What I got in the post today!

jpb1974

Bought 7 pucks and shipping was $24.

Received two complimentary bar soaps with the shipment.

Converted to euro the cost inc postage was €46 for the lot, so about €6.58 per puck.

Because the pucks are so cheap, even with the postage it still works our reasonable if you're buying a decent amount.

hitemfrank

Thats not a bad price at all.

jpb1974

Yup, there's no doubt about it - one of the best bang for buck soaps out there at the moment in terms of price and performance, and even by the time it finds it's way here the price is still reasonable.. the only downside is that you have to buy enough to justify the shipping cost.

jpb1974

Ok.. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and publicly declare Stirling Anise shaving soap as the best I've ever tried... and I've tried my fair share.

I just had my second shave, using my nemesis... the Feather blade, and it was absolutely outstanding.

Shower, soaked brush, soaked soap in a few drops of water, some proraso pre shave... 4 passes in every direction possible... not a nick, no irritation, smooth and moisturized.

Excellent...

hitemfrank

Cool, I cant wait to try out the sample

jpb1974

Just bear in mind the samples are not Anise.

So far I've tried two Stirling soaps and the Anise is better than the Orange Chill.

hitemfrank

It's odd that one is better than the other if they are made to the same base - just different oils added for scent.

But I suppose different batches may have slight chemical differences to each other that may explain it.

jpb1974

hitemfrank wrote: »

It's odd that one is better than the other if they are made to the same base - just different oils added for scent.

But I suppose different batches may have slight chemical differences to each other that may explain it.

Aye, often wondered the same myself. People do seem to be raving about the Anise in general over at BB, that's the reason I decided to give it a try. Aniseed wouldn't have been my usual scent of choice.

hitemfrank

Well, if you are liking the anise scent, I would recommend L'Occitane Badian EDT.

Pretty nice stuff, and not too pricey.

There's always a chance to try enable someone to buy more stuff....

beardybrewer

hitemfrank wrote: »

Cool, I cant wait to try out the sample

Samples? Who's passing out samples!?

I have so many hard soaps that last ages I can't justify any more. But the description of the Ben Franklin soap made me chuckle:

This soap smells like an older gentleman’s pantaloons at the end of a hot July day in Philadelphia, drafting important documents with no air conditioner.

It’s actually a very unique scent that reminded a few of my testers of a root beer float. An instant favorite.

jpb1974

I have the Ben Franklin.. yet to use it, but it does smell quite nice.

I had a couple of Stirling samples (Margueritas in the Attic & Earl Grey) that I passed on to hitemfrank seeing as he was first to express an interest in the Stirling brand.

hitemfrank

jpb1974 wrote: »

I have the Ben Franklin.. yet to use it, but it does smell quite nice.

I had a couple of Stirling samples (Margueritas in the Attic & Earl Grey) that I passed on to hitemfrank seeing as he was first to express an interest in the Stirling brand.

It's actually Arctic not Attic. Makes much more sense as it's a lime/menthol soap.

I was half expecting a lime soap with a dusty smell well you said it was attic

newkie wrote: »

Samples? Who's passing out samples!?

I have so many hard soaps that last ages I can't justify any more. But the description of the Ben Franklin soap made me chuckle:

I used the Margarita soap this morning but would happily send the Earl Grey soap sample on to you if you want. I did open the sample to have a sniff of it but it is unused.

The samples are a pretty good size.

jpb1974

Oh dear... Artic... Attic... LOL.

The Earl Grey smelt a lot like, well... Earl Grey Tea... not the most exciting scent I have to admit. Certainly not one I'd probably purchases but as a sample you can't say no.

Yep.. the sample sizes are very decent, basically it the same diameter as a full puck.

hitemfrank

Yeah, the Earl Grey wasn't my cup of tea*

Margaritas on the other hand, very nice.

*I'm ashamed of that pun

jpb1974

Ha... I'm betting they made the Earl Grey, didn't sell any, and are now giving it away with every order.

jpb1974

Just noticed that the Stirling Anise is made with Australian Black clay... could be the magic ingredient that elevates it above the other scents in their range.

beardybrewer

jpb1974 wrote: »

Just noticed that the Stirling Anise is made with Australian Black clay... could be the magic ingredient that elevates it above the other scents in their range.

