SoS: July 4, 2016 - July 10, 2016

Van Yulay - Soap of the Gods - Hercules (Russian Tea) | BSB-Ti w/HMW Extra Dense | 1912 Type Star | Gem by Personna (2)


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This was my first go with Van Yulay's goat milk and glycerin hybrid formula, Hercules. It's an interesting process to order Hercules. There's a drop-down menu with an inordinate list of fragrances from which to choose. Without checking the scent profile which is on a different page, I selected "Russian Tea". I'd never heard of Russian Tea, but I'd assumed it would smell something like tea. Little did I know that there are essentially two types of said tea. One that's actually tea with rum and served with lemon, the other being a sweet concoction made of Tang, instant tea, instant lemonade, cloves, and cinnamon. Van Yulay's Russian Tea is based on the latter. Not even a hint of tea. It turns out, despite it's absolute contradiction to what I was expecting, Russian Tea was quite pleasant. Off the puck it was orange heavy. As I lathered it, the orange had sharp and dark features such that my first impression was perhaps blood orange. I then detected a light effervescence that suggested mint. As the shave progressed, the scent got heavier and more complex with cinnamon, cloves, and finally musk. The orange never left front stage, but it was hardly single-faceted. It is a very pleasant scent that has a bit more depth than many citrus-scented products I've experienced.


I've had excellent experience, performance-wise, with Van Yulay. However, browsing their website, I can clearly see that I've not even come close to experiencing all of their soap formulas. I was interested in Hercules (and Aquarius) due to its segregation on the website along with its denotation as a "hybrid". It was unclear as to the "hybrid" nature of it, but I was drawn to it in light of its inclusion of goat's milk. It also contains glycerin, as do many artisan soaps. However, the site's description states, "Formulated with Goat milk Soap & Glycerin Soap (Half Human & Half God) [sic]". I interpreted this to mean that it is half melt-and-pour glycerin soap and half goat's milk traditional shaving soap. In my experience, glycerin is great for slickness, but not much for cushion or post-shave. While glycerin is used as an ingredient in upper end soaps, I generally relegate glycerin-based soaps on the cheaper, poor performing end of the shaving soap spectrum. Given that, I should also note that among a plethora of skin-friendly ingredients this "hybrid" contains a few of my favorites: Kaolin clay and kokum, mango, and shea butters. (A complete list of ingredients can be found at the end of this writing). Skepticism aside, my experience with Van Yulay meant it deserved a try.


The other Van Yulay soaps I've used are piped into the jar into star-shaped molds à la cake icing. Hercules does appear to have been poured into the jar instead of being injected. While it still probably qualifies as a croap, it's firmer than most. It loaded into the damp badger knot easily without the need for blooming. I added quite a bit of water to the loaded knot at this point and began to face lather. I soon had an extremely thick, dense yogurt-y lather. I really had to push it around. I'd clearly loaded too much product. That's a first for me, as I prefer to bring the knot to max capacity since I'm working on a head and face shave. I chuckled at myself and was grateful I'm a shower shaver, because I did have a bit of a mess. This soap does seem to stretch farther than most of my other soaps. I just added a bit more water to achieve a more manageable lather, and all was well. The slickness was quite impressive, and the protection was top-notch. The inclusion of clay was evident both with regard to the unique slickness and density. I was able to loosen up a bit while taking the vintage SE out for its second full run. I took long frontal to parietal sweeps while only barely feeling the blade. Two passes with some clean-up was all that was required to achieve BBS. I didn't have to reload the brush between my face and head shave either. Part of this is attributable to the efficiency of the 1912 Star, accomplishing the equivalent of a three-pass DE shave in two.


I considered forgoing an after shave since the post-shave of Hercules left my scalp and face feeling soft and moisturized, but it's hot out here in East Texas, and I just like to use a splash. I obviously chose the paired "Russian Tea" scented splash which is alcohol free, and has aloe and witch hazel among other goodies. I'll note that despite my detection of background cinnamon and clove notes, my skin did not react with redness as I usually experience with those two oils. They may not even be present in the soap or splash, but rather my brain may have filled it in out of association with the other notes.


Despite the scent being a curveball, I enjoyed this shave very much. I highly recommend Hercules and even the Russian Tea scent as long as you know you're getting citrus and not tea. I count myself among the snobs that avoids melt-and-pour glycerin shaving soaps, but I do not put Hercules in that category. This is an exceptional soap as has been my experience with other Van Yulay soaps.


Hercules Shaving Soap Ingredients: Deionized water. Glycerin. Sorbitol. Sodium cocoate. Sodium stearate. Saponified oils of soy bean and safflower. Stearic acid. Kokum butter. Mango butter. Coco butter. Shea butter. Amino acids. Chamomile. Calendula. Polyquats. Liquid silk. Marshmallow root. Allantoin. White Kaolin clay. Silica powder. Vitamin E. Fragrance.

 

SOTD July 4, 2016

Another wonderful shave today. I seem to have reached a point in my shaving that I have figured how to get the most out of the razors, blades, brushes and soap/creams I have been using. Every shave seems to be a great shave lately. If all goes well and if Canada Post delivers on time, I should be embarking on my SR shaving journey in the next day or so...quite anxious to start! Happy Independence Day to my brothers and sisters to the south!

