Yup. The manufacturer has a great reputation, and the birthday soap probably performs well. I say probably, because the scent is so off putting, I never even considered lathering it.
2nd round Soap Pass-Around
- Thread starter Demaskee
- Start date
Yup. The manufacturer has a great reputation, and the birthday soap probably performs well. I say probably, because the scent is so off putting, I never even considered lathering it.
Great reviews. Thanks for sharing your experiences
Ah, I see. It's just the scent that makes it a "birthday" soap. Gotcha.
Really enjoying the reviews so far so you definitely don't have an empty audience.
I didn't put it in there but I know what 253 is and I own it. I've used it several times and get great lather and slickness every time. Maybe give it another try with more water or soap if you have a chance and see if you have better results. The problem sometimes is that it may take a few lathers to figure out a soap.
As far as the manufacturer of 204 goes they have a lot of newer scents that are really excellent and the newer soap formula is outstanding. Some of the older stuff wasn't really appealing to me as well scent wise either. You really should try some of their newer offerings.
Most of the soaps in the box are from quality manufacturers and the Birthday soap is no exception. However, some of the scents aren't ideal. The Birthday soap looked brand new and I believe this man was the first brave enough to actually lather it. Now, come shave time he bailed, but we expected that and that's farther than anyone else had ever gotten, so my hats off to you MRSmith.
It's an odd scent for a soap and smells like one of my dog's chew toys, actually worse. It's a food inspired scent but it only smells a little like the food item it represents. It definitely wasn't going to touch my brush as I feared that putrid stench would somehow stick to my brush and render it unusable from that moment forward.
I didn't put it in there but I know what 253 is and I own it. I've used it several times and get great lather and slickness every time. Maybe give it another try with more water or soap if you have a chance and see if you have better results. The problem sometimes is that it may take a few lathers to figure out a soap.
As far as the manufacturer of 204 goes they have a lot of newer scents that are really excellent and the newer soap formula is outstanding. Some of the older stuff wasn't really appealing to me as well scent wise either. You really should try some of their newer offerings.
Most of the soaps in the box are from quality manufacturers and the Birthday soap is no exception. However, some of the scents aren't ideal. The Birthday soap looked brand new and I believe this man was the first brave enough to actually lather it. Now, come shave time he bailed, but we expected that and that's farther than anyone else had ever gotten, so my hats off to you MRSmith.
It's an odd scent for a soap and smells like one of my dog's chew toys, actually worse. It's a food inspired scent but it only smells a little like the food item it represents. It definitely wasn't going to touch my brush as I feared that putrid stench would somehow stick to my brush and render it unusable from that moment forward.
I really loved Fairway and looked into purchasing it both for scent and performance. The only reason that I haven't is that it's listed as a Limited item and available as an AS splash / soap combo only. the price isn't too much, so I'll probably cave in and eventually purchase it.
I knew that I wasn't speaking to an empty room, but figured that it would draw out some conversation to keep me from feeling like I'm monologuing. On to the show.
Round 3: Great Expectations
Tonights offerings come with great expectations from me. All of these soaps have at one time been on my radar to purchase and have been pursued to purchase, but never quite finalized the attempt. Two of them were not widely available until recently, the third is a relative newcomer artisan, and the last has been around, but always slips my mind when I start looking for my next purchase.
Again ordered according to what I figured would be the best scent arrangement.
Number 41:
The slickest soap that I've tried thus far. The scent was strong(er) and I ultimately found to be not quite to my liking as the scent increased during lather. I was a little worried when I was washing this one off as I thought that I may not get the slickness off to my satisfaction not to interfere with the next soap. I will definitely put this on my must purchase list in the future, but with a different scent.
Number 202:
This scent was similar to #41 in naming, but was quite faint for me. The secondary scent came through a bit but again not much. I really liked the way that the lather developed, but it just didn't have the slickness that I was looking for. I will say that it produced mounds of cushion filled lather. I would like to see a tallow offering by them as they currently have only the one iteration. I'll still keep my eye on this maker for future developments.
