Thrive And Glow Raging Stout: First Impression
Hey, welcome back everybody. John Bonham here, Cape Cod Wet Shaving. Hope you had a great Fourth of July. I tried to get a holiday shave video together twice and just couldn’t pull it off. Saturday and Sunday were a blur. Coffee today is Coast to Coast from Awake. I’m on the last little bit of that, and it’s excellent. Going back for more.
Today I’ve got a first impression on a newer artisan I hadn’t tried before. My buddy Barry did a video on them first, and Barry’s actually the one who told me about these guys. Once he mentioned them, I had to go pick up a jar. This is Raging Stout from Thrive And Glow.
Thrive And Glow
Thrive And Glow is a Pennsylvania artisan. The maker is named Danielle. I’ve only spoken with her once at length, and that was while she was heading out the door to go to their local farmers market. She still took the time to talk with me. That tells you something about the person.
First thing I wanted to know about was aftershave splashes. She doesn’t have any yet. But she’s interested in doing them. She said she’s going to go brainstorm on it, and I hope she gets there soon, because a lot of guys pass on a soap when there’s no matching splash. She knows that. I’m already working on her.
She sells bar soaps and scrubs too, and a few shave soap scents. Besides Raging Stout, she has a Barbershop and a Hugs and Kisses, which leans a little more feminine but she’s positioned it more broadly. After I got this jar in hand and smelled it, I went and ordered the other two. That’s how good this one is.
Raging Stout: What You’re Getting
Six ounces of tallow-based soap for $12.99. That is a serious deal. If you want to resupply without buying a full jar, she also offers a 3.5-ounce replacement puck.
Scent notes: oatmeal, orange peel, butterscotch, milk, almond, and vanilla. Sweet, warm, with that stout beer quality underneath it all. The orange peel should keep it from going full dessert on you. On paper this reads rich and warm. The almond and butterscotch are what caught my eye first.
Stearic acid is the second ingredient. That’s a good sign. You can make a shave soap without stearic, and some excellent artisans do. But when stearic shows up that high on the list, you’re probably in for a solid lather. Danielle did her homework here. Cocoa butter is in the formula too, and I love seeing that in a shave soap base.
This reminds me of Olde Bushmalt from Murphy and McNeil, but sweeter. You get that stout beer character, and then the almond and butterscotch come in and push it somewhere warmer. That was a smart combination.
What I Paired It With
No matching splash from Thrive And Glow yet, so I had to piece something together. My first instinct was the Murphy and McNeil Olde Bushmalt aftershave splash, but I thought that was too easy. I wanted to try a different direction.
I went with Noble aftershave. It’s a spicy, citrusy splash, and I hadn’t reached for it in a while. With orange peel in the soap, it felt like a natural fit. For the balm, I used the Coco Marshmallow Skin Linen from The Living Base. One of my all-time favorites, I don’t need an excuse. And because of the vanilla note, I added Alt Nicotiana. That’s a Tobacco Vanille dupe: tobacco forward, very vanilla heavy, very sweet. Felt right given what’s in this soap.
For hardware: Fine Marvel razor, one of my all-time favorites. Omega brush, the one with that nice handsome wood handle. Blade is a Treet Falcon. And I’m shaving with a custom bowl that Peter at Spatch Shaves made for me. Has my name on it, my logo, everything. Great work, buddy.
The Lather
The soap is on the firmer side. Firm is fine. It loaded up without any issue, but it is a bit thirsty. Give it a little more water than you think you need to hit the right consistency.
What came out of that brush was phenomenal. Thick, creamy, beautiful. Scent strength I’d put between medium and heavy. The notes themselves aren’t extremely pungent, and I think that actually works in its favor. You’re not getting hit over the head with it, but it’s there throughout the entire shave.
Cushion and slickness were excellent. This base performs. For $12.99 and six ounces of tallow, you’re not finding many artisan options that hit this level at that price.
Bottom Line
Danielle nailed it. The formula is well thought out, the lather is great, and the scent delivers exactly what the notes suggested. I knew it was going to be good when I saw stearic at number two. You just know.
The one thing missing is a matching splash. She’s working on it. If she delivers one, this brand is going to move fast. Raging Stout is worth picking up right now as it stands.
Find Thrive And Glow at thriveandglow.org. Thanks for watching, everybody. Hope this helps.