subtle and does smell refined and very masculine. Great scent!

THEY SAY: Hungarian Lavender (EO) - I’ve acquired a Hungarian lavender essential oil that I’m very enthusiastic about. It’s flowery, herbaceous, earthy, and fresh.
I SAY I'm not a huge lavender fan but this is very nice....isn't as raw and full on as other lavender products I've used....does have a more earthy aspect to it that smells more real and refined.....there's a floral aspect to it for sure.....haha they nailed the description. Dunno if I would buy but very nice if you like lavender or floral scents.

THEY SAY: Orange, Cedarwood, & Black Pepper (EO) - While orange is the dominant scent here, a judicious blend of cedarwood and black pepper is easily discerned and provides additional complexity.
I SAY Ok this was the soap I'd heard REALLY rave reviews over. Again their description is bang on...Orange is very nice, not overpowering and smells very REAL. You can tell he's used Essential Oils rather than cheaper & nasty fragrance oils. I can't get a lot of the cedarwood & black pepper (just a tiny bit of the latter). I'd definitely lean towards getting this.

THEY SAY: Peppermint & Rosemary (EO) - A minty, fresh, and herbaceous combo that imparts a mild cooling sensation to the skin.
I SAY Wow - this smells GREAT. Really fresh, would be a dream summer shave soap. Again smells VERY natural and not contrived (as some shaving products can) - a definite MUST BUY soap.

THEY SAY: Lemongrass & Eucalyptus (EO) - Dry, lemony, and invigorating.
I SAY Very lemony......not a bad scent but coming off the Peppermint + Rosemary this just didn't do it for me. I get the lemon but its a bit muddled in the mid-ranges (gawd listen to me now!!!!). The first soap I'd definitely pass on.

THEY SAY: Pine & Cedarwood (EO) - This scent is simultaneously invigorating and warm. The dominant note is pine, which is backed up and rounded out by a cedarwood base.
I SAY Hmmmm well you could imagine walking into a pine forest when you smell this one. Is quite nice, the cedarwood adds a nice warm spice to it to round out the freshness of the pine. Would be a nice one to have as a change of pace soap. I could go either way on it myself.

THEY SAY: Bay Rum (EO) - Spicy bay leaf combined with bergamot and dab of vanilla.
I SAY Wow this is fantastic stuff.....again the description is bang on. I seem to smell some cloves in it as well. Absolutely a must buy soap for sure!

Anyway...hope folks like the info - I'll pop up some thought on how they perform actually shaving later on.

Cheers, Nick

 

[renagade]

Eager to hear how they perform.
As far as smells go for shaving soaps is it only really a smell, as in, it does not affecting lathering or slickness?

Good write up Nick, Thanks!

 

[Nick the Knife]

Eager to hear how they perform.
As far as smells go for shaving soaps is it only really a smell, as in, it does not affecting lathering or slickness?

Good write up Nick, Thanks!

Thanks pal. You're right it'd have to be a helluva scent to make the soap shave better. I think kinda like you I've never been big on scented soaps, perhaps because both of us started out with MWF as amongst our first soaps.

But anyway...the first shave.......

Ok well first cab off the rank was the Bay Rum, it just smelt so good I had couldn't resist it. Now I wasn't sure how to use it.....normally I like to face lather and load my brush via having my soaps (even if they're sticks) squished into a jar/container. Due to the small quantity this wasn't an option.

So I rolled the lil rectangle of soap into a small chunky cylinder and applied it directly to my face. FWIW I think this is one of the downsides/weaknesses in having samples of hard soaps as opposed to creams. Even the smallest amount of cream can work very well as a sampler as just with a little of it you're able to easily load/apply and go.

Alas with these little soaps it was kinda tricky......they get very slippery and I found it hard to get enough on my face. But anyway.......I did ok with this part of the process but then accidently stuffed the lather up by having too much water in my brush (Omega 10005, boar)......this lead to the lather being less than ideal - and I'll put my hand up for this.

On the second pass I managed to salvage the lather and the soap showed what it could do as I reapplied another layer of soap and relathered. Got a very good lather going......not big on the cushion or size but VERY VERY slick and luxurious.

It's hard to say how it performed from this shave as the first pass wasn't all it could have been and from this I was left with a little irritation....BUT like I said I definitely would say this was my fault due to too much water in the brush.

Post-shave I have to say I'm very impressed....one of the strengths of the product is that its very moisturising, I didn't feel like I had to apply any post-shave moisturiser at all. Also the wonderful scent of it really lingers nicely.

Anyway I'll give it another try tomorrow...definitely some positives as I can't imagine the moisturising or scent will change but I need to refine my side of things to really critique it's lathering abilities.

 

[Lynchy]

Nice review Nick,

Scents are one of those things I always have trouble imagining.

