Author Topic: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)  (Read 741491 times)

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1890 on: May 25, 2017, 11:18:15 AM »


Barrister and Mann - 42
BSB-Ti | HMW Extra Dense
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1891 on: May 27, 2017, 04:06:26 PM »
The Holy Black "Decadence"
Island Bladeworks "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Being a sucker for unique packaging, I really can't explain why I'd initially passed on this limited Club exclusive.  The Club exclusives are actually the only reason I signed up back in January.  As soon as the shave of the day photos began dropping, I immediately regretted my decision.  I therefore posted about my regrets and Nathanael John contacted me not for a sale, but rather that he wanted my address to give me a set.  I was overwhelmed by his generosity. 

The set arrived yesterday, and mailbox smelled like a bottle kirschwasser was broken during transit, yet everything was intact.  The packaging is as impressive as the photos.  Both the glass splash bottle and soap jar will remain keepsakes long after the products are gone.

Decadence is my first experience with The Holy Black, and it won't be my last.  I have some vague recollection of missteps in their past which regrettably factored into my decision to leave them further down my list.  Apparently, these issues are well behind them.  It's a shame I delayed trying them because this tallow-based soap is on the level of my other favorite artisanal soaps.  The lather is very easy to dial in, and it's extremely creamy.  It acts like there's clay in there, but I don't find it on the ingredients list.  The glide is as good as anything I've tried and the residual slickness is possibly better than most.  One or more of the fragrances did cause a little warmth, but nothing that would keep me from using it often.  The post shave left my skin feeling hydrated and healthy with no redness despite the warm sensation.  The fragrance strength was quite strong throughout the shave, being cherry liqueur forward with cocoa and almond liqueur close behind.

While the splash bottle is an elegant presentation, reminiscent of a squatty version of Disaronno, it's not very practical for use.  I pulled a little out via a syringe.  I'll probably reserve a small amount in a small bottle with a flow limiter to overcome this.  The fragrance is so sweet, I expected at least some tackiness, but I detected none.  It literally smelled and felt like I was splashing a liqueur on my skin.  Again, I experienced some warmth, but unlike the soap, there was a brief blush, but it passed quickly.  The fragrance perfectly matches that of the soap, but 2 hours later is the first time I detect coffee.  Otherwise, it's cherry and almond liqueur all the way with faint hints of cocoa.  If you're not an absolute fan of gourmand fragrances, you may as well pass on Decadence.  That said, the splash does settle to something less novel and more wearable than you might expect.  I believe the cocoa and coffee round it out to achieve this.

Overall, this was a very good first experience with The Holy Black.  They do know how to make an heirloom presentation, but more importantly, they know how to make a superior performing product.  I look forward to using this again.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1892 on: May 29, 2017, 03:39:13 PM »
The Club - Midnight Kush
DrivenLegend Red & Black | APShaveCo Tuxexo 30mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1893 on: June 02, 2017, 06:51:36 AM »
Catie's Bubbles - Confiant
DrivenLegend Red & Black | APShaveCo Tuxedo 30mm
Ever-Ready 1912 | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE (1)


Chris Cullen's latest brainchild, Confiant, is a 3-piece luxury set reportedly a year in the making. From the heavy glass violet jar and frosted glass bottles to the red velvet presentation, this set's elegant appearance almost prepares you for the classiness of the products themselves.

It's my understanding the cream soap formula was reworked in order to avoid impeding the fragrance.  If memory serves, my experience with Catie's Bubbles thus far has been exclusive to their "Luxury Soap" line, so Confiant would be my first experience with their cream. As a result, I can't speak to any differences between their standard cream formula and this reformulation. Given its soft consistency, I loaded accordingly---that is to say, effortlessly. The dense creamy lather was forthcoming a bit more quickly than with the soap, but beyond that, the performance was similar.  For that, I'm grateful as I wouldn't change a thing about my prior experiences with Catie's Bubbles.  The slickness holds its own with any of the other soaps in my arsenal, and the post-shave is better than most.

The initial fragrance of the soap is a bright, sharp lemon (presumably the verbena) with sweetness that can almost be tasted.  Throughout the shave, the citrus fragrance swells and becomes more grapefruit and less lemon.  Despite the variety of lavenders purported to be in the fragrance, their role---in the soap at least---seems to add weight and ground the citrus. At the tail end of the three-pass head and face shave, the fragrance relents to a very faint smoky vetiver with lemon piercing through.

The matching splash, for the most, part feels like your typical alcohol-based splash.  The only exception being some brief tackiness despite being applied to my damp skin. At either rate, the remarkable post-shave renders this step obligatory.  The fragrance, while pleasant, came across as muted, but this could be chalked up to the ever-present citrus notes holding over from the soap.  It's still quite citrusy, but not as sharp.  The lavender makes more of a presence in the splash, and there's some woodiness I did not detect in the soap.  I can't speak to the longevity because about two hours later, I applied the parfum extrait.

