I followed up on Doc Ezlovan's invitation to watch some videos...saw one where the man was shaving with Barbershop soap. He just kept talking left and right throughout the whole thing. I agree you want good commentary in these videoes, but...well, I'll just say, how he avoided spreading some soap into his mouth is beyond me.
It's not a life or death situation but I wonder if you guys could sort out for me some seemingly similar Stirling soap scents? Are they close to each other, or not at all? Which do you prefer and why? Which ones are must haves? Deep Blue Sea, Stirling Blu, and Stirling for Him (blue aquatic scents) Piacenza, Arkadia, Tsuka (blood on steel), Satsuma, and Ramblin' Man (orange/citrusy scents) Sandpiper and Bergamot & Lavender Gin & Tonic and Margaritas in the Arctic Ozark Mountain, Coniferous, and Christmas Eve (pine type scents) I prob have too much time on my hands over thinking all this. Maybe you can help save me a few bucks and rule out a few.
I can't help you too much on the others, but these two I have a little experience. Bergamot and Lavender is just that...a nice citrus and lavender. It is a really nice scent (especially in the spring or summer) While Sandpiper does have citrus and lavender in it...to me at least...it comes away with more earthiness and more spiciness (from spices not heat). Sandpiper is a really nice scent as well. Hope others can help you out...as I am sure they can.
Here are my opinions.... Deep Blue Sea - great classy, fresh, not overpowering, get it Stirling Blu - limited to on hand only, I prefer Stirling for Him (#2 on my list) - also limited Piacenza - must have Arkadia - I did not like, it seemed to remind me of a heavily perfumed woman in an elevator Tsuka (blood on steel) - My absolute fave - I hoarded it Satsuma - a great and lasting orangey citrus, I like it Ramblin' Man - did not make the cut, I found a wood-like smell in there I didn’t like. Sandpiper - must have Bergamot & Lavender - really nice, not one of my leaders. Gin & Tonic and Margaritas in the Arctic - not offended by either, just too many I liked more Ozark Mountain, Coniferous, and Christmas Eve (pine type scents) - not a super evergreen fan for aftershave, but the next tub of mutton tallow soap will be Scots Pine Sheep. I've never gotten a better lather than from Stirling mutton tallow soaps. I have the unscented, which is more a "has its own scent" that is troublesome for some. I suggest sample sizes if available. I bought full size of Ramblin Man before trying and wound up giving it away. AND, to prove that my opinions are not universal, the recipient loves it. Dont think I recall anyone not liking Sandpiper, Piacenza or Deep Blue Sea.
Very well put together, Mr. Cawtuh. Wanted to ask you what you didn't like about Ramblin Man. I mean...was the wood more like forest wood or lumber-type(to your nose)?
I did Ramblin Man this week-end(yesterday and today). Raffle-day shave came out better than that of yesterday. Next soap&A.S. combo-Spice.
I really cannot remember exactly, probably a milled wood. I just recall that there are soooo many other flavors I like better that it seemed foolish to keep items just to get them used up, if there was a possibility someone else would like it.
Thanks so much Edison (and dangerousdon). Exactly the kind of synopsis I was looking for! A few other opinions wouldn't hurt either. I know everyone has slightly different tastes, but I've read enough of your posts Edison to respect your opinion. I border on OCDing stuff like this, so I too want to avoid thinking I have to buy every single one (even if only samples) and their matching A/S/ I've already got stuff from a few other companies. and well, the wife would do something ungodly to me if I spent hundreds and hundreds of moolah in too short of time span. Anyway, much appreciated.
Uh..... I don't think that The Lovely Mrs Headroom knows how much I spent to save money on shaving costs.
Thank you gentlemen. What an honor it us to be formally recognized by 2 of the greats from the Stirling Exchange thread
Lurking this thread proved dangerous for me. Some rather effective marketing “propaganda” present here! I am very interested to finally try out the products that inspire so much positive content by so many devoted fans. I’ve not even tried anything Stirling but thanks to this thread: last week I spent in excess of 3 cumulative hours, shopping the site and then referencing the web, and then changing my mind to create a new cart. Finally, I pulled the trigger. Since Friday I’ve been watching some more videos and reading up in anticipation. I have not geeked out on something that’s not a piece of hardware, or made with hardware, ever in my life. Amazing. I finally decided to do 3 flavors. Completely blown away by so much positive buzz re: the sheep soaps I settled to try 1 soap and 3 splash/balm/oil “combos” So here’s my order, slated to arrive Wednesday (likely/hopefully will arrive tomorrow) Splash/Balm/Oil Sandpiper Deep Blue Sea Ramblin Man (kept waffling this or SG and in the end decided to gamble on the more risky “new” scent) Soap Scots Pine Mutton Tallow Mentholated pre-shave bar I’m curious whether the single shave soap will disagree with any of the 3 after treatments. I don’t recall specific commentary on particular issues mixing in this way... any thoughts?
Huge fan. DE shaving was still a chore till I ran across Stirling. Wanna make me a fan? Give me top of the line products at an everyman price--Stirling did it. I've said it somewhere here before, but when I was shopping for a shaving forum, the fact that there was a Stirling Exchange thread at TSD sealed the deal.
I'm that lady in the elevator. I loved the citrus-peppery cedar of Arkadia--too much for my wife though. I use Sandpiper now for my cedar fix--it's a VERY close second for me. Piacenza is a wonderful, citrus-y cologne-like scent. Tsuka hits you hard with a lime-like citrus at first, but becomes something almost entirely different pretty quickly afterwards. I don't even consider it a citrus scent--way more floral. It took a while for my nose to unravel it, but I really like it. A little goes a long way, though. All their pine scents are a different kind of great, but if I had to choose 1, it'd be Christmas Eve. Bill's @Edison Carter got a great point about Scots Pine, though--that mutton tallow is fine stuff. Not much else I can chime in on.
My experience with Scots Pine was: Right out of the box and off the puck--"Holy Crud! It's Pinesol." After lathering and applying--"Hey! That's not bad." After shaving--"Niiiiice!" You can catch subtle whiffs of it throughout the day, but certainly nothing overpowering. I think it would play quite well with Sandpiper and Ramblin Man. I've yet to try DBS, so I can't help you there.
