Fine Accoutrements Shaving Soap Review – Gentle and Easy Soap
Fine Accoutrements Shaving Soap
The Fine Accoutrements is a Nice and Easy going soap in a myriad of scents. Great for a nice and clean tallow-based shave.
Pros
Comes in Many different Scents
Nice and soft Lather
Easy to wash and rinse off
Strong Scents with Soft after scent
No preservatives or artificial ingredients
Gluten Free
Cons
Leaves skin slightly dry
Lather is soft, but thin
Tallow based Formula, so not vegan
To go with the Fine Accoutrements Lather Bowl –I reviewed, yours truly was also given a chance to sample some of their shaving soap.
Those who have been following me for a while know for a fact that I LOVE trying new shaving soaps, so naturally this was a great opportunity for me.
Fine Accoutrements offers nine different scents for their soaps, so I got two of the most popular scents to give a go. The ingredients are the same over all, so I figured it was time to see what the buzz was about this soap line.
About the Brand: In 2005 a young financial advisor saw that wet shaving was popular. So naturally he wanted to see what all the hoopla was about. Now, almost 20 years later, he is the CEO of Fine Accoutrements. They offer some great solid products for a good price, and are one of the more distinguished brands on the market today.
Fine Shaving Soap Description
I received two of these soap jars, and on first inspection they looked much like any other. Though the containers are larger than most of the soaps I have found on the internet.
Most tins/jars of shaving soap you can find are smaller, with the biggest normally being around 4 ounces. Fine Accoutrements sends you 5 ounce jars, meaning these are going to last a while. Especially when you are shaving every other day, rather than every day.
The two scents I got with this sample are the Platinum and American Blend scents, which are the pair of best sellers on Fine Accoutrements website.
About the Scents
In total, Fine Accoutrements has nine scents:
- American Blend
- Aquamarine
- Barber Blue
- Clubhouse
- Italian Citrus
- L’Orange Noir
- Latigo
- Platinum
- Snake Bite
Of all those –as mentioned, I got American Blend and Platinum.
American Blend is a soft clean scent, with a slight floral aroma. It has some lavender notes, mixed with some light citrus. It finishes off clean, with a sweet almost sugary aroma.
Platinum is more of a strong scent. It has a base sandalwood aroma with a nice citrus hit in the middle. More orange than any other citrus, it is almost like smelling a fresh orange rind. It finishes very clean, with a light spice note.
I would love to get the chance to try the others, especially “Snake Bite” but that one seems perpetually sold out.
The Lather and Shaving Experience
I shaved twice with these, first using the American Blend then the Platinum. I used the normal method of shaving: three passes with/across/against the grain.
In this instance, I did not use any pre-shaves to feel the lather and textures of the soaps individually. Overall the experience was the same with both soaps, which makes sense as every one of the line is made the same way just with different scent profiles.
How does it Lather?
This lather builds very quickly in the lather bowl I was using. Literally less than 10 seconds, and I was already getting a good amount of suds.
After about 30 seconds I had plenty of lather for whatever shave I needed. I could have shaved three or four more times with the amount of lather this produced!
However, the lather was somewhat on the thin side. Not the normal thick and oily lather that I get from some other soaps.
This was a good thing, because it was really easy to rinse off with water or wipe away with a cloth.
How is the Texture?
Texture-wise, this soap is nice and smooth with an easy lather on the skin. It leaves no oil or residue behind, which is just what I look for in good soap.
The thin texture of the lather makes it very easy to rinse off the razor as well.
It goes on smoothly and comes off quickly. With some soaps I have tried, I almost have to scrub the skin just to get it to come off. Not true in this aspect. Just a splash of water and it is all gone. It’s clean and easy to use.
This also means it rinses off the brush easily as well, which saves time at the end of the shave.
The only real issue I had was it leaving somewhat of a dry feeling on my skin after I shaved.
How is the overall Shave?
Overall the shaving experience was quite pleasurable. I was partial to the Platinum scent rather than the American Blend, but that is much more subjective than anything else.
I enjoyed this soap, and didn’t experience any real downsides from using it. No scratches or cuts or any kind of irritation on my skin at all.
Value for Money
Overall, this soap is slightly more expensive than what you would normally pay for most shaving soaps, but not very.
Most of the shaving soaps I buy for myself on a lark are somewhere in the range of $15-20 USD, whereas Fine Accoutrements sells theirs for $25 USD a pop.
This doesn’t really matter much. You are getting a good 5 ozs of soap, so this will last you longer than those $10 USD samples I normally get.
Common Consumer Complaints, Reviews, and Positive Reports
For the most part, like many of Fine’s other products, these soaps are very popular and reviewed well.
The main complaint others seem to have about this soap is that it goes too quickly. Apparently, people use this soap fast and have to order more frequently. This isn’t really a complaint though, if you are coming at it from the perspective of the company itself.
The only other complaint I have seen is that the American Blend is too soft. The scent does not hit very heavily at all, especially with respect to the Platinum scent, and I can see that argument for what it is worth.
Final Thoughts – Who is Fine Accoutrements Shaving Soap For?
Overall, this is a good soap for just about anyone. The only real downside is that if you are looking for a vegan product, then you will need to keep looking because this has a tallow base.
If you are looking for something new to try, or just a good soap to really get into this is a good fit. It has a gentle and pleasant feeling on the skin, with no residue. This makes my face feel nice and clean the whole way through, which is just what I am looking for in a good and relaxing shave.
If you are just trying to start out on wet shaving though, I might go with something less expensive to try before you jump directly into these soaps.
