Irish Shaving Soaps Review 2/5: Crobally Irish Soaps

May 25, 2012

A little bit about Crobally Irish Soaps:
Based in a small town in County Wexford, this family-run company makes soaps and skincare products using honey from their own bees and as many locally sources ingredients as possible. As an interesting addition they also run training days on soap making and pre-safety assessment training. Their online shop accepts PayPal and ships worldwide. 
Presentation:
The owner sent me a sample product and explained that the packaging that I have is not 100% identical to that of the actual product. Having said that, they are the only company in this series who provide their soap in a jar and so I don't have to find a shaving mug for the soap. Simple but effective, this resealable jar does the job. No bells or whistles but it has all you need without having to liberate another mug from the kitchen cabinet! The full sized product contains a minimum of 60 grams of soap per jar.


Ingredients:
The ingredients are not listed on the website but the owner has told me that the soap is 70% aloe vera based and 2% essential oils (in this case pine, sandalwood and patchouli oils). 


Scent:
BAM! sums it up pretty well. From the minute you open this jar you are hit with all three notes full on. While I could definitely recognise all three, my untrained nose couldn't make out the most prominent one, though I'm inclined to say it is the patchouli. Once you being to create the lather the scents really burst out strongly and it leaves a subtler scent on the skin afterwards. If you are a fan of strong scents and these take your fancy you won't be disappointed. They are not to my personal taste but that's just preference.


Lather & Shave:
For a handmade product this is best summed up as being a 'middle of the road' lather. It's not quite sure if it just wants to be a frothy, bubbly body soap lather or a thick, cushioned shaving soap one. It's somewhere in between. It really benefits from skin lathering rather than in the bowl and the trick is to use very little water. Just a rinse and squeeze of the brush and then a few drops on the skin. While the lather produced can't really be described as thick, it does paint on reasonable well and while there is very little cushion it did give good glide and left my skin lightly scented, nicely moisturised and ridiculously soft.


Cost:
Sold in a pack with their moisturising cream for €12.50 (€17.50 if you would like it in a set with a brush). Available at http://www.croballyirishsoaps.com/page4.htm


Summary:
Not my first choice but not a bad performer either. If you like these scents then you'll be very happy with the strength of them however personally they were not to my liking. People with essential oil sensitivities may find this too strong however.


- BE


Click Here For Part Three: Dr. K. Soap Company

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