Mr. Recessionista gives you HIS Valentine's Day gift idea!

My dear boyfriend (aka: Mr. Recessionista) has grown tired over the years of my constant "Did you try that new soap in the shower?" and "What did you think of that shampoo?" questions. Believe me, this started way before I began blogging, and I'm afraid it's just probably never going to end because, let's face it, we love to buy beauty products for our significant others, right? And we REALLY love it when THEY love something we bought for them!

So when I received a bar of men's soap recently for review, it took me all of about two seconds to yell, "Honey! Honey! Come try this cool bar of soap!" and at first he gave off the usual response, "OK, OK, please just leave it in the shower and I'll try it the next time I'm in there."

But then something happened. He tried the soap and he came out of the shower a changed man. Well, not really changed, but he came out of the shower more excited than I have EVER seen him about any beauty product I have ever lovingly forced upon him.

So instead of just having him tell me about his experience with this soap, I asked if he would write down his thoughts. He agreed (what???) and he said that he wanted to write the following review not for YOU, but for the man in your life. He actually said, "I want your readers' boyfriends, husbands, dads, brothers, friends and significant others to read this."

So let me start by showing you some pics of the soap-in-question.

Woody's Quality Grooming Meat and Potatoes Soap (retail: around $10, 12 oz)

How CUTE is this soap? It actually comes wrapped like meat from the butcher, which I think makes it an adorable gift for the meat & potatoes person in your life (and I promise, it doesn't smell ANYTHING like meat or potatoes--in fact, it's loaded with tea tree oil, hemp oil, essential fatty acids and anti-oxidants).

And just to give you an idea of how BIG this bar of soap is, here's a pic of it next to a normal bar of bath soap:

So....without further ado, here's Mr. Recessionista's message to your hubby, boyfriend, dad, brother, significant other or friend. I hope you enjoy it--I personally find it hilarious, entertaining and actually quite helpful (and I promise I'm not saying that just because I love him!). And for the record, I have not edited or changed a word of his review but I did add one note, which you will see in a minute:

OK, I’m sure by now that you are sick and tired of your wife, girlfriend, significant other, or friend endlessly asking you questions about what soap or shampoo you like to shower with. I have a suggestion for you and I’m going to tell it to you for two reasons: so you can have an answer to end those persistent questions and because it’s simply a really good all-around soap, seriously. The soap is called “Woody’s Quality Grooming Meat and Potatoes Soap for Hair and Body.”

First, this thing is a brick, a heavy brick. It looks like it will last about 2 months, maybe 3, and it takes two hands to pick up after its wet. I’ll say this, if you drop it, make sure your feet are out of the way. (Yes, these are positive attributes. ) [Sorry, I asked him to add that last line because I wanted it to be clear that he wasn't complaining because, in fact, he loves the size of this soap. -R.]

Second, the smell isn’t over-powering and it doesn’t have that “lilacs in a field on a sunny ‘fabric softener’ afternoon” or “vanilla cake with melted butter, topped with sugar and cinnamon” kind of smell. It’s slightly musky, with a cedar and citrus mixture of scents (I’m not sure cedar is in it but so what, it smells like it does. Or, at least it does to me).

Third, it actually washes off! I couldn’t believe it. When I first looked at it, it looked a bit like those other funky, greasy glycerin soaps – you know, those weird homemade clear soaps that leave a waxy film on your skin like you had a bath in melted saran wrap – but it’s not. You can actually see the soap’s thick lather wash off and your skin is left feeling like it has been lightly moisturized. The lather takes awhile to form, but when it does, it’s like a barber’s shave cream.

Forth, and this is my most favorite part, you can use it everywhere… literally, everywhere. It’s an “all-in-one” kind of thing and you can use it on your hair, your beard, banana and coconuts, whatever. If only we could brush our teeth with it, it would take care of everything! I currently have a beard and this soap didn’t leave it feeling like it was dry pile of straw and kindling that could start a campfire all by itself. It also didn’t leave it feeling like I had a thin coating of bees wax delicately smoothed onto every single hair. I also used it on my scalp and hair. I lathered my hands with the bar and gently smoothed the lather on. I then used my fingertips to massage my scalp and it lathered as mentioned. My hair was clean and it felt like it was conditioned, but not in the way where it feels like I had waterproof skin lotion stuck in it.

Fifth, the price is right. (It’s seems like a lot, but when you look at it and break it down, I think you actually save some money.)

All in all, this is a really good soap. I strongly suggest it to men (and women) who like to wash themselves all at once without having to use 5 products to do it. I also suggest it just so you can surprise your significant other with an answer to those persistent questions, once and for all.

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed Mr. Recessionista's message as much as I did, and I hope that you find this helpful if you're scrambling to find a good, inexpensive Valentine's Day gift for the special person in your life. If you want to get something beauty-related for a special man and you want him to actually use and love it, I would definitely consider getting him a bar of Woody's Meat and Potatoes Soap. You can find Woody's products online at Amazon and other various beauty supply sites throughout the web. You can also visit their website here.

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.