SoS: April 2020

Discussion in 'Shower or Shave of the Day' started by Yehuda D, Mar 31, 2020.

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  1. brit

    brit in a box

    sunday shave
    canadian schick e2
    modern schick blade
    Brush by Jason omega
    MWF
    acqua di gio
    20200404_135047_edited.jpg
     
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  2. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    What a coincidence, Tommy. I am diggin' the Groomatorium. Can't wait to get the Sherlock and the Ghost Town Barber that won't burn my face.
     
  3. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Thanks, Paul. They're actually watching me prepare their food.
     
  4. brit

    brit in a box

    :)
     
  5. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    Pets like doing that. :)
     
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  6. 120inna55

    120inna55 Well-Known Member

    Zingari Man | The Blacksmith
    Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Copper Matrix | AP Shave Co. SynBad 30mm
    The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
    Bulgari Man | In Black


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    The Blacksmith is an r/Wetshaving exclusive and my first experience with a Zingari Man product. In terms of fragrance, it's inspired by the popular men's fragrance Bulgari Man In Black. I blind bought both The Blacksmith and In Black at the same time since the profile (amber, spices, rum, leather, guaiac wood) would very likely be in my wheelhouse. The Blacksmith arrived several days before In Black, so I spent a few days applying the matching Zingari Sego After Shave Balm as a post-shower moisturizer. I'm really impressed with The Blacksmith's fragrance. The soap and balm smell the same to my nose, and I feel like the soap is lightly scented which seems appropriate for this kind of fragrance. An authentic warm, weathered leather is a prevailing undercurrent, but it never overrides the other notes. A dark, spiced rum with judicious sweetness makes a respectable sustained presence. For you rum-heads, think smoky Brugal Leyenda as opposed to syrupy Captain Morgan Private Stock. Otherwise The Blacksmith allows the booze to burn off, leaving a bed of spicy warm amber in the dry down. And that dry down lasts just a little bit longer than it takes to get dressed. Certainly, a balm is never intended to be a fragrance offering any notable longevity, but it absolutely left me anticipating the Bulgari EdP that influenced it.

    Unfortunately, Bulgari Man In Black is a bit of a disappointment. The leather just smells fake. The spiced rum is done well, but I detect a musty iris note that I do not experience in the Zingari The Blacksmith balm or soap. It's almost as if Bulgari is trying to impart musk while being determined to avoid anything animalic. This is purely subjective, of course, and I admit both iris and orris have been a personal point of contention with other fragrances. The bottom line is, while The Blacksmith and In Black share similarities, I find The Blacksmith to be a more pleasant fragrance. In the future, I will probably complement this set with Zoologist's Rhinoceros.

    In terms of performance, Zingari Man's Sego tallow base is immediately competitive with the top artisan soaps. Customary preliminary test lathers reveal this base demands relatively large amounts of water. Anything short of this yields a serviceable, dense lather, albeit suboptimal. At this stage, you can almost double the water to experience a truly luxurious, creamy, glistening lather. In practice, Sego is remarkably slick on my skin but it doesn't carry over to slippery gear as can sometimes be problematic for a shower shaver with an all-metal razor. Residual slickness is equally impressive, permitting low-risk revisiting of areas devoid of visible lather. Not surprisingly, the post-shave is very nice as well, making a post product redundant.

    I'll probably always prefer splashes---alcohol or otherwise---over balms, but the Sego balm is an extraordinary product. As previously noted, I used this balm for a few days prior to using the soap. The results on non-shave days clearly make my stubble softer, but also make my skin feel the same way it feels when I've just shaved with the Sego soap. For best results, your skin should be fairly damp as you apply a very small amount of balm. I found a single-pump dose was more than adequate to cover my scalp, face, and neck. I assume face-only shavers may need to distribute the excess to their arms and hands which is hardly a negative.

