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CBLindsay's brain droppings
- Thread starter CBLindsay
- Start date
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice Chris! Good advice.
Oh, so you want some Tabacaveg?Great stuff, CBL....well, maybe not the, "I tend not to post as much" part; or the TabacaVeg.
I am sure that as things settle down I will post more. As it is I do so much of my viewing on my mobile devices which limits my ability/willingness to type. I swear my Ipad hates me and is engaged in a campaign to drive me bonkers by adding random characters and ignoring what i type. My ipad LOVES to insert commas instead of "m".
Oh, I still have some of your Tabacaveg soap...
And I totally get the "mobile devices" typing issue! I'm right there with ya on that point.
Awesome tips Chris...I need to add some of these to my routine!
Tuesday 8/21/18
Straight Shave #825
Another wonderful shave this morning, I am on a roll. The soap was the newest LNHC creation in Doc Holiday scent, lathered with the SV Artisan brush and shaved with one of my super old smiling faux frambacks. The razor isn't in bad shape for being more than 100 yrs old but it shows its age. The edge is wonderfully keen thanks to a little diamond balsa action and some good stropping.
Here are my thoughts about Lisa's new line of soap:
Packaging and new label is different from her "other" soaps but I like it. The larger tub holds a full 4 ounces (maybe more) of hot poured soap and provides a good loading surface. The soap looks very smooth and yields a little under light pressure...not super soft but not firm either.
The scent is nice but, as with almost all soaps, i find it a little on the lighter side of strength. As light as it is I can still smell it during the shave which is a good thing. Rather than call this a negative I will ask how others perceive the strength, I suspect my old snoz is just too lazy to fully grasp the scent being offered.
Loading was simple, the brush was shaken dry then swirled on the dry puck until a thick protopaste was formed on the surface and filling the bristles. No bubbles just thick paste, a lot like the old L&L soaps. A splash of water on the faceleft enough water to get the face lather going in no time, more water on the bristles took the lather to a new and better place. The first pass was admittedly a little on the dryer side (not dry, just dryer) so the lathe was very dense and creamy, almost like a soft cream cheese. After the first rinse the water left on my face was all that was needed to take the lather to the moon. The lather is a wonderful creamy greek yogurt type with plenty of slickness.
After the shave I used the left-over lather to smear on my face to enjoy while i cleaned up. The scent was still present but mild (some soap scent open up after plenty of water has been added, this one stayed consistent). The posts shave feel is VERY good, not heavy but noticeable and certainly enjoyable.
As far as the price to value goes I can only comment that I don't often buy soaps in this price range BUT Lisa's soap compares very favorably to those in this price range (Declaration Grooming, Tallow and Steel, Tabula Rosa ..and a few others). I am sure this tub will last a good long time and the performance is worthy of daily use, so the value is there. As always, her packaging and little touches just serve to improve the overall appeal.
As a side note...Being a soap maker myself (Yep, I consider myself a soap maker) I can appreciate the work and expense that went into developing this soap. Many of the ingredients she used aren't cheap, especially when ordered in smaller amounts, she went to great expense to R&D this soap. Lisa went places with this recipe that show a high level of skill and understanding of the craft, she didn't just tweak an existing recipe, she created an all new one that others will probably attempt to duplicate someday. I applaud her for a job very well done.
Straight Shave #825
Another wonderful shave this morning, I am on a roll. The soap was the newest LNHC creation in Doc Holiday scent, lathered with the SV Artisan brush and shaved with one of my super old smiling faux frambacks. The razor isn't in bad shape for being more than 100 yrs old but it shows its age. The edge is wonderfully keen thanks to a little diamond balsa action and some good stropping.
Here are my thoughts about Lisa's new line of soap:
Packaging and new label is different from her "other" soaps but I like it. The larger tub holds a full 4 ounces (maybe more) of hot poured soap and provides a good loading surface. The soap looks very smooth and yields a little under light pressure...not super soft but not firm either.
The scent is nice but, as with almost all soaps, i find it a little on the lighter side of strength. As light as it is I can still smell it during the shave which is a good thing. Rather than call this a negative I will ask how others perceive the strength, I suspect my old snoz is just too lazy to fully grasp the scent being offered.