Number 239:
This is an interesting maker that has more recently been made widely available through some common vendors. The scent was very mild and just a pleasant warm soapy scent? There wasn't anything that stood out in the scent arena. Thick and cushion filled lather, better slickness than number 202 - lather was marshmallow cream in texture. I actually shaved half of my face with this one and I will say that the post shave feel was very nice and was plenty protective during the shave. One of the top contenders in the box for me.
Number 218:
This maker has been around for a while and was kind of a word of mouth guy to get in touch with. i actually tried to track him down at one point in time, unsuccessfully. I was very pleased to see this in the box. I'll also state that I like the packaging of the product very much as I think that the container would travel indefinitely without issue. The scent was strong(er), but not off-putting. I picked up on scents leaning towards citrus, but more musky? I think that my nose is broken tonight as I'm normally much better at picking up on various notes and describing things. The slickness was very near in comparison to number 41. I really liked this lather. I shaved the other half of my face with this one. The post shave feel wasn't as good as number 239, but did not leave me dry either. I finished with a little Fine Italian Citrus to see how well they played together. The Fine over powered the lingering scent. I think that the Fine L'Orange would be a better match, but the wife broke that one, so Italian citrus is the best I had to offer.
Tonight's ranking:
218 - best performer in the box so far for me.
239 - By a hair over the other two
202 & 41 - These both are top quality and should easily pass muster to get into the shave den. 41 was one of the slicker soaps, but as stated the scent was a killer for me, otherwise could easily be the number one on the list.
These four soaps were all great performers and when I rank them I am really just nit-picking to assign them a place.
I'll do any last moment tryouts tomorrow as I begin to prepare the box for shipping and should be making my picks tomorrow night so that the box can get in the mail on Saturday. Thanks for all of the feedback. For me it is the only shaving conversation that I get, so it is a welcome opportunity to discuss a passion that few others care to understand.
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Did you just do a pull from The Incredibles?
Seriously. All of your guys' reviews are so awesome. I'm glad that I was early in the pass-around and got mine out of the way!
Yeah. It's OK since i have a kid right? Lol
As long as it's ok that I immediately knew where it was from. That is one of the most underrated movies. Two things that are always being yelled in my house: "No capes!" and "Where's my supersuit?"
That's too funny. I love that movie too. My son got some pajamas with a cape and he wears the Cape everyday tucked into his shirt. And everyday i think of that movie.
My daughter enjoys that movie also! We are also fond of "honey, where's my super suit?"
Aloha gents,
Final Round: No Regrets
I decided to use tonight as a last chance to try anything that I may have overlooked; to re-try anything I was considering keeping; and to make my final decisions.
Number 200:
I really wanted to try this one even though the scent wasn't a winner, but I could not. It contains mango butter and I am allergic to mango and did not want to risk a reaction. A note to y'all. Mango contains the same chemical as poison ivy (urushoil) to which I am quite allergic and cannot touch anything mango at all or I will break out in what is known as poison ivy rash and/or mango rash if you live in Hawaii.
Number 76:
This is reported as a vintage soap whom I had not heard of. I did a quick google-fu and found out that the soap would be sold in a tin that would double as an ashtray once the soap was used up. I got a chuckle out of that, but it fit the time period as I think that many men ans women most likely smoked at least socially. To the lather. There wasn't much if any scent. I did detect a musk that old things seem to take on when lathering, but not overpowering. The lather had decent cushion and below average slickness for me. I'm pretty sure that the soap to water ratio was skewed towards the water heavy side, but decided to be frugal and do a half shave with what I had produced. The shave went well, so no complaints. The potential had not been realized and had I a few days with each soap this could have made the "watch" list. I thought that it was neat to shave with a soap that our dads or granddads may have shaved with at one time or other, so cool nostalgia factor. If it came with the ashtray soap container I might have picked it for that quirkiness alone (even though I don't smoke).
Number ___:
Un-numbered soap that I believe was just put in by the last person as Jason pm'd me to ask if I would number it. This soap is the same maker of #499 and was available as a sample. I decided to lather up a sample to make sure if i wanted to take this soap or not. The scent of #499 was the reason that it did not make the final cut for me and I was hoping that this scent would change that. It performed quite well. Good cushion above average slickness and pleasant scent. The scent was a mild citrus evergreen for me. It was a little understated and did not linger very long post shave. The post shave feel wasn't over the top like da Fat, but was as good as most soaps.
