The Shaving Cadre

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ETHOS Grooming Essentials First Official Release

I recieved the Pineapple Noir soap and skin food today also! Frank, all I can say is well done on the scent. My wife kept taking the tub from me to smell it so it is a winner right off the bat! The scent is a very fresh cologne type scent, but also very unique. Also, the Lavender skin food sample you sent is really, really good! I told me wife "sorry but I am ordering this in a few weeks" and luckily she did not protest! I'll be using the Pineapple Noir for "E" day tomorrow. Thanks again and I will be reaching out to you in a couple weeks!
Thank you my friend for your order and I’m glad you like the Pineapple Noir scent but more importantly you got the misses approval lol
Enjoy your Sunday!

Frank
 
UPDATE:

It was brought to my attention by a member that the Shave soap scoop that is included in the boxes I shipped because it's clear almost got thrown away so I wanted to make you aware that during shipping it may move around so look for it. I'm going to order small plastic zip bags to put it in so it will more easily be spotted.

Any suggestions on improving anything in relation to ETHOS is always welcome!

Great shaves!
 
UPDATE:

Due to the latest news on the Coronavirus going into what they are decscribing as the worse 2 weeks starting this week I'm regretfully going to have to pick one day to ship out all orders. I got a lot of them in the last couple of days and I want to make sure that everyone gets their orders shipped out as soon as possible but I want to only expose myself one day this week to going to both the warehouse and the labs where I am around young people who don't wear masks and sometimes don't practice the 6 ft distance practice that is recommended. My normal shipping dates would be Tuesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays for anyone placing an order from Friday evening through early Tuesday morning. People placing an order from late Tuesday evening through early Friday morning would ship out on Friday afternoon. Because of this situation I'm going to move my shipping date this week to Thursday for all orders. This way I'm only going out of the house one day and not two. Also I've gotten a few people message me that are going to order today or tomorrow and if I get any others I can ship everything out on Thursday. I am a person who falls into the high risk category because of numerous times I had both Bronchitis and Pneumonia. Two of my friends who are Doctors have talked me into doing this to cut down my chances of exposure. I will get back to my normal 2 shipping days a week as soon as possible.

I hope you all understand this situation and I'm hoping and praying that after this next 2 week peak things will start to get better.

Please be safe and please stay at home as much as possible.

All the best!

Frank
 
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Good morning guys! Hope all are doing well under these conditions and a shout out and thanks to all those working on the frontlines fighting this monster!

So I have a question for the TSC members and I'd like your feedback.

Just so you know I have been keeping track of all the sales as far as which product is selling the best in both my first release of the Dragonsbeard products and this recent release of the ETHOS products and this has something to do with my question as I will explain.

So I have quite a few soap making friends that I'm sure you all know of and have had some good conversation with them along the way and not just about soap making but about our hobby in general. I've also gotten what I'd call some good advice from a couple that have been in the soap making business for a long time and I respect the wisdom they have gathered over time.

Ok so from what all the soap makers have told me the normal ratio of soap sales to aftershave sales seems to fall between 25 to 30% of their soap sales so in short if they sell 100 jars of soap they will sell about 25 to 30 bottle of the same scented aftershave splash or balm and if they offer both splash and balm it's a lot more splashes than balms. After looking over my ratio and sharing this info with a couple of them I got some good advice and suggestions and also from a couple of members who I ran this idea by before posting up this up. So my ratio of Soap sales compared to my Skin Food splashes is like 65% to 70% which my friends say is way off the charts and not the norm. Of course I'm happy about that so many people are feeling the benefits of real skin food ingredients which I thought was very much needed in the wet shaving community for a long time. So it got me thinking and after coming up with an idea based off of that data I went back and asked the same folks about my idea and they all thought it was a good one.