Pre: Proraso preshave cream
Razor: Schick Type G
Brush: Victoria Badger
Cream: GFT Coconut
Post: Witch Hazel

 

Baili TT) razor
US Personna blade
VDH/TGN Silver Tip frankenbrush
CO Bigelow SC
Osage Rub/Witch Hazel w/aloe
Skin Bracer A/S w/added menthol

Nice cooling, refreshing shave that has me set for the day. Now go enjoy your day folks

 

Clint you captured the grain of the Olivewood just right! Happy Fourth of July my friend.

 

SOTD: Monday, July 4
Mike's Pine & Cedarwood
Semogue BC Mistura
'58 Gillette FatBoy (5)
Feather (2)
Alt Innsbruck

Have a great day!​

 

Thank you Mark. The handle was looking dull so I had to shine the bugger up.

 

The Wee Scott sure is tiny. I hear it's a great brush though..........

 

Happy Independence Day!
SOTD July 4th
All American shave!
(Planned shave)


I may or may not shave today. If I do this will be my setup. All made in the USA (except maybe the brush).

47-48 Gillette Aristocrat
Personna Lab Blue
Blades Grim Smolder
Satin Tip The Purest


Sent from my Galaxy S6 using Tapatalk

 

4 July 2016

* Muhle DE89 + Stork Aristocrat 2 Titanium
* Iridium Super
* WSP Stubby 2-Band + Doug Korn Amber Taca
* Mystic Water Egyptian Dragon
* Thayers Witch Hazel Unscented
* Unrefined Shea Butter
* Orange/Pikake Blossom EO


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Robert! Have a great day!

 

Monday

Prep: Warm Shower-WSP Bath Soap-Mahogany
Soap: TOBS Avocado Cream
Razor: Gillette Fat Boy
Blade: Perma-Sharp Super (4)
Brush: RazoRock/Zenith High Mountain White -24mmx57mm
Aftershave: Proraso Green AS

WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angles for my beard)

TOBS Avocado today. 10 seconds to load the RR/Zenith HMW. Easy, thick, slick, lather. Perma-Sharp Super still in the Fat Boy. Excellent smooth, close, shave. I finished with Proraso Green.

Bob

 

My goodness..great shot Roby!

 

Damn, what a freeze the Glacial MITA soap gave me and what beautiful lather. Its skincare, like every Stirling soap I have cannot be beaten as well. The Diana balm feels almost as cold as a Glacial balm and nothing on this planet compares to the Arctique aftershave when it comes to menthol power. The new Shark in my Super Speed is pretty good - it gave me a great BBS shave with just a tiny weeper on my chin which I'd say was my fault because I was shaving too fast. Otherwise all ent very well!

 

I skipped shaving yesterday, so I had a fairly good growth this morning. Ended up with a BBS

Slim Adjustable set to 9
Ladas Blade
MDC Face Lathered
3 passes

 

Thank you brother, happy 4th!

 

July 4 SOTD
Happy Independence Day to all of our American brethren.
Gillette Milord 1946 courtesy of Curtis Crough. / Astra SP (1)
Palmolive Stick
Omega 100051 boar
Nivea Cool Kick ASB
Proraso Green AS
This razor and blade combo give me as good a shave as I can get. As smooth as any Injector, SE, or other shave I have had. No irritation, just BBS and Dolphin smooth. Have a blessed day gentlemen.


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Prep - Noxzema / Hot towel
Pre shave - Prep
Razor – Weber ARC
Blade – Gillette Silver Blue
Brush - 'Jade' (Rooney Heritage 2XL Jade)
Soap – Mike's Bay Rum
Post - Witch Hazel

the Weber/Silver Blue is an outstanding combination... sharp, smooth, and irritation free. Now that was a 'feel good' shave!

 

Fourth of July Shave

Razor: Gillette Trac II (?)
Brush: VDH Badger
Lather: Cremo
Pre shave oil: Homemade
AS: Nivea/Brut splash on
Newspapers` Dates: Dec 9,1943/Feb 3,1944

Today being "The Fourth", I would like to extend my deepest, and most heartfelt THANKS to all our servicemen, present and past!

I had a small problem with my tremors this morn., so I reverted back to the Gillette Trac II. Surprising smoothness, and closer than I remember. Gentlemen, I do possess a BBS as surely as the sun rises. 1st pass, ATG all went well except a small weeper in the corner of the mouth(always a problem).
The 2nd pass, WTG/XTG smooth as silk all the way, Voila! Almost Dolphin smooth. Happy Camper are I!

 

SOTD: Nearly a complete 'American-made' shave today in honor of Independence Day. Razor was actually German-made with an American iconic name, sold by an American importer. Stirling piney 'Coniferous' soap & synthetic brush, and home-made bay rum aftershave. Excellent morning shave! Happy 4th of July!

 

YESTERDAY'S SHAVE



Prep: Gustafsons woodlands
Razor: Gillette Redtip
Blade: Croma Diamat
Brush: RazoRock plissoft
Soap: Route 66- Lumberjack (sample)
Post: Ginger's Garden- Aventus type aftershave



Had a 4th of July party to go to yesterday so did not have time to post my shave. First time with Route 66 soaps, very nice product and I can see why it has many fans. Excellent slickness and good performance, the scent is not a strong pine scent you would imagine but does have a woodsy scent that is quite pleasent. Got a great shave, finished off with the GG aftershave, the scent seems to have great longevity and the menthol was nice and cooling. Hope everyone has a happy 4th!