Josh's 3017 Journey

[nelsonic21]

June 8

So I'm going back to the samples. First up Catie's Bubbles Maggard Razors meetup soap. As far as I know these were only available at Maggard's meetup in 2017, 2019 and 2023. The soap comes in a pretty large sample tub (I didn't have to put it in another container). It has a citrus/floral scent with some grassy notes which reminds of a clear spring/summer day. The label doesn't list any scents just the ingredients which are the same as their luxury soaps. I used their Saturday Morning soap over 5 years ago and was impressed with the quality. Today's shave was with my Semogue brush and Fatip SE razor closed comb.



As you can see this is a 6 year old soap. It still is in good shape with a strong scent. I loaded the soap for 20 seconds and face lathered for about 60 adding a bit of water a couple times. The result was bit thinner lather than I expected. This is most likely due to the age and smaller surface area. The scent did remain pretty strong and the lather was stable.



The shave went well with good protection and there was a bit extra slickness with a little residual after rinsing. The scent did not stick around after rinsing though. I'm definitely going to have to work on my lathering with this one, but am optimistic about it improving.

 

[beginish]

Ya know, that's still a good looking lather. I will take one that looks like that over a billowy, Santa Claus beard of foam ANY day.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Ya know, that's still a good looking lather. I will take one that looks like that over a billowy, Santa Claus beard of foam ANY day.

Agreed!

 

[nelsonic21]

June 15

I've been using the Maggard's soap for a week using a few of my badger brushes. The lather quality has improved with the soap softening a but. Today's shave was back to my Semogue. A 15-20 second load and 30-45 second face lathering produced a nicer result that was more in line with what I remember my last Catie's Bubbles soap was like.

 

[nelsonic21]

June 23

The soap is still working good and I don't see the bottom of the tub. Today's shave was dedicated to my Grandpa who passed away yesterday. It was with his Gillette Fatboy. It went well with the lather consistency remaining the same. Scent has stayed strong and I still probably have another week left in the sample.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

June 23

The soap is still working good and I don't see the bottom of the tub. Today's shave was dedicated to my Grandpa who passed away yesterday. It was with his Gillette Fatboy. It went well with the lather consistency remaining the same. Scent has stayed strong and I still probably have another week left in the sample.

View attachment 1675754

I am very sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[thombrogan]

My condolences for your loss.

 

[nelsonic21]

July 25

Finished the Catie's Bubbles sample today. I had been lathering a sliver of soap for the past few days. Today I had to spend 30 seconds to get a decent load and figured it was time to stop. There must have been 1.5-2 oz of soap in the container considering how long it lasted. The performance was good till the end and the scent was still noticable. Overall it was a good soap on par with other artisans (Shannon's, Stirling, etc).

 

[nelsonic21]

July 26

I started another sample today. This one is Southern Witchcrafts Tres Matres soap which is a vegan shaving soap not currently available through their site.



I transferred the sample into a larger tub noticing that it's a soft soap with a consistency similar to cake frosting. The scent is described as: A tribute to the classic horror franchise “Suspiria”. A floral accord on a petrichor base with citrus top notes. Scent notes: Amber, Oakmoss, Damp Earth, Rosewood, Lavender, Almond, Calla lily, Cotton, Aldehydes, Grapefruit, Ginger, Ambergris, Ozone, Peach.

Well I never watched Suspiria so I didn't know what to expect. What I noticed was an earthy scent with some baking spices that got stronger as the soap aired out. It reminded me of a kitchen after baking cinnamon bread. Like many soaps loading and lathering the first time took a bit longer. I got a whipped cream consistency with the scent remaining noticable.



Today's shave was with my Duke 2 and Yaqi DOC razor. The soap protected well and rinsed away cleanly with the scent sticking around for a bit afterwards. First impression is that it was a fine shave and I hope loading becomes easier with future uses.

 

[SharpieB]

Why so much soap on your nose? Just curious.

 

[nelsonic21]

Why so much soap on your nose? Just curious.

I didn't notice that, no wonder the scent was strong . It was probably due to the extra time lathering and the upward strokes at the end.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 4

I finished the Southern Witchcrafts sample. Overall the soap was a bit of a disappointment. Loading became a bit easier, but the lather quality wasn't that good. The second and touch up passes were pretty thin though it did protect. It didn't help that most of the time I was on vacation using my Simpsons Case away from my home base and the sample moved around the tub a lot. A full tub probably would have been better, but I wasn't a fan of the scent. So tomorrow I'll start another sample.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 5

I started a sample of Summer Break Woodshop shaving soap today. This is one of my newest samples. I transferred it into a larger tub noticing it's a softer soap with a putty like consistency. According to their website: The scent opens with coffee and bourbon... Then comes the woody notes, cedar, pine, and the scent of a fresh sheet of plywood. Hiding in the background imperceptible unless you know it's there is the scent of motor oil from the always nearby auto shop. The result is a very nice wearable woodsy scent with a surprising amount of depth. There's a lot more written on the site about the soap and they spent quite some time in development. However I only smelled woods like cedar and pine with a little wood glue, but it does remind me of woodworking and camping.



