Thread: Kniže "Ten" shaving soap

Ah, yes. Vienna. I used to live there for some time, and major parts of my ancestors hail from k.u.k. countries (including Austria). Vienna, or Wien, as we call it, is a wonderful place, full of flair despite the heavy redevelopment undertaken by RAF bombers. But I digress. Kniže & Comp. gentlemen's outfitters are beautifully located in Vienna's most prestigeous district. If you should ever visit Vienna (and I promise you will not regret it), do stop by this store - it is splendid.

Now then, the good guys at The Different Scent kindly provided me with Kniže Ten shaving soap for reviewing purposes. So without further ado, let us see how it performs.

"Ten" was introduced to the market in 1927. It is a very classical scent:

Top notes: bergamot, lemon, orange, petitgrain, rosemary.
Middle notes: geranium, cedar, rose, orris, carnation, cinnamon, sandalwood.
Base notes: leather, moss, amber, castoreum, vanilla.

Packaging: Adorable. Very nice cardboard box, classic design, very nice wooden bowl. Perfect.

Texture: A typical soap, with a silky touch, off-white.

Scent: I find the scent very hard to describe. Interestingly, so do the good people at basenotes.net: "Very nice classic leather. Amazing that it still alive. Based on interesting juxtaposition of dark animalic leather and soft sweet floral note with a strawberry accent - they play hide and seek with each other." is close to what I would call it, too.

Latherability: Very good. After a few swirls with my Thäther brush, the lather was thick, rich, and creamy. The scent is light, and as described above. Thankfully, the lather also stays slick for quite some time, which adds to the luxury of shaving with this soap.

Cushion: Again, very good. Used a Hess Hair Milk Laboratories "99" 6/8, and had nothing to complain about, really. Not quite the same as Castle Forbes, but then again, this soap uses a recipe that is more than 80 years old. Very nice.

Moisturising: Very good for a soap, but I felt like I needed some aftershave balm. Excellent.

Price: At approx. EUR 30 for 100g and the wooden bowl, it is almost a steal. Well, almost.

Overall impression: Quite frankly, I am slightly enamoured with this soap. I am sure that the scent will not be for everyone, but I like it a lot. The more girly types among you will likely find it too manly, but there is always rose scented cream for you. For me, Kniže "Ten" is a keeper.