Synergy Shave Soap

hitemfrank

So when I posted that I had bought this soap last week newkie asked me to post my thoughts on it after I had used it for a bit. Well 4 shaves with it and I think I've used it enough to give my thoughts on it.

Price: €17 for 225g of soap isn't bad at all in my opinion. That works out at just about the same price as a DR Harris refill puck (slightly better value than it if I'm not mistaken).
7/10


Scent: I bought the lime scented version of the soap and I have to say it's not great for a lime scented soap. The lime is there but it is subtle and there is a distinct chcolate scent which takes over as the dominant scent. The soap is made with Cocoa butter (and other butters) so that explains the chocolate. When I buy a lime scent, I want lime. Not a hint of lime and something else.

I can't comment on whether the other scents they offer are dominated by chocolate like the lime is but keep it in mind if you are considering buying it.
2/10


Lather: Definitely can't fault the soap here. It lathers up with ease and due to the amount of butters in the soap it is in no way drying on the skin. Nice glide and cushion for the razor. I was in Belfast over the weekend and it was fine with the hardish water there.
9/10


Presentation: This I think will be something that will divide people. The soap comes in a 5 inch diameter, shallow tin. I quite like the artwork on the tin, and like the fact that it is a tin and not a plastic tub.

However I'm not a fan of the wide shallow tin. While the wide tin does make it easy to get lather into the brush, I have found that I have a decent amount of it left on top of the soap that gets pushed away from the brush as I try to load the brush.
5/10


All in all, I find it's a very good soap. I wouldn't buy the lime scented version again but would be interested to try out a different scent. I would recommend it if anyone is looking for a new soap to try out.

beardybrewer

Nice review, thanks.

I just got my Synergy Bay Rum in the post today (along with RazoRock bay rum). I'll be trying it out tonight and hopefully add another review shortly. I only just discovered these can be bought locally in Ireland at Knights Shaving Shop. As you don't have to pay international postage, they work out good value. The one that caught my attention was the Cavendish which has a scent of sweet pipe tobacco. I recently got a sample of Roam, a similar scent, from Barrister & Mann which I loved. I couldn't resist so ordered both! So I'll try and post a comment on the Cavendish scent to this thread in a couple weeks when it arrives (out of stock in Dublin unfortunately).

hitemfrank

I'm interested to hear what you think of the Cavendish. They didn't have that one when I was in Knights either. I'm mainly interested to hear if the scent is strong enough so the chocolate notes dont come through too much.

beardybrewer

I can confirm that indeed a base note from the soap, not the scent, permeates through to distracting levels.

I received the Bay Rum first which was better at hiding it. That whole soap is just darker with a nice take on the classic non-clove Bay Rum and just about blends with or masks whatever ingredient is so noticeable (perhaps cocoa butter, as you suggested).

Last Friday I was excited to receive the Cavendish. Especially after trying a sample of B&Ms Roam soap which I just got a full jar of today. I'm disappointed to report that after the first pleasantly sweet (too sweet for me) sniff the cocoa butter burns through and then that's all you can smell. All in all, unimpressed and plan to sell on.

hitemfrank

I'm considering selling my Lime version too. It's a shame because it lathers quite well but it's scent isn't right.

Also I just looked up the Barrister & Mann Roam and it sounds very interesting. I will keep that in mind for my next soap purchase.

beardybrewer

Barrister & Mann have been the best discovery so far in my Bay Rum quest. I got the Bay Rum and a sampler which resulted in an instant order of the Roam. Some other nice scents on offer, in particular I liked Cheshire as well. The performance seems really good and I'm looking forward to stop rotating and live it up with a week of Roam to better test it's performance. Very tempted to do a third order already.