Author Topic: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)  (Read 741577 times)

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2250 on: September 17, 2019, 06:40:44 PM »
Catie's Bubbles | Confiant
Cadman-Beau | Synthetic
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2251 on: September 21, 2019, 04:54:11 PM »
Catie's Bubbles | 322 (Luxury Cream)
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone 322 | AP Shave Co. SilkSmoke 28mm
Phoenix Shaving | Ascension DOC SS/Cu | Triad Rolling Hex SS
Astra Superior Platinum



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2252 on: September 23, 2019, 08:28:16 PM »
Tallow + Steel | Sicily
Phoenix Shaving | The Starcraft | Roswell Hybrid Synth
Phoenix Shaving | Ascension DOC SS/Cu | Triad Rolling Hex SS
Shark Platinum



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2253 on: September 25, 2019, 07:41:30 PM »
Catie's Bubbles | Vintage for S.E.R.F.
Ever-Ready 100T | Elite Razor Manchurian
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2254 on: September 28, 2019, 04:11:36 PM »
Phoenix and Beau | Star Noir
Cadman-Beau | Synthetic
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE



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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2255 on: October 01, 2019, 06:13:51 PM »
Phoenix Shaving | Harvest Moon
Kent V8
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



Last year I acquired Phoenix Shaving's "Harvest Moon" EdP.  Given the abundance of seasonal offerings this time of year coupled with my over-abundance of product, I just couldn't bring myself to purchase another soap at the time.  I'm glad I did pick up the EdP, because after having been using this fragrance intermittently for a year, I just can't get enough of it.  While the profiles are vastly different, Harvest Moon rivals Declaration Grooming's "Dark Fall" as my all-time favorite Fall fragrance.

Harvest Moon is a prime example of how documented scent notes sometimes fail to demonstrate the true nature of a fragrance. The notes are as follows: oud, green tobacco, black currant, tobacco absolute, hay absolute, Peru balsam, smoke, Spanish moss, and white sage.  That certainly sounds like something I would enjoy, but I was not prepared for what I’d experience.

To my nose, Harvest Moon opens with a vaporous sweet petroleum teetering between creosote and gasoline.  This description may very well steer some away, but it artfully achieves this vibe in a very similar fashion of that of classic Fahrenheit.  This peculiar fuel note quickly ushers in a faint bit of smoke before becoming less volatile and more metallic.  The metal element is that of warm oily steel with wet flinty and graphite notes.  This subtle transition all occurs over a period of about 30 minutes before succumbing to a damp earthy fragrance with pleasant judicious fresh tobacco, green herbs, and sweet sun-baked alfalfa that emits a subtle buttery note.  I enjoy this middle phase for a good 3-4 hours, at which point the EdP doesn't lose momentum but rather darkens a bit more with rich, dark, wet earth soaked in Dr. Pepper, of all things, along with freshly split resin-weeping wood.  This quintessential Fall-themed dry down lasts for about another 3 hours before fading.  Harvest Moon begins very industrial, painting an image of steam-punk machinery monstrosities before evoking memories of well-trodden theme park grounds on a brisk cool night and ultimately relenting to a natural warm, grassy earthiness with gentle wafts of cured smoky aromatic tobacco.

In addition to this being a very pleasant fragrance, the performance of this EdP is outstanding.  It has enough character and variety such that I don't get tired of it or noseblind.  It's understandably marketed as a Fall fragrance, but over the past year, I've found it to be quite versatile.  Despite the unapologetically bold, possibly polarizing opening, I find that element is short-lived enough such that casual or even professional wear are still appropriate.

