Barrister and Mann: Oceana Review

Aquatic scents are my second favorite scent, after barbershop ones and on the right day, aquatic ones surpass those classic, clean scents as my go-to fragrances. For 2017, my wet shaving resolution is to make some headway on my numerous, so when I randomly picked Barrister and Mann’s Latha Oceana, I was a happy guy.

I’ve covered one of Barrister and Mann’s Latha line up before and, besides the scent, had nothing but good things to say. The Latha lineup is an absolute steal at $11 for a 4 oz. tub. Despite being part of the soap maker’s “cheaper” lineup of soaps, this stuff is in a league of its own for soaps that cost less than $3.00 an ounce.

In short, the entire Latha line is capable of producing an incredibly slick, protective lather. I caught myself saying, “holy crap, this is slick stuff” when I was attempting to pull my skin when I was shaving. Yes, it’s that good. Barrister and Mann’s products are in the top three soaps I’ve tried and Latha Oceana stands up to the soap maker’s magnificent standards. The scent is also incredibly addictive.

Here’s how Barrister and Mann describes Oceana: “Light, clean aquatic that goes with everything. A scent that’s perfect for any time!” That’s sweet, simple, and to the point. While I got a sample that had a label that slightly differs from the actual jar, the tub has “aqua, bergamot, sandalwood, and jasmine” plastered on it as the main fragrances of the soap.

Out of the tiny jar, the scent isn’t as simple as the humble description makes it out to be. My nose detects the aqua up front and center, along with the sandalwood in a much more modest way. The bergamot and jasmine bring up the rear to make Oceana a masculine, cologne-type of scent. It’s incredible, and above average on strength scent.

A 45-second load with my faithful Semogue 1305 boar brush provides me with plenty of soap for a three-pass shave. When building the lather, the scent diminishes down to a hint below average and gains a lot more aquatic notes. On the face, it smells like pulling up to a body of water and taking a deep breath in.

It’s the perfect scent for the middle of winter in Michigan and briefly has me thinking about warmer weather.

The lather, and I can’t gush over it any more than I already have, is absolutely superb. The cushion is there in spades, the slickness is good enough to do a second pass without applying another layer of lather, and the post shave left my senstive face feeling nice and moisturized. I could’ve skipped a post shave lotion and been just fine.

My only complaint, and this is a minor one, is the amount of time the scent lingers on my hands. I can barely make out the notes in the soap 30 minutes after the shave. Other than that, Oceana has no faults.

Scent Pleasantness: 9/10

Scent Strength: 7/10

Lather Quality: 9/10

Price: 9/10

I’m teetering between nines and 10s for this soap. And I can only recall a few times I’ve done that before. This is a must have for wet shavers that like a light aquatic scent with Barrister and Mann’s magnificent lather. At this price point, there’s nothing that can beat this. It’s an absolute knockout and only the second soap that has earned a permanent spot in my den.

Overall: 9/10