Today's shave was with my Razorock Lupo and Omega boar. Loading and lathering was pretty easy resulting in a sour cream like consistency that was enough for 2 passes and a touch up. The scent was light and I didn't get any nicks. First impression is that it's a good soap though the price for a full tub is a little above my price range.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 12

I checked the sample of Summer Break soap and noticed there wasn't enough left for another shave. So I added the little piece to my mug of leftover soaps. The last couple shaves with this soap were pretty thin and needed reloading anyways. Overall I thought the soap was decent though nothing special.

Today I started a sample of Through the Fire Fine Crafts Stingray soap. I wanted to try this one since I had recently watched the 70's movie Corvette Summer where an auto shop class restores a Stingray.



Unfortunately this soap is at least 4 years old and had separated a bit resembling floam. I went ahead putting it in a larger container and loading the soap. I'm not sure what the scent was supposed to be since it's not sold now, but it mainly smelled like almonds with a little floral. I loaded and lathered with my Omega boar, but it dissapated pretty quickly so lather pics seemed pointless.

I managed to shave with it by lathering a section of my face and then shaving. I felt pretty confident with this since I was using a Gillette flair tip Superspeed which is mild. The 3 pass shave didn't result in any nicks though there was some irritation. I finished with some Harry's post shave mist.

I'll give this sample another shot hoping the moisture in the tub will help. If it doesn't I'll add it to the mug and start another sample. I have another one from this brand that I go this year so I'm confident it will be better.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 13

Gave the Stingray sample another shot. I loaded my brush 20-30 seconds and face lathered for 45 seconds. Unfortunately the lather was thin and dissapated quickly. I put the rest of the soap in my mug of leftovers and loaded. I got a good lather and it resulted a decent shave.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 14

Since the last sample didn't work out I gave the other one from Through the Fire Fine Craft a try. This is their Northern Lights scent. The sample is 1 oz and comes in a container I can load directly.



The soap has a bit on give to it and reminds me of Stirling soaps. The scent is described as: Having blended fern, moss, ylang ylang, and musk scents we hope to take you with us to our favorite Dark Sky park and enjoy the show. I mainly get fern and floral from it and the scent is strong. Fern is a scent I didn't like and would pass up soaps that had it, but has grown on me. Loading was easy and face lathering for 30 seconds created a nice whipped cream consistency on par with most other artisan soaps.



Today's shave was with my Omega boar and 58 Superspeed. I went very well with the soap rinsing away cleanly. I finished with some Harry's post shave mist and the soap scent was noticable for over an hour afterwards. So it goes nicely with an unscented product.

First impression is that this is a nice soap worth picking up. There are some 1 oz samples available through Maggard's for $5. This one should last a week or two giving me time to think about the next sample.

 

[nelsonic21]

September 8

Still using the TTFFC soap. It's been almost a month and not seeing the bottom of the tub. Scent and performance have remained the same. This is a very good soap, but I'm missing being able to try another sample. I'm going to finish this one and go through a couple more before going back to full size products.

Today's shave was with my Omega boar, Yaqi DOC and Razor Emporium aftershave. I was another good shave with the aftershave being able to overpower the soap scent.

 

[nelsonic21]

October 7

The TTFFC soap is gone. I lathered up the last bit of the sample. My final lather was a little thin which I expected since there was so little left. The scent and performance stayed solid right up to the end. Overall I was surprised how long the sample lasted (almost 2 months) and the quality is right up there with other artisan soaps like Stirling or Henri et Victoria. At $18 for a 4 oz tub it looks like a decent value (inflation has caused me to change what I consider a value) and it's a soap I will probably pick up in the future.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

October 7

The TTFFC soap is gone. I lathered up the last bit of the sample. My final lather was a little thin which I expected since there was so little left. The scent and performance stayed solid right up to the end. Overall I was surprised how long the sample lasted (almost 2 months) and the quality is right up there with other artisan soaps like Stirling or Henri et Victoria. At $18 for a 4 oz tub it looks like a decent value (inflation has caused me to change what I consider a value) and it's a soap I will probably pick up in the future.

I was paying those kind of prices when I stocked up on Phoenix and Beau, and Wickham soaps. I had found them far too pricy to consider at first, but when I tried a sample, I discovered I was getting around three shaves per gram. That meant at 350-400 shaves per full tub, the cost per shave was less than five pence.

 

[nelsonic21]

October 9

Started a new sample today. This one is the Zingari Man Bon Monsieur Sego shaving soap. This is currently available and is described by their site as: Bon Monsieur is a fragrance of pure nostalgia. Having grown up in the 1980s I wanted to create a fragrance that encapsulates my formative years and that pays homage to some of the great fougeres of the time. A hefty dose of a fine lavender absolute and oakmoss form the base of Bon Monsieur. This is indeed a classic gentlemen’s fragrance.

There is come lavender and citrus peel in the scent though musk overpowers these. The scent is nice and reminds me of a classic men's cologne. I put the sample in a larger container and noticed it's a soft soap with a putty like consistency. After a good load with my Omega boar I lathered producing a lather that was more like a lotion than a soap.



Today's shave was with my Razorock Lupo and finished with Harry's post-shave mist. The soap protected well and there was some residual slickness. The scent was very strong remaining after and I think this soap is best paired with unscented aftershave products. It left my skin feeling pretty smooth and seems like a higher end soap. So first impressions are good and I'll continue with this soap.