A serious question on Soap/Cream Reviews

I'm forced to wonder why you haven't written and recorded a damning review of this soap you classify as sub-par...

I am a consumer. I don't sell products nor lifestyles. Rather, I seek information. When JD Powers asks my opinion on the new car I just bought, I'll answer their survey. JD Power can accumulate the statistics and publish a report.   Sharpologist is like JD Powers in a way providing a service. You can agree with them or disagree with them. It doesn't change any facts. I concur with their assessment. You are free to disagree with their assessment. As a consumer, I could care less about youtube from the production side. They provide a service through advertising and "celebrities" reviews are their opinions similar to written ones done on commercial websites like Sharpologist in the sense they make money from advertisement.  

Just for the record, I don't think grim ever said anyone else's point of view is not valid. So he doesn't like Tabac, who cares?

Exactly. Thank you.  I concur with Sharpologist. Why does anyone care that Sharpologist doesn't like it either? Its soap - duh. Heaven forbid if I don't think Proraso or Razorock is elite stuff

The subject is not really whether or not you like Tabac(or any other soap), or whether you or anyone agrees with a "reviewer" or not.

The subject is why are there no negative reviews of shaving soap, and my point is that should you like to see negative reviews of shaving soaps, start posting them. Be the change you want to see. Post your reviews, create a signature in your forum profiles, and direct new shavers to your blog to get "the other side of the story", as it were.

"Professional reviewers" presumably do so as a part of their job description. By necessity, they are less trustworthy as you can never be sure if their opinion is motivated by actual experience or by the larger paycheck. Bias is real, even if subconscious...

So...be the one to step out from the crowd and provide the unbiased, "bad side", of every soap you've experienced that you haven't liked. Take on that responsibility, and provide that service to the community.

And please don;t take this the wrong way, I mean this with utmost sincerity. I think it would be a very good thing to have someone with experience and taste provide the other side of the equation. I'm not trying to give you crap, I seriously think it is a good idea, and I seriously think you are well-qualified to do it.

Heck I would visit! Probably frequently!

I think it would be a very good thing to have someone with experience and taste provide the other side of the equation. I'm not trying to give you crap, I seriously think it is a good idea, and I seriously think you are well-qualified to do it.

Certainly something that needs to be done as I find it very strange that the "youtube" celebrities won't post negative reviews while other industries have no issue with it. But not something I have to do. I consume   But hey, if you don't see anything written, you can presume there is a reason for it.

Look at your own remarks about Tabac, and also browse through the "Soaps I hated this year" thread and you will find that almost every negatively slanted review that you can find starts with a complaint about the fragrance.

No doubt. I don't like C&S either. I find the scents odd. It doesn't matter that they are excellent in technical aspects if you can't stand the smell.  There is no doubt scent is a MAJOR issue.

If you think it stinks, it ends up in the sink!

I think it would be a very good thing to have someone with experience and taste provide the other side of the equation. I'm not trying to give you crap, I seriously think it is a good idea, and I seriously think you are well-qualified to do it.

Certainly something that needs to be done as I find it very strange that the "youtube" celebrities won't post negative reviews while other industries have no issue with it. But not something I have to do. I consume    But hey, if you don't see anything written, you can presume there is a reason for it.

Look at your own remarks about Tabac, and also browse through the "Soaps I hated this year" thread and you will find that almost every negatively slanted review that you can find starts with a complaint about the fragrance.

No doubt. I don't like C&S either. I find the scents odd. It doesn't matter that they are excellent in technical aspects if you can't stand the smell.  There is no doubt scent is a MAJOR issue.

If you think it stinks, it ends up in the sink!

I watch various YouTube reviewers. My favorite is Shave Tank lately, as he seems to have the most in-depth analysis and honest reviews. I have seen many bad reviews but all are in good taste, which I respect.

I think Uzi nailed it above where he said scent determines or alters the outcome with many reviewers. It seems that the nicer the scent the more praise for a soap, especially with the luxury lines. This is one reason I have always wanted to see a blind test with unscented products in sample size and unmarked containers. I doubt we will ever see such on a forum though, but it would be nice.

I think it would be a very good thing to have someone with experience and taste provide the other side of the equation. I'm not trying to give you crap, I seriously think it is a good idea, and I seriously think you are well-qualified to do it.

Certainly something that needs to be done as I find it very strange that the "youtube" celebrities won't post negative reviews while other industries have no issue with it. But not something I have to do. I consume    But hey, if you don't see anything written, you can presume there is a reason for it.