Overall a good evening with some good soaps.
Final picks to follow as well as a little bit about my contributions.
Final Round: No Regrets
I decided to use tonight as a last chance to try anything that I may have overlooked; to re-try anything I was considering keeping; and to make my final decisions.
Number 200:
I really wanted to try this one even though the scent wasn't a winner, but I could not. It contains mango butter and I am allergic to mango and did not want to risk a reaction. A note to y'all. Mango contains the same chemical as poison ivy (urushoil) to which I am quite allergic and cannot touch anything mango at all or I will break out in what is known as poison ivy rash and/or mango rash if you live in Hawaii.
Number 76:
This is reported as a vintage soap whom I had not heard of. I did a quick google-fu and found out that the soap would be sold in a tin that would double as an ashtray once the soap was used up. I got a chuckle out of that, but it fit the time period as I think that many men ans women most likely smoked at least socially. To the lather. There wasn't much if any scent. I did detect a musk that old things seem to take on when lathering, but not overpowering. The lather had decent cushion and below average slickness for me. I'm pretty sure that the soap to water ratio was skewed towards the water heavy side, but decided to be frugal and do a half shave with what I had produced. The shave went well, so no complaints. The potential had not been realized and had I a few days with each soap this could have made the "watch" list. I thought that it was neat to shave with a soap that our dads or granddads may have shaved with at one time or other, so cool nostalgia factor. If it came with the ashtray soap container I might have picked it for that quirkiness alone (even though I don't smoke).
Number ___:
Un-numbered soap that I believe was just put in by the last person as Jason pm'd me to ask if I would number it. This soap is the same maker of #499 and was available as a sample. I decided to lather up a sample to make sure if i wanted to take this soap or not. The scent of #499 was the reason that it did not make the final cut for me and I was hoping that this scent would change that. It performed quite well. Good cushion above average slickness and pleasant scent. The scent was a mild citrus evergreen for me. It was a little understated and did not linger very long post shave. The post shave feel wasn't over the top like da Fat, but was as good as most soaps.
Overall a good evening with some good soaps.
Final picks to follow as well as a little bit about my contributions.
One thing to note. if we all had been given a few days with each soap, then most of our pics would be slightly different. I know that there are so many real good soaps represented in the box and with another day or two with many may have ended up a different story than what is shown below. the only drawback to the pass around box is that it's like looking for a wife by going to a speed dating gig. It's just so little time that you are either wowed, or you pass on what could potentially be a better mate.
Without further adieu ~ Drumroll Please:
My pics:
#218 - Jabonman Ylang Ylang Pachuli Naranja
This was the best performer in the box for me. All around great performer, above average slickness and interesting scent. This is the one that I tried to track Jabonman down and was not successful. I still don't know how one gets in touch with him as I haven't tried to track him down recently. I decided to add some of this into a sample container so that at least one more person will have the chance to try this soap out. It's a black container with silver writing if you are looking for it.
Un-Numbered soap
LASS Spring Street. I really liked the performance of the sample that I tried tonight and felt that it was comparable to Jabonman in performance. The scent was interesting and again the slickness was above average for me. I refilled the sample container, so that the sample that I used is back in the box again.
I also kept two samples (Not shown in pic):
Strop Shoppe - London Morning SE w/ Tallow. I have heard fantastic things about the SE w/ Tallow offerings from this maker and I am hoping that this wows me as I had expected.
Barrister and Mann - Vetiver/Heather/ClarySage. This is a maker and scent that I have longed to try. I was excited to see this sample and knew right away that I had to keep this. I really like Vetiver scents, so I'm hoping that this is another home run!
Without further adieu ~ Drumroll Please:
My pics:
#218 - Jabonman Ylang Ylang Pachuli Naranja
This was the best performer in the box for me. All around great performer, above average slickness and interesting scent. This is the one that I tried to track Jabonman down and was not successful. I still don't know how one gets in touch with him as I haven't tried to track him down recently. I decided to add some of this into a sample container so that at least one more person will have the chance to try this soap out. It's a black container with silver writing if you are looking for it.
