Black Cherry Shaving Soap

I’ve done a couple of Stirling reviews now. Bought this one, more out of curiosity, a week or so back based on the first review. Uncapped, the scent that comes to my mind is either a Christmas or wedding cake. So, curiosity aroused further, I bought the matching after shave splash about a week afterwards to so see how the day rounds out. I used both for first time today. I’m not able to pinpoint anything else like this but the as the morning progressed the scent from either the soap and/or the splash remained pleasant. And NO you won’t end up smelling like a Christmas or wedding cake. My other half’s a fan. I think the scent notes above go a tad conservative. This soap, & splash, will be an ‘easy to use’ in rotation. Message to product owners Rod & Mandy Lovan..a post shave balm & EDT, from my standpoint, would be quite welcome. Maybe even a body butter….my partner would like that too. The Stirling tallow based soaps are super reliable, great quality & value. No need to be nervous with this scent.

Let me say this is my all time favourite scent from Stirling. (so far out 25 different Stirling soaps). It has a very strong scent release and increases as the shave goes on. This I would classify as a 9/10 for scent strength.Does it smell like cherries. It sure does. The smell is sweet cherry candy. It is so good, that I actually was tempted to try and eat it. The shave, as per standard Stirling tallow based formula is excellent. Easy to lather, I have bowl and face lathered on two separate shaves. 1st shave was DE razor face lather, and today’s was a straight razor with a bowl lather. The bowl lather produced super volumes of glossy yoghurt like clouds. 20-30 sec loading from a damp synthetic brush was able to produce enough lather for more than a three pass and touch up shave.Very slick and very cushiony. I found the bowl lather of this soap exceptional on the cushion factor. Very easy soap to lather. 10/10. Post-shave feels great as always with Stirling soaps. 8.5/10. My pairing of aftershave scent to match this soap is Joop. Joop matches perfectly with the scent of sweet cherries. (finally found a use for Joop.I normally test out new soaps for myself by first face lathering and using a DE razor. If I am happy with that shave, my next shave will be with a straight razor. I never use pre shave preparations. If the soap I am using cannot produce a good shave on it’s own merits, then it’s not up to the task.Overall this a great soap, and one I had total confidence in using a straight razor. For those into fruit based scents, this one is strong in a good way. I rate this soap top 3 all time out of over 170 soaps and creams I have.