This is one of those unique instances in which I've extensively used a fragrance before ever owning the soap or splash. I've become so enamored with Harvest Moon, I couldn't avoid purchasing the whole set this season.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2256 on: October 04, 2019, 05:40:15 AM »
Australian Private Reserve | Fenchurch
Wolf Whiskers | Raptor | Black Wolf
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE



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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2257 on: October 06, 2019, 07:39:00 PM »
Talbot Shaving | Authors Ridge
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Copper Matrix | AP Shave Co. SynBad 30mm
Ever-Ready SE | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE
Maol Grooming for Talbot | Authors Ridge



I've been applying the Authors Ridge splash throughout the week.  I immediately liked it, but I've come to appreciate it much more after a few applications.  This is one of the more complex fragrances in my den, but it does require a little olfactory training.  Initially, I felt like Authors Ridge was missing top notes, and as a result I thought this was a creative gag in making it "headless" (It's been done before, though). However, the more I use it, more is revealed.  There is a rather dominant presence of rich earth and suggestions of oak lichen and mushroom, yet subsequent uses allow my nose to accept these base earthen elements and thus appreciate the distant muted and dry floral and crushed succulents.  Then the woods become more distinct with resinous qualities approaching that of cedar with spicy and bitter highlights.  The earth is also contrasted by what seems to be clean ozone to me.

The soap echoes these notes, but it's even more challenging to discern the discrete notes.  In fact, had I not already experimented with the splash for several days prior to using the soap, I would probably not have been able to pick out more than earth and woods.

Authors Ridge is a very pleasant autumn fragrance and everything about it is quite natural, albeit dark.  This is something someone who lives in the woods will likely lose track of after a couple hours of being outdoors. However, it's so well blended and complex that I propose this will speak quite differently to others.

Catie's Bubbles' wonderfully gothic 322 will not soon be usurped as my all-time favorite dark fragrance, but Authors Ridge is among its court.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2258 on: October 08, 2019, 07:45:36 PM »
Oaken Lab | Conservatory
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



Conservatory is my introduction to Oaken Lab, and I obtained this imported product for retail price as an exclusive from West Coast Shaving.  It's my understanding the artisan is a US expatriate residing in Jakarta, Indonesia.

This V2 tallow base effortlessly loads into a damp knot and intuitively yields a dense paintable face lather.  It can accept a generous amount of my hard water, but it can be broken as I discovered in my pre-shave test lathers, the purpose of which are to explore a soap's characteristics and limits.  First-pass and residual slickness are both above average, but not competitive with the highest tier artisans. This should hardly be viewed as a knock, but it's what benchmarks are for.  Post-shave is very nice and probably just in the door of the luxury realm.

The fragrance of Conservatory opens as bitter, sharp citrus somewhere between lime and under-ripe orange. The citrus relents to a leafy herbal before ushering in a bold floral neroli.  The neroli is paired with patchouli and the result just brushes my upper threshold for sweetness before being tamed and grounded in understated dry resin wood and amber.

The paired water-based splash is refreshing despite being free of artificial cooling agents, and it leaves my skin feeling well hydrated and completely devoid of tackiness or greasy residual.  The scent of the splash matches and unfolds similarly to the soap. Amber and neroli is still detected at around the 3 hour mark before fading.

Conservatory is an excellent set to serve as an introduction to Oaken Lab, offering an above-average performing soap base and a pleasing early Autumn fragrance.

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2259 on: October 12, 2019, 04:59:34 PM »
Declaration Grooming | Darkfall
Leo Frilot Tru-Stone Copper Matrix | AP Shave Co. SynBad 30mm
Ever-Ready SE | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE
L&L Grooming | Darkfall



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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2260 on: October 23, 2019, 05:49:16 AM »
Phoenix Shaving | Monstroso
APShaveCo. Elegant Emerald | SynBad 24mm
Durham-Enders | Enders Speed Shaver | Schick Proline B-20



Last week I received this Monstroso set as a surprise gift from the very kind folks at Phoenix Shaving.  I don't make a habit of accepting gifts from artisans, and in fact, I usually insist on purchasing it.  It was made clear that in this particular case this was nothing more than a gift, and to do anything other than to graciously accept it would be an insult.  It goes without saying that there was never a directive, implied or otherwise, for me to review the product.  In fact, typically the sure-fire way to ensure I do not review a product is to give it to me free of charge.  I've yet to have my integrity questioned vis-à-vis honest reviews, and I attribute that not only to my conduct, but also this policy.  That said, I do find it difficult to keep my mouth shut when I encounter a product that I enjoy as much as this one.  So, consider the following an unsolicited fragrance impression.

