ProrasoShaving Soap

Proraso makes great products, and this is no exception. I love the scent of sandalwood, as it is my favorite scent of all. It takes only a small amount to load onto the brush. It creates a great lather in my shaving bowl with a synthetic brush. Even with my Silvertip High Mountain Badger brush, it whips up a thick and slick lather. I love the scent, and it leaves my face smooth. I also use Proraso green with menthol which helps cool the skin.Great product and great value.

In the last few years there has been a rebirth of interest (and sales) of double edge safety razors. The reasons are myriad; ridiculously high prices for cartridges, poor performance, environmental concerns (tons of plastic dumped into land fills, etc.) Along with that heightened interest, a number of boutique soap makers have popped up, many of them simply outstanding, if sometimes a bit pricey.Proraso, on the other hand, has been around since after WWII. It's a proven commodity in the shaving world. It was the first shave soap I ever bought, their Green soap (eucalyptus scent with some menthol) and it was love at first use. One thing about Proraso soaps and shave creams: they really lather beautifully!I started with the Green (their original) but also tried the White (made for sensitive skin) and finally the Red.All three Proraso soaps/creams I've tried are fantastic but the Red is my favorite. The sandalwood scent is beautiful; a very natural smell that isn't overpowering and doesn't come across like a cheap cologne.Every scent is subjective. Some soaps I've bought that get rave reviews I've found to be simply awful.But I can't imagine anybody not liking this sandalwood scent. And, man, does it lather and provide a great shave! And it's a fantastic value in a world where some prices have skyrocketed. This brand has maintained affordability and stability.This comes with my highest recommendation.

Pros:Great smell (the wife got a whiff and said she really liked it - it's not "medicine-y" like the Proraso Green with its menthol)Long LastingProduces a really nice, creamy latherComes in its own bowl that fits nicely in my palm - makes it really easy to whip up lather!Cons:Only place I've found it is via Amazon; nobody local sells it! (not really a con, but if I'm running low, I have to plan to purchase more at least 2 days before I run out, thanks to Prime)The bowl is a little hard to store (my medicine cabinet isn't very deep, and the bowl would cause it not to close, so it has to sit out on the counter. Minor nitpick, but that's not Proraso's fault - I'd rather put it away if I can, but the cabinet's really shallow)So this soap is nice and slick - just a little bit of water on a shaving brush, and I'm able to whip up a great lather. I have noticed with my hard water in Southern California that it tends to dry out on my face fairly quickly, so I almost need to have it fairly wet and runny when I'm starting - once I apply it, it's a great, slick soap, and adds a lot of cushion.It feels absolutely wonderful on my face, and fortunately doesn't dry it out like the old Edge Gel that I used to use; plus, a little bit goes a LONG way, for shaving my face and my head. I think I've found a great shaving soap for the price point, and will DEFINITELY have it as a soap in my arsenal. Sure, it's not as cheap as say, the $4 can of Edge Gel, or the $1 cans of Barbasol shaving cream, but it lasts longer, it has a great smell (a nice sandalwood scent that my wife commented on and said, "It smells really good on you, like a man should smell like!"), and it leaves my face and head feeling good.There are a few other soaps that I'd like to try (boutique soaps, for the most part), but this is definitely going to be part of my shaving arsenal in case anything else gets expensive or impossible to find. :)