    Speaking of negatives, I always have to do this unfortunate part with my inaugural use of an artisan's product. Fortunately, these are minor. The balm pump mechanism is finicky. Initially, I could not get it to prime. In fact, with my first two uses, I had to remove the pump and apply the product directly from the stem. Ultimately, I fiddled with it, disassembled it, and finally got it working correctly. The soap's label seems to have fallen victim to shipment and handling battle wounds as evidenced by scratches, feathered edges, and scuffs. Had the art been a lighter color, it would not have been so photogenic. As it is, the faux texturing in the image obscures these imperfections with some biased photography. (The balm's label is flawless, by the way.) See, I told you they were minor.

    Overall, I'm very pleased with my introduction to Zingari Man products both in terms of fragrance execution and performance. I congratulate r/wetshaving for using your platform to introduce this artisan to more wet shavers.
     
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  7. brit

    brit in a box

    awesome set up,pic and review Matt..:)
     
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  8. Str8on2

    Str8on2 Well-Known Member

    Gorgeous looking set ups Gents. Bravo, Bravo.... :happy096:
     
  9. brit

    brit in a box

    thank you Gus..
     
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  10. 120inna55

    120inna55 Well-Known Member

    Thank you, gentlemen.
     
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  11. jtspartan

    jtspartan appropriately stimulated, via Netflix

    April 4th SOTD
    Gem Jr
    Omega Pro/ Resin
    Proraso Red
    Thayers
    CL Gratiot League Sq AS
    A0DD056B-5CDC-4524-AA11-8BE0BCFE8565.jpeg
    Have a great day all.
     
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  12. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    SUNDAY'S SHAVE

    [​IMG]

    Perfumed by:
    Rodrigo Flores-Roux
    [​IMG]

    Razor - GEM 1912 Travel Model (Sold to me by Jovraljr.)
    Blade - GEM *5th Shave
    Shave Brush - Everyman Jack Synthetic
    Shaving Soap - West Coast Shaving "Fougere" *Jojoba Cream Formula
    Lather Bowl by Freida of the Etsy shop ASfreidaturns
    Aftersahve - Humphrys Organic Distilled Witch Hazel *mentholated with PAA "Chill Mill" menthol crystals
    Deoderant - Houbigant "Fougère Royale"
    Fragrance - Houbigant "Fougère Royale"

    ***EDIT - 1-Pass + extensive clean up pass. The West Coast Shaving Jojoba Cream delivered some of the best lather I've whipped up in a while. Gorgeous with a perfect combo of protection and glide. Puts any foam in a can to shame when the water is perfect (and the water amount I put in today was absolutely spot on). This shaving cream whip provided the foundation for a perfect shave. BBS. I am finally getting the perfect consistent angle with the GEM razor that Jovraljr sold me 8 months ago and gotta say that shaving with a GEM single edge produces amazing results. The key is getting used to it. No cuts and only one super tiny weeper that clotted within seconds and didn't require any styptic. I consider this a perfect shave. Very happy with it.

    The new Fougere Royale fragrance is is amazing and IMO, every man should own a bottle. This is Dapper-King label worthy smelling stuff. Love this.

    [​IMG]

    I see that this WCS cream is now sold-out. I understand why. This picture is after 2-passes. Still lots of lather left.
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2020
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  13. Aztecmike

    Aztecmike George

    20200404_185400~2_resize_77.jpg
    April 4th, 2020

    Schick Type D
    Schick Plus Platinum blade
    Razorock Barber 24 brush
    Razorock Black Bay Shave Soap
    Grand Bay - Bay Rum A/S​
     
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  14. brit

    brit in a box

    awesome gents..
     
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  15. celestino

    celestino Friendly Neighborhood Wetshaver

    5 April 2020

    * Muhle R41 + Stork Aristocrat 1 Titanium
    * Wizamet Iridium Super
    * WSP 2-Band + Oscar11 Aquamarine C7
    * Mystic Water Cedar/Sage
    * Unrefined Shea Butter
    * Bergamot/Vetiver EO



    [​IMG]
     
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  16. brit

    brit in a box

    awesome..:)
     
  17. NCoxSTL

    NCoxSTL AAACK!