Un-Numbered soap
LASS Spring Street. I really liked the performance of the sample that I tried tonight and felt that it was comparable to Jabonman in performance. The scent was interesting and again the slickness was above average for me. I refilled the sample container, so that the sample that I used is back in the box again.
I also kept two samples (Not shown in pic):
Strop Shoppe - London Morning SE w/ Tallow. I have heard fantastic things about the SE w/ Tallow offerings from this maker and I am hoping that this wows me as I had expected.
Barrister and Mann - Vetiver/Heather/ClarySage. This is a maker and scent that I have longed to try. I was excited to see this sample and knew right away that I had to keep this. I really like Vetiver scents, so I'm hoping that this is another home run!
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Now for a preview of what I added. All of the products that I added are not represented in the box by maker, nor by scent. So each one is a new scent and maker addition. I added 4 soaps total and will tell you a little about each one below.
#340:
This maker hasn't garnered much attention on B&B, but has been active on another shaving forum. His soaps are currently available through
. You may click the spoiler if you wish to potentially ruin the surprise. his Etsy store has been taken down as he has been going through some family issues the past few months. This may end up being the last chance to get his soaps as I'm not sure if he is continuing to make them or not. I have not inquired. I own two other scents from him and it was very difficult to choose which scents to keep and which one to add to the box. The performance is on par with the likes of Tabac and MWF.
#330:
This is a last minute addition as #310 may be a birthday soap (I'll explain in a bit). This soap is sure to be picked within a few members as it is a real top notch performer and I think a real surprise for those who are interested but afraid to pull the trigger to purchase. It has a strong following and those who love it swear by it and those who don't swear against it!
#320:
This is an old school maker and was one of the picks that I made from this first round. I love the simple scent of this soap and fell in love with the scent right away. The performance is plenty good to hang with the soaps in the box. It may however not reign supreme in performance, but is a great scent and good performer. It also has been discontinued in hard soap form and hopefully will appeal to another. The fragrance wooed me and continues to do so each time I smell it. Others will disagree with everything I've said, but I've tried other scents and soaps and the simplicity of this one just captured my heart.
#310:
This soap was not supposed to be added to the box originally, at least not this scent. This may be considered a birthday soap based upon scent (hahaha). This is why I added #330 as penance for placing this into the box. So the full story if you would lend an ear:
I purchased 3 scents from this maker with the intention of this particular scent going to my wife and choosing from the other two scents to keep and place one into this box. I made my choice and lathered up. I then noticed that my skin felt irritated and burned a little during use (Similar to the reaction some get from MWF). I thought that my technique was just off and had caused some irritation, so I let my face heal and attempted the soap a second time, but waited prior to shaving to see if the reaction occurred again. Lo and behold it happened again. I contacted the maker and asked about this. He indicated that it happened once before during trials, but that was with a different formulation. We both figured that it may have been one of the fragrance/essential oils that caused the reaction and so I decided to try another scent before deciding. Then the dilemma hit. If I was allergic to the soap, then my wife would need to decide if she wanted the other soap or this soap. So the decision was made against my better judgement and she chose the other scent over this one. I thought that the other scent was leaning towards a manly scent, but she liked it too much to part with it. I then lathered the other soap to see if I still had the same reaction, which I did and thus is the story of how this soap ended up here. Now. The performance of this soap could probably rival the best in my shave den for top honors. It is the only maker that my wife uses these days even though she has stacks of other soaps sitting neglected. I sneak a whiff every now and again from the tubs because the scents are really good and many days I long to give them another try. One day I tell myself. One day I'll try them again and I'll be fine... One day I keep telling myself...
Thus is the story of my additions to the box. I look forward to the critiques from my fellow B&B'ers and please feel free to comment on the new "birthday" soap as well as my other additions without restraint. My only regret is that @dfoulk did not have the chance to try two birthday soaps together as they would make a great meal.
I am only awaiting a response from Steve1959 to get an address and get the box moving. Hopefully tomorrow, but if not Monday morning.