Look at your own remarks about Tabac, and also browse through the "Soaps I hated this year" thread and you will find that almost every negatively slanted review that you can find starts with a complaint about the fragrance.

No doubt. I don't like C&S either. I find the scents odd. It doesn't matter that they are excellent in technical aspects if you can't stand the smell.  There is no doubt scent is a MAJOR issue.

If you think it stinks, it ends up in the sink!

I watch various YouTube reviewers. My favorite is Shave Tank lately, as he seems to have the most in-depth analysis and honest reviews. I have seen many bad reviews but all are in good taste, which I respect.

I think Uzi nailed it above where he said scent determines or alters the outcome with many reviewers. It seems that the nicer the scent the more praise for a soap, especially with the luxury lines. This is one reason I have always wanted to see a blind test with unscented products in sample size and unmarked containers. I doubt we will ever see such on a forum though, but it would be nice.

Scent is definitely a big one when determining if one likes something. Only half of the soaps I reviewed negatively in the "soaps you hated" thread were based on performance. The rest were because I hated the scent. Nevertheless, I do think it is important to get that information out there to people.

I would bet mostly at this point, that scent is going to be the main determining factor if one likes soap. For me, based on what I've tried, the performance is rarely lacking in current soaps. Thats why I hammer my experience with Caties Bubbles because time after time after time, the performance of the soap let me down. Thats just my experience though, plenty of folks like it. Other than Caties recently, I cannot think of one soap I've tried that didn't perform well. I can certainly think of soaps that performed better than others (Pannacrema Nuavia series and B&M Glissant formulas) but I cannot think of soaps that did not give me great shaves.

 Other than Caties recently, I cannot think of one soap I've tried that didn't perform well.  I can certainly think of soaps that performed better than others (Pannacrema Nuavia series and B&M Glissant formulas) but I cannot think of soaps that did not give me great shaves.

I think in my soap analysis I said You can shave with about any product on the market sold, provided it lathers..

The thing is, these consumables are being compared against each other and not an absolute standard. For example, there is no "slickness" or "residual slickness" standard that one can objectively say Product A gets an 8 of 10 while Product B gets a 7 of 10 according to an recognized standard. The best anyone can do is say "Product A has better slickness for me than Product B". Now combine that with all the other attributes "important to me" and come up with a holistic score weighted towards what is important to you. For example, cushion might be more important to you than residual slickness. The differences between many of the products might be small but differences nonetheless making some consumables rise above others. I am becoming more convinced that after shave feel is separating the big boys from the also rans simply because about anyone can create a soap that lathers.

I would also say [and rarely do as people take it personally] that not everybody has developed enough technique to create slickness, properly hydrated lather, establish cushion, etc.

Half the time I read about a soap not providing enough cushion or slickness I connect the dots to the fact that they didn't load enough soap, hydrated too quickly or too much or not enough.

Although obviously not rocket science, if we could also baseline skillset then the relative nuances of the soaps actually come into play and you can separate the good from the excellent soaps.

Unfortunately there are far too many variables in this hobby of ours and again, I use most impressions as just that: not actual reviews but thoughts on an individual's experience, not necessarily the product.

I've never tried tabac but I will and let you know if it's good or not and put this debate to rest. Lol

I've  never tried tabac but I will and let you know if it's good or not and put this debate to rest. Lol

Please do. Just keep in mind that the scent is something that was very popular in the 1950's and is, therefore, an "antique" fragrance. Many here are too young to remember the smell of a department store men's department in the late 1950's, but if you want to know what they smelled like -- this is it. That fragrance is nostalgic to me, but it may very well not appeal to younger, more modern noses.

I've  never tried tabac but I will and let you know if it's good or not and put this debate to rest. Lol

If you have a Perfumania in your area you can check out the scent there. Every store I checked here in Vegas had either the aftershave or cologne, or both.

I've  never tried tabac but I will and let you know if it's good or not and put this debate to rest. Lol

Please do.  Just keep in mind that the scent is something that was very popular in the 1950's and is, therefore, an "antique" fragrance.  Many here are too young to remember the smell of a department store men's department in the late 1950's, but if you want to know what they smelled like -- this is it.  That fragrance is nostalgic to me, but it may very well not appeal to younger, more modern noses.

I'm only 40 and I like it, but to be safe I went to a Perfumania and sampled the cologne first.