You know how sometimes you stumble upon someone and you just like them immediately? That's how I feel about the guys at Jack & Joel. They reached out to me on Twitter a few weeks back and 1) they were hilarious, 2) they were making cool stuff, and 3) they had hustle. When somebody says they're making old school manmade soap with dragon's blood, you kinda want to find out more, you know?
Allow me to introduce you. Jack & Joel is a locally owned soap company based right here in the capital. In 2011, the guys began experimenting with soap recipes and men's grooming products because they hated how mass-produced options either smelled atrocious or irritated their skin (guys, can I get an amen?). They spent the next few years testing their soaps, shaving products, and beard oils and balms on obliging friends and family, because as they say, they test on party animals - not animals.
So, after plenty of hard work, experimenting, and adjusting (they're perfectionists), Jack & Joel officially launched just a few weeks ago. I was intrigued by their line and ordered a few bars of soap right away (no beard oil since neither hubby or I sport facial hair).
I'm pretty sure I tried just about every soap they make, and each of them did exactly what they were supposed to do: smell good, lather well, and NOT MELT. Jack & Joel use real essential oils in their recipes so these babies smell pretty amazing. The rosemary mint smells exactly as it should (anybody else a fanatic for that combo?), the black star anise was gorgeous (like a soap version of MichaelsDolce's plum and star Anise jam!), and the nordic spa soap took me right back to the Finnish sauna at Le Nordik.
The bars themselves are very generously cut (the $6 bars are at least 100g each, I'd say), they have a rich lather, they're gentle on sensitive skin, and because the guys insist on letting their soaps cure for a full 6-8 weeks, the bars are nice and hard and simply refuse to melt in the shower. I've been using mine for over a week and you'd hardly know they'd seen water. I may actually keep track on my calendar because I bet these soaps are going to ring in 2016 with me, and because I'm weird like that.
Keep reading because I've got a deal for you.
Since the guys and I hit it off, they've kindly offered up a promo code just for you, my dear readers. If you're intrigued by what you see and want to get your hands on the good stuff, hop over to their website and you'll get 15% off your order when you enter promo code "AmySentMe" at checkout.
I'd love for some of the beardly among you to try out their beard oil or beard balm and report back! The guys offer next-day shipping on most orders in our area, or if you want to skip the shipping charges, they also offer free local pick-up for orders over $30. Happy shopping!
All images property of Jack & Joel.