Came across this today, I don't know how long it's been out, or how good it may be. http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2740 From the linked page: A Close Shave Shaving Kit sandalwood scented shave soap & shave balm, along with a wooden handled soft nylon shaving brush The soap is made with coconut oil and shea butter and with a bit of water and the included brush, produces a thick lather that promotes a clean, close shave. The balm contains coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, aloe vera, and shea butter, $9.99,
Same here...but even at Three Buck Chuck...it's pretty tasty! As much as I love TJ's products and their quality is first rate, $99 bucks for a nylon brush and soap a bit much to swallow. Now if it were "private" labeled MdC or something.....
doesn't seem bad as long as its usable quality. If it was super shedder with a floppy tangle prone knot and sandalwood scented Williams then it might be a bit much. A tub of proraso costs as much as this.
I received the TJ ad in the mail yesterday, the kit was in ad. This years popcorn tin looks fabulous!
1st impression is very disappointing. I'll have to give the soap another try, first attempt I failed to get a lather. It's soft and it may be my fault, I overloaded the brush. I'm concerned it may be like the Shea Moisture Shave Cream but the thread Darkbulb linked to indicates there's hope for a better outcome. Brush is much stiffer than anything I'm used to. I face lather and any pressure beyond using just the tips gave me too much "scritch". Just the tips was fine but when I tried another soap I ended up bowl lathering. That worked out fine. It's probably just a matter of developing a proper technique that suits the brush. For those who like a stiff brush it may be worth a try, for me, it's unlikely it will give my L'occitane Cade Plisson any competition but this was just a first try. .
Face-lathering works with more pressure. Just needed more pressure. Too little pressure and the brush "stiff-arms" your face. More pressure and the brush splays.
I got this kit a few days ago and took her for a spin...I didnt use the brush since I have a brush I prefer to use and I didnt get the set because of the brush...the soap to me really isnt bad at all, it isnt one of my best performer's but it does its job very well...I have to say though that I LOVE the scent of this soap, you all know how "scent" is but to me it is very much a sandalwood scent, with a holiday spice twist....it really is a great scent and the ASB is the same....is it worth $10? this to me is always subjective as I can think of some great soaps for under $10 and we all already have a lot of different soaps, so its not really a need...but, for the whole set at $10 I think it is a steal, again its not going to be the best soap,ASB, or brush in anyones den but it is VERY much serviceable.
Picked mine up at Traders Joe's yesterday...... It was $9.99, marked down from $99. My SWMBO is making me wait til Christmas to open it.
I got some a few weeks ago. I to found that I over loaded the brush the first time. The scent is good. What I really like is how soft my face is after shaving. It is a very slick soap in my opinion. I used the brush the first time just to see how it went. It dod not shared at all. I like the Boar brushes so this was nor bad. At this point I think I would get it again if it were offered again.
I think one of the major takeaways though is that a major retailer is seeing fit to carry a wet shaving kit. Hopefully, it's an indicator of things to come.
I just got mine for xmas and tried it for the first time. I think it's good , but then again I'm new to wet shaving and only have poraso to go against . I'm using a weishi razor and dorco blade.
I used the soap and brush this morning. I posted about it in SOTD. Basically I was going to use a cold water approach but the soap build-up wouldn't come off of the razor when swishing in the sink. I had to switch to warm water in the sink to get the build-up off. Odd problem. But the soap smells terrific! I think it's a really good deal at $9.99.
