Noble Otter BarrBarr

Got a chance today to try one of Ray's samples that he gave out at Dave's in Wisconsin.

Noble Otter BarrBarr

Put a couple of small chunks with the snurdeler into the suribachi bowl with a drop of hot water.
Wet and squeezed out a brush with a tuxedo knot.

This soap whipped up into a beautiful creamy lather very quickly.

Slickness, cushion, glide and the comfort of the shave were all top shelf.

It's probably my favorite barbershop scent of all time.
What appealed the most to me was that it was a really nice light scent that didn't linger.

After the shave my skin felt great and nicely hydrated.
Still feels great this afternoon.

This soap easily gets an A in my book.

Funny... I'd never heard of it before now.
Kind of a hidden gem.

Pete <:-}

That's what is on my shelf for tomorrow's shave.:rock:

Hmmmm
When I tried it I did not like it at all.
Could not get a decent lather.

to each his own

I enjoy Noble Otter, and feel that it's of the same quality as many other very good but not great artisan soaps. This current formulation performs much better than his previous formulation. I agree that Barrbarr is a terrific barbershop scent, and it's more reminiscent of the barbershop I grew up in in the 1950's than most other barbershop scented soaps. I also like The Noir et Vanille scent, but was disappointed with The Trail.

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Originally Posted by rolodave

Hmmmm
When I tried it I did not like it at all.
Could not get a decent lather.

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I wonder if it was a previous formulation.
Could be the suribachi bowl too. That thing can lather anything.

Pete <:-}

All three samples used by Victor, Pete and Dave were from the same tub of BarrBarr. Even though I have hard water, I have no issue lathering it, but I bowl lather.

Dave, I do not know why you would have any issue lathering. It is semi-hard (neither hard nor soft). Since it is a sample, scoop out 1/4 to 1/3 of the sample tub into a bowl or mug and add about 1 Tablespoon of hot tap water and see if you can whip up a lather that way.

BarrBarr is one of my favorite barbershop scents; but all scents, and barbershop scents in particular are definitely a personal thing as they evoke scent memories from the past.

Man, I keep intending to buy some Noble Otter, but then always somehow forget when it comes time! It’s been pushed back into the forefront. Thanks for the review.

I’ve heard very little bad about this soap. Did you guys get any kind of Noble Otter aftershave to go with it?

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Originally Posted by earcutter

Did you guys get any kind of Noble Otter aftershave to go with it?

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Mine was just a sample from the Wisconsin Meetup.
No aftershave.

Pete <:-}

Just tried the Bar Bar. Took a small snurdle with a butter knife, 1/2 of a small almond, and rubbed it into my stubble with my fingers and face lathered into a great lather. The lather reminded me of Tabac, though I haven't used that for years. I love the scent of Bar Bar.

My wife was not at home so I didn't get her input, but its just as well because I put this one into the keeper bag to use when she is out of the house early. I suspect that she would tolerate, but not like, the scent the way she was with Tabac.

I really like this soap.

Meant to try it again this morning but forgot. Tomorrow

I just tried the Noble Otter Nectar Amissa. Another winner for me. I used a snurdle considerably smaller than yesterday and still had no trouble face lathering to enough for 3 passes. This soap lends itself to stretching with water which gives me the kind of lather I prefer anyway. The scent, to my nose, has some of the same high notes as the BarrBarr, but it is a simpler very clean fragrance, again to my damaged nose. This is another one that I think my wife would tolerate but not like.

This scent doesn't seem to linger, for better or worse.:shrug:Probably a good thing in my household.

The Nectar Amissa scent reminds me of Ammens Medicated Powder. Slightly medicinal, but pleasant.

My wife just asked to sniff the samples of BarrBarr and Nectar Amissa. Her reaction to the BarrBarr was pretty much as I predicted, but she liked the Nectar Amissa. :rock:

Gentlemen,
I think I tried Noble Otter a while back and was not impressed. Now, at least I think I did, for the name rings a bell. I think someone sent me a sample of it, although I am not sure which scent. Or maybe I'm dreaming all this during one of my many senior moments. OY!

I'm very impressed with this soap. When I saw that they are in Texas I even looked to see if they were anywhere close to Charlie's.

I tried to figure out info on the different formulations that I've seen mentioned, but I did not get anywhere. In any case I think that you owe yourself another try at this brand Obie. Of course I like Arko, so what do I know. :shrug:

Obie

Too bad you were unable to come to the meet. I had plenty of samples to go around. I bought some small sample jars and scooped out several samples each of 20 different soaps from 10 soapmakers. The guys sniffed a bunch of them and then took home those they wanted to try.

I hope you can make it to Dave's next year. I look forward to meeting you.


Ray

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Originally Posted by RayClem

Obie

Too bad you were unable to come to the meet. I had plenty of samples to go around. I bought some small sample jars and scooped out several samples each of 20 different soaps from 10 soapmakers. The guys sniffed a bunch of them and then took home those they wanted to try.

I hope you can make it to Dave's next year. I look forward to meeting you.
Ray

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Ray,
I had waited for the meet a year, but in the end my knee operation and the complications afterward prevented me from making the meet. To my regret, I might add. Next year for sure.