    Arko Adjustable April

    April 4

    Razor - 1960 (F4) Gillette Toggle (9)
    Blade - [​IMG]
    Soap - Arko
    Brush - I*V10 Hybrid. The Moreau [​IMG]
    Post - Alum

    Well, that was a Saturday. Definitely a Saturday. Can't say it was terrible, can't say it was wonderful. But it was. Seriously, not too bad despite the chill back in the air with clouds. As this whole quarantine thing has locked down harder as we go, things are getting surreal around the Lou. Access to restaurants is getting to be a difficult thing at times and if you order delivery and the only way to pick up the food is through a drive through hold your breath. Lots of us are refusing to sit in drive-thru to get food. Takes too long when they're stacked and the cost of the gas plus time is just a killer. Best to decline it and move on. Hopefully someone will get that order of KFC or Taco Bell for you. Hey, here's an idea. Try tipping on the app too. $0 tips plus long drive thru waits = NO FOOD!

    I've noticed things getting quieter over time as well and one scene really hit me today. I was in the Delmar Loop, which is one of the busiest sections of St. Louis. It's near Washington University and features all kinds of restaurants, bars, independent shops, theaters, you know, stuff that keeps college kids and others busy and spending money. Many of the restaurants have outdoor seating on the sidewalks. Traffic through the Loop is killer. Bad enough that driving Uber/Lyft through there is enough to make you pull your hair out. (May explain some of mine). Well, late this afternoon, on a Saturday when the Loop should be booming (chilly weather usually doesn't affect much, maybe fewer outdoor tables), here is my view as I waited for an order to be handed through the front window of Three Kings Public House.

    [​IMG]
    There were a few people sitting in cars behind me, but other than that......I was alone. Well, mostly. A panhandler had just walked up and done his job for the day getting a few bucks out of my hands. The food came out the window a moment later and I walked two spaces back to get in my car and drive off. Traffic free. Add a wandering zombie to that picture and you have how it felt.

    Anyway, enough of my day. It certainly ended better with a great shave to relax and unwind with. Still on the Toggle/Voskhod combo and I just switched to the Mesquite and Hybrid knot brush I call the Moreau. It's a fantastic brush and I love it. That dense knot tore up the Arko and turned it into an easy and quick lather and the razor an blade combination went through my beard like a hot knife through butter. No blood or other issues. Definitely the best party of the day.

    Hope you had a good Saturday in spite of these strange times. Have a fantastic Sunday!!

    [​IMG]
     
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  18. novicz

    novicz Well-Known Member

    Semogue SOC shaving brush
    Gillette 7 o'clock yellow blade
    Timeless Razor
    Williams aqua velva aftershave
    Phoenix and Beau's Imperial Rum

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. SpeedyPC

    SpeedyPC Well-Known Member

    Date:- 05 April 2020

    Pre-shave:- Cold Water straight from the tap
    Bowl/Scuttle:- Captain's Choice
    Brush:- WCS Two-Tone Tall (Blue & White) Extra Dense Synth. 26/56mm knot
    Soap/Cream:- Barrister & Mann ~ Lime | Lavender | Cedarwood
    Razor/Blade:- Gillette Ball End Tech (0.56mm) 1946-50 / Gillette Stainless (red & white) #4
    Post/After-shave:- T.N. Dickinson Witch Hazel Astringent mixed into the 240ml bottle with Natural Glycerin (20 drops) & Tea Tree Antiseptic (10)
    Tipple:- George Wyndham Bin 555 Shiraz

    Book 1 of 20........ I'm going to enjoy reading the complete novel series by Patrick O'Brian.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2020
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  20. Aztecmike

    Aztecmike George

    Thank you Gary..:)
     
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