#340:
This maker hasn't garnered much attention on B&B, but has been active on another shaving forum. His soaps are currently available through
KnockOutShave is where you can find his soaps, but KO is not the soap.. Or is it?
#330:
This is a last minute addition as #310 may be a birthday soap (I'll explain in a bit). This soap is sure to be picked within a few members as it is a real top notch performer and I think a real surprise for those who are interested but afraid to pull the trigger to purchase. It has a strong following and those who love it swear by it and those who don't swear against it!
#320:
This is an old school maker and was one of the picks that I made from this first round. I love the simple scent of this soap and fell in love with the scent right away. The performance is plenty good to hang with the soaps in the box. It may however not reign supreme in performance, but is a great scent and good performer. It also has been discontinued in hard soap form and hopefully will appeal to another. The fragrance wooed me and continues to do so each time I smell it. Others will disagree with everything I've said, but I've tried other scents and soaps and the simplicity of this one just captured my heart.
#310:
This soap was not supposed to be added to the box originally, at least not this scent. This may be considered a birthday soap based upon scent (hahaha). This is why I added #330 as penance for placing this into the box. So the full story if you would lend an ear:
I purchased 3 scents from this maker with the intention of this particular scent going to my wife and choosing from the other two scents to keep and place one into this box. I made my choice and lathered up. I then noticed that my skin felt irritated and burned a little during use (Similar to the reaction some get from MWF). I thought that my technique was just off and had caused some irritation, so I let my face heal and attempted the soap a second time, but waited prior to shaving to see if the reaction occurred again. Lo and behold it happened again. I contacted the maker and asked about this. He indicated that it happened once before during trials, but that was with a different formulation. We both figured that it may have been one of the fragrance/essential oils that caused the reaction and so I decided to try another scent before deciding. Then the dilemma hit. If I was allergic to the soap, then my wife would need to decide if she wanted the other soap or this soap. So the decision was made against my better judgement and she chose the other scent over this one. I thought that the other scent was leaning towards a manly scent, but she liked it too much to part with it. I then lathered the other soap to see if I still had the same reaction, which I did and thus is the story of how this soap ended up here. Now. The performance of this soap could probably rival the best in my shave den for top honors. It is the only maker that my wife uses these days even though she has stacks of other soaps sitting neglected. I sneak a whiff every now and again from the tubs because the scents are really good and many days I long to give them another try. One day I tell myself. One day I'll try them again and I'll be fine... One day I keep telling myself...
Thus is the story of my additions to the box. I look forward to the critiques from my fellow B&B'ers and please feel free to comment on the new "birthday" soap as well as my other additions without restraint. My only regret is that @dfoulk did not have the chance to try two birthday soaps together as they would make a great meal.
I am only awaiting a response from Steve1959 to get an address and get the box moving. Hopefully tomorrow, but if not Monday morning.
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MrSmith,
I really loved reading your reviews. Well done sir. I even like how you gave us some info on your adds. It allows us to play along a bit more, until we get the box.
Your picks look like winners as well. I haven't tried Jabonman, but have heard nothing but rave reviews. I have tried LASS and find they are great soaps. Like you I found that the slickness would decrease as I got away from the sweet spot, but luckily it has a pretty wide sweet spot.
I can't wait for my go at this box.
I really loved reading your reviews. Well done sir. I even like how you gave us some info on your adds. It allows us to play along a bit more, until we get the box.
Your picks look like winners as well. I haven't tried Jabonman, but have heard nothing but rave reviews. I have tried LASS and find they are great soaps. Like you I found that the slickness would decrease as I got away from the sweet spot, but luckily it has a pretty wide sweet spot.
I can't wait for my go at this box.
Great stuff! Amazing how the recent takes weren't even in the box when I had it. Everything that is going in seems to be coming right out.
Aloha all,
The box is still in my possession as I have not heard from Steve, so I decided to give #124 another spin tonight to see if I could get the wow factor that I was looking for. Details:
Pre Shave Prep: None (Normally Proraso Green Preshave and hot towel if there's still hot water when I go to shave)
Brush & Scuttle: My favorite brush a restored EverReady 52-C with Shavemac D01-3band flat top knot (20/44) & Georgetown G12 scuttle with lukewarm water.