Good catch that. When you said best shave ever you got my attention. How do the others compare?

jpb1974

The only other Stirling soap I've tried so far is the Orange Chill... a very decent performer for $5. But after trying the Anise for the past 4 days in a row I can say that, in my humble opinion, it's outstanding. Now, I appreciate that everyone has their own skin type, stubble type and other preferences... the next person could use it and hate it.

I'm not usually a daily shaver, I typically need at least a couple of days between shaves for my skin to recover. With the Anise my skin is perfect even after shaving for 4 days in a row. I'd have no hesitation going at it again tonight, in fact... I'm looking forward to it.

For the first 3 shaves I went at it with a Feather dialled up to #3 in my Merkur Futur, which in the past has been a serious no-no for me, and the shave was outstanding. Last night I put a Rapira in the Merkur Future and left it at #3, again... excellent shave... skin feels great today.

Gran Hermano

What's the shipping time like from Stirling?
- I may know some bloke who stuck an order in yesterday -

jpb1974

You should recieve an email from Stirling or the USPS indicating that the package is on it's way.

If you don't contact Rod - my last order was sitting in the post office due to a paper work issue, so there was a slight delay, but as soon as I highlighted it with Rod he was on the case ASAP.

Once I received my email confirmation the package was with me in about 8-10 working days.

Gran Hermano

Cheers, order was placed yesterday afternoon. No email other than the paypal receipt.

jpb1974

Give it 48 hours.. if you don't get anything then maybe drop them a quick email.

There was a minor delay on my first order as he was still curing one of the soaps I had ordered.

"Sorry for bothering you. I wanted to give you a quick update on your order. We generally are very good at getting orders out in 24-48 hours. However, the latest batch of Black Cherry still needed some extra time on the curing racks before being wrapped up and labeled. I just did a test lather with it and it is good to go, so I'll be boxing up your order and shipping it out first thing tomorrow. I'm sorry for the delay. I'm going to throw in some free samples for you for the delay, so if you have any preferences on scent, just let me know and if I have them available I'll add them in."

hitemfrank

So not exactly what I got in the post, but I've taken a bit of a gamble on a razor on ebay. Paid a bit more than I would have liked considering it will need a fair bit of work. The final price was just under my limit.

Many blurry pics, and one picture of ok quality. The picture of ok quality:



And the auction of blurriness.


I'm hoping there are no cracks in the blade.

MadsL

hitemfrank wrote: »

So not exactly what I got in the post, but I've taken a bit of a gamble on a razor on ebay. Paid a bit more than I would have liked considering it will need a fair bit of work. The final price was just under my limit.

Many blurry pics, and one picture of ok quality. The picture of ok quality:



And the auction of blurriness.


I'm hoping there are no cracks in the blade.

Given the poor quality of those pics you would be covered to cancel the auction. I have done that before when a blade arrived cracked and was not mentioned or visible in the photographs.

Nice find.

I have one somewhere, I must dig it out.

hitemfrank

It's due to get here some time next week - probably the 3rd or 4th of October so I'll know then.

If the blade is cracked I'll be looking for a refund.

It seems a pretty uncommon grind so fingers crossed.

Gran Hermano

Stirling Soap delivery arrived this morning.

beardybrewer

Please review the Anise, if you got it. Compare to Mikes, Nannys, etc.

Gran Hermano

newkie wrote: »

Please review the Anise, if you got it. Compare to Mikes, Nannys, etc.

Anise is the black puck in the middle. It was first on my list to try

jpb1974

I'm nervous now...

After my declaration of love for Anise, if GH's assessment is any less my reputation here will be ruined.

Remember... we're all different

Gran Hermano

I didn't really need another parcel full of soaps but the reviews on here and other fora singing praise for Stirling left me with little choice! I'm getting alternating wafts of black-jacks and pine/tea tree from the box under my desk all day.

JPB you're not alone in liking the range judging by feedback online. I'm looking forward to trying out the Anise and will stick up my thoughts after.