Look forward to your thoughts a few more shaves in!

 

[Nick the Knife]

Nice review Nick,

Scents are one of those things I always have trouble imagining.

Look forward to your thoughts a few more shaves in!

Thanks pal, I have to say their website definitely is very spot on with the descriptions. Sometimes you read maker comments and they tend to spout crap to either talk the product up or just make it seem grandiose ....haha think wine reviews "...wafts of ripe passionfruit exude whilst the mid palate is delighted with nectarine and peach overtones and traces of honeysuckle and hibiscus are left in ones mouth." :blink:

The maker did a pretty good job describing the scents and also the nature/feel and tone of each soap. You can kind of READ INTO the ones he's excited about and IMHO that corresponds with the ones that smelt a lot better to me.

It's 5hrs after I shaved and I'm still smelling top shelf from the Bay Rum. Nice stuff that.

 

[Lynchy]

"...wafts of ripe passionfruit exude whilst the mid palate is delighted with nectarine and peach overtones and traces of honeysuckle and hibiscus are left in ones mouth."

Yeah pretty much. Those are the descriptions that always leave me wondering WTF!

 

[eggbert]

"...wafts of ripe passionfruit exude whilst the mid palate is delighted with nectarine and peach overtones and traces of honeysuckle and hibiscus are left in ones mouth." :blink:

Haha! I remember a food show in the UK when I still lived there many, many years ago where either Oz Clarke or Jilly Goolden tried to sell a wine based on the fact that it had the aroma of cat's urine.


Can't say I was persuaded to buy it.

 

[Nick the Knife]

FWIW I sent an email to THE Mike, of MNS as one of the features of his soaps is that being a small maker and very popular you'll often find a couple out of stock - hence paying for postage over to us could be a PITA if that one soap you MUST HAVE just isn't in stock when you're buying that other 3-4.

As some folks may know with soaps after formulating/making them good makers will leave them up to several months to dry and harden - thus ensuring a better product with a longer usable life. So even though I'm sure batches are staggered to minimise this you could get some big delays and like I said double up on postage.

Anyway Mike said that he's happy to take orders via email and he will fulfill them as soon as the stock is up to his standards for forwarding e.g you want 4 soaps, but 2 are out of stock - order all 4 via email - he'll charge the same rates as via the site but hold your order UNTIL the other 2 soaps are ready to go.

This was a concern of mine as whenever I check it seems there's a few of the ones I think I'd be keen on out of stock. Just thought I'd flag that for folks.

Haha taking requests for which sample to use next for today's shave.....?

 

[Mong.]

Haha taking requests for which sample to use next for today's shave.....?

The Orange one would be great, I've been eye-balling that one for a while.

 

[Monsta_AU]

Yes, please use the orange. I am curious about it.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Well even though I didn't see your comments (as I didn't login to the site at all after I lodged that request for what type to use) the Jedi powers that RM has must have dawn my hand towards using the Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper soap, as thats what I used of my own initiative!

You can definitely notice the cedarwood in it...but I do struggle to get much of the black pepper.....I think that the pepper perhaps 'overlaps' in the scent profile with the cedarwood and so I can't detect it as easily. Dunno.....

Anyway....... the shave.

Well alas again I just couldn't get a good lather going with it again....BUT once again I really feel this is due to the samples IMHO being too small to easily/properly use. I mean imagine 2 dice joined together, well thats about the size of the 'stick' you can make with them when you mush the lil tablet into a more usable shape.

I've ALWAYS been a shaver who loads his brush via soap in a bowl/jar and I really have to think I'm playing a reasonable part in the 2 lathers so far being very poor. I also think that the relatively stiff boar brushes I have also aren't the best friends of these soaps...I tend to think that a denser badger would make friends with them a lil more using THIS method.

So despite adjusting my technique from the first time and ensuring the brush was squeezed out, putting quite a bit of soap on my face and very carefully adding water to the brush as I tried to build the lather it just didn't do much.

The resulting lather does have a really lovely moist, rich moisturising quality to it but the cushion and volume is really not something I was able to get.

I was shaving with a Polsilver blade in my Gillette Red Tip and after the WTG first pass I actually had to change it out of this and into my Slim@3 for the XTG/ATG hybrid 2nd pass I normally do - I'm a 2 pass man only). Now I did get a REALLY good shave but I have to give the majority of credit from that to the Polsilver/Slim.

Now let me stress here I'm NOT down on the soaps yet - but I just think that the samplers are really hard to effectively use......part of me is actually considering squishing the whole lot into one MEGA chunk and putting that in a jar so it is usable in the normal manner (for me). As I've pretty much established the ones I like the scents of and now I'm more interested in how they perform....as I still don't think they've had a fair chance to showcase what they can do.