The proprietor was aware of my enthusiasm for all things vetiver, so he was confident I would like this.  It is true that I'm keen on vetiver, be it the light and grassy variety all the way to the dark and smoky.  When used wisely, they all have their charm. In the case of Monstroso, it's twisted.  I wore the splash for several days prior to using the soap as per my usual behavior when exploring a new matched set.  After having used the splash several times and the soap twice, I can confidently say that the two mediums reveal the fragrance very similarly. 

Monstroso opens with a distinct and bold freshly turned damp earth that is devoid of smoke and slightly grassy.  From there, things get weird.  In my experience, vetiver will either elbow its way in and dominate an accord, or insidiously transform or even adulterate accompanying notes.  In the case of Monstroso, the initial somewhat brutish earthy introduction mysteriously cascades to a peculiar vegetation-type musk with something vaguely nectarous approaching plum before succumbing to something strangely and pungently fauna in nature. This, folks, is what vetiver does to apricot.  It's altered such that it's familiar yet unrecognizable at the same time. While this pleasantly bizarre fragrance hovers about, a rich bittersweet blood orange encroaches. This is completely out of the usual order, but yes, the citrus enters late. The splash has the usual PAA strength and longevity, so after a couple hours, this waxing and waning aberrancy of a fragrance settles to an innocuous earthiness that lingers before becoming lost at around 5 hours.

Monstroso does not follow the rules, and with all due respect to the artisan, there's bold and then there's irresponsible.  A gamble was taken in this construct.  I think most vetiver-heads will ultimately enjoy this, but there will be plenty that hate it--particularly those that aren't willing to invest the time to understand it.  Not unlike The Monster that influenced the fragrance.

Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2261 on: October 25, 2019, 07:35:33 PM »
Declaration Grooming | Massacre of the Innocents
DrivenLegend Red & Black | APShaveCo Tuxedo 30mm
Ever-Ready SE | Delta Echo | Gem PTFE
Parfums de Marly | Herod



I am quite pleased to have acquired one of the latest offerings from Declaration Grooming.  Massacre of the Innocents is influenced by Parfums de Marly's Herod EdP.  After using MOTI just once, I was compelled to pick up a bottle of Herod.  This is a lovely cool weather fragrance. The soap and splash do a nice job of approximating the essence of Herod but certainly can't begin to replace it as there is a level of depth and intricacies that are simply not possible to duplicate in the soap or splash medium.  I will thus restrict the following impressions to that of MOTI which is quite enjoyable by itself, but if you find this to be pleasant, I strongly encourage you to acquire a bottle of Herod.  You will not be disappointed.

Massacre of the Innocents opens with spicy, woody vanilla with an understated cinnamon.  It falls just sort of "festive" to me, and for that I'm grateful. From start to finish, the fragrance maintains this warm, cozy, smoky vanilla, but the cinnamon fades in favor of wood and resin.  This is soon met with a well-blended tobacco and cedar essence that's reminiscent of a walk-in humidor where the sweeter blends are just inside the entrance.  The whole accord swells and ultimately acquires a conservative pleasant musk base without abandoning the warm, smoky, vanilla and woods.

