Oaken Lab Sanctum 

Oaken Lab (oakenlab.com/) is an artisan soap maker based out of Jakarta, Indonesia. Oaken means "made of oak". The oak tree symbolises: Integrity, Strength and spirituality, and that it has similar meanings in many cultures all over the world. “Lab” refers to recreating the artisans travel experiences through scent in their lab. The owner is an American, based in Jakarta that began making soap in order to fill the need for a high quality shaving soap. Soaps available in the area and restriction on personal use importation drove this need. What started as a hobby has now become a small business venture that will aim to serve this underserved market. Oaken Lab has grown in both availability and popularity. You can purchase direct form the company, from West Coast Shaving (www.westcoasts...) and at these Stockists worldwide (oakenlab.com/p...)
Sanctum is “representation of the spaces that bring solace, evoke a sense of calming stillness, or spark contemplation and introspection.” The fragrance features scent notes of; Translucent Jasmine, Dry Bergamot, Dusty Rose, Paper, Sandalwood, Benzoine, Virginia Cedarwood and Patchouli. This accord is a gorgeous dry rose forward scent with a crisp bergamot middle and a creamy, woody base of sandalwood. Despite my usual distaste for rose forward smells, this blend is really pleasing to me. Even more surprisingly is that Mrs. Ruds approves of this fragrance for multiple occasion, but short of date night. Strength of scent is mid-strong off the pcuk and remains this way once lathered. Try That Soap (trythatsoap.com/) recommends Chatillon Lux Rose Santal as a comparable scent profile.
Sanctum is offered in Oaken’s v3 base. The ingredients can be found here - Ingredients. The soap base is of mid firmness and is thirsty, but not of extreme thirst. The lathering experience of this soap base is enjoyable, it handles a wide range of water and offers several stages of density for your consideration. I enjoy lathering with enough water to end up with a lather that resembles greek yogurt. The slickness of this soap is wonderful in both the primary slickness and residual slickness metrics. The post shave is dreamy and luxurious. A noticeable silky moisture is present on the skin post rinse. I was impressed by Oaken Lab’s lather improvements between their v1 and v2 offering. I think the jump from v2 to v3 is even more impressive. This is a base that competes with the luxury elite. As such Oaken Lab v3 receives a ShaveScore of 99. For a similar lather performance, I suggest Zingari Man Sego.
Disclosure: All reviews and impressions must state how the product was acquired, whether it be free, sponsored, promotional, purchased, or otherwise.
Soap - Oaken Lab Sanctum (promotional gift)
Brush - Dogwood Handcrafts “Darkness” (purchased)
Razor - Boker “Elite” (gift)
Post - Oaken Lab Sanctum (promotional gift)
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