It does make me wonder how others have found their 'samplers' in terms of usability.......I also think I've been a tad spoilt as I very heavily use just my Arko/Tipo Duro mix for my shaves and thats just such a dream to use that perhaps I'm expecting too much or my lathering technique is flawed.

Anyway I will try a few more soaps yet by themselves (which is also good to ensure no skin irritation as some of the ingredients in them CAN irritate the skin for certain folks) and if I've no luck with using this way I'll make a mega-jar of the samples. Kind of a shame but these small soap samples are just very tricky to use effectively compared to their cream cousins. :-/

 

[Monsta_AU]

Shame the samples are so small. Might be worthwhile for some of us to order a couple of full-size bars.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Shame the samples are so small. Might be worthwhile for some of us to order a couple of full-size bars.

Yes, its almost so much so that it tends to possibly undermine the product itself....as you find it hard to use properly and are left thinking is it a poor product or is it the size/trickiness of use.

Just shows how soaps are MUCH trickier in this manner as opposed to creams, were literally just a tiny amount will still allow perfect normal use of the product & thus proper assessment.

The prices are so good that if you get several in the one order it does tend to average out at $10 per soap....which are pretty hefty at 120-150g each. So on that basis alone they're very good value.

I would absolutely recommend anyone get the Bay Rum, Barbers Shop, Peppermint & Rosemary.........these fragrances were that good and really I doubt anyone could not like them.

A few of the others whilst ok to me I could see polarising folks. I've said it before but if you're thinking of ordering the Coconut I'm told its very strong and quite sweet. A lot of people had issues with it. So bear this in mind.

PS. There might be some logic to ordering the tins as opposed to the lose soap bars.....they are apparently 5 ounces....the bars 4-5 ounces....he's priced the tins at $2.50 more than the same soap in the bar.....which for the sure thing of getting closes to 5 ounces than 4 (potentially 25% more!) and the tin itself (easy usable storage that looks great and is also reusable) is probably a smart buy IMHO.

 

[Nick the Knife]

FWIW I've here's the number of items you can get for certain postal costs from MNS......it might be a factor in deciding whether to go bars or tins for some folks:

TINS
1 - $10.25
2 - $12
3+ - $18

SOAP BARS
1 - $8.25
2 - $10.25
3 - $13.25
4+ - $18

All prices are in Yankee Doodle Doolas. ;-)

Make a bit of a difference for certain orders...as if there were 3 varieties you wanted and didn't want anymore going the bars would be best as it's ~$5 cheaper. But again you have to factor in the value of the tins....I get the feeling they're just a tad too sexy for folks to go with a plain ole bar of soap that then looks kinda average stuck in that old tupperware container!

I might have to reconsider getting a couple of folks only (2-4) to go in a group buy of a few soaps each. Will only be viable for folks wanting to order 2+ soaps as you'll have to factor in good old Aust. Post's minimum $6.60 charge on this end . Anyway not a sure thing yet but is an option.....would only do with a few folks otherwise it gets out of hand and a hassle to administer.

PS. FWIW if you are interested in going in on a group buy on some tins/bars please feel free to PM me and I'll keep you in the loop if we proceed with it....the saving will only be on the shared postage from US->AUS so best for folks to order several soaps minimum to make it cost-viable for you.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Cool, Mong. has jumped on board for the mini-group buy. As I mentioned we'll just get a max 5 or so folks so it can be done quickly and without too much confusion.

Every individual splits an equal cut of the total US-> AUS postage and then there's whatevers the cheapest way I can get your soaps to you...happy to pool more than member together on the me-> section of the post to save you $$$ e.g 2 WA members who live close get their orders sent together for $8 rather than $6.60 each.

 

[hunnymonster]

Haha! I remember a food show in the UK when I still lived there many, many years ago where either Oz Clarke or Jilly Goolden tried to sell a wine based on the fact that it had the aroma of cat's urine.

That would be Silly Goolden - she was big into her hyperbole - "this one has a bouquet of blackcurrants, buttered toast and hot gravel" - me any my old man used to have a game based on how bloody stupid her next description was going to be... mind she & Oz must have shifted some gear in their time - I saw a prog with Oz on a train in China and he was presented with a glass of unknown origin by a local and he took a swig, named it exactly and said "and I reckon that's one with a lizard in the bottle". The bottle was duly removed from the brown paper bag and voila! lizard in the bottle.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Well I WANT to be able to order some of these soaps hence after the very average showing from directly applying the samples to my face I instead went with my original instinct, that being to squish them out into a suitable vessel so I can load my brush directly and face lather after.

Tried this with the Bay Rum and it worked very well - shame I didn't go with my gut feel the first tie around. I used the lil plastic container that the De Vergulde soap came in. Around 7cm base diameter and it's enough to spread all the way around a thickness that should get 5 or so shaves out of it atleast. Nice malleable soap so very easy to work in with my fingers.