Taking nothing away from the soap, the parfum alone is worth the price of admission.  This is clearly the finished product of the parts preceding it.  Confiant opens with a bold and dazzling blast of bitter lemon and sweet grapefruit that maintains this intensity for almost an hour before being tempered by a gentle floral.  I enjoy this for what seems like a couple hours before it descends into a smoky herbaceous accord that teeters with the citrus, ultimately falling into that unmistakable Haitian vetiver that Chris is so fond of.  At this point, Confiant seems to have given you all its got, but as the smokiness lifts, citrus remains, its character having been changed from that of lemon and grapefruit to what my nose interprets as bergamot. (I note that this is just my nose, as bergamot is not one of the documented notes).

Confiant is an elegant and classy fragrance with familiar elements making it timeless.  I place it in the same category as one of my all-time favorites, Acqua di Parma's Colonia.  In fact, Confiant is what I imagine the French would come up with if charged to interpret Colonia. Citrus fans will easily gravitate to this, but Confiant's depth, complexity, and overall classic feel firmly places it in the league of refined, dignified fragrances.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1894 on: June 04, 2017, 07:22:58 AM »
Wholly Kaw - Fougère Bouquet SE
Island Bladeworks "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1895 on: June 04, 2017, 08:39:48 PM »
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements - Sangre De Drago
Rubberset 200-4 | Omega Boar
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1896 on: June 07, 2017, 06:06:21 AM »
Stirling Soap Co. - Glastonbury
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1897 on: June 08, 2017, 08:06:22 PM »
L&L Grooming - DFS 2017 Limited Edition
Island Bladeworks "Bullwinkle" | TGN Finest
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1898 on: June 10, 2017, 05:11:44 PM »
Mickey Lee Soapworks - AGORA XYRISMA
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready 1912 | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1899 on: June 12, 2017, 08:34:14 PM »
RazoRock - The Dead Sea
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)
Chatillon Lux - Colbeck


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1900 on: June 14, 2017, 08:47:30 PM »
Barrister's Reserve - Classic
Ever-Ready 100T | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Ever since Barrister and Mann's April Fool's soap, "Soapmakers of Awesometown", I've been anticipating the release of the Barrister's Reserve soaps.  I was pretty happy with Soapmakers of Awesometown even though the reviews were mixed.  I was primarily optimistic about the obvious advances made with hard water tolerance, of which I have some of the worst.  When it was confirmed that Soapmakers of Awesometown was essentially a beta of the base that would ultimately become the Barrister's Reserve soaps, I was even more optimistic. 

I routinely use the Barrister's Reserve splashes, and "Classic" is hands down my favorite.  An apparent clone of Gillette's discontinued 1960's "Sun-Up" after shave and cologne, Classic is indeed classic.  It stands out by being satisfied in the background.  That's not to say it's a low-power fragrance, but rather one that gets along with practically anything.  After the almost medicinal but clean initial notes, it dries down to a slightly powdery bitter citrus rounded out by what I believe is lavender which gets more woody as it fades.  While the frag heads apparently hate this term, as an amateur, I'm compelled to describe Classic as a clean, "masculine" fragrance. With regard to the soap, off the puck and lathered, thankfully the Classic fragrance is not altered in the least.

I started with my usual barely damp knot and loaded just the way I would have loaded Barrister and Mann's Glissant or even Soapmakers of Awesometown.  This was a mistake.  I should have loaded about half that amount because the yield was more than the knot could hold.  It's a good thing I'm a shower shaver, because I made a mess.  Using the same amount of water was also futile.  Barrister's Reserve is obviously quite thirsty.  In fact, it may be the most thirsty soap I've ever used.  However, unlike some, Barrister's Reserve broadcasts it.  There's no wondering if that one last knot dunk was going to be too much.  Until I achieved the right amount of water, my foundation looked like Spanish stucco.  Yet, when I really pushed the water, the stucco popped with a slick and super thick, just short of pillowy, lather.  I simply could not drown this soap.  At that point, faced with an over-abundance of premium lather, I did something I haven't done since my early days of head-shaving.  I lathered my entire head and face all at once.  Typically, I do 2-3 passes on either my head or face, and then I move to the other region.  When I began head-shaving several years ago, I quickly discovered that covering that much territory at one time will inevitably result in some dissipated or degraded lather, unless, of course I blaze through the passes.  With Barrister's Reserve, this is clearly not an issue.  I was able to perform an entire head and face pass in one lather application and at leisurely tempo without even a hint of lather degradation.  In fact, the incredible slickness seemed to get slicker towards the end.  Due to the success of the initial pass, I decided to treat the second pass likewise.  I followed this with a clean-up pass to result in one of the best shaves I've ever experienced.  The post-shave is absolutely stellar.  I can't be more pleased with this soap.  Of course next time, in the interest of conservation, I will be much more stingy with the load, but I definitely intend to perform a full head and face lather application since it worked so well this time.