Cold water for all aspects of shaving (lathers, rinses, etc)
Razors: Feather As-D2 & Feather (new blade) & Standard Razors Black & Feather (new blade)
The lather was much better this time around since I loaded directly from the soap & could get all of the normal feedback (consistency, tackiness, dryness, etc). I then developed the lather in the G12 scuttle adding water as I went until the consistency was where I wanted. I then finished by face lathering adding a little more water until there was a nice sheen without any breakdown of lather quality. I did a 3-pass shave (XTG; Modified ATG; Clean-Up). After the first pass I had a few weepers which I normally do not get. I rinsed and applied a thin layer of proraso green preshave after hitting the weepers with a styptic. Pass 2 went better and the clean up pass went real nice also. I ended up with BBS everywhere except the three trouble areas for me, which were a DFS+. No irritation, although a good sting from the alum post shave. I left the alum on while cleaning up the counter & putting everything away. Then a cold water rinse, pat dry with clean shave towel, and Fine Fresh Vetiver AS (which ran out on me), so I hit up the Snake Bite to complete the post shave ritual.
Final thoughts on #124. I think that this is a very good soap, but not better than what I have in my shave den, and IMHO not better than the soaps that I picked from the box. I would certainly own this soap if the price point was right, but to buy new ~ I'm not sure the price point will ever be right. I will however keep my eye out as this product does come up on the B/S/T once in a while and also comes up on other shave forums' B/S/T's as well. I know that eventually it will have a home here in my shave den and perhaps after a few hundred lathers (like I have with my current favorites) this will become a favorite too. I am very happy to have had a chance to try this one twice and that the lather & shave experience improved from the first to the second time as I'm sure that it would continue to improve as I got to know this lovely soap better.
I will try and get a shave or two in with the samples that I took from the box to keep this thread "alive" while the box is in transit as it will not ship before Tuesday morning and currently I do not know where it will ship to.
Have a great Labor Day! God Bless.
The box is still in my possession as I have not heard from Steve, so I decided to give #124 another spin tonight to see if I could get the wow factor that I was looking for. Details:
Pre Shave Prep: None (Normally Proraso Green Preshave and hot towel if there's still hot water when I go to shave)
Brush & Scuttle: My favorite brush a restored EverReady 52-C with Shavemac D01-3band flat top knot (20/44) & Georgetown G12 scuttle with lukewarm water.
Cold water for all aspects of shaving (lathers, rinses, etc)
Razors: Feather As-D2 & Feather (new blade) & Standard Razors Black & Feather (new blade)
The lather was much better this time around since I loaded directly from the soap & could get all of the normal feedback (consistency, tackiness, dryness, etc). I then developed the lather in the G12 scuttle adding water as I went until the consistency was where I wanted. I then finished by face lathering adding a little more water until there was a nice sheen without any breakdown of lather quality. I did a 3-pass shave (XTG; Modified ATG; Clean-Up). After the first pass I had a few weepers which I normally do not get. I rinsed and applied a thin layer of proraso green preshave after hitting the weepers with a styptic. Pass 2 went better and the clean up pass went real nice also. I ended up with BBS everywhere except the three trouble areas for me, which were a DFS+. No irritation, although a good sting from the alum post shave. I left the alum on while cleaning up the counter & putting everything away. Then a cold water rinse, pat dry with clean shave towel, and Fine Fresh Vetiver AS (which ran out on me), so I hit up the Snake Bite to complete the post shave ritual.
Final thoughts on #124. I think that this is a very good soap, but not better than what I have in my shave den, and IMHO not better than the soaps that I picked from the box. I would certainly own this soap if the price point was right, but to buy new ~ I'm not sure the price point will ever be right. I will however keep my eye out as this product does come up on the B/S/T once in a while and also comes up on other shave forums' B/S/T's as well. I know that eventually it will have a home here in my shave den and perhaps after a few hundred lathers (like I have with my current favorites) this will become a favorite too. I am very happy to have had a chance to try this one twice and that the lather & shave experience improved from the first to the second time as I'm sure that it would continue to improve as I got to know this lovely soap better.