My idea is this. I've known a lot of Shave soaps that have come out in the marketplace that don't always have a matching aftershaves or balms and their are some companies that don't even offer aftershaves at all like MDC which came to mind first. So my thoughts are what do you think if I came out with more Skin Food splashes and not always with a matching shave soap? A couple of examples. So there are a lot of Fougere scented soaps out there and again my personal favorite is MDC's version they use in their soaps. Also a lot of citrus scented soaps and definitely a whole lot of cologne type scented soaps. Making the Skin Food splashes are a lot less time consuming and since I have my formulas down it's mostly just coming up with a aroma to put in the formula. I've got so many scents I'd like to get out there but making a soap that matched would be a big task! Now don't get me wrong I've already got various different soap releases planned for this year but what I'm talking about is just coming out with more Skin Food Splashes than soaps. This way folks could get the benefits of the ingredients and match up or at least compliment the scent with their other favorite shaving soaps. Another example. I've been a huge fan of MDC Fougere for a long time and I've alway wanted to have a matching aftershave so I could wear the scent not just shave with it so about 2yrs ago I started to play with different formulas and the last one I made came real close and that is an example of one of the scents I'd release as a Skin Food splash only. I have to much respect for MDC as a company to come out with Shave Soap with that scent as I've had a coupe of phone conversations with them and they are wonderful people!

With everything going on right now and more time at home I could work on some new scents as I've always loved playing with them as it's not only been a part of my business for over 27 years but a hobby of mine. So I'd really like some feedback from members on this idea as your words mean a lot to me and I'll take all comments and suggestions into consideration as food for thought.


Thank you all for your support with the ETHOS brand and I'll be the nagging vendor who keeps saying please stay safe and healthy!

Frank
 
Honestly Frank that sounds like a great idea. Two companies that I wish had matching aftershaves are CBL and Mystic Water. Now classic aftershaves like Avon, Brut, OS, and Skin Bracer are great for their versatility, but personally I like to buy soap and aftershave sets.
 
Gotta get some of this!! Unfortunately I must wait until this virus crap eases enough so the wife can get back to work full time. But when she does, that Pineapple Noir will be mine!!!
 
Frank I believe that increasing the skin food / splash options is a great idea as I really enjoy both the performance and scents I have tried. Congrats on having your splash / skin food well received. That's says a lot. OTOH would not like to see a ramp up in splash / skin food take away from your soap development and production.
 
Considering the popularity of your skin food, I think that would work out great. It would also be a good way to test new scents for popularity, and if demand was high enough you could, conceivably, create a matching soap. That is kind of the opposite of how it has normally been done, but it’s a great concept.
 
Congrats Frank! I’ve been looking forward to this release for a while, and will be ordering some as soon as I’m able. The Pineapple Noir sounds right up my alley.

I know these are very difficult times and I plan on always having the Pineapple Noir as a staple in the ETHOS line up of products. Also for selfish reasons as I love it and I'm going to make some other products with the scent. As one member said to me. I want to shave with it, Shower with it and wear it! LOL

Honestly Frank that sounds like a great idea. Two companies that I wish had matching aftershaves are CBL and Mystic Water. Now classic aftershaves like Avon, Brut, OS, and Skin Bracer are great for their versatility, but personally I like to buy soap and aftershave sets.
One of your wishes may come true soon and thank you for your input.

Gotta get some of this!! Unfortunately I must wait until this virus crap eases enough so the wife can get back to work full time. But when she does, that Pineapple Noir will be mine!!!
Totally understand this is making everything very difficult to deal with. Don't worry a Pineapple Noir has your name on it when your ready!

Frank I believe that increasing the skin food / splash options is a great idea as I really enjoy both the performance and scents I have tried. Congrats on having your splash / skin food well received. That's says a lot. OTOH would not like to see a ramp up in splash / skin food take away from your soap development and production.

Thank you for your feedback and I'm glad your enjoying the products. With that said and a good point as far as getting in the way of the planned release of the shave soaps that I promise won't happen. I'm big on matching sets so the extra Skin Food splashes will not get in the way.

Considering the popularity of your skin food, I think that would work out great. It would also be a good way to test new scents for popularity, and if demand was high enough you could, conceivably, create a matching soap. That is kind of the opposite of how it has normally been done, but it’s a great concept.

Excellent point and why didn't I think of that as it makes perfect sense. See that's why I need input from members like you!
Thank you!

Keep them coming guys! Your getting the old creative brain fired up! LOL
 
Sounds like a great idea. I was just looking around for an AS that was similar to Cyril Salter French Vetiver. May be a little too divisive to be a good product for you though.

I also owe you a sample of the yardley lavender for you to at least check out.

Bob
 
I definitely see how many soap makers would have aftershave sales lagging soap sales, but I see that primarily because there are a lot of scents out there that I’d love to shave with.... but I don’t want to smell like as the day goes on. So far, you’ve come up with scents that people would like using as a scent throughout the day.

Is also offer the converse in sales methodology. When I find a scent set that I