Dr Watson
James
Wasn't sure where to put this as it covers all their products and we have no dedicated review section.
In praise of Speick...
Shaving stick: Kind of small 50g hard soap stick, contains tallow (and you can tell!) It has a mild slightly soapy scent with bergamot, lavender and a hint of peppery spice from the Speick extract. Performance is sublime, I never need use anything else... It's that super dense old skool tallow lather with bags of slickness and cushion. Post shave feel is neutral, neither dry nor moisturised.
Aftershave splash: 100ml in a uniquely shaped glass bottle bearing Walter Rau's signature on the bottom... It has a really cool air-lock built into the cap which you can hear "pop!" every time you open it. Scent is a match for the stick so think citrus and herbal, I get a strong bitter orange note from it but the scent only lasts 5 minutes so not worth dwelling on. Performance is where this splash excels, forget your fancy smelling alcohol from the US this is pure medicated healing juice, really soothing and refreshing... I love it.
Shaving cream: 75ml tube, probably the least value for money product from Speick in my opinion... Scent is a medium strength herbal lavender with the obligatory spicy Speick note in there as well. This cream provides lots of protection and cushion but slickness is only average, it's an OK cream but I probably wont buy another when this tube runs out as the stick really puts it in the shade.
Aftershave balm: 100ml plastic tube thingy which looks odd when you receive it as it's only 50% full but all the product is there, just the container is quite oversized. Scent on this is a sweet creamy lemon, reminds me of lemon panna cotta, almost good enough to eat (dont! ) This is some pretty good balm, nice and healing, moisurising without leaving a greasy film and there is a little alcohol in there too so it does work well as a full aftershave solution rather than acting just like men's face cream.
Deo stick: 40g stick in a well made twist up tube. Scent is quite alcoholic off the stick but much better on the skin, it's like a 50/50 cross between the shaving cream and aftershave splash, a good manly smell anyway that's not too strong but remains just strong enough to cover body odour for 6 hours or so.
Eau de Toilette: 50ml spray EdT in a nice glass bottle. The scent on this one is very different to the rest, it's lemongrass and patchouli with the spicy Speick note up top... It is masculine, discreet and quite austere I thought... Good for an office setting. Initial dry down smell like burning rubber (to me) but this passes after 10 minutes and from then on it's a pretty linear journey, longevity is around 6 hours and projection I would say an arms length at most.
Eau de Cologne: Big 100ml bottle with the same very high quality sprayer as the EdT. I adore the scent on this; orange, bergamot, lavender and speick... It is powdery citrus and floral but dont let that trick you into thinking of Granny, this is really classy, I would honestly choose this as an every day Cologne over Sauvage, Le Bleu or anything like that. Longevity and projection equal the EdT for me.
In praise of Speick...
I own and use everything from the "Men" range, and was kindly gifted the unisex Cologne by @ShaunWistow (cheers mate) I'll get it out of the way first and say that in my opinion they dont make a single bad product, it's all top quality stuff but stand-outs for me are the shaving stick, aftershave splash and Eau de Cologne. The scents vary from product to product even within the same range but I'll cover that as we go.The company was founded in 1928. When anthroposophist Walter Rau established the “WALTER RAU Fine Soap Works”, he was taking a real risk in the midst of a crisis-shaken economy. As the offspring of the Stuttgart-based family business “United Soap Factories”, Rau wanted to continue the soap-making tradition of his parents.
However, this was not enough – he dreamed of manufacturing more than just the curd soap that was popular for washing clothes in those days. His idea was to produce a gentle, natural body soap. This idea was teamed with a special fascination – Rau was inspired by the unique harmonising medicinal properties of the Speick plant, (Lat. Valeriana celtica), which had been prized for centuries. Speick has a calming effect on the central nervous system while simultaneously stimulating the vegetative nervous system.
It became his vision to harness the benefits of this almost forgotten plant, and to make them accessible to people again.
Shaving stick: Kind of small 50g hard soap stick, contains tallow (and you can tell!) It has a mild slightly soapy scent with bergamot, lavender and a hint of peppery spice from the Speick extract. Performance is sublime, I never need use anything else... It's that super dense old skool tallow lather with bags of slickness and cushion. Post shave feel is neutral, neither dry nor moisturised.
Aftershave splash: 100ml in a uniquely shaped glass bottle bearing Walter Rau's signature on the bottom... It has a really cool air-lock built into the cap which you can hear "pop!" every time you open it. Scent is a match for the stick so think citrus and herbal, I get a strong bitter orange note from it but the scent only lasts 5 minutes so not worth dwelling on. Performance is where this splash excels, forget your fancy smelling alcohol from the US this is pure medicated healing juice, really soothing and refreshing... I love it.
Shaving cream: 75ml tube, probably the least value for money product from Speick in my opinion... Scent is a medium strength herbal lavender with the obligatory spicy Speick note in there as well. This cream provides lots of protection and cushion but slickness is only average, it's an OK cream but I probably wont buy another when this tube runs out as the stick really puts it in the shade.
Aftershave balm: 100ml plastic tube thingy which looks odd when you receive it as it's only 50% full but all the product is there, just the container is quite oversized. Scent on this is a sweet creamy lemon, reminds me of lemon panna cotta, almost good enough to eat (dont! ) This is some pretty good balm, nice and healing, moisurising without leaving a greasy film and there is a little alcohol in there too so it does work well as a full aftershave solution rather than acting just like men's face cream.
Deo stick: 40g stick in a well made twist up tube. Scent is quite alcoholic off the stick but much better on the skin, it's like a 50/50 cross between the shaving cream and aftershave splash, a good manly smell anyway that's not too strong but remains just strong enough to cover body odour for 6 hours or so.
Eau de Toilette: 50ml spray EdT in a nice glass bottle. The scent on this one is very different to the rest, it's lemongrass and patchouli with the spicy Speick note up top... It is masculine, discreet and quite austere I thought... Good for an office setting. Initial dry down smell like burning rubber (to me) but this passes after 10 minutes and from then on it's a pretty linear journey, longevity is around 6 hours and projection I would say an arms length at most.
Eau de Cologne: Big 100ml bottle with the same very high quality sprayer as the EdT. I adore the scent on this; orange, bergamot, lavender and speick... It is powdery citrus and floral but dont let that trick you into thinking of Granny, this is really classy, I would honestly choose this as an every day Cologne over Sauvage, Le Bleu or anything like that. Longevity and projection equal the EdT for me.
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