Sandalwood Shaving Soap in a Wooden Bowl, 3.5 oz.

I purchased this after a bad experience with Lather & Wood Sandalwood tallow shave soap (I did a separate review of that soap). I was hoping to get a rich Sandalwood scented soap and hoped that TOBS would deliver. The wooden bowl is gorgeous with a rich brown color. I immediately removed the lid to smell the soap and I was very disappointed. It had a very strong Lavender and Rose smell, with no hint of Sandalwood. Old lady scent was the first thing that came to my mind. To say my wife hated the smell of it is an understatement, she was repulsed by it and turned her nose away from the bowl immediately. Nevertheless, I intended to give it a chance and I'm glad I did! I filled the bowl to the rim with hot water while I showered in order to let the soap bloom. While the soap bloomed, I soaked my Parker Silvertip Badger Travel brush in hot water as well (I love that brush!). After my shower, I started with my Lather & Wood Sandalwood pre-shave oil - which has a very woody scent that I love. After letting that sit on my face for 30 seconds, I poured the soap's bloom water into my hands and rubbed it into my face. The smell was wonderful! It was nowhere near as strong as the raw soap. The lavender and rose scents were still there, but hints of other scents came to the foreground as well. I never got much of a woody note from it, but the smell was still great and It was a great match for the scent of the pre-shave oil. I squeezed out the water from my brush and I was able to quickly load it with soap. The smell was fantastic and within 30 seconds the brush was fully loaded. Rubbing the brush into my face released aroma that was just fantastic and very manly. It took about a minute of brushing to build up a thick, luxurious lather on my face. Honestly, the lather came much quicker than that, but I just kept brushing while I enjoyed my aroma therapy session. The soap seemed to be thirsty, and I dribbled water into my brush several times with my wet fingertips to keep it hydrated. I took my time shaving and just enjoyed the aroma. I got 4 passes worth of lather out of the brush, and I'm sure I could've gotten more if I needed it. I had a fabulous BBS shave. There was plenty of lubricity and I even pulled lather off the razor and reapplied it to my face. Like I said, the soap is thirsty and if you let your razor go too long without rinsing it, the lather will start to get a little sticky. However, rinsing off the razor immediately restores the lubricity. I've only tried 3 soaps: The el-cheapo shave soap that came with blade assortment, the Lather & Wood Sandalwood tallow shave soap, and this soap. As previously stated, the L&W soap was a disappointment. The El-cheapo soap smells great, but doesn't really lather very well. This TOBS Sandalwood just hits all the right notes for me and while I didn't expect it to smell the way that it does, I love it! I followed up my shave with Lather & Wood Sandalwood after shave balm and it just goes perfectly with the TOBS Sandalwood scent. Then I patted my face and neck off with Clubman Pinaud Talc, and finished with 4 light spritzes of Hollister Jake. After all that, you'd think I'd be projecting smell, but it's all very subtle and you really have to be up close to me to smell the fragrances. It's about 4 hours after my shave as I type this, and I'm still catching little whiffs of the TOBS scent and it's really nice. I just found my new shave soap.

I am beyond impressed with this shave soap! It's truly fantastic stuff, better than the TOBS cream and way better than other competitors. I've been shaving with a DE razor for about a year now. I've learned a lot along the way and changed a lot of the products I use numerous times, trying to find the stuff that work best. I've finally placed the last piece of the puzzle in discovering this TOBS shave soap. The reason for my frequent changes in gear and method have to do with my difficult beard situation. I have a pretty thick beard (can grow it full in about 3 weeks), and the hairs grow in all different directions, not in any uniform way like most guys with thicker beards. I'm also very lean and have paper-thin skin, especially on my neck, meaning it's a real bear to shave over my bumpy adam's apple, sharp jaw line, and bony chin without getting a nick. (You fleshy faced guys out there don't know how easy you have it to be shaving over a smooth and forgiving surface!) My quest for the perfect shaving soap/cream took a while to lead me here. First I tried several different kinds of Proraso shave soap (pretty good stuff: the green tub is better than the red sandalwood), one kind of Proraso shave cream (not as good as their soap), and finally the TOBS shave *cream*. The TOBS shave cream was my favorite of these early finds. I gather that many people on this page have tried it at one point and written at length about its virtues. It works well, smells great, and excels especially at keeping the skin from drying out. I used a whole tub and never thought I'd switch. But, the day came when my tub of TOBS cream was running out. I like to shave in the shower occasionally (with the excellent Deluxe LED Fogless Shower Mirror with Squeegee by ToiletTree Products. Guaranteed Not to Fog, Designed Not to Fall. 20% Larger Than Our #1 Selling Original Mirror. ). Shave cream is not so good for shower shaving because it's more finicky about water mixture, and excess moisture in the shower always throws things off. But shave soap is great in the shower, so I thought I would try TOBS shave soap of the same scent. I'm TOTALLY impressed with TOBS shave soap. It lathers easily. It smells great. It's much easier to use this product straight out of the bowl than to lather up cream in a mug (which also takes up more space on the counter). Best of all, TOBS shave soap is SUPER smooth on the face -- much smoother than any other option I've tried, including TOBS's cream. I can shave fast and carelessly without getting the slightest nick. I can also shave through several days of thick stubble without any pulling at all. The actual product sold on this page comes in a wooden bowl, with the soap fitted perfectly inside (replacements available, of course). The soap is flat on top and comes nearly to the top rim of the wooden bowl. Some of the lather will definitely spill over the edges of the bowl when you shave, but I don't count this as a problem. When I'm in the shower, I just put the lid on and wipe away the excess soap from the sides of the bowl with my fingers. Outside the shower, I put the lid on and wipe the sides with a towel. This small bit of spillover residue actually has the effect of making a nice smell on my towel and the edges of the bowl to fill the bathroom for the rest of the day. I like it. Again, this is really great stuff and I cannot recommend it more highly. It will give you the smoothest, easiest lather you have ever experienced!

