Today was the day! I was very excited to get a first shave with my newly arrived Tangerine Creeper from the Holy Black. I normally don't like to fall into the hype of things...but I really wanted to try a premium product from The Holy Black and not just one of their standard items. I was lucky enough to be one of the few who were able to purchase Tangerine Creeper.
It was hot today...108 degree Heat Index! I mowed the neighbor's yard because she left town for a week. I dug up a sizable tree that had been planted for a couple of years and then replanted it in another neighbor's yard across the street. It was a hot day and I was wore out from yard work. It was the perfect opportunity to try out my new Tangerine Creeper!
My gear today consisted of the following:
Gillette Slim Adjustable
Voskhod New Blade
Stirling 24 mm Fan Finest Badger
The Holy Black - Tangerine Creeper Shave Soap
The Holy Black - Tangerine Creeper Aftershave
Let's get the scent out of the way. I LOVE THIS SCENT!!! Oh man...it's some good stuff! The soap has a very strong citrus scent to it. On the fresh side of citrus and not so much on the muted or cologne type. Just a fresh tangerine...with a nice creaminess scent to it. Not sure how to describe it...but it smells creamy. The totality of the scent is much like an Orange Creamsicle! This soap smells like a yummy summer treat. The scent out of the container is very pronounced...not overly strong...but pronounced. If I am grading on a scale of one to five...this is somewhere between three and four and leaning closer to four. Once lathered, the scent stays strong and that pleasant scent that brings me back to childhood remains.
This soap lathers very easily, and I wonder if I loaded and lathered optimally. No matter, the process was a good one! An approximate 20 second load and that was all I needed. I began to paste the soap on my face and it was apparent that creamy wasn't going to be an adjective assigned just to the scent...but how the soap feels also! I was able to build a very nice lather in no time at all. The soap is a bit on the thirsty side...but that isn't a bad thing. I expected a blast of cooling sensation upon building lather, but I didn't feel much in the way of a tingle until I got the lather almost built. But then there it was. The chill really does creep up on you. It is different than a menthol blast. It is much more of a pleasant experience. The cold stays with you well after the shave! Three passes in typical fashion...north to south...horizontal...and then south to north.
All the elements of a great shave were there: Slickness, cushion, protection, and residual slickness. I would love to do a rating scheme, but I find that I am more of a big picture kind of guy, and minute analysis is just not my thing. What about my favorite quality of all...post shave feel? I'm not going to say that this was the best post shave feel I have experienced in a soap...because it isn't. But it is better than most and I am very happy to shave with this again. Tangerine Creeper hits all the notes. Can I say that this soap is "Elite?" I'm not there yet. It's only my first shave with it and I like to get at least three shaves in before I assign greatness. But I can safely say that according Mr. Vargo's rating scale...this is safely in Tier One and towards the top of it, if not THE top.
The aftershave comes in a very large bottle! I have no idea exactly how much is in that bottle...but it is a very generous portion, which is fine by me as the cost of this product is one of my more expensive purchases. But I consider it a luxury product and as such, you get what you pay for. I paid a substantial sum...I got an excellent product. If there was a complaint here at all. It would be the lack of a re-stricter at the opening of the bottle. Again, I love the way this smells...Creamsicle all the way! Several glugs of that precious elixir and I washed my face with it. My face was still in chill mode from the shave...and the aftershave blasted me from the Danger Zone into Freeze Zone...again...a very pleasant cooling sensation.
A couple things on this aftershave. First of all, while the scent is very pleasant and I am really a big fan...there is no longevity to the scent. Less then an hour later and I couldn't tell you what it smells like, but only from memory. So that is really a down side for me. But I believe this would pair well with many citrus scented EdTs, Colognes, or EdPs. It would probably pair well with many aftershaves that project better than this. The second thing is...if you are looking to cool down...this stuff is for you. Thirty minutes after application of the aftershave, the chill was going strong. Forty-Five minutes later, the cool was fading, but was still present. It was an hour later when I failed to notice any effect.
So what do I think? This stuff is good. This stuff is real good! With all the attention to detail in the packaging and with how the soap performs. And even with how much product is given to you. Do I think Tangerine Creeper warrants the price tag? I sure do. I would
buy this stuff again in a heartbeat!
https://youtu.be/UBolctP4o3M
