SoS: October 10, 2016 - October 16, 2016

Thursday's


Dove Men Face Wash
L'OCCITANE Cade
Jayaruh Bumble Bee
Gillette Franken razor
Personna Super
CWR, Asma Alum Block
T.N. Dickinson's WH
Pinaud Vegetal

The L'OCCITANE Cade Shaving Soap face-lathered well with my Jayaruh Bumble Bee brush. Two passes and touch ups with the Gillette Franken razor with a Personna Super blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse and alum block, I finished off with T.N. Dickinson's WH and then Pinaud Vegetal After Shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

 

Thank you, Roby!

 

Well done, Guy!

 

I don't how you do that, but great picture!

 

Beautiful new Shavemac (ATG Group Buy), Blackbird/Hempel, Phoenix and Beau.

 

Van Yulay - Soap of the Gods "Hephaestus"
Rubberset 200-4 | Omega Boar
Gillette Pre-war Tech | Feather Hi-Stainless (1)


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Instead of belaboring my thoughts regarding the performance of yet another Van Yulay product, I'll refer you to my previous posts. Otherwise, I will simply stipulate that having 15 Van Yulay soaps in my den, they all perform in line with my other favorite artisans and can compete on every level.

Now, on to the scent. Van Yulay messes with the nose on this one. For just two primary fragrances, Hephaestus is surprisingly complex. It's as-advertised with lime and gunpowder, but the results are quite different from what I'd expected. A few swirls of the wet boar knot released an interesting fragrance with all the sharpness of lime minus the green. It mellowed somewhere in the second pass and began to take on notes of wet nickel without abandoning the lime. As the shave progressed, the nickel became more pronounced as gunpowder. Due to my almost constant exposure to gunpowder, I'm often noseblind to it. This soap taints it just enough with the lime to set it off.

The paired alcohol-free splash is very lime-forward such that I expected a citrus sting, but there was none. There was also a pleasant creaminess that I suspect is from the skin-care ingredients. After about a half-hour, I began to pick up on some hints of gunpowder. Ultimately, the fragrance melds into a charming, but slightly dark, lime. My wife very much likes this fragrance as well.

Despite the peculiar notes, they work well enough together as to avoid being placed in the novelty category. This scent would be appropriate for just about any occasion.

(Regarding the pic: some of you may recognize that's a pressure plate from a clutch assembly. It's the stock one from my '98 Trans Am)

 

I love that razor.

Beautiful photo.

I love that brush!

Beautiful razor and brush.

That is a great handle for that razor.

 

Beautiful brush and another great photo.

Another phenomenal photo with another great write up. And, I noticed the pressure plate and that brought back a few memories.

 

I almost left out that caveat, but I figured a few eagle eyes would point it out and ask about the vintage.

 

I always enjoy your descriptions and product "reviews". They are well-written and interesting. Thank you.

 

Man that is a gorgeous brush!


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Thank you! That's very kind of you.

 

Thank you gentleman!

 

Razor - Razorock Hawk w/Feather Pro
Brush - Stirling 26mm Finest
Soap - Stirling Barbershop
AS - Stirling Gentleman

First time out with the new Stirling Finest brush. I have been reading raves about these, and it did not disappoint. I expected the 26x58 to maybe be a little floppy. No. Not. It was much denser than I expected it to be, and actually has pretty decent backbone to it. The handle is nice and heavy, has a solid feel to it. At $35, it is a no brainer, because this brush performs with others at three times the price.

Hope everybody got through Hump Day okay. It's downhill from here.


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Thanks! Just my iPhone and an app called Prisma


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SHAVE OF THE DAY



Prep: gustafsons woodlands
Razor: Icon X3/ Maggard MR18C handle
Blade: Ladas SS (5th shave)
Brush: RazoRock plissoft
Soap: Shannon's- Haymarket Vetiver
Post: Osage Rub/ Musgo Real classic Balm



2 pass shave this afternoon. This Haymarket Vetiver is my favorite scent from Shannons, earthy but not too earthy. Much more complex than silk pj's or Woodlands, just a wonderful grassy Vetiver scent and excellent performance. Did get a bit of irritation on the neck, should have changed the blade. The Musgo Real Balm has that nice classic scent that paired well with this soap. Was lucky enough to get a bottle on sale for $15 off. Have heard great things about this balm, but the normal price is a bit steep for my wallet. Seems to be moisturizing and feels nice on the skin. Hope everyone had a great shave!

 

Mountain Man has a nice clean light cologne type of scent that reminds me a lot of WSP Matterhorn. I wouldn't say it's feminine by any means, but I guess it could be used by either sex, much like many scents on the market.

 

well, the "feminine" aspect referred more to the Silver Mtn. Water Creed than to Mountain Man. Thanks for the comments.

 

No problem Paul! It's not my favorite Stirling scent, but it is a nice modern cologne scent just wish it was a bit stronger. They made one a while back that smelled like Polo Green which would be interesting as a soap.

 

Love Stirling Green!


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