G.B.SMen's Sandalwood Shaving Soap with Shea Butter and Glycerin, 3oz

I've been shaving with mug and brush most of my life - it was best for my thick, fast-growing beard. Recently, both Williams and Colgate became unavailable and I was distressed. I tried the GBS, and have found it to be the best I've ever used! Really works great - shaves close, comfortable. Lathers and lubricates good, nice scent. Costs a little more, but well worth it. Glad I found it!Edit: After looking over some of the lower reviews, it seems some of the new shavers do not know how to properly use a mug and brush. Here's how to do it: 1) Press your moistened cake of soap firmly to adhere it to the bottom of the mug, then run HOT water over the outside of the mug for 30 seconds. Run HOT water over the brush as well. 2) Fill the mug with HOT water and place the mug in it and set aside while you wash your face with HOT soapy water using regular soap. 3) Pour off the water from the mug and lather up your mug. 4) work the lather onto your face with the brush. 5) Run HOT water over your razor, and then shave, first with the grain, and then against it, for a super close shave! Rinse the razor often, with HOT water. You will get the best, closest and most comfortable shave of your life! Enjoy!

I switched to shaving soap a couple of years ago and have been using Proraso. If you're using shaving cream, whether in a tube or a can, you're missing out. In my experience, shaving soap is far better at protecting your skin. If you're using anything other than a budget shaving cream, then shaving soap is usually also less expensive. A single bar can last a long time. Although you need to lather it up with a brush (I recommend badger hair), shaving soap is easy to use and even kind of fun.I decided to try this GBS soap for a new scent. I really enjoy the smell of cedar when I'm doing woodworking. I like the scent of this soap too. I would say that it's not as fragrant as I had hoped. I would prefer it to have even more cedar to it. However, it's probably good that it's not overpowering. Most importantly, my wife liked it. She described it as "fresh" and "subtle."As for the performance of the soap, it lathers easily and protects my skin very well. It washes off fairly easily, too, but not as easily as Proraso. When I used nice shaving cream, I often needed a towel to wipe it off. Proraso comes off with a little bit of water. GBS takes a little more water, but no towel. Lastly, it does a decent job of not drying out my skin, but as with any shave, I find it best to follow-up with Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer.

I did not receive the Bay Rum soap. I am not sure which soap I did receive. It does have a pleasing fragrance. The soap performs very well, providing ample lather with just a little work from my brush. Plenty of slickness left after the first pass to allow me to use my razor without having to re-apply lather. The puck looks like it was made for a specific type of dish, but it works very well in my mug. Overall very satisfied with this product.

It broke my heart when Williams shaving soap quietly went out of business. But this soap has been a great replacement. Nice subtle scent and gentle on the skin. I lather up twice, once for the shave and once more with a little exfolating scrubber. This is perfect for both jobs.

After using Trader Joe's shave cream for years, I finally went back to soap. This stuff is great. I swear I got a closer shave. The sandalwood scent is subtle and nice. I got the wooden case as well, very nice combo.

This soap needs a lot of water to start. You soak it in hot water for a few minutes, pour out, and add more water than other soaps need as you go and it is functional. Barely. I've gotten similar lather from a bar of Irish Springs. The lather itself is great when you load the brush and apply it, it's actually feels and protects really well. But before I can even get 1/3 of the way through a shaving pass on my face it dissipates. Less water it doesn't lather at all, more water and it explodes in lather, yet it goes on the face and starts to disappear in less than a minute. I look into the shaving mug and it goes from half-full to nothing but the puck (zero lather) in the same time frame.I suspected this was a hard water issue so I tried distilled water. A little better, but it still dissipates before I can even do half of my face. It provides okay cushion against the razor when it's lathered up but once it's gone it's not like Cremo (which goes invisible but still works) because you lose that slippery protection too. This led to a few weepers due to my protection just disappearing before my eyes.Last up is the scent. There is none. The bay rum smelled like a scent-free soap. The others had a scent so mild I couldn't even ascertain what they were supposed to be. I think this is either an old batch that lost it's scent or a batch that a worker forgot to add the scent to.I spent too much time re-applying over and over each time I tried this stuff. I really wanted this to work but it just didn't perform. There are other options like Proraso, Clubman, and Men's Soap Company (their bay rum is great) that are all in this ~$10 price range and they perform so much better even with the hard water where I live. Granted those brands are pricier per ounce than this. That budget/price excuse goes out the window when Williams Mug Soap is cheaper yet works and smells much better.

I enjoyed this bar of soap. I believe I may still have it, but I haven't been, uh, shaving with uh, the soap of this style in quite a while, unfortunately.

Don’t buy this product. This is cheap soap. This is NOT shave soap. It does not lather much and dissolves almost before you can swipe your razor. It barely lubricates and the sandlewood scent last about as long as the first stroke of the brush when attempting to get a lather from this sham of a shave soap. DO NOT BUY!! Amazon should remove this product. It is obvious the company is selling marketing only and not actually good product in the hopes that it is not worth the time to repackage and send back shave soap. This is ridiculous. Amazon, you should be ashamed.