IanS Soaps

I have been meaning to do a review of an order of hand-crafted soaps I had received from IanS Soaps after reading some threads on BadgerAndBlade.com and seeing his contribution regarding making soap.  He sounded very knowledgeable about the interactions of the various oils and lyes used in soap making.  Making shave soap is different in so far as the two soaps have two different purposes, one is used for cleaning and the other used as a lubricating barrier between razor steel and your skin.  He seemed to understand the difference more so than others I had seen on the forum and when I found he was off loading some old stock I decided to try it out.  Turns out to be the best investment in shaving products so far.  I received four different samples, each with a different scent and consistency.  They go from thick, creamy, very soft to hard as a hockey puck.  The scents are faint but still definitely there.  All are tallow based with all natural ingredients.

To do justice to these soaps, I should review each one separately, however I don't think I yet have the words to describe the subtle differences between them.  They are each absolutely amazing!  Each one I've tried gives amazing shaves, my face has never felt so smooth.  I have read reviews of soaps wherein the reviewer states their face felt great all day even without aftershave.  One day family duties caused me to miss the aftershave part and all day my face did feel good.  The lather produced is unlike anything I have experienced, soft and creamy and slick, all without having to add extra products to compensate for my hard water.  

All this lather does come at a small price though, and by that I mean it requires very little soap to create quite a bit of lather.  I haven't yet had the privilege of trying any of the higher end soaps, but I really can not see how there is much room to justify the price difference.  Face lathering today with my well broken in generic boar brush and IanS "Garage" actually felt like the wings from a thousand tiny angels caressing my face.