A serious question on Soap/Cream Reviews

Interesting, but my opinion is only my fact, it doesn't make it a statement of facts for everybody to follow or accept as such.

No, a fact is true whether we like it or believe it. My opinion based on facts carries more weight because of the information I have to support it. You might disagree with my conclusion, but a fact is fact no matter what you conclude.
My real statement is that people tend to think their preferences are equally as valid as someone's considered opinion that is based on an actual inquiry with set criteria and background knowledge of and experience with the subject matter. This is about the rhetorical and logical implications of claiming all reviews are "just someone's opinion." In some cases, they are just that; however, a more learned evaluation is not as easily disregarded even if we come to a different conclusion.

I agree with you to some extent. Facts are facts regardless of opinion, and in my view some reviews are functionally more valuable than others depending on the expertise of the critic. On the other hand, Hector's point, I believe, is that a review is merely an opinion. While I would agree with Hector that reviews ought to be treated as subjective since they introduce elements of taste and preference, I would depart from a complete embrace of the notion of subjectivity and would argue that analysis - particularly comparative analysis - can provide useful and perhaps generalizable information on a product's performance. In this regard I suppose my opinion sits somewhere in between.

Most reviewers are biased to some extent imho. It may be that they are biased against a brand, scent, price range, etc, but I believe some bias almost always exists. I still enjoy reading and watching reviews, but I think it's obvious when there is bias present.

The best method I can think of to have honest and fair reviews is to use sample sizes of unscented soaps in unmarked identical containers. The soaps would range from very cheap to very expensive, from both artisan and commercial brands, and the brands up for review would not be mentioned until after the reviews. A specific person would know which soaps were being tested and assign numbers or letters to each soap. The idea is it would be nearly impossible to know which soaps are being reviewed. I saw something similar at The Shave Den, but they used scented soaps and I think they told the reviewers which brands of soap were included for review. Thus, it was a great idea but had poor execution imo. Anyway, I would love to see this type of review if we could find enough candidates willing to participate. We could make donations to pay for the soaps so that the reviewers don't have to cover the expenses. The people reviewing the soaps would just have to ship them to the next person, and so on. It would also be best if the reviews were video taped so we could see the lather and hear the reviewer's thoughts after using each soap. Whether or not this ever happens, it sure would be interesting. I think there would be some big surprises.

Interesting, but my opinion is only my fact, it doesn't make it a statement of facts for everybody to follow or accept as such.

No, a fact is true whether we like it or believe it. My opinion based on facts carries more weight because of the information I have to support it. You might disagree with my conclusion, but a fact is fact no matter what you conclude.
My real statement is that people tend to think their preferences are equally as valid as someone's considered opinion that is based on an actual inquiry with set criteria and background knowledge of and experience with the subject matter. This is about the rhetorical and logical implications of claiming all reviews are "just someone's opinion." In some cases, they are just that; however, a more learned evaluation is not as easily disregarded even if we come to a different conclusion.

It's your world dude......

Interesting, but my opinion is only my fact, it doesn't make it a statement of facts for everybody to follow or accept as such.

No, a fact is true whether we like it or believe it. My opinion based on facts carries more weight because of the information I have to support it. You might disagree with my conclusion, but a fact is fact no matter what you conclude.
My real statement is that people tend to think their preferences are equally as valid as someone's considered opinion that is based on an actual inquiry with set criteria and background knowledge of and experience with the subject matter. This is about the rhetorical and logical implications of claiming all reviews are "just someone's opinion." In some cases, they are just that; however, a more learned evaluation is not as easily disregarded even if we come to a different conclusion.

Can you share some examples of factual reviews please, that are not based on opinions? Having tried over 50 soaps, and deciding which soaps work best for my skin, am I to believe I have chosen the wrong soap if the reviews that are based facts do not list my favorite soaps as the best? I understand what you mean by facts for you personally, such as if you believe a soap is extremely slick or has a great post shave, then that would be a fact for you. However, on another person's skin, the soap may not perform the same.