With regard to performance, this was my second use of Declaration Grooming's "milksteak" base, and it continues to impress.  It loads a bit more intuitively than Icarus, but from a personal perspective, nothing will replace the unique marshmallow cream loading of their prior bison tallow base.  Milksteak lathers just as easily, requiring a typical amount of water, but going just a bit beyond that will raise the performance level.  The results are a dense, creamy lather that's quite reminiscent of Icarus.  After having used this twice, I feel like the primary and residual slickness that was already outstanding in Icarus, has been improved upon with Milksteak. The post-shave is stellar, but given the performance of today's most elite artisanal soaps, I can't say Milksteak has made a dramatic level change.  It's just difficult to even conceive of something beyond perfect which is where I believe about five artisans are right now, yet they're all quite different.  Some post-shaves have a natural feel, as if I'd never dragged a blade across my scalp.  Others provide a moisturized sensation, and some of those last all day long.  Then there are others that leave my scalp feeling silky.  I really enjoy all of these "types" of post-shave. My impression of Milksteak is that it's in the "natural" category.  I don't want to be the one to pump the hype brakes, because this base is without question one of the best I've used.  However, it seems like a natural progression from an artisan who is attempting to tweak as opposed to overhaul. 

One aspect I have not mentioned, yet is probably important to some, is the animalic coloring from the Icarus base.  I did note this with Icarus, particularly with it's debut fragrance, Santal Auster, but it didn't particularly bother me.  I found that airing out the tub was enough to mitigate this effect.  In more robust fragrances like Darkfall, I never picked up on these overtones as compared to the bison base.  It is my understanding that Milksteak strives to overcome this hurdle, and it may have been the impetus for the formula change.  I certainly looked for the animalic coloring in this base, but I could not detect it.  Since I was never particularly sensitive to it, I'll let others make that judgment.  As per Jason Rudman's review of the unscented Milksteak, it would seem to be a non-issue, now, and that alone may very well be the reason some "upgrade" their favorite scents from Declaration Grooming.

BONUS PIC


Offline 120inna55

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2262 on: October 28, 2019, 04:46:34 AM »
Phoenix Shaving | Astro Traveler
Kent V8
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74



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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2263 on: October 30, 2019, 06:26:06 PM »
Phoenix & Beau | Specialist
Cadman-Beau | Synthetic
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE



Ah, Specialist.  I've literally been waiting a year for this to come to fruition.  Having been a fan of Phoenix & Beau's soaps for a while, now, Specialist has to be my most anticipated flavor.  Last November, included with my Cadman-Beau brush shipment was a surprise sneak peak at this unique fragrance.  From there began my personal campaign---also known as nagging---to get Specialist stateside.

This is an intoxicating fragrance to say the least.  The remnant of my sample resides on my dresser, and I take a hit a least a couple times per week.  The documented notes are vanilla, vetiver, malt whiskey, hops, barley, and tobacco leaf.  I know, I said unique, but that line-up isn't particularly foreign to the wet shaving artisan world, yet the sum of the parts is something I have never had in my den.  One might expect this to be a rather boozy accord, and there wouldn't be a thing wrong with that, but it doesn't entirely invest in that direction.  Specialist certainly opens with a sweet vanilla cognac that's immediately reigned in by a deep smoky musk and earth.  The barley and hops are distinctly present, but instead of imparting beer, they lean into the vetiver resulting in a more vegetation and grain iteration.  Meanwhile, the musky vanilla and cognac crescendo to something akin to patchouli, but with a modicum of sophistication.  Patchouli isn't a documented note, but I can't deny it's influence.  As beautiful as this opening and mid are, I probably enjoy the dry down the most.  The vanilla becomes more malty and creamy and continues its dance with the smoky vegetation and toasted grain, but this moderates and allows the rich fresh green tobacco to drift in.

Specialist is brazen, but it's not offensive.  That said, it probably lends more to a casual or date night fragrance as opposed to stifling professional occasions.

This was worth the wait, and I'm so grateful to West Coast Shaving and Phoenix & Beau for working out a way for the US to have access not only to these wonderfully performing soaps, but also the paired alcohol-based splashes.

DISCLOSURE:  I purchased this Phoenix & Beau Specialist soap and splash set for retail price directly from West Coast Shaving.  I received no gifts or other incentives in exchange for my comments.

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Re: SAFETY Razor Shave of the Day (SOTD)
« Reply #2264 on: November 02, 2019, 06:39:36 AM »
Movie Night SOTD
Declaration Grooming | Sellout
BSB-Ti | HMW Extra Dense
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE
Creed | Aventus (16D01)