SOS: December 2018

This is last weeks night shaves. MONDAY - SUNDAY.

Peace, Jamie




Wednesday HumpBay

Soap was a PAA 2017 Christmas bonus added to the mug, Andes scent. Lather was crazy.

 

absolutely awesome shave sets and pics..

 

Tuesday
December 18, 2018

Colonial General UFO Colibri
Schick Proline
El Druida Manchurian
Asylum Saponificio Varesino Colonia
Fine Italian Citrus
ADP Colonia Essenza

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Schweeet setups!

 

Awesome amigo! The jazzed up Sabre is beautiful. It's inspiring actually.

 

Thank you Mark. I am glad I gave a different handle a try.

 

Thanks Brother!

 

Guy. How do you find the ,"E" plate? I ordered a "D" plate tonight

 

Great photo with beautiful gear amigo.

 

Stunning photograph Amigo.

 

A nice ERN made razor was used today. I had a great 2 pass shave, with minor touch-up, around the chin, that left me BBS. Zero issues. Just a very well made, and great performing blade.

Razor- "Gong Razor", by ERN. Made in Germany.
Brush- Omega 10098, boar.
Soap- Arko/Sandalwood Scented
Aftershave- Shulton Old Spice







..

 

TUESDAY'S SHAVE​

Razor - Antique Gillette 1907 Old-Type (fully restored and re-plated in gold by Razor Emporium)
Blade - *18th shave!
Shave Brush - Everyman Jack Synthetic
Shave Soap - Mama Bear's Obsessed for Men
Shave Bowl - Colonel Conk Marble Fossil
Preshave Oil - Lather & Wood's "Unscented"
Deodorant - Calvin Klein's Obsession For Men
Aftershave - 80's Vintage Calvin Klein's Obsession For Men
Fragrance - 80's Vintage Calvin Klein's Obsession For Men
Shave Stand by Robert Evans on Etsy. Must request custom project to order.

***EDIT - Perfect 10/10 shave. Everything worked out from the products to the technique. Zero irritation. 2 Passes + cleanup pass. BBS. Seems like the magic-blade in the razor has one side that is starting to lose the sharpness. So I still have one sharp side to the DE. I don't know how many more shaves this magic blade will get through before it starts getting uncomfortable. We'll eventually find out.

 

Beautiful razor Tim.

 

Hehehe...I think you single-handedly keep PAA in business. Seriously, you should get a year-end bonus from them or something. Very cool pics as always, by the way.

 

Phoenix and Beau | Star Noir
Cadman-Beau | Synthetic
Phoenix Shaving | Ascension Double Open Comb (316L Stainless Steel)
Treet Platinum Super Stainless Steel


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I've commented on Phoenix and Beau's tallow soap base performance several times, essentially asserting it does all things well. The base is very similar in all aspects to Barrister and Mann's white label right down to the thirst. If you don't give this soap the water it needs, you will completely miss out on what it has to offer. That having been well established, I'll keep the forthcoming comments limited to my fragrance impressions.

Star Noir is Phoenix and Beau's nod to David Bowie's signature 1990s fragrance, Minotaure from house Paloma Picasso. Never having experienced Minotaure, I can't speak to the accuracy, but it's my understanding this is more of an homage as opposed to an outright dupe. Additionally, in my limited research, I discovered that while Minotaure is still in production, it's suffered from reformulation from the original 1992 Cosmair distribution. I really do wish I knew which one Star Noir points to, because given how much I enjoy this Star Noir fragrance, I would definitely pick up the EdT, vintage or otherwise.

Star Noir opens with a bold vegetal musk of green crushed herbs with subtle bitter citrus peering through. As the first pass begins to wrap up, a rich and warm resin, woody lavender, and amber takes hold. During the final lather, Star Noir gets even more complex with the contrast of peculiar aldehydes against heavy woody florals.

The Post Shave Lotion unfolds similarly, but the heart unveils a more distinct ylang ylang and modest amount of patchouli folded into the persistent resinous crushed herbs and woods. The dry down imparts what begins as an understated powdery base but actually gains steam to become what feels like a second wind of an altogether different fragrance stepping into a more traditional barbershop realm. I simply must get my hands on the splash because I feel like it would last longer. As it is, the balm is detectable for close to 4 hours.

I missed Star Noir last year, so I'm quite pleased to have received another chance at it. I've become a pretty big fan of Phoenix and Beau's products as they're quite consistent in offering the complete package of style, function, and class. In my opinion, they very much need a US e-commerce stockist, so more Westerners can have a shot at them.

Addendum: I simply can't leave this SOTD without mentioning my experience with the PAA Ascension SS. I've shared my impressions previously, but I continue to be impressed with this razor, especially as a head-shaver. It's no secret I'm a single-edge razor enthusiast, and honestly nothing can top the performance of my prized Schick F-types, but until now, only the Schick could give me a flawless glass-slick head shave with a single against-the-grain pass. I've gotten into such a habit of doing a single ATG pass on my head in light of the Schick's abilities, I did it with muscle memory today when using the Ascension. The result was nothing less than spectacular. I've tried this numerous times with other razors, and they all require additional passes to achieve "BBS". Now, I have a second razor that can do it in a single pass.

 

Excellent write up and picture Matt. Why don't you check out the razor of the year thread in the safety razor thread.

 

Thanks. I'm guilty of not browsing around. I'll check it out.

 

Thanks I love the Old Type from that early 1900's era. The Wilkinson Sword blades shave perfect in the razor for me.

 

Thanks Doug!

 

Just a tad more efficient than the D. For me like the .95 OC of the Timeless.