I've been an enthusiastic advocate for Standard Razors for a long time now, and recently received a PM from them asking if I'd try their new soap, Cement. There were no strings attached, but I'm very impressed with the stuff and want to give it a quick review.

The ingredient list had me a little skeptical. Bentonite Clay? Rhassoul Clay? Activated Charcoal? Hmmm, we'll see. The activated charcoal is especially interesting, not so much as an ingredient, but because it makes the soap look like fresh-poured - you guessed it - cement. (Apologies for the potato picture - it doesn't do the color justice.) Whether the name inspired the appearance or vice-versa, you'll never have to get your glasses out to read the label on this one - the name and the appearance match.

Okay, on to the review:

Packaging - 8/10: 3 oz. of soap in a ~4 oz., 3.25" diameter, opaque white plastic jar. The quality of materials is good, and there's enough headroom to avoid making a mess. The jar is on the small side for artisan soaps these days, but is still big enough to load anything other than a monster brush. My 22mm fan had plenty of room to work. Speaking of getting your glasses out, the lid is very low-contrast - light gray print on a white background - so while it looks classy as hell, it's hard to read in poor lighting with old eyes. But if you look closely, the lid has some small print that says "Made in Partnership with LA Shaving Soap Co." So much for the initial skepticism about the formula...

Lather - 10/10: This stuff loads easily and makes tons of dense lather. One shave in is way too early to say it's better than anything else I've ever used, but I'ma go out on a limb and say it's right up there with the best of them and may even have the edge. It's slippery as cat shit on a marble floor, with plenty of residual slickness. I played around with water amounts and the sweet spot is huge. And the razor just glides. I got an effortless BBS shave with zero irritation.

Scent - 10/10: Wow. Just ... wow. It's going to take somebody with a better nose than mine to sort this one out. I spent many minutes sniffing my brush, and the only thing I can say with 100% certainty is that this stuff smells good. There's a lot going on, and no one note is dominant. There's some citrus (bergamot? lemon?), spice (black pepper, coriander?), and floral (lilac?). There's something almost bitter and metallic going on, too, but it's subtle and plays well with the other scents. This is very complex, and I like it a lot. I was tempted to shave a point off because the scent isn't as strong as some other soaps I like, but the more I smelled it the clearer it became that the strength is just right.

Price - 6/10: I got mine for free, which is the best price of all, but it's listed at $29 on the Standard website. That's $9.66 per ounce, which may make it the most expensive artisan soap on the market. For comparison, a jar of Martin de Candre Fougere is $8.68 per ounce including international shipping. LASSCo.'s most expensive soap is Bespoke #1, which goes for $6.22 per ounce. So this stuff is spendy. Still and all, it's a great soap. I'm going to have to use it a few more times (and maybe pick up some new-formula B&M and a jar of MdC for comparison purposes) before I can venture an opinion as to whether it's worth the price. If Standard's razor pricing is any indication, though, this soap might be occasionally available for substantially less than retail through Bespoke Post, Massdrop, etc. If that happens, I'm gonna rate it a strong buy.

Edited because I can't help myself