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#2235 by 120inna55 on 29 Jul, 2019 20:28
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Ariana & Evans | Summer Fig
Leo Frilot Captain Marvel | AP Shave Co. Cashmere 30mm
Phoenix Shaving | Ascension DOC SS/Cu | Triad Rolling Hex SS
Gillette | Platinum-Plus (Brazil)
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#2236 by 120inna55 on 10 Aug, 2019 16:25
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Catie's Bubbles | Blugère
Phoenix Shaving | The Starcraft | Roswell Hybrid Synth
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
I know there are other fragrances featuring blueberry, but not being a legitimate frag head, I wasn't aware of them. It wasn't until Mammoth Soaps introduced Mood Indigo that I realized what an interesting element blueberry brings to a fragrance. Under the right circumstances, blueberry can bring more than whimsy to the table.
When Catie's Bubbles began dropping hints about their meet-up exclusive, "Jersey Blues", I was hoping to someday see it offered to the public. "Blugère" is indeed the same product with a, dare I say, even more creative name.
Blugère utilizes Catie's Bubbles' lauded Luxury Cream base. I've spoken highly of this base many times previously, so in the interest of time, I'll just reiterate that this is one of my favorite bases. I have seborrheic dermatitis involving my scalp, and while shaving alone is useful, no other product staves this off better than Catie's Bubbles' jojoba-rich vegan bases.
Catie's Bubbles' EdPs are usually a safe blind buy for me, so I went all in for the full set. I began using the EdP for a couple days prior to even cracking open the other products. When time and the product allows, I really like exploring a new set this way. It allows me to fully appreciate the intended fragrance initially. Then, I can compare that to what's lost in the soap base. Blugère opens, as you would expect, with an unmistakable natural, fresh blueberry note. Almost immediately, there is a competing sharp, citrusy bergamot. As simple as this sounds, I would be happy if it never developed beyond that. It is gourmand with measured sweetness, and bright enough for Summer as the bergamot is almost lime in this combination. Eventually, this bright happy opening relents to a stable sustained woodiness with controlled floral and herbaceous peppery lavender. This accord is the longest lasting element of the fragrance, and it's absolutely lovely. The dry down allows an earthy but clean vetiver to dominate with intermittent dry grassy elements. I continue to enjoy this parfum concentration just beyond a 10-hour indoor active work day.
The soap is very similar in the opening, but the citrus is less prominent allowing the blueberry through even more. Overall the stepwise unveiling of the elements is very similar to that of the EdP but of course on a shorter timeframe. I do believe the soap is slightly less resinous in the mid. Regardless, if you're in love with the soap, you will not be disappointed in the EdP. The splash, to my nose, is indistinguishable from the EdP in fragrance as I noted no coloring at all. It's just simply a lighter/weaker concentration. I did experiment by foregoing the EdP layering and found that the splash lasts about 4 to 5 hours under similar circumstances. It can't sustain the middle nearly as well or as long as the EdP, so it's still not a substitute for people that really like this fragrance of which I count myself as one. -
#2237 by 120inna55 on 12 Aug, 2019 20:24
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Mickey Lee Soapworks | Réunion
APShaveCo. Elegant Emerald | SynBad 24mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
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#2238 by 120inna55 on 17 Aug, 2019 18:16
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Mickey Lee Soapworks | The Drunken Goat
Ever-Ready 100T | Elite Razor Manchurian
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
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#2239 by 120inna55 on 19 Aug, 2019 19:48
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Ariana & Evans | Spartacus
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Hallows | AP Shave Co. SilkSmoke 28mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Creed | Aventus (16D01)
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#2240 by 120inna55 on 21 Aug, 2019 20:43
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Phoenix Shaving | Black Bot
RazoRock 400 | Noir Plissoft
Durham-Enders | Enders Speed Shaver | Schick Proline B-20
Leeming Pfizer | Black Belt Cologne (1968)
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#2241 by 120inna55 on 24 Aug, 2019 16:00
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Declaration Grooming & Chatillon Lux | Colonia Balsamica
Island Bladeworks | Bullwinkle | TGN Finest
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
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#2242 by 120inna55 on 27 Aug, 2019 06:23
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Kingsley For Men
Phoenix Shaving | The Starcraft | Roswell Hybrid Synth
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Floïd Blue
Took one for the team with this shave. I'll explain later.
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#2243 by 120inna55 on 28 Aug, 2019 19:11
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Barrister and Mann | Terror
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Hallows | AP Shave Co. SilkSmoke 28mm
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Barrister and Mann | Hallows
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#2244 by 120inna55 on 31 Aug, 2019 18:54
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Moon Soaps | Old School
Rubberset 200-4 | Omega Boar
Durham-Enders | Enders Speed Shaver | Schick Proline B-20
Ariana & Evans | Tertius
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#2245 by 120inna55 on 02 Sep, 2019 16:13
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Kingsley For Men
Phoenix Shaving | The Starcraft | Roswell Hybrid Synth
Phoenix Shaving | The Original Cube 2.0
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Floïd Blue
I've used PAA's original Cube sporadically, and the results have always been outstanding. I've used it less lately because I've just about eliminated sub-par soaps from my den. In my experience, the benefits of The Cube are less apparent when using a high performance soap that natively offers superior slickness and post-shave out of the box. Furthermore, being a shower shaver, my skin and stubble start off as a best-case scenario.