Interesting, but my opinion is only my fact, it doesn't make it a statement of facts for everybody to follow or accept as such.

No, a fact is true whether we like it or believe it. My opinion based on facts carries more weight because of the information I have to support it. You might disagree with my conclusion, but a fact is fact no matter what you conclude.
My real statement is that people tend to think their preferences are equally as valid as someone's considered opinion that is based on an actual inquiry with set criteria and background knowledge of and experience with the subject matter. This is about the rhetorical and logical implications of claiming all reviews are "just someone's opinion." In some cases, they are just that; however, a more learned evaluation is not as easily disregarded even if we come to a different conclusion.

Can you share some examples of factual reviews please, that are not based on opinions? Having tried over 50 soaps, and deciding which soaps work best for my skin, am I to believe I have chosen the wrong soap if the reviews that are based facts do not list my favorite soaps as the best? I understand what you mean by facts for you personally, such as if you believe a soap is extremely slick or has a great post shave, then that would be a fact for you. However, on another person's skin, the soap may not perform the same.

I think yours is an example of where an opinion can also be a fact. It is a fact that you had that experience and I couldn't then say, "No, you didn't have that experience," because you did. That will always be true whether I want it to be or not. When you and I have a different experience of the same thing, our two considered opinions differ based on the fact that you had one experience and I had another that was different from yours. Both are equally supported; however, instead of just saying "that's just your opinion," I think you and I would wonder what caused the difference in our experiences. This is because it is not just our opinion but an actual difference in the experience we've had. Are you wrong? Of course you are because I'm always right, ha ha. No, you're not wrong and neither am I about our experience of the product.
Now, say everyone else here has an experience that is similar to yours and dissimilar to mine. Wouldn't that indicate to anyone but the most stubborn of people that my experience is atypical and that your conclusion carries more weight than mine? I know I would be led to think I might be making an error or have some condition beyond my control that changes how I experience that soap. It would be ludicrous for me to then say, "I don't care what you say. This soap is bad, and what all of you say about it is just your opinion." That's because it isn't just your opinion. The only thing I could say about that soap is that I don't prefer to use it because I can't get it to work like all of you can. I cannot say that soap is terrible because it's clearly not since everyone here but me has a good experience.
So, I'll stop here. Thank you to those who read to the end.

I guess to get back to the topic just a bit, I received a handful of soaps lately, both from Wholly Kaw and from the Shaving Shop online. All six of them impressed me. I don't really have a bad thing to say about any of them. I got no skin irritation, they were slick, protective, and they were all by miscellaneous artisans:

Shaving Shop:
Deal Maker (Allegedly Caties Bubbles)
Hedonism (Soap Smooth)
Springtime in Paris (Gingers Garden)
Acqua di Florida (Gingers Garden)

Wholly Kaw:
Fougere Bouquet
Lav Sublime

I'm not kidding, all of these soaps were great. Definite keepers. I will definitely do a critical review if I get something I hate in the future but so far so good. There are just so many good soaps out there, I think that the bad ones out there are few and far between these days.

I guess to get back to the topic just a bit, I received a handful of soaps lately, both from Wholly Kaw and from the Shaving Shop online.  All six of them impressed me.  I don't really have a bad thing to say about any of them.  I got no skin irritation, they were slick, protective, and they were all by miscellaneous artisans:

Shaving Shop:
Deal Maker (Allegedly Caties Bubbles)
Hedonism (Soap Smooth)
Springtime in Paris (Gingers Garden)
Acqua di Florida (Gingers Garden)

Wholly Kaw:
Fougere Bouquet
Lav Sublime

I'm not kidding, all of these soaps were great.  Definite keepers.  I will definitely do a critical review if I get something I hate in the future but so far so good.  There are just so many good soaps out there, I think that the bad ones out there are few and far between these days.