This little bowl is great for keeping your soap in. It seals cleanly and is basically watertight with the lid on - you can hold the lid down and turn the thing upside down and no water will escape. This means your soap will be kept safely in this bowl without drying out. The soap itself is fantastic. It creates an extremely creamy lather, perfect for shaving. It lathers pretty easily as well. It smells very pleasant and not that "old man" musky scent - it's a scent with depth but it is also not overpowering. It's great, great soap. PROS The color of the wooden bowl is true to the pictures shown, anyone who's ever bought wooden stuff online knows that usually the colors can vary wildly from what pictures show. The bowl is solid, sturdy, and seals well The soap smells great, lathers great, rinses easy CONS I wish the "handle" thing on the lid was SLIGHTLY taller/bigger, so it was easier to grip. This is a GRIPE though, not really something that should deter you from buying. You don't even need the handle , honestly it's just there for show because you can just lift the lid itself. Buy this one. You wont regret it.

I have been looking forward to trying this product. Taylor has a great reputation and judging from this soap it is well deserved. I just finished my first shave and the product performed well. It has a rich sandalwod scent that is pronounced but not too strong. Your cologne would easily cover it. The aroma is classic but not the "old man smell" I remember from my youth. I have found soaps to be a little less slick than creams, but as soaps go, this one is less drying on the skin and plenty slick enough for a smooth shave. I would use a good pre-shave oil with it, however just to get that cream like slickness. The lather is very rich and it is easy to load even with a badger brush. One tip; load the damp (not wet) brush in the bowl then build your lather in a separate bowl, not on the soap. Add water as you go until it reaches the right consistency. The soap can take a LOT of water so don't be shy about adding it til you get it the way you like it. When you are done, let the soap air dry before putting on the lid as letting soaps stay too wet seems to cause them to break down over time. Overall, I highly recommend this product. I intend to try the pre shave and some of the creams next.

The soap quality is very good. It lathers up quickly and well on my brush. I love the sandalwood scent -- it makes me feel masculine for some reason. The wooden bowl is a nice touch -- when everything else in our life is plastic, it's nice to have something made of a natural material. I like that it comest with a lid to protect the soap. It's a great value. It will likely last me about six months, and so on a per use basis, it's much cheaper than any of the crap that you get from a canisters like Edge.

This is Taylor of Old Bond Street’s sandalwood shaving soap in a wooden bowl. Think I liked the idea of a wooden bowl- the warmth, texture, and natural beauty of wood- but it’s a bit… underwhelming. Would have been more practical if it was a bit larger. As it is, the soap comes up nearly to the brim and there isn’t a lot of space, so softer brushes are awkward to load until it’s used a few times. It’s better than a plastic tub you just throw out, but it comes off as more “fabricated” than I was expecting, and the lid is almost “dainty”. The shaving soap is fantastic, however. I’ve also got Taylor of Old Bond Street’s sandalwood shaving crème (that comes in the plastic tub), and I think this shaving soap is even better. I find the soap has a less-perfumed, milder scent that is subtler and more pleasant. With a decent brush and a little patience you can whip up a dense foam that gives a great lathering experience. Pass on this soap plus bowl set and just get the soap.

UPDATE: I persisted using it, despite the burning sensation and after a week or so it no long occurred. I've been using it almost daily ever since with zero issues. Its a fantastic shave soap. I now fully recommend it with the caveat that if you've never used it before, it may cause some temporary irritation. Overall, this shave soap was exactly what I was looking for. The bowl is ok (nothing fancy but hey, you get what you pay for), it smells great, lathers well, and overall is exactly what I was looking for. ToBS comes highly rated on r/wicked_edge as well as a few other places, and it lives up to the praise. Sadly, it burns my skin. I don't have any allergies that I'm aware of, although I do have eczema (which for me basically means sensitive dry skin and the occasional rash which only shows up in a couple specific spots). So perhaps this is just too alkaline for my skin? Or maybe I'm just now discovering something I'm allergic to? I'm not sure. So, I would give it 5 stars, but I have to give it a down grade so that, hopefully, others will know that it is possible for this product to hurt you.

The first question Amazon asked was "What do you use it for? It's shaving soap. I use it to shave. How good is it? It beats dry shaving. More to the point it is so much better than using a bar of soap to latter up. I've tried that on occasion and it is bad enough that spending a bit for a soap designed for shaving is worth the money, to me. The scent is OK. If it did not have a scent I would be fine. If it smelled like a barn yard I'd get a different brand. Did I mention it's shaving soap? Anyway, for the few people who still use a blade to shave, whether for their face or legs or whatever, this is a dependable product.