Thread: Stirling Soap - 2 out 3 aint bad

In the words of the Immortal Meat Loaf - "two out of three aint bad"....

I ordered some Stirling soap, based on the reviews here - Anise / Menthol, Orange Chill, and the Coniferous. I ordered these three because the website specifically said they were essential oils, not fragrance oils.

When I opened the mail box, I could smell the soaps through the packaging, especially the Coniferous. Opening the box was real hit to the senses - the anise/menthol/pine were HUGE.

Over the next three days I shaved with all three:

Anise is very nice and very cooling - bit of a learning curve for lathering but its a keeper
I really like the Orange Chill (in fact I used it again today)
Coniferous..... a total miss for me.

The soap unfortunately smells like fragrance oil - kind of a pine air freshener thing going on. When I unwrapped it to squish it into a bowl, the pine scent lingered on my hands for hours.... first warning sign for me. I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I whipped up a lather two days later - liked the lather, and the scent was OK, much better in a lather than in the bowl - but it was very long lasting on my face. I was smelling the soap hours later. Its not a nice lingering smell - kind of an odd-faux pine smell.

The big problem for me: after a week, my razor wiping sponge and my newish Semogue 1800 brush STILL smell of the soap. I have never experienced an essential oil with that kind of longevity. I washed my brush with dish soap today, hoping to get rid of the scent, and threw the sponge away - the soap followed immediately after.

The longevity of the scent suggests fragrance oil to me, which was not as advertised. Not a big deal, I guess, but I don't like a scent to hang around that long. Some may like it, but its not for me.

Two keepers and one for the dumpster - good price on the soap, so I am not concerned. Overall, a good soap, not perfect, but good.

Barry