SCShaver that looks like a great haul! How were they for scent? If you feel comfortable giving a scent rating on a scale of 1-10 I'd appreciate it. I find that I can sometimes be disappointed in an otherwise very good to excellent soap that IMO falls short on the scent. I'll only judge those soaps that claim to have scent on this basis - obviously MWF is an excellent soap that smells like soap but doesn't claim otherwise so I'm happy with it - my expectations are met. On the other hand, CB's Menage de Lavande claims to be the ultimate lavender bomb which its not. I expected a lot of lavender and I didn't get it so I'm disappointed. The key to happiness is apparently, low expectations. To balance out my criticism of CB Menage de Lavande I'll have to say that CB's Midnight Dreary is one of my favourite soaps for scent and performance.
Marko

Miscellaneous artisans?

Artisans? Oh, oh.....

I view reviews as an evaluation based on certain criteria the reviewer has for evaluating the product under review. In this sense reviews are considered or learned opinions, which to me at least means they carry more weight than an opinion based solely on one's preferences. Let us also remember that an opinion can also be a fact. It appears to me that our culture has bought into the relativism of the age, believing that all opinions are equally valid, when in fact they are not.
If I like a soap and another person doesn't, that is just a difference of opinion based in my preferences and the other person's.
However, if I say, "This soap performs better than that soap based on these five criteria," it is still my opinion, but it is based upon the fact that I tested them and found that one performs better. One has to dispute my method or my data here before dismissing my opinion on this matter.
The first statement is "just my opinion," but the second is my "considered and learned" opinion based on my observations and the facts I've collected. The second carries more weight than the first, as it should.

MarshalArtist you're pointing out that applying the scientific method to testing a soap's performance is superior to just a bare claim and in that you are absolutely correct. The current trend that everybody has, and is entitled to an opinion on everything no matter how complex the issue may be and how learned or thoughtful the person is an indication of the absurdity of our time. Some yobo with a smartphone can voice an opinion on quantum physics or climate change and if enough people click the thumbs up icon on whatever social media platform being used, that opinion can rival that of highly trained actual experts in the minds of the masses - this then is promoted by the mainstream media and you have the next ignorance-based celebrity cause. Life is beautiful.
Marko

Seems like a good time to add this link, which is one of my favourites (sorry about the minor derail): http://www.iflscience.com/brain/no-youre...ur-opinion

Most reviewers are biased to some extent imho. It may be that they are biased against a brand, scent, price range, etc, but I believe some bias almost always exists. I still enjoy reading and watching reviews, but I think it's obvious when there is bias present.

The best method I can think of to have honest and fair reviews is to use sample sizes of unscented soaps in unmarked identical containers. The soaps would range from very cheap to very expensive, from both artisan and commercial brands, and the brands up for review would not be mentioned until after the reviews. A specific person would know which soaps were being tested and assign numbers or letters to each soap. The idea is it would be nearly impossible to know which soaps are being reviewed. I saw something similar at The Shave Den, but they used scented soaps and I think they told the reviewers which brands of soap were included for review. Thus, it was a great idea but had poor execution imo. Anyway, I would love to see this type of review if we could find enough candidates willing to participate. We could make donations to pay for the soaps so that the reviewers don't have to cover the expenses. The people reviewing the soaps would just have to ship them to the next person, and so on. It would also be best if the reviews were video taped so we could see the lather and hear the reviewer's thoughts after using each soap. Whether or not this ever happens, it sure would be interesting. I think there would be some big surprises.

I would like to see something like this, as a double blind, but also you would need to have some training for the raters so that they could be more objective about what they are testing. Gillette does this with their testing labs. They have various test shavers who are well trained and experienced in the nuances of shaving with cartridge razors and this is similar to coffee and wine tasters. People can become experts in detecting differences in quality, but they have to learn the proper testing and evaluation techniques.