I will try and get a shave or two in with the samples that I took from the box to keep this thread "alive" while the box is in transit as it will not ship before Tuesday morning and currently I do not know where it will ship to.
Have a great Labor Day! God Bless.
Thanks Rob. I am happy that you liked my reviews, so while it is on my mind.... Thank you for your Wiki entry as I copied yours to create my own some time ago. It just dawned on me as I need to update my wiki for a few things that I've acquired as well as the new soap picks. So many thanks to you and I am looking forward to the many review yet to come.
The box is on the move again. It will bypass Steve1959 as i still have not heard from him and is en route to Waldo_Phil. Will post the tracking number tonight.
Edit: USPS Tracking Number w/ $200 insured - 9114 9012 3080 3666 4869 42
Edit: USPS Tracking Number w/ $200 insured - 9114 9012 3080 3666 4869 42
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"Bonus" reviews.
Barrister & Mann - Vetiver/Heather/Clary Sage
This sample was about the size and shape of the "Laughing Cow" cheese wedges. It was relatively soft as well, but not croap soft as many artisan offerings can be. I rather liked the way the sample was presented and it allowed me to mash it into my favorite container these days. The containers are stainless steel and were purchased at Macy's for $10 for four with lids. I can't find them online, so I will have to go by Macy's to see if they have any more.
The scent was very nice. It had a balanced blend that gave it a little complexity without over-powering your senses. My wife liked the scent as well. To my layman nose the fragrance was arranged as follows: Heather in the opening act "top" note that introduced the show. Clary Sage which danced in and out of the spotlight during the shave, at times partnering with the Heather, but many moments stealing the spotlight, with vetiver being the stage upon which they played.
The lather was quite nice and made me happy that it did not disappoint. I read on B&M website that the soap is thirsty, so I may have started out with a bit too much water. I know that I did not quite find the sweet spot with this one yet, but the dance we had was nice. Good cushion, not as slick as I wanted, but I'll chalk that up to user error. I have a few more shaves to dial it in and expect that the slickness should improve a bit.
I returned to the straight + de to for my shave tonight. I had BBS above the jaw line; below the jaw line was DFS and closer than normal. I did have a few weepers and some irritation on the neck that was from the straight (9-to-1 user error). Overall quite happy with my first time out with B&M and look forward to getting to know this one better.
Barrister & Mann - Vetiver/Heather/Clary Sage
This sample was about the size and shape of the "Laughing Cow" cheese wedges. It was relatively soft as well, but not croap soft as many artisan offerings can be. I rather liked the way the sample was presented and it allowed me to mash it into my favorite container these days. The containers are stainless steel and were purchased at Macy's for $10 for four with lids. I can't find them online, so I will have to go by Macy's to see if they have any more.
The scent was very nice. It had a balanced blend that gave it a little complexity without over-powering your senses. My wife liked the scent as well. To my layman nose the fragrance was arranged as follows: Heather in the opening act "top" note that introduced the show. Clary Sage which danced in and out of the spotlight during the shave, at times partnering with the Heather, but many moments stealing the spotlight, with vetiver being the stage upon which they played.
The lather was quite nice and made me happy that it did not disappoint. I read on B&M website that the soap is thirsty, so I may have started out with a bit too much water. I know that I did not quite find the sweet spot with this one yet, but the dance we had was nice. Good cushion, not as slick as I wanted, but I'll chalk that up to user error. I have a few more shaves to dial it in and expect that the slickness should improve a bit.
I returned to the straight + de to for my shave tonight. I had BBS above the jaw line; below the jaw line was DFS and closer than normal. I did have a few weepers and some irritation on the neck that was from the straight (9-to-1 user error). Overall quite happy with my first time out with B&M and look forward to getting to know this one better.
Nice review on the B&M. I have a tub that I bought and shaved with once, but managed to put away while I try to use up some of the other open soaps in my shave den. I've been telling myself it's more of an autumn scent, but pretty soon I'm not going to be able to stop myself from using it.
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