B&M Vespers - Omnibus base

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by feeltheburn, Jan 15, 2022.

  1. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    My lovely wife got me some Vespers for Christmas and I've been using it most days since then so here are my thoughts on it so far.

    16 shaves so far and it seems to be going pretty quick. I can see light through the bottom of the tub so I will probably hit bottom in the next few days. I guess I'll see how long it lasted when it's done but B&M soaps usually last me about 40-45 shaves. Maybe this one will make it that long but I'm skeptical at this point. Strange thing is I feel like I'm loading much less of it than their previous base since it's so thirsty. The first shave with it, I overloaded the brush and couldn't get enough water in the mix but after that I eased up on the loading and was getting great lathers after that.

    The performance is fantastic. It has a unique feel. Sort of sticky but it rinses off much easier than you think it will. The slickness is excellent and the protection is maybe the best of any soap I've ever used. Post shave face feel is also great. I was a little worried when I saw they took the lanolin out but no need to be worried. My face feels great all day after using this stuff.

    I'll try to back up my protection claim with some numbers. I use a rating system for my shaves where 4 is a perfectly acceptable shave but with a little alum feedback at the end. 5 is no alum feedback at all. With older B&M bases just under half my shaves were 5's, the rest were 4's. With Omnibus 13 of my 16 shaves have been 5's and that's without cherry picking the razor/blade combos or anything like that. In fact I've been using pretty aggressive razors for much of this time which would be even more likely to lean toward 4's in my rating system.

    So I'm pretty impressed with B&M's new base. I think it's worth trying. The cost per shave seems like it'll be a little steep but if you're looking for absolute best performance you can get without worrying about cost per shave, this is a contender.

    Edit: I didn't mention anything about the scent and since this is one of those seasonal soaps, I guess I probably should. I will definitely buy another scent in this base again but if I never get another Vespers, I'll be ok with it. I'm not really sure how to describe the scent. Spicy, maybe a little woodsy. It's ok but it's not a soap I want to take a whiff of whenever I'm in the bathroom. The scent does hang around on my face for a good while and I don't find it offensive or anything. I still don't really enjoy it that much. Some people really like it though so if you're one of them, well, more for you :).
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2022
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  2. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    I looked up the scent description and figured out what's making me not so crazy about Vespers. Patchouli. I couldn't pick it out since it's mixed in with other things but I usually like spicy, woodsy scents. The Patchouli puts me off enough that I don't really enjoy this one though.
     
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  3. SterFry

    SterFry Well-Known Member

    I got a sample of Vespers because it the pine note. I really enjoy pine. While I liked the scent I mostly get Mousse de Saxe. I like the scent, but probably wouldn't go for a full tub being as I try to keep my soap stash south of 20 tubs.
     
  4. tak555

    tak555 New Member

    interesting... i read and watched so much on vespers, i thought it would be a automatic hit for me.... but i really don't like the scent. i'm wondering if it's the patchouli, like brian mentioned.
     
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