Shaving Soap Review: Spiced Rum By All Soaps On Deck

This is a semi-continued review from my subscription box from The Wet Shave Club.

For the month of February, I got a whole bunch of stuff from The Wet Shave Club. One of them was a 2-oz puck of Spiced Rum shaving soap from All Soaps On Deck.

Let me start this off by saying I’m not a fan of Bay Rum scents. I’ve tried Sterling’s as well as Mike’s Natural Soaps’ and they turned me away from the scent. Both of those smelled like every spice bottle from your kitchen cabinet balled up into one and it just wasn’t doing it for me.

Upon opening the well packaged bar, the first thing that pops out is the beautiful color. The bar of soap is light brown and is littered with little black dots throughout it. For a 2-oz bar, it’s a hefty little thing and a great value at $3.00.

Another thing that usually happens when you open a shaving soap package is that you get an overwhelming whif of the soap. Unfortunately, this soap requires a large amount of sniffing to get any scent.

Holding the bar up to your noise and vigorously breathing in reveals the best Bay Rum I’ve ever smelled. Upfront, it’s sweet and vanillaey, while spicy notes of rum and spices become apparent as you continue to smell. It’s definitely sweeter than the traditional Bay Rum scent and I like that, so if you like that overly spicy scent this soap may not do it for you.

Lather wise, the soap is right in the middle of the pack. It takes a little while to load and lather, but once in a bowl or on your face it turns into a fluffy lather. However, while the lather might quality might appear to be fluffy, the soap lacks slickness. Even after the first pass, the soap is never really slick. I wouldn’t recommend going over spots without shaving cream, which is something that can be done with other soaps.

Even though the soap may not be the slickest, it still provides a relatively close, comfortable shave. I used the soap with various razor blades and I never felt any tugging or pulling.

So far, it’s pretty good. But there’s one spot where this soap just leaves a lot to be desired – scent strength. I have soaps that take a little extra work to smell, but they usually pick up in strength when you go into a lather. Not this soap.

The only time you smell this soap’s wonderful scent is when you strain your nose inside a container or cup your hands around the soap itself. Immediately after loading the soap onto your brush, it loses its scent. I mean immediately. Forget after the first pass, the second you put down the mug, container, or other thing that you have smashed this soap into, the scent goes with it.

I buy different shaving soaps and creams for their scents. Even if the scent isn’t what I would say is good, I like to smell them. And I understand that soaps dissipate in scent throughout the shave, but smelling the soap during a face lather is something that I look forward to during every shave.

Scent Strength: 3/10

Lather Quality: 6/10

Price: 8/10

This is the best Bay Rum scent I have smelled and it really hurts that the scent is barely noticeable. I love the fact that this soap is only $1.50 per ounce, but I would gladly pay more to get a stronger scent. If the scent’s not there, then the lather has to be superb. But it’s not and for that reason, this soap is a lackluster alternative to available soaps.

Overall: 6/10