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Project Leather
Project Leather shaving soap on WhollyKaw's Tallow base. Leather modern fragrance composition. Made in small batches in our New Jersey workshop.
Project Leather is a leather modern shaving soap on the Tallow base, made in small batches in our New Jersey workshop. Available in Tallow and Vegan builds.
Quick facts
| Detail | What it is |
|---|---|
| Scent family | Leather modern |
| Base | Tallow — tallow plus whole donkey milk |
| Weight | 4 oz / 114 g per puck |
| Lather | Dense, slick, builds in 30–45 seconds with a wet brush in cool water. |
| Where it’s made | Our New Jersey workshop. Small batches, single-vessel saponification. |
| Builds | Vegan ($21.99) / Tallow ($23.99) — same fragrance compound, different fat structures. |
What Project Leather smells like
Project Leather is the modern-cut leather scent in our catalog — cleaner and less smoky than Cuero Oscuro, more focused on the leather material itself than the room it would be found in. For shavers who want the leather note as a soft constant, not a dramatic statement.
The scent blend is made with refined notes of Leather Suede blended with Cardamom, sensuous Vanilla and Tobacco notes. Oud and Bourbon are added for substantivity. Hops Extract is added to provide biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic providing relief for inflammation and prevention of spider veins.
The fragrance is built on Leather Suede blended with Cardamom, sensuous Vanilla and Tobacco notes. The opening is brightest, the heart settles in around the twenty-minute mark, and the dry-down lasts for hours after the rinse.
Tallow or Vegan — which to pick
Project Leather is offered in two builds. They share the same fragrance compound (so the scent journey is identical) but the fat structure underneath is different.
Tallow ($23.99) is the original Tallow formulation. The conditioning is denser; the lather has more body. If you’ve shaved with WhollyKaw Tallow soaps before, this is the same direction.
Vegan ($21.99) swaps tallow for plant-derived fats (kokum, shea, cocoa, mango). Same fragrance compound, lighter lather body, brighter and cleaner under the razor.
Who Project Leather is not for
Honest limitations:
- Fragrance-sensitive skin. Project Leather has a real fragrance load. If our unscented Bare Naked Shaving Soap (Tallow build) or Sans Parfum Vegan Shaving Soap (Vegan build) is what your skin tolerates, this isn’t the soap to switch to.
- Strict dairy allergies. Tallow builds contain saponified dairy proteins. Most contact-dermatitis reactions to dairy are with raw milk, not saponified milk soap, but if you have severe sensitivities, test a sample before committing to a puck.
- Looking for a designer-fragrance clone. Project Leather is its own composition, not an interpretation of a popular fragrance.
- Pucks-as-decor shavers. The puck is meant to be used. The fragrance is most expressive in the lather; sniffing the puck doesn’t do it justice.
Cost per shave
A 4 oz / 114 g puck of Project Leather lasts most shavers ~5 months with daily shaves:
- Vegan ($21.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.15 per shave
- Tallow ($23.99 / ~150 shaves) ≈ $0.16 per shave
For comparison, a single-use disposable cartridge plus a foam can typically runs $0.40–$0.60 per shave with worse skin feel.
What's in the soap
Tallow build:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Donkey Milk, Glycerin, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Lanolin, Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate, Coumarin, Geraniol, Eugenol.
Vegan build:
Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Potassium Mango Stearate, Sodium Mango Stearate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyquaternium-10, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Soybean Glycerides, Shea Butter Unsaponifiables, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate, Coumarin, Geraniol, Eugenol.
Contains no parabens, no chemical sulfates, and no synthetic dyes. Fragrance is a custom compound mixed by an American perfumer to our spec.
If you like the scent profile of Project Leather, also try
Cross-references from our shaving-soap catalog by shared notes:
- King of Bourbon — shares the tobacco note
- Merchant of Tobacco — shares the tobacco note
- Pasha's Pride — shares the tobacco note
- Cuero Oscuro — shares the leather note
What customers say
★★★★★
Project Leather Shave Soap
If your a fan of leather, but are looking for a soft instead of bold, in your face strength profile. Then this one just may be for you. The Siero base is premium quality and performance.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a puck of Project Leather last?
Most shavers get 5 to 6 months out of a 4-ounce puck with daily shaving. The Tallow base lathers efficiently — you don't need to load heavily — so a puck stretches further than a typical mass-market soap.
What does Project Leather smell like?
See the scent walkthrough on the page above for the structured top/heart/base note breakdown. Project Leather is a leather modern composition that develops over a 3-4 hour wear time on skin.
Why is it called Project Leather?
Project Leather is the modern-cut leather scent in our catalog — cleaner and less smoky than Cuero Oscuro, more focused on the leather material itself than the room it would be found in. For shavers who want the leather note as a soft constant, not a dramatic statement.
Tallow or Vegan — which build to pick?
Tallow build is the original — beef tallow plus whole donkey milk on the Tallow base, denser conditioning lather. Vegan build swaps tallow for plant-derived fats (kokum, shea, cocoa, mango), lighter lather body, same fragrance compound. Pick on dietary preference; both share the scent journey.
Do I need a brush, or can I lather with my hands?
Project Leather is a hard puck designed for brush use. A synthetic or boar brush builds the best lather. Hand-lathering works in a pinch but won't get the dense, conditioning lather the soap is designed for.
Is Project Leather a moisturizing shaving soap?
In the way most shavers use the word — yes. People search for "moisturizing shaving soap" looking for a soap that leaves skin feeling conditioned, hydrated, and protected. The technical term we use is "conditioning" because the soap is rinsed off, but the experience matches what people mean. Project Leather on our Tallow base delivers exactly that conditioned skin feel. For an actual leave-on moisturizer, pair with our grass-fed tallow zinc oxide cream.
Can I use Project Leather in cold water?
Yes — Tallow soaps lather well in cool water with a 30-45 second build. Hot water gives a slightly faster build but isn't necessary.
Where is Project Leather made?
In our New Jersey workshop. Saponification, scenting, pressing, and packaging all happen in house. The fragrance compound is mixed by an American perfumer.