SOS: December 2018

Tim - Monday looked good for you. Sweet set up. Good time of the year for Sandalwood. How do you like the scent on that soap? I'm not familiar with it. Btw, got my hands on some pre de Provence sdlwd bar soap. Very nice sdlwd. Going to break out some Sandalwood tomorrow.

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Antique bronze. That is a pink virgin unicorn razor.

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Primo- love the brush. Looks like she has a good workout

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Tim - delayed responding as i wanted to make sure i was coherent. Like you find the STH cedar to "cedar centric" -and wanted more of that rum/boozy note. I gotta get my nose on the extreme version as you've described.

Wet shaving opened my eyes to how interesting the fragrance world is. Great hobby - really enjoy the exploration part of it. In fact, the Sandalwood soaps i shave with piqued my interest in potential Sandalwood edt/edp's. I also wonder why some of the frag heads are shaving with canned goo. ?

So my worthy sandalwood bottles in order of enjoyment : etro sandalo, Dyptique TD, DR Harris, TF Santal Blush, Egoiste, Trumpers, lelabo santal 33, TOBS. Want to try Serge Lutens Mysore. I believe Floris makes a good one - need to try it [santal?].

Am i missing any worthy bottles?

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Ralph Lauren Safari. It's very similar to Trumpers Sandalwood. IMO, you might find them a bit redundant. They are so similar that I use Trumpers Sandalwood shaving products and spray on Safari as the fragrance.

Kilian's "Sacred Wood" was very impressive and pretty much centered on a very clinical sandalwood with an ever so slight touch of 'milk'. The milk note doesn't really soften it up as it is quite 'medicinal' smelling. Despite that it's an impressive sandalwood.

I'm not huge into sandalwood. I wanted just a few high-level ones. I found Tam Dao EDP to be the best 'smooth' sandalwood with depth and minor, faint natural sweetness that doesn't impose on the woods. And I wanted the best 'tangy' sandalwood (which is what Trumpers is like) and found that in the form of Ralph Lauren Safari. The part of Safari that won me over was the use of eucalyptus. The eucalyptus note is not listed but it's there if you smell the cap of the bottle and focus you can't miss it. And the incorporation of the leather note also is brilliant. Ralph Lauren Safari is my #2 favorite fragrance in my collection. So, it's pretty obvious that I have a very strongly positive opinion of Trumpers Sandalwood.

This post at Basenotes is what helped me most in finding Tam Dao EDP and understanding quality sandalwood:
http://www.basenotes.net/threads/430033-The-Quest-for-THE-Sandalwood-Fragrance
This is the audio version if you don't want to read:
https://soundcloud.com/mythrol/the-quest-for-the-sandalwood-fragrance-finale

 

TUESDAY'S SHAVE​

Razor - Edwin Jagger "Kelvin"
Blade - Personna Med Prep *2nd shave
Shave Brush - Beauty7 Professional Premium Synthetic Nylon
Shave Soap - Van Yulay "House of Dior"
Aftershave - Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements "Big Baby"
Post-Shave Balm - Nicci Marie Hyaluronic Acid Anti-Aging Face Serum
Deodorant - Herban Cowboy "Powder"
Fragrance - Midnight in Paris EDT

Definitely no need for pre-shave oil with Van Yulay. It's got plenty of luxurious oil in its base. I struggled to find an aftershave that wouldn't interfere with the powdery, slightly sweet, leathery fragrance (Midnight in Paris EDT) but it seems like PAA's Big Baby is the answer. Midnight in Paris is discontinued. I bought backup bottles before they went to ebay for ridiculous prices. I think I did a nice job with this shave set. I just wish PAA didn't completely kill off Big Baby. I also am wondering WTH happened to Et Tu? That Brut tribute was amazing stuff.

 

Thank you Tommy. James made a beauty. She is a great shaver to boot. I have been eyeing the new WR2's but need to patient because it is very tough to time it right for when James opens his site for orders. It's worth the wait because he is such a perfectionist. Too bad he has limited the metals for now because I'd love to see the WR2 in copper. I think it would look outstanding. It will probably be awhile if ever because I understand copper is not his favorite metal to work with.
Steve

 

The soap is good. Classy smelling. Very similar to Tam Dao EDP, but has less cedar. It's good enough to pass as a matching soap IMO. So I put it in the set.

 

12/04/18 Shave of the Day
Face Wash with The Sudsy Soapery Black Soap Made in Africa
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Dapper Doc Conditioning Shampoo Puck
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements CUBE Mentholated Preshave Soap
Stirling Soap Company Christmas Eve Shave Soap
RazoRock Rosso Corsa F-400 XXL 34MM Noir Plissoft Synthetic Shaving Brush
Creative Flame Pottery Stoneware Shaving Scuttle
Rockwell 6S Adjustable Stainless Steel Safety Razor, Plate 5
Derby Extra Blade - 5th Shave
RazoRock Alum Block
Homemade Lime Infused Witch Hazel
Stirling Soap Company Glacial Frozen Tundra Menthol Aftershave Splash
Stirling Soap Company Glacial Unscented Post-Shave Menthol Balm
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Dapper Doc Natural Deodorant - Extra Sport Strength​

 

Thanks! I feel like everyone's different shave sets are well thought of in here.

 

Gorgeous brush.

 

Thanks Tommy. Great brush. Here you see it soaked, but before use.

 

Stirling soap is always super easy. For December I have decided to join the 30 day crew and focused on my lathers.
I get a good enough lather to shave, but I want the UBER lather, the "holy cow this lather is super awesome"

 

Agreed. Brush porn

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Date: 04 December 2018

Pre-shave:- Cold Water straight from the tap
Brush:- Maseto 2 Band Finest Badger Horn 30/54mm knot
Soap/Cream:- Valobra (4 shaving sticks grated into a 250ml plastic tub)
Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice
Razor/Blade:- Feather AS-D2 / Vintage NOS England Wilkinson Sword #1
Post-shave:- Thayers Witch Hazel & Tea Tree Oil / Lucky Tiger Aftershave & Face Tonic
Fragrance:- YSL L’Homme

 

Thank you.

 

4 December 2018

* Blackbird Machined SB 101
* Wizamet Iridium Super
* WSP Original 2-Band + Oscar11 Aqumarine C7
* Mystic Water Egyptian Dragon
* Unrefined Shea Butter
* Bergamot/Vetiver EO



​

 

Beautiful razor and great photo setup!


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Decadent December!!

December 3, 2018

Razor - 1960 (F4) Gillette Toggle (9)
Blade - (3)
Soap - Tabac
Brush - Jayaruh #230
Post - Alum

Boy you guys were busy today. I have some catching up to do. Not complaining one bit! Love it when the traffic is heavy. Cold and damp day in the Lou today and I extended it with some delivery time. One more shave on the Toggle and Sharp Star so I went with the classic Tabac. Hey, I know it's an "old man" soap but.....I'm an old man AND I believe it's time to start a revival of the classics anyway. The JR230 brush for the added decadence. One minor problem - the cut from the pain stick a few nights ago reopened just a bit but quickly stopped bleeding with a little alum. I'll have that mark for awhile.

Other than that a smooth finish for a very high level DFS. I skipped some of the touch up just to avoid the temptation to go over the cut again. Sometimes it's better to chill just a bit.