The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
cmh737 Straight Venture Journal Continued
- Thread starter cmh737
- Start date
I have to admit, “shaken” sounds very interesting. I have intended to make a carnation scented soap but keep putting the EO back. Carnation can be quite spicy and fun (more than simply floral). A nice fragrant “gin” scent sounds very complementary to a spicy carnation...the outlier is the gunpowder. I have been searching for a great gunpowder scent but never find what I am looking for (want the spent gunpowder smell not the “fresh” scent). I getting very picky about buying soaps these days because I realize I can spend a little less on the pure fragrances and add them to my own soap ...if I really want the scent and assuming it’s an easy one to find.
while we are on the “I wish I had” train. I wish I could find a nice Hoppe’s 9 scented soap. I’ve heard of one but don’t care for the maker, if I bought it and it wasn’t perfectly scented I would be stuck with a soap I don’t care for.
while we are on the “I wish I had” train. I wish I could find a nice Hoppe’s 9 scented soap. I’ve heard of one but don’t care for the maker, if I bought it and it wasn’t perfectly scented I would be stuck with a soap I don’t care for.
Great Shave today Chris..and the Avon Lime aftershaves seem to all be great!
Thanks, Josh.
Carnation can indeed be "quite spicy and fun". I think that the Alpa Carnation aftershave is my favorite of the Alpa line.
And I'll be interested to see if you can find a nice Hoppe's 9 frag.
Thanks, Chris.
Thanks, Don.
Thanks, Craig.
Thanks, Chad. We had a great time.
Thursday's shave:
First off, we had a great time with family yesterday. I hope everyone also had an enjoyable and safe holiday as well.
Now, the shave....
I opted for a DE today, and went with the black handled super speed. I also decided to try a Parker blade, since folks have been chatting about it. And for the soap, I chose to use the final Wild West Shaving Company soap that I had recently received, "The Virginian".
I had a perfectly delightful, 2-pass shave (w/some clean-up) that left me with a no-compaints-whatsoever DFS(+). The Parker blade I plan to use again tomorrow, but my initial impression is that it's an acceptable blade. It's not the sharpest, but certainly not the dullest, and it's pretty smooth.
The soap was a solid performer today; the Rudy Vey w/Shavemac DO1, 2-band flat top whipped up a very nice lather. Here's my breakdown:
Scent: From the label: "black currant, vanilla bean, amber, vetiver, nutmeg." Let me state up front that I definitely dig this one, even though the SOS maxes out at 3/5 on the SOS scale; but that's OK with this one. As to what it smells like to me....well, I really don't detect any vanilla bean, nor nutmeg, nor black currant for that matter, as individual notes, but the amber and vetiver are mixed together nicely. Furthermore, if I didn't know what the scent description was and this was a blind test, I'd have thought bay and green tobacco in the mix. Anyway, I dig it.
Performance: Solid Tier 1 for this one. On Chad's scale, I'd say Tier 1, Box 4. WWSC is a solid soap, and if you find a scent that really "wows" you, it's not a bad buy. Like I mentioned yesterday, it doesn't make it to "elite" status for me. But then again, they all can't be elite, can they?
Post shave was Via Barberia Fructi serum. I had gotten this about a week ago, but forgot to mention it in my write up from the other day. I know Eric and Dave and others rave about this serum, but for my ole mug, it's "meh" in terms of performance. I've tried it mixed with water, and straight by itself; just a little, and then more so. But it leaves my ole mug with a tacky feeling, which I don't like, so Sampson's unscented balm to the rescue. Also, the scent of this is straight-up grapefruit, and a tart one - not sweet. And the scent fades almost immediately, so it won't interfere with any post frag choice. I went with Bleu de Chanel EdP, and that's always OK with me.
BTW, I had an excellent mail call today! I'll be including some of the items over the next few days.
First off, we had a great time with family yesterday. I hope everyone also had an enjoyable and safe holiday as well.
Now, the shave....
I opted for a DE today, and went with the black handled super speed. I also decided to try a Parker blade, since folks have been chatting about it. And for the soap, I chose to use the final Wild West Shaving Company soap that I had recently received, "The Virginian".
I had a perfectly delightful, 2-pass shave (w/some clean-up) that left me with a no-compaints-whatsoever DFS(+). The Parker blade I plan to use again tomorrow, but my initial impression is that it's an acceptable blade. It's not the sharpest, but certainly not the dullest, and it's pretty smooth.
The soap was a solid performer today; the Rudy Vey w/Shavemac DO1, 2-band flat top whipped up a very nice lather. Here's my breakdown:
Scent: From the label: "black currant, vanilla bean, amber, vetiver, nutmeg." Let me state up front that I definitely dig this one, even though the SOS maxes out at 3/5 on the SOS scale; but that's OK with this one. As to what it smells like to me....well, I really don't detect any vanilla bean, nor nutmeg, nor black currant for that matter, as individual notes, but the amber and vetiver are mixed together nicely. Furthermore, if I didn't know what the scent description was and this was a blind test, I'd have thought bay and green tobacco in the mix. Anyway, I dig it.
Performance: Solid Tier 1 for this one. On Chad's scale, I'd say Tier 1, Box 4. WWSC is a solid soap, and if you find a scent that really "wows" you, it's not a bad buy. Like I mentioned yesterday, it doesn't make it to "elite" status for me. But then again, they all can't be elite, can they?
Post shave was Via Barberia Fructi serum. I had gotten this about a week ago, but forgot to mention it in my write up from the other day. I know Eric and Dave and others rave about this serum, but for my ole mug, it's "meh" in terms of performance. I've tried it mixed with water, and straight by itself; just a little, and then more so. But it leaves my ole mug with a tacky feeling, which I don't like, so Sampson's unscented balm to the rescue. Also, the scent of this is straight-up grapefruit, and a tart one - not sweet. And the scent fades almost immediately, so it won't interfere with any post frag choice. I went with Bleu de Chanel EdP, and that's always OK with me.
BTW, I had an excellent mail call today! I'll be including some of the items over the next few days.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice shave and love the photo
Some great shaves, Chris. I love the Easy Aces balancing act in the pic lol. Sorry to hear that the Fructi didn't perform as well for you. I've really got to invest in a bottle of Bleu de Chanel. I've smelled it and it is downright amazing, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Just got caught up, Chris. Nice shaves, and nice reviews. Glad you got to enjoy the 4th of July.
Glad you liked the shave even though the scent of the soap is a little less than definitive. Love the pic also!
Thanks, Craig.
Thanks, Eric. And no worries about the Fructi. And yes, you "need" to get some Bleu de Chanel. But make sure that you get the EdP, and NOT the EdT; there's a huge difference.
Thanks, Chris.
Thanks, Randall.
Thanks, Don.
I'll be interested to read your impressions. I must say, that the Private Reserve No.2 is one that I totally dig.
