OSP Bay Rum Shave Soap

I received my OSP soap yesterday so I thought I'd give it a shot this morning. The Obsessive Soap Perfectionist is quite a handle that James (owner/soap maker) has given himself and it sets the bar pretty high.
On opening the jar of the Bay Rum and the Sandalwood soaps that I purchased I was initially struck by the very subtle nature of the scents. The fragrance of British soaps are often understated so I thought fine, lets see if it opens up on use. The performance of this soap is absolutely first rate, lathers very well and gives a nice slick, effortless BBS shave. I did 4 passes with the Feather AS-D2 loaded with a Viking's Sword blade with nary a trace of irritation nor whisker left behind. It really is a very, very nice soap. The scent however, does not open up and being a bay rum fan, I searched olfactorily for that fragrance that I crave. I got the occasional hint of the bay rum but the more pronounced scent that I got was closer to Propert's Saddle Soap than bay rum. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the smell of saddle soap and I use it on my boots regularly, its wonderful stuff, however, on my face during my morning shave I'd rather have the bay rum. I'll try the sandalwood tomorrow although I anticipate the same outstanding performance and similar fragrance.

James is, IMHO, clearly more obsessed with the performance (which is outstanding) of his soap than he is with the fragrance of it. Its possible that the differences in the UK and North American market, specifically relating to fragrance, is responsible for my perception of OSP soap being a bit on the mild side fragrance-wise. Notwithstanding the mild fragrance, I believe that OSP shaving soap is a must have in every serious wet shaver's rotation.
Mark

I saw it got loads of high marks on performance on a UK forum. Interestingly many said the scent strength was strong. Pity the scent is weak which is common in EU soaps due to regulations. I heard it was like Kramperts but I had hoped with a better formula.

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Marko, thanks for the thoughts- I am still curious but sitting on a gluttony of soaps right now will hang tight until more readily available. Look forward to reading how the Lavender scent works out in the meantime.

I really like the Krampert's soaps both the Acadian Bay Rum and Frostbite. They are solid performers with excellent scent. I'd say the OSP is a slightly better performer with way less scent. Way less.

Kevin, I hear you. I think I'm going to have to declare a moratorium on soap acquisitions as my collection has likely reached the point where it may exceed my lifetime. My son will be the happy beneficiary
Mark

I used the other OPS soap today which I had thought was lavender but upon closer inspection of the label was sandalwood - that was indeed what I had ordered.  

I found the OSP Sandalwood shaving soap to be an excellent performer as well, just like the Bay Rum.  I also found the scent to be very subtle, just like the Bay Rum.  I would recommend this soap to everyone based on its performance but especially to those who prefer a subtle, understated scent, i.e., it doesn't smell too strong.  If on the other hand, you prefer a Shaver Heaven style olfactory assault, then you might want to try something else.
Mark

I used my OSP bay rum the other night. I thought that it had quite a good scent strength. Maybe it was a batch issue?


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My Sandalwood is batch 15 and my Bay Rum is batch 13. What are your batch numbers?
Mark

My bay rum is batch no 9


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Thats interesting, how would you describe your sense of smell? What would be your favourite soap/aftershave? I think my nose is ok, I don't have a cold or anything and I'd say I have a fairly sensitive sense of smell and I'm a big bay rum fan. I think OSP might have some QI issues and there is likely variation from batch to batch. Thats too bad because one likes to know what they're getting when they place their order. I wonder if the EO used might lose its punch if it freezes? I received my order last week and once the package hit Canadian shores its entirely possible it may have been left in a truck or car and overnight lows have been below freezing for several weeks now. I think I'll send James a note and see what he thinks.
Mark