It's no secret Barrister and Mann's Glissant has been my benchmark soap base for some time.  However, in recent months L&L Grooming, Catie's Bubbles, and Mickey Lee Soapworks have caught up with it, and some others are very close behind.  Noting that this is my first impression, I genuinely feel Barrister's Reserve surpasses Glissant by a small, but notable margin in at least a similar degree to which Glissant surpassed white label.  It's my understanding there's no danger of the Barrister's Reserve base supplanting Glissant, and I believe this is due to the complexity of manufacturing.

There's no question most seasoned wet shavers will at least appreciate Barrister's Reserve's performance and some may even be surprised by the step up.  However, this is also an ideal soap for beginners in that it's quite forgiving and extremely easy to lather in even less than optimal water conditions.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1901 on: June 17, 2017, 06:18:16 AM »
Mickey Lee Soapworks - Paradise Frost
Wolf Whiskers | Raptor | Black Wolf
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1902 on: June 18, 2017, 05:02:44 PM »
Tallow + Steel - "Himalaya"
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


As if I needed another shave soap, I've been anticipating the release of Tallow + Steel's latest creation.  There was a fair amount of hype, but honestly, the performance of my favorite artisans' products have reached a level that frankly has very little room for improvement.  Of course, just recently, Barrister's Reserve has demonstrated to me the bar could still be raised, so I remained realistic with my expectations.

Presentation and packaging was never lacking in Tallow + Steel even as freshmen.  That same attention to aesthetics has carried over to their latest rollout.  The trademark logo impression in the soap itself is gone due to the much softer consistency.  High-contrast labels featuring product-specific artwork while adhering to a minimalist theme adorn a product that's worthy of it.

Even though in most cases it's completely futile to attempt to derive an opinion of a soap's fragrance from the dry puck alone, we all still take a whiff.  I'd ordered the whole 5-fragrance set, but I'd decided I would start with "Himalaya" due to its inclusion of labdanum, with which I apparently have a love affair.  The documented scent notes are, "amber, cedarwood, benzoin, tobacco, labdanum, vanilla, jasmine, rhododendron, palmarosa, cardamom, beeswax, sugandha kokila." I don't even know what a couple of those are, but here's my take: Upon lathering, there was a blunted cedar fragrance that was initially soft and almost creamy.  Benzoin and other resinous notes built up during the face lathering and sharpened it up a bit giving way to a more realistic cedar and tobacco.  While labdanum was certainly detected, it didn't dominate but rather seemed to hold everything together. As the shave progressed, there was a suggestion of vanilla and caramelized honey.

Loading this new base was intuitive.  I had good results by starting with a well-wrung out damp knot, but leaving some visible moisture on the tips.  This small bit of water on the tips prevented the hair from digging out hunks of the soft soap and facilitated a generous load in a short amount of time.  Face lathering was easy and yielded a dense creamy lather that looks like most of my other favorite soaps that contain clay.  It wasn't particularly thirsty, but it did have a remarkable range, taking on more and more water without threatening to break down.  The slickness was phenomenal, allowing me to take long sweeping passes on my dome. As I rinsed between passes, I noted an excellent residual slickness.  The aforementioned characteristics notwithstanding, the post-shave is probably the most outstanding aspect of this soap.  I was left with a luxurious soft, moisturized scalp and face.

The water-based splash is the usual yellow tinted liquid that's thicker than water and it only takes about 3 shakes to cover my entire scalp, face, and neck.  Having experience with this sort of nutrient rich post-product, I applied it to damp skin and noted light tackiness for about 10 minutes.  After which time, my skin felt silky smooth.  The scent strength of Himalaya is about a 4 on a scale of 1-5.  The spicy resinous fragrance is well-matched to the soap, but it seems to showcase the spiciness a little better.  The drydown is that of cedarwood and the faint darkened honey notes I had detected in the soap.  I still detect the fragrance slightly after 5 hours.

I was a fan of Tallow + Steel's prior base, so like others, I was perplexed by the  abandoning the old fragrances and introducing a new base.  Now, I can say, I get it. At least with regard to the base.  This base is superior to the old one particularly in the post-shave arena, and I wouldn't change a thing.  As to the fragrance, "Himalaya" is artfully crafted and unlike anything they'd offered in the past.  I look forward to trying the others.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1903 on: June 20, 2017, 08:53:49 PM »
Barrister's Reserve "Cool"
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)


Offline bella

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #1904 on: June 21, 2017, 05:58:55 PM »
My husband cut himself badly with a safety razor and as a result won't let me shave him with said safety razor.

He really enjoys a good headshave.  How can I convince him the safety razor is a-okay and smoother than his drug store razor?