I will admit, I was somewhat leery when I first decided to try this shave stick. But I guess I needed a reminder that inexpensive is not the same thing as cheap.
It’s also the first shave stick I’ve ever tried; I’ll admit that I ended up using wayyyy too much the first time I tried. Still, it worked quite well. I was able to easily work up a wonderful lather; nice and thick for the cushioning, and plenty of glide. And it left my face feeling great; the moisturizing properties were quite good.
The scent isn’t much to write home about. It frankly mostly smells like soap, with just a hint of something I’d call a “clean” scent. And it’s rather weak; essentially undetectable once lathered up, although the shave stick itself can be smelled at a bit of a distance.
- 6/10 Scent Pleasantness
- 3/10 Scent Strength
- 8/10 Lather Quality (note: I recently re-vamped my lather quality scale, since I was giving out too many 9’s and there was too much variation within that score. This one has been bumped down to an 8 as a result.)
It appears to be most commonly available in Europe. Apparently it’s readily available for as low as 49p in Great Britain; in North America the lowest I was able to find it for is $3.75, but of course, that’s still fairly inexpensive compared to most brands out there.
Now, while I said above that I was pleasantly surprised, that doesn’t really mean that I like it per se. After all, anyone who follows my reviews knows that I consider the scent of a soap to be an integral part of the shaving experience. It completely falls flat on that front, and I can’t really justify giving it overall any more than a 5/10 as a result.
But… if you’re not like me, and if you don’t care what it smells like, then I could definitely recommend this soap, especially if you’re looking to keep your costs down. It performs quite well for the price.
Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Potassium Cocoate, Aqua, Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Parfum, Olea Europaea Oil, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, BHT, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Eugenol, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Limonene, Linalool, Cl 11680, Cl 74260, Cl 12490, Cl 77891.
The Palmolive stick is growing to be my overall favourite. Lather second to none, easy to whip up, great price. But more than that, the scent has really grown on me. It oozes of “Old School”, and the stick’s tacky green colour also contributes in this regard. This strikes me as an overlooked quality to this fine stick. Why does (e.g.) Merkur re-make the 1904 Gilette? Why does Fine re-make the Bakelite Slant? Because there is something “old school” about those razors that makes you feel good, help you travel back to a time when the fine art of shaving was for every Joe Blow, and smelled accordingly. To me this kind of time warp thing is the secret magic of the Palmolive stick.
Well said!
I never consider the scent to be a big part off the actually rating when I would review a shaving soap. Because for me its more about the performance and value from a shaving soap.
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I tried La Toja stick for this morning’s shave. It was a home run from first stroke to last. More to come after a few more shaves.
My late father used Palmolive for decades and it was my first soap back in the 80s. Since rediscovering DE shaving it’s become my most used soap, either grated into a bowl or in stick form.
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i have the stick and the cream. i live in england and can confirm the stick price is 49p in supermarkets. amazing value! i love the scent also. both the cream and stick lather very well, great stuff!
Palmolive is one of my all time favorite shaving brands. Everything they make is top notch and a comparatively great value. The shave stick is probably one of the top performers of any soap or cream I’ve tried, and that’d be dozens. I’m wondering if you might have got an old stock stick because mine has plenty of aroma that does not fade, and it smells heavenly. I’d buy a cologne of the shave stick scent if there were such a thing. My rankings:
9/10 Scent Pleasantness
7/10 Scent Strength (a 10 would be overpowering)
9/10 Lather Quality
10/10 Value
I took a couple of sticks and smooshed them into a bowl and bowl lather, although face lathering is idiot-proof. Just an FYI that Palmolive does not make a bad shaving product. Here in the US you might think of a 1960s housewife standing over a sink full of dishes. But in Europe Palmolive is a trusted name in personal care items. Another hint, the US Palmolive bath soap can be found at Dollar Tree (yes the “everythings a dollar” store) three bars for a buck. Probably the best bath/face/hair soap I’ve come across.
We sell it for $2.99; and we are in North America 😉
http://www.italianbarber.com/palmolive-shave-stick
Sale prices don’t count Joe!
I’ll report back after I’ve used the La Toja stick a few times and gotten used to it. (As I get older, that takes longer.)
Be aware that the composition varies between countries. In Australia, for example, it lacks tallow and is thus very poor compared to the European version.
I like sticks. Using a stick is simple as long as I rub the soap on wet.
One stick I really like is Kell’s Original. It’s easy to rub on, and the lather is thick and protective. Maybe it’s the hemp.
To me, Palmolive, Arko and Speick are on a par and are fine. I prefer them to sticks that lather the same but have stronger fragrance. (D.R. Harris comes to mind.) Some artisanal soaps aren’t formulated for a stick. They crumble or take too much work to lather.
My next experiment will be with La Toja.
I will say, I do like Kell’s. I do think it is the hemp, although I haven’t tried their formulation with the extra aloe. Well, or the stick versions.
But I could definitely see your point about some soaps not being good for a stick. A lot of them are rather soft.
You’re really going to enjoy the La Toja! My favorite of the sticks. Grabbed 6 or 7 my last time in Spain for I think 1.4 Euros@ as I recall. Much more subtle smell and excellent lather. They have a cream tube version too which was harder to find and was huge to boot.
I just tried it for the first time today. Like you I used way to much but I got a good shave.
I’ve tried the stick. But, I like their cream in a green 100ml tube even better. Makes a great lather and goes a l-o-n-g way. When I was last in Europe I bought a few of them at 1.5 Euros each to take home. Nice barbershop-type scent too. Will replenish my stock when I go back in a few months.
I actually really like Palmolive shave stick. I also find the scent “clean” and pleasant. It’s affordable and lathers like a champ. Last year, on a 3 week trip to China, this is all I used.
I also recommend the shave cream.
Another great shave stick for travel is Arko, however I merely tolerate the scent, but it’s a lather monster.
yup, I’ve got an Arko stick on the to-do list, and I’ve got a pair of tubes of their cream incoming too. Didn’t pick up a tube of the Palmolive cream yet… I’m not quite at the point where I feel the need to own *all* the soaps and creams. 🙂
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