Caties Bubbles: Ocean Grove Review

Catie’s Bubbles is one of few soap makers that everyone raves about. Check out any review of one of the soap maker's products and it will probably be well regarded. But for some odd reason, I haven’t tried a lot of soaps from the brand. I’m not sure if it’s the available scents, the price point, or the availability, but Catie’s Bubbles is on my lengthy list of soap makers I need to purchase more from.

Enter Catie’s Bubbles Ocean Grove, which seemed like something right up my alley and a great entry into the soap maker. To my knowledge, all of Catie’s Bubbles offerings are vegan and the soaps are made out of some really good ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, and coconut oil. And the nourishing, non-harmful ingredients in the soaps affect their price tags.

Ocean Grove, as with the majority of Catie’s Bubble’s “Luxury Shaving Soap” line comes in at $14.00 for a 4 oz. tub. There’s also a 2 oz. tub that costs $8.00 for those that don’t want to feel tied down by a larger tub. Opting for the larger 4 oz. jar brings the price to $3.50 per ounce, while the smaller 2 oz. tub costs $4.00 per ounce. Either way you go, it’s an affordable price for a high-quality soap.

So why Ocean Grove? Well, just take a peek at the description. “A beautiful day by the sea. A delicious picnic while listening to the crashing of the waves. I would like to bring you to Ocean Grove with this delicious blend of fruits, florals, and salty marine notes.”

I love aquatic scents and Ocean Grove’s description made the soap sound like a must-try for me. Luckily, Maggard Razors had a few samples of the soap left, so I scooped one up. It’s easy to tell that this is an aquatic scent right out of the sample jar. The salty marine notes are upfront, but masked by an overwhelming note of freshness. The fruit and floral notes combine to remind me of crisp, fresh air around a body of water. Or clean laundry with aquatic notes mixed in. It’s a fantastic scent that I really enjoy.

The soap is extremely soft and loading takes no time at all. A 30-second load ends up with a substantial amount of soap for three passes. There was plenty of soap left over for two or even three more passes. Clearly, a 30-second load is a bit much for the soap. I think a 15- to 20-second load is the sweet spot for the soap.

Making the lather, regardless of how much soap your brush has, is a synch with Catie’s Bubbles. This may be the best soap I’ve ever used when it comes to how quickly it makes a lather. I’m one of those wet shavers that like to work a lather for a lengthy period of time to get it to my liking, which is why I recently picked up doing a mixture of bowl and face lathering. But that’s unnecessary with Catie’s Bubbles as the soap exploded into a voluminous lather with minimal effort.

The lather is yogurt-like in the best way possible. It’s thick, rich, dense, and does a fine job letting the razor slide through the hairs. The only downside to the soap, and it’s something I’ve found with other vegan-based soaps, is the slickness. It’s there, but not like it is in tallow-based products. This by no means should be something that stops shavers from getting the soap, because the lather is still superb.

Ocean Grove continued to impress after the shave, as my face, even without any post shave products felt nice and hydrated. The scent, though, didn’t hang around for long. I got faint whiffs of the soap on my hands 30 minutes after the shave, but it disappeared soon after.

Scent Pleasantness: 9/10

Scent Strength: 7/10

Lather Quality: 8/10

Price: 7/10

Catie’s Bubbles Ocean Grove isn’t one of the cheapest soaps on the market, or one of the best aquatic scented soaps for that matter ether. But it is one of the best vegan-based soaps I’ve used. While I would’ve liked more aquatic notes in the soap, I think the fresh aspect makes it more of an everyday type of soap instead of a once in a while type of product. Aquatic lovers that require something without any animal products should look no further, as this is an excellent buy. Heck, it’s a good soap for anyone that enjoys oceanic scents.

Overall: 9/10