This may be old news, but I thought I would post my impressions. If this is a duplicate, I apologize.
Thanks to all the Great information posted by all the great gentleman here, I finally pulled the trigger on Stirling. From the onset, I was very impressed with Rod and his customer service. very quick to call back and answer any questions that I had, even with the new migration of his website, the order was prompt and with extra goodies. Call me OCD but I love the fact that the Bath soap, Shaving Soap, and AS was matched (in this case Barbershop Scent). I found the pricing fantastic and liked the fact that you could order labels, tins, etc. "a la cart" depending on your set up. I am a Spearmint fanatic, and had heard that the Glacial Soaps were great so I added that in as well. About a week later I had the items in my hand, very well shipped, the AS was double wrapped and came in a very nice "apothecary" bottle. Loved the Vintage look of everything as well. Much to my surprise a rather large sample of "Sharp Dressed Man" Shaving Soap was included ( this scent is very reminiscent of Irish Tweed, so It will most definitely be in my next order.
To the Shave!
This was my set-up for the shave, and was planning to face lather
I had read that some Stirling Soaps were difficult to lather, and being a Cold Shaver, I was a bit apprehensive. I soaked the Omega Synthetic and Pre soaked the puck while in the shower and began my first foray into the Stirling Barbershop Scent. The Scent s very unique in that it is not what I expected, I noticed that in the shower when using the bath soap. It has all the smells, one might remember from the Old Barbershops, but to my snoz, it was a more "Ol West" than City (if that makes any sense).
It has all the smells i.e. Barbasol, Barbacide, Clubman, Leather, floral, however what struck me was an almost Vanilla powdery scent to it like a very high end talc. Very different but VERY enjoyable and was very apparent after the shower.
I loaded the reasonably dry brush for about 35 seconds and the lather was already very thick and pasty. once on the face I added water as needed and within about a minute the lather exploded, into a rich, creamy , and very slick lather and felt fantastic on the face. Three passes + a cleanup, were complete with each pass subsequently being slicker than the one prior, without having to reload the brush and only having to add a small amount of water to explode the lather again. After the shave there was still enough soap for another couple of goes.
I followed my normal post routine of Alum and Witch Hazel, and the Fatboy (G1) performed as usual , set on 7 with a new Astra SP blade. No nicks, weepers and an incredible post shave face feel, with the scent lingering just enough to not be over powering. I followed it up with the AS (same scent) and a nice Sting, that warmed very quickly and began proceeding through the top notes and into that Talcum, barbershop scent that engulfed. This AS felt outstanding and left the face smooth and almost as if you did apply a talc of some sort, with no greasy or sticky residue and a glassy feel when TFSA ( Tactile Facial Stroking Addiction , or Faceturbating).
As I write this it has been about 9 hours post shave and the scent is still very apparent but not overbearing and it settles into, again almost a vanilla talc flavor, with hints of the antiseptic of the Barbershop. VERY Pleasant and Clean, almost a linen sheet kind of feel and smell.
So overall here are my ratings (for what mine are worth) for Stirling and overall 1st impressions. I will be trying the other flavors this week, and have no reason to think they will preform any less effective.
Stirling Barbershop Scent - Bath Soap, Shaving Soap, AS SplashRating from 1-10
Bath Soap (10) Great lather, scent explodes while showering, lingers after leaves skin feeling soft and hydrated.
Shaving Soap (9) A bit more involved than some soaps, however once dialed in TONS of slick, creamy dense lather, again exploding when you hit the sweet spot. if you are comfortable and have success with MWF, this will be a breeze and the razor just silently glides on a great cushion for a BBS shave.
AS Splash (10) After Speick this has the best overall face feel, A nice quick burn, followed by a nice warming and journey through all the top notes, mid notes of the barber shop scents we love, followed by it settling into a powdery, linen scent (not Sweet) with to, again my nose was a under current of Vanilla. Staying power for an aftershave was outstanding with it lasting longer than some EDT's and could be worn completely alone, or in this authors opinion would pair fantastically with an old favorite, Lagerfeld.
Overall Coupled with all the above and the outstanding customer service and attention to detail, If you have not tried Stirling, you need to. This will always be in my rotation, and may even bump some other out. although I only have the three scents so far, based on performance, I am looking forward to trying many more.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Rod or Stirling Soaps, was not asked to complete a review, nor compensated to do so. Just an average schmoe who had read about Stirling and decided to pull the trigger, and glad I did. So I hope this is helpful to anyone on the fence about Stirling. Plus with their prices you cannot beat it.
Cheers Everyone!
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