Stirling Soap Company: Eskimo Tuxedo Review

The weather in Michigan changes on a dime. Once second, the sun’s out, warming the state to an agreeable temperature. The next minute, massive gusts bring dark clouds with them, covering the sun and dropping temperatures rapidly. Detroit may be on EST, but the weather, as C-Note perfectly put it in the first seasons of Prison Break: “You know what they say about weather in the Midwest: if you don’t like it, wait an hour.”

Either way, it was warm late last month, giving me the ability to try out one of Stirling Soap Company’s summer offerings – Eskimo Tuxedo, which costs $13.50 for a 6 oz. tub ($2.25 an ounce). Now it’s important to note that I’m not a menthol head. I do enjoy the occasional dose of frigid soap, but I don’t use them often. My sensitive face can’t handle overly-mentholated soaps, as the menthol just ends up turning my face red and giving me a burning sensation.

As a warning, when Stirling puts “Glacial” on the label, the stuff is going to be freaking cold. And this scent is also based off of their popular, scents, Sharp Dressed Man, which happens to be one of my favorites. As Stirling puts it, “Our popular Sharp Dressed Man fragrance with enough menthol to make a polar bear buy a timeshare in Florida.”

Don’t think of this a lightly mentholated version of Sharp Dressed Man, because you’ll be shocked if you do. The soap maker claims this is a 10/10 when it comes to the menthol level. And boy does it stand up to it. This stuff is absolutely freezing.

Face lathering this soap, at least for me, is a challenge, as it feels like you’ve just stepped out into a raging blizzard. The soap is so cold, that my face actually feels likes it’s burning throughout the entire first pass. The burning sensation, thankfully, didn’t return on the second or third pass. When loading and directly off of the puck, the scent is mostly menthol with a hint of Sharp Dressed Man.

The lather was just as one would expect from Stirling – a nice, thick, slick vessel to shave with – but I did have some trouble loading the soap. I’m not sure if the extra menthol crystals made the soap softer than the company’s other offerings, but a 20-second load ended with large clumps of soap in the brush.

Scent Pleasantness: 6/10

Scent Strength: 3/10

Lather Quality: 7/10
Price: 10/10

Is this the coldest soap I’ve ever used? No, that trophy goes to Barrister and Mann’s Artique. But Eskimo Tuxedo is still way too cold for me. And despite having a hint of Sharp Dressed Man hidden in the soap, the scent is still overwhelmingly menthol, which I’m not a fan of. If you’ve tried Chiseled Face’s Cryogen, Fine’s Snake Bite, or Artique and thought that those were way too cold, but don’t find regular mentholated items to fit the bill, try Stirling’s Glacial line.

Overall: 6