- Joined
- Jun 22, 2016
- Location
- Sydney
Stirling Soap Co. - Sharp Dressed Man
Another of the soaps in the artisanal wet-shaving market that devise to recreate Green Irish Tweed, the premium priced Fougère from Creed. The Stirling interpretation is one of, if not the leading contender in this regard with only Mystic Water - Irish traveller in my opinion being the other contender that most closely approximates the original.
The Soap comes with a paired After Shave Balm and Alcohol based splash. As with the entire Stirling line the prices are very affordable for the quality of the soap. They are available from Stirling direct or now via Maggards who is carrying a limited range.
Ingredients: Beef Tallow, Stearic Acid, Distilled Water, Castor Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Vegetable Glycerin, Fragrance Oil, Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Coconut Milk, Lanolin, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate
Packaging: The soaps come packaged either as a plastic wrapped 4.5oz puck or the 5.8oz line in the firm, deep glossy green Stirling tub. The tub is firm, well made and threaded well The labels have been revised and are now waterproof, an issue that plagued earlier Stirling packaging.
Feel: A soft soap, by no means a cream but the soap is easily moulded into shape in the case of the refill and a finger pressed into the tub product yields easily. Loading with Stirling is effortless and care may need to be taken to prevent overloading if too much pressure is applied during the pre-load when using brushes with high backbone.
Performance: The performance with the Stirling line is good and head to head with the older B+M composition prior to the introduction of the 'Glissant' base. The switch to a new supplier of Lanolin by Stirling has removed the odour that was detected by some in their earlier product. All things being equal Stirling Soaps perform very, very well once the user is familiar with their character.
Cushion: A real stand out in this area, the lather is light but dense, the tallow and Coconut really shine in this regard.
Glide: The addition of generous quantities of Shea butter and Lanolin offer good to very good glide and equal to the old formulation of B+M soaps and many others. Certainly no complaints even with competitors now surpassing Stirling.
Scent and Lather: Stirling is a very easy soap to lather, the load time is minimal and even an absolute novice can achieve a thick, buttery lather in around 2 minutes. The soap has a generous window for taking water and the point at which the lather is optimal is very broad. The lather itself smells deeply of the scent and is voluminous.
The scent of this soap is exceptional, it was one of the first interpretations of Creed's famous scent and the formulation while enjoying minor finesse in subsequent iterations over the years is still superb and is, in my opinion head to head with Mystic Waters in this regard.
The base accords are of the timeless iris, ambergris and Sandalwood. Due to the incredible cost of ambergris I suspect an analogue is used in both mystic and this soap, with the self-same applying to the Sandalwood which I find highly unlikely is genuine Mysore, again due to the cost. However, the ratios are good and almost in harmony to the original which is no small feat.
The middle or 'heart' note is of violet, the original creed formulation being a closely guarded secret as to the middle and top notes and debate and speculation raging as to the other 1 or 2 middle notes and what they may be. Stirling does a reasonable to good approximation in this regard, violet is hard to work with of course and the original Creed having 1 or 2 other notes to achieve it's famous accord.
The top, the wonderful citrus breeze that forms the synergy of the scent. Peppermint, Lemon & Verbena. Stirling is somewhat 'eager' in their Lemon note here although with lemon being known for quickly fading it is of little concern. Stirling's top notes are the best, there is no contest in this regard.
This is a scent for men, it is a scent that defines the essence of an intelligent, educated and effortless masculinity in the strongest traditions. To put it in the Australian vernacular it is pure 'Sex Machine'.
Overall: I am an avid collector of Stirling soaps, balms and splashes and have been for a number of years. Stirling's commitment to artisan shaving at an affordable price while not compromising on performance, scent or packaging is what has made them one of the leaders of the wet-shaving world.
The scent is superb and long lasting, the soap is very soft and loads easily onto the brush and achieving an excellent lather is very simple with the window of the lather itself being very broad. Cushion is excellent and glide is very good. The soap looks after your skin and delivers a great post-shave feel.
If I were asked as to my suggestion as to what interpretation of Creed's original fragrance I would recommend, it would be without a doubt Stirling's Sharp Dressed Man. The post shave balm for those that cannot get the splash is highly recommended due to the long lasting and high concentration of scent.
