Review: Dr Jon's Shaving Co's Blood Oath

Originally Posted: 28 Sep 22

Fall is upon us, and even in San Antonio, we had overnight temperatures in the 60s, which is a welcomed reprieve from the brutal Summer that we just experienced. This "chill" in the morning air was enough incentive for me to reach for a fall-themed shaving soap. Dr Jon's Blood Oath is available at reasonable average market prices as a shaving soap ($20 ≈ average), aftershave ($20 ≈ average), and EdT ($50 ≈ average).

Sourced from Dr. Jon's website, the scent notes are:

Blood orange, cassia, coriander, howood, marjoram, copaiba and vanilla.

Cassia is "false cinnamon" for those who don't know, and conveniently has a similar taste and smell. I had to look up "copaiba," however, which apparently has a black pepper scent to it.

Scent of Blood Oath

Blood Oath is a great scent to encapsulate the transition from Summer into Fall. On first smell, the citrus namesake of blood orange is prominent and still has the feel of a traditional Summer fragrance, but the spice notes are already beginning to creep slowly forward into the already dark blood orange note. During the shave, the scent is a balanced mix of dark citrus, wood, and spice. The scent from the soap alone doesn't noticeably last more than 10-15 minutes on my face, but with the aftershave, a light scent lingers for a couple of hours. For the record, that's about the expectation that I have for most soap-scents, so don't buy soaps instead of EdPs/EdTs if you're looking for long-lasting scents. Over the course of the next couple of hours, the scent dies down into a warmly-spiced wood and lightly sweet scent. I'm not going to pretend that I can pull out the individual spice notes from the spice blend, as they are very well-blended.

This is technically a gourmand scent, but nothing about it makes me "want to eat it." While it is sweet, it is sweet in a woody way, and for some reason the sound of "sweet woods" just doesn't click as edible in my mind.

The scent is unisex, with a slight masculine leaning. The scent isn't challenging or complex and I think would be appreciated by most wetshavers during the Fall and Winter seasons.

Soap Performance

The Blood Oath tin that I have is not the most recent base from Dr. Jon's, I'm pretty sure, but I have reviewed their most recent base (3.0?) in the Lavender Shootout: Flowers in the Dark. To summarize: Dr Jon's base is a vegan base that while not elite, is still very very good, with excellent slickness and average protection.

In this world that we live in where irritation from shaving can come from many different places, such as the fragrance that is commonly used to convey the scent of cinnamon. I'm pleased that this "spiced" soap had no burning or irritation at all. It's actually one of my favorites that has a spice note in it and a reasonably strong scent.

Overall

I enjoy Blood Oath quite a bit. It is a soap that I reach for every fall (for the past 4 years at least), which I rotate with some others such as Barrister and Mann's Hallows or Declaration Grooming's Darkfall. The smells of these soaps really help me acclimate to the changing seasons, as I'm not used to Texas' two seasons... hot and a little less hot.

So we come to the ever-important question:

Would I buy a replacement tub?

Yes... but not for my usual reasons. Normally I buy soaps based on complex scent compositions. What I've found in a lot of fall scents is that while they are complex and great soaps, sometimes they're just a bit too on-the-nose for the fall whether with strong notes of wood, dirt, or spice. Blood Oath is my fall soap that I wear when I don't want to be thinking/challenged about the scent that I'm wearing... or when I don't want to smell like a pumpkin-spiced anything.

I think Will Carius of Barrister and Mann experienced this sentiment previously and thus developed "Just Right for a Tuesday." Sometimes there is comfort to be found in not having to think about the scent you're wearing, and that alone makes it pleasant. Blood Oath is my "Just Right for a Tuesday" but in Fall. I think it is a better scent for the average shaver than most of the soaps that I choose to purchase.

I purchased all reviewed items with my own money. I have not been paid/compensated/reimbursed in any way for discussing any product or for posting product links.