Nanny's Samples...

Halk

Halk

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I've got around 18 samples from Nannys Silly Soaps company. I don't really know what EO smells of what, so I thought it was a good opportunity to find out and at the same time see if I can find a soap I particularly like the smell of.

I've got them all still in their original doggy bags in a glass kilner - so I don't get assaulted by a pack of smells.

My plan is to use one of them at a time, and make a wee note on my feelings towards it. I'm also hoping to learn what things smell as a result of doing that.

What I am thinking about though, is how to use the samples without wasting them, and how to make them last a reasonable length of time. There's 10g in each so that's nearly 200g of shaving soap, and I'd like get the most out of it that I can.

How would you suggest I use it? My best thought just now is to chuck the whole lot down the bottom of a Muhle shaving mug and lather it up in that, but not wash the mug out until I've finished each 10g.

I also have 6.5 and a 4 inch stainless steel bowls which are reasonably smooth inside, and I can of course use a nice big mug from the kitchen...

Alternatives might be to put a bit of the soap in the bowl and lather up keeping the rest in the packet...

I'm not particularly experienced with shaving soaps and I'd rather not go through 2 or 3 samples before I get a knack for it! :)
 
Meant to reply to this yesterday on the way back from work! Just to say I'm really interested to hear your - and anyone else's - thoughts! I've a few soaps I want to explore first - mainly French and Italian bits and pieces - but Nanny's soaps will be the next journey. That sadly won't be for at least another year or two, but I may have to go on a samples binge to satisfy my curiosity in the meantime!
 
With the samples that I've had, I simply took a decent dip with my finger (the usual 1p size) and squashed it in a bowl and then bowl lathered. It worked well for me and Nanny's soaps do lather well. Perhaps give them all a sniff and do a trial lather with the one that you like least!

By hooking out a splodge each time, you can chop and change, rather than having to go from start to finish with a single sample.
 
ChopperHarris said:
With the samples that I've had, I simply took a decent dip with my finger (the usual 1p size) and squashed it in a bowl and then bowl lathered. It worked well for me and Nanny's soaps do lather well. Perhaps give them all a sniff and do a trial lather with the one that you like least!

By hooking out a splodge each time, you can chop and change, rather than having to go from start to finish with a single sample.
Click to expand...

+1 for that. Nanny's soap are soft and creamy, easy to scoop a wodge into a bowl each time.
 
That's what I'l try then - a bit at a time from the doggy bags. I'll try with what I don't think I like the smell of first.
 
So, it turns out it's considerably easier than I expected or hoped to lather up Nanny's Shaving Soap.

I squeezed a bit out of the doggy bag - I could have done with less by the looks of things!

And this is the result.

nanny_lather.jpg


I used the patchouli, which is a smell I've confirmed that I don't like, tolerable, but not very pleasant, and it's the patchouli I don't like rather than the soap.

The soap itself produced, as you can see, a tremendously good lather. Either I struck it lucky or it's very good soap. It went on my face nice an easily and my face feels 'right' after a quick shave with it. As I said I may have just struck it lucky, but for a first use of the stuff I'm extremely pleased.

Turns out my lathering worries were unfounded.

For scale that's a 6.5 inch diameter stainless steel bowl in my kitchen sink, and it's a NF Tubby 1 brush (which is ideal for the job!).
 
Hate to bring up the Suribachi again... But; I just rub the sample, be it soap or cream into the indentations and it more than enough for one shave. The remainder stays in its bag or jar, fresh for the next time.
 
I'm glad you mentioned it, I'd not seen it mentioned before. It's obvious how it works - it just provides more surface contact. The stainless steel bowls I'm using are very effective though, although that is perhaps more down to the excellent brush I have (NF Tubby 1) which as you can see above produced a great lather.

I've noticed one on eBay that to me looks very attractive and functional - they're not all known by their proper names on ebay, many are listed as mortar and pestle.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Ceramic-Mortar-and-Pestle-Spellwork-Ritual-Witchcraft-Herbs-Pagan-NEW-/370657328283?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564ce5fc9b

I'll probably stick with the stainless steel though, as I appear to get on fine with it.
 
Steve Woodhead shaving bowl:

_z2i.png


Handmade in Great Britain. Its got soul and I'm sure he'd do black for you but the white is lovely and a pottery bowl will keep your lather warmer for longer. Handmade soap in handmade bowl - did I mention I like handmade? :p

Just an idea, mate. You seem to have some serious radar so you've probably seen these already. Apologies if so. :blush:

:D
 
I have! It's one of the things I'll turn to eventually. I'm very reluctant to get anything that grade (and that requires a lot of work) when I'm unsure of exactly what I'm after.

I quite like that mortar and pestle. I wonder if a very small brush (which I have on the way!) and a very rough bowl would achieve what a large smooth bowl and brush would.

In any case though, I've taken a look at my finances and :huh: where's my money gone!

I don't know about your apology though... I'm very content to chat about these things until the cows come home :)
 
Don't want to 'teach my granny to suck eggs' is all. A smaller brush will hold less lather and be better for travel I would think whereas a larger brush with a little longer handle may be better for bowl lathering but these are estimations at best and the product of reading not personal experience. An Omega boar would be a cheaper way to try things out and the boar hairs can be surprisingly soft when broken in. Beforer starting with DE shaving, I only ever had cheap boar brushes like the wooden handle Kent ones but the Omegas are meant to be a huge step up in quality of the bristle.

I suppose its all about trying things and seeing what suits you. Having fun along the way, too. :D

Graeme :D
 
Less lather would be good... I never run out of lather and always make way too much. When I'm finished shaving I have half a bowl of lather and a brush full! That's why I'm after the teensy wee brush, in the hope that I don't feel I'm wasting so much. Fido's advice about using the tips only helps a little, but I find I'm more comfortable giving it a bit more laldy, so a smaller brush I think is the answer. One is on it's way to me from the US, a silvertip 16mm knot from Whipped Dog. In my head just now I can't see any other choice of brush for creams... for soaps I may stick with the NF, because it seems to do a tremendous job compared to the Edwin Jagger brush I started with. I've thought a few times of getting a boar to see how it goes, but I'm going to make do with the 16mm brush and see how I get on with that.
 
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