Today I am reviewing Horace’s Virginia Cedar & Sage Leaf Soap Bar. The company have an impressive range of men’s grooming products that are becoming increasingly popular, although they haven’t been around that long as far as I can tell.

As you can imagine, I Google men’s soap regularly, and every time I do, this soap pops into my feed, so it is about time to give it a review. There is much to discuss. What does it smell like? Is it good quality? Is it manly? Is time travel actually possible? Let’s talk about this soap for now; perhaps, I’ll leave the time travel for my other blog.

Where to buy

This French company has recently expanded into the global market, and thus their products are now widely available in most parts of the world. When I am looking to buy a new soap, my first port of call is usually Amazon, although, to my surprise, this soap was nowhere to be seen there, so I purchased it directly from the company website. The one bar of soap plus shipping came to around £10.00, which is not exactly what I would consider cheap, so I was expecting something above average here.

Appearance

When the package arrived, it had a thoughtful handwritten note thanking me for my custom, which is a nice touch. The packaging isn’t anything extraordinary, but the soap bar, on the other hand, is just stunning. The green colour gives it an earthy look and feel, which is rugged and very masculine indeed. If I ever design a bar of soap myself (watch this space), I would want it to look like this, so hats off for the appearance.

Ingredients

Now when it comes to the ingredients, the company have stated on their website that the “treatments” (assuming they are referring to the bars of soap) are between 95%-100% natural, so you can make of that what you will. I don’t know the percentage of ‘naturalness’ this soap bar has, but some of the ingredients I am reading from the back of the packaging don’t sound all that natural to me.

I don’t claim to be an expert on this, and I don’t care much about it as long as it makes me smell good and is not harmful to my skin. Having said that, if I had allergies or sensitive skin, I would probably give this a bit more consideration.

The scent

So here’s the part you really want to know, what does it smell like? Well, after a couple of days of using it and randomly smelling the wrapper I kept in my pocket while travelling around London, here are my thoughts.

I can pick up on both the cedar and sage leaf, which is earthy and woody with a spicy kick. It has a natural and herbaceous aroma; imagine sitting in a beautiful garden surrounded by many strong-smelling trees and plants. It’s interesting, complex, addictive and almost quite euphoric. I really like this stuff, and you can see they have made an effort to carefully select the right ingredients here, whether natural or not.

Is it manly?

Is it manly, I hear you ask? The notes give it a clean and fresh masculine vibe which isn’t too floral or generic, so yes, it is. I have been using this soap in combination with the Old Spice Aftershave Lotion, and the two complement each other nicely. You could pair this with something similar, as the spice element works well. Check out my review of Old Spice here if you’re interested in that.

QUICK NOTE:

If you’re thinking about buying this fragrance, sampling it first is always a smart move. The way a scent performs on your skin over several hours — especially the drydown — can be very different from a first spray or paper test.

A few proper wearings will tell you far more than any review ever could.

👉 US readers: Explore samples at MicroPerfumes
👉 UK & Europe: Browse fragrance samples at Decanted UK

Performance

The scent is powerful and lingers on your skin and in your bathroom long after you’ve used it. In fact, you don’t even have to have used it, you could just leave it in your shower, and the scent would still take over your bathroom.

On that note, here is a top tip I learned from my dear old Mother many years ago. Leave the soap bar in a drawer or wardrobe for a few days, and the scent will then start seeping into your clothes, making them smell wonderful. This works a treat with strong-smelling soaps such as this one, give it a go and let me know if it works for you.

It is generous in size at 4.4oz in weight, so it should be for that price. As I haven’t been using it for long, I am still determining precisely how long it will last. Judging by the size alone, I estimate around 4 to 5 weeks which is okay.

Conclusion

It has no grit but lathers up reasonably well and does the job. I don’t get the ‘squeaky-clean’ effect at the end of my shower, as I have had with other similar products, but I won’t be too critical here, as it does smell fantastic.

I like it, it’s generally good value for money, and I recommend trying it. I will be sampling more of their products in the future and will let you know how I get on, but in the meantime, let me know your thoughts or if you have any recommendations.

Speaking of recommendations, if you like earthy-type soaps with a powerful and distinctive scent, I recommend the Grandpa Soap Pine Tar, which you can read my review of here.

I hope this review has been helpful to you, and stay tuned for more of my thoughts on the best and worst men’s products of all time (more of the best than the worst).

READY TO GRAB THIS FRAGRANCE?

If you’re ready to add this to your collection, here are two reliable places to check:

• FragranceX – usually the best prices, discount codes, and a wide selection. They also ship worldwide.
• Amazon – great if you prefer Prime delivery speed, just make sure to buy from a trusted seller.

👉 Pick the option that works best for you.

No matter where you’re reading from, smell good, spend smart.

WANT TO FAST-TRACK ALL OF THIS STUFF?

I put together The Ultimate Fragrance Cheat Sheet—a no-fluff guide that covers everything from notes and families to shopping smart and applying like a pro.

It’s built for guys who want to smell sharp without overthinking it.