The Phoenix Shaving front man recently asked me to give their "new improved" Cube a whirl pre-release. To my surprise, I received 2 Cubes, one mentholated and one non-mentholated. An obvious difference between the New Cube is the size. The original was 5 oz and this one is 8 oz, but it still fits well in my hand. The other obvious difference is the nice box with the crazy beautiful classic sci-fi pulp art that's become a trademark of PAA. The Cube itself is shrink-wrapped, but I don't recall a box being included with the original, and certainly not one with this level of art. The box, of course, is secondary, but presentation is still important to me. Fair or not, going into it, I'd expected a huge leap in performance. This simply wasn't the case. Using my usual upper-level soaps, The New Improved Cube did contribute to a bit of a lather boost on a few soaps and slightly increased slickness across the board. I didn't particularly notice much change in post-shave. The bottom line is, my skin can only be so slick and post-shave can only be so soft and luxurious before it tops out. As compared to the original Cube, I did notice improved slickness, but again, it wasn't a huge leap. This speaks not only to the outstanding artisanal offerings currently available, but also to the performance of the original Cube. While this isn't what the proprietor wanted to hear, he verbalized his gratitude for my taking the time to evaluate it and for my candor. This is why I'm always happy to be included in PAA's test groups, as the artisans seem to genuinely appreciate thoughtful feedback regardless of the outcome.
Following that conversation, while digging through a junk drawer, I came across this "Kingsley For Men Shaving Soap" puck that I'd received as a stocking stuffer several years ago. It's made in China and is distributed by "Harry D. Koenig & Co., Inc. East Rockaway, New York". As far as shaving soaps go, it has a rather pedestrian ingredients list: sodium palmate, sodium palm kernelate, water, glycerine, sodium chloride, fragrance, sodium benzoate, tocopheryl acetate, tetrasodium EDTA, and tetrasodium etidronate. The production date is September 15, 2011. The 2 oz. hard puck was shrink-wrapped in plastic. Dry or lathered, I detect no fragrance.
I'd never intended to use this soap, but an idea occurred to me. I decided to take one for the team and shave with this soap by itself and then later have a do-over with The New Improved Cube.
I have no intention of extensively reviewing this soap, but I need to at least convey my impressions to establish a foundation before moving onto the Cube's contribution. This is a hard puck. I couldn't immediately locate my Old Spice mug, so I pressed this down in a regular bowl that had remnants of an unidentified sample of another soap. This prior soap served to hold the puck in place, but it was not otherwise loaded into the knot. The Kingsley loaded similarly to other hard pucks I've used. The resulting lather was pitiful. Despite my efforts, I could only get an airy, fluffy "lather". This felt like attempting to lather a bath bar. The protection and slickness were nil. The shave was precarious, but I was especially cautious. I settled for a serviceable shave, and as such was without incident. There were no nicks or irritation. Not to toot my own horn, but I can attribute this solely to my technique.
Two days later, I essentially repeated the shave with the same gear and a new blade. Again, as per my usual routine, the shave immediately follows a shower and I remain in the shower (with the water off) for the shave. This time I used the non-mentholated New Improved Cube 2.0, applying a light layer all over my face and scalp. Once again, I loaded the knot with the Kingsley and began face and scalp lathering. I noticed an immediate improvement. The lather picked up the grey tint of the charcoal pre-shave and it quickly resembled real, usable lather. Where this lather was previously bubbly and fluffy, it could now be described as creamy. I had no illusions, this didn't turn into CK-6, A&E, Icarus, Excelsior, Talbot or Catie's, but it did transform an essentially useless product into something quite good and in the realm of Stirling. My pattern is to rinse between passes, and it's a high pressure shower head that does the deed. I expected this would wash away any remnant of the Cube from my skin, but as with good soaps, the slickness persisted despite the rinse. Additionally, the Cube had been incorporated into the lather in the knot so the benefits were repeated on the second (and final) pass. This was essentially as good a shave as I'm accustomed. The post-shave is where I notice a significant difference from the original Cube. The jojoba presence is certainly there, and I've come to learn how natural a post-shave can feel when jojoba is involved. Beyond that, there is a persistent moisturized feel that lasts several hours. It's this aspect that is reminiscent of the CK-6 base.
While nothing I did is scientific, this worst-case scenario test made me a believer in the New Improved Cube 2.0. In fact, I now have mixed feelings because I regret having let go of some of my less-than-spectacular performers whose fragrances I otherwise enjoyed. Just like the Original Cube, you can expect The New Improved Cube from Phoenix Shaving to boost your lather's performance. You'll appreciate it more when using a sub-par or even inferior soap. Even the mid-grade products currently available can offer superb shaves, but often it's the post-shave that divides the high-performers from the mid-grades. The incorporation of this reformulated Cube seems to blur that line.
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#2246 by 120inna55 on 03 Sep, 2019 16:58
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Van Yulay | Smoking Hot Pineapple
Leo Frilot Captain Marvel | AP Shave Co. Cashmere 30mm
Durham-Enders | Enders Speed Shaver | Schick Proline B-20
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#2247 by 120inna55 on 05 Sep, 2019 18:47
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Viking Soap & Cosmetic - Ragnar
Phoenix Shaving | The Starcraft | Roswell Hybrid Synth
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Creed | Aventus (16D01)
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#2248 by 120inna55 on 09 Sep, 2019 19:14
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Storybook Soapworks | Shaken
Kent V8
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
Bonus B-Side Pic
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#2249 by 120inna55 on 11 Sep, 2019 18:18
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9/11 | Never Forget
Ariana & Evans | NYC
Leo Frilot Captain Marvel | AP Shave Co. Cashmere 30mm
The Durham-Enders | Enders Speed Shaver
Schick Proline B-20
B-Side Pic