Definitely recommend this over rubbing directly on face if you've ordered samples (as I know a few guys have).

 

[Nick the Knife]

Hmmmmm well I had high hopes for my next shave with the Bay Rum, as I'd spread it out in a small container so I could load my brush directly and use in my usual/favourite manner.

However it was another poor lather!!!

I've tried a couple of different boar brushes now and don't think they're the problem. I had read a thread over on YKW which stated that you needed to load your brush with a wet brush but not REALLY wet (like the Marco method). So I squeezed it out gently and made sure I put a good 20+ swirls loading into it.

Applied to a moistened face (which I'd washed and showered beforehand)........nothing was happening of note at all. I slowly applied a few drops of water to try and get something going but again nothing was happening...and it didn't feel like the water was lacking (we all know the dry claggy feel when your pre-lather feels like it needs a lil H2O).

So I put more soap into the brush but that still was all to no avail. I honestly must have put 2-3 times the amount of soap into the brush than I do with the Arko/P160...so the amount of soap was not an issue. It just really did not want to lather.....so again the first pass lather was thin and really not good at all.

On the 2nd pass it again proved to be better however this was again not even close to the standard of the other soaps and creams I've used. Whilst very click and moisturising it was thin and not cushiony at all.

As I've tried to stress earlier I'm not one who associates a great lather with a 'Santa-like' beard being produced BUT this just didn't have the cushion or protection I would want even from the lesser soaps in my rotation.

I'm kind of at a loss to explain this but have tried varying my approach and honestly don't think this is the problem. I tend to lean towards thinking that this batch of Bay Rum may have some issues with its forumlation - which I guess is more likely to happen with small scale producers than BIG massive companies. I do hate to point the finger at the soap but I'm going to be giving it the benefit of the doubt and trying again ASAP.

Pending this I'll try another one of the samples and see how that goes.....its really a shame as like I've said I'd LOVE to find this soap meeting/exceeding my expectations but so far its actually been the worst soap I've ever used from a lather perspective (well actually the Faulding Cream tube was the worst!).

All this said I did find that it was amazingly good at moisturising my skin....again I felt sensational from this perspective. The razor again was the Slim with a Polsilver - which was outstanding.

 

[Lynchy]

Hmmmmm well I had high hopes for my next shave with the Bay Rum, as I'd spread it out in a small container so I could load my brush directly and use in my usual/favourite manner.

However it was another poor lather!!!

I've tried a couple of different boar brushes now and don't think they're the problem. I had read a thread over on YKW which stated that you needed to load your brush with a wet brush but not REALLY wet (like the Marco method). So I squeezed it out gently and made sure I put a good 20+ swirls loading into it.

Applied to a moistened face (which I'd washed and showered beforehand)........nothing was happening of note at all. I slowly applied a few drops of water to try and get something going but again nothing was happening...and it didn't feel like the water was lacking (we all know the dry claggy feel when your pre-lather feels like it needs a lil H2O).

So I put more soap into the brush but that still was all to no avail. I honestly must have put 2-3 times the amount of soap into the brush than I do with the Arko/P160...so the amount of soap was not an issue. It just really did not want to lather.....so again the first pass lather was thin and really not good at all.

On the 2nd pass it again proved to be better however this was again not even close to the standard of the other soaps and creams I've used. Whilst very click and moisturising it was thin and not cushiony at all.

As I've tried to stress earlier I'm not one who associates a great lather with a 'Santa-like' beard being produced BUT this just didn't have the cushion or protection I would want even from the lesser soaps in my rotation.

I'm kind of at a loss to explain this but have tried varying my approach and honestly don't think this is the problem. I tend to lean towards thinking that this batch of Bay Rum may have some issues with its forumlation - which I guess is more likely to happen with small scale producers than BIG massive companies. I do hate to point the finger at the soap but I'm going to be giving it the benefit of the doubt and trying again ASAP.

Pending this I'll try another one of the samples and see how that goes.....its really a shame as like I've said I'd LOVE to find this soap meeting/exceeding my expectations but so far its actually been the worst soap I've ever used from a lather perspective (well actually the Faulding Cream tube was the worst!).

All this said I did find that it was amazingly good at moisturising my skin....again I felt sensational from this perspective. The razor again was the Slim with a Polsilver - which was outstanding.

Sounds disappointing, I was wanting to read "best soap ever" or something similar lol

+ 1 on Faulding shave cream, never had a good time with it.

 

[Nick the Knife]

I've actually just emailed Mike to ask if he has a preferred/recommended approach to get the best results from his soaps. If that doesn't work the soaps and I will just have to agree to disagree.