Loading was simple, the brush was shaken dry then swirled on the dry puck until a thick protopaste was formed on the surface and filling the bristles. No bubbles just thick paste, a lot like the old L&L soaps. A splash of water on the faceleft enough water to get the face lather going in no time, more water on the bristles took the lather to a new and better place. The first pass was admittedly a little on the dryer side (not dry, just dryer) so the lathe was very dense and creamy, almost like a soft cream cheese. After the first rinse the water left on my face was all that was needed to take the lather to the moon. The lather is a wonderful creamy greek yogurt type with plenty of slickness.
After the shave I used the left-over lather to smear on my face to enjoy while i cleaned up. The scent was still present but mild (some soap scent open up after plenty of water has been added, this one stayed consistent). The posts shave feel is VERY good, not heavy but noticeable and certainly enjoyable.
As far as the price to value goes I can only comment that I don't often buy soaps in this price range BUT Lisa's soap compares very favorably to those in this price range (Declaration Grooming, Tallow and Steel, Tabula Rosa ..and a few others). I am sure this tub will last a good long time and the performance is worthy of daily use, so the value is there. As always, her packaging and little touches just serve to improve the overall appeal.
As a side note...Being a soap maker myself (Yep, I consider myself a soap maker) I can appreciate the work and expense that went into developing this soap. Many of the ingredients she used aren't cheap, especially when ordered in smaller amounts, she went to great expense to R&D this soap. Lisa went places with this recipe that show a high level of skill and understanding of the craft, she didn't just tweak an existing recipe, she created an all new one that others will probably attempt to duplicate someday. I applaud her for a job very well done.
Excellent Chris! I haven't used my soap yet, so I won't comment on performance. When I first saw the price I was a little concerned. But to be honest, I have spent more on soaps that have completely bombed...Tabula Rasa being on of them. So I reminded myself that I will likely have this soap for a while and like you said...the value is there. Plus there is that other thing...we actually like Lisa and want to support her business! ?
Tabula Rosa is a pricey beast isn't it. I love the scent of the the Steampunk and find the performance decent enough, not a top tier soap like you would expect from price per ounce but good enough for government work. Based on the scent alone I would love to get my hands on other scents but I can't bring myself to spend the coin on the stuff. I may just have to 3017 the tub and put it to rest ...it would probably last 2 weeks at best.Excellent Chris! I haven't used my soap yet, so I won't comment on performance. When I first saw the price I was a little concerned. But to be honest, I have spent more on soaps that have completely bombed...Tabula Rasa being on of them. So I reminded myself that I will likely have this soap for a while and like you said...the value is there. Plus there is that other thing...we actually like Lisa and want to support her business!
I had the cardamom scent once...loved the scent, but didn't care for the performance. But that was a while ago. It might have better performance now with a little experience under my belt. You ain't kidding though...that stuff is soft and doesn't last long!
I discussed it a bit in my video today. After thinking about it some more throughout the day, here are my thoughts:
I didn’t dislike it, but I can’t really say I enjoyed it either. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. It’s a nice enough scent, but I just found it to be a bit flat. With all that is in it, I expected more complexity. And I concur, it is very lightly scented. And there was some weird note, that popped in every so often, that was offputting. It was vaguely familiar, yet I could not place it.
i can’t say I found any part of the scent off putting. What I smelled was mostly “bright”. I am pretty certain my sniffer is deficient so I missed some of what is there.
From the tub the sample of smoked black tea is very exciting, if it sticks around during the shave I think I would end up liking that one very much.
I’d be hard pressed to come up with any performance flaws though.
Wow, I must be way off, because of the 4 scents I received, I found that one to be the most dull.
I've only sniffed the Smoked Black Tea, but I'm with Chris on this one...I am encouraged by the way it smells out of the tub.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Not sure about the Haute Leather from the tub, I want to lather it but happy so far with the Doc Holiday and sample sniff of the Smoked Black Tea. Wished I had got that instead of the Haute Leather right now.
I couldn’t wait so I did my nightly lather with the smoked black tea. The scent did pop soon as I wet the surface and started loading (I like the new sample container because I can load from it). The earlier pop of scent was much brighter than the scent as it settled in, I’ll have to circle back to it again to get a better read. As it stands now I am thinking I like the smoked black tea more but I need to get a better sniff of the Doc holiday before I make that call.
The nightly lather confirmed the “post lather” face feel, definitely leaves the old mug feeling fine.
The nightly lather confirmed the “post lather” face feel, definitely leaves the old mug feeling fine.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Uh oh...looks like a shaveoff is in order! Russian Tea vs Smoked Black Tea!
you KNOW I’m going to go all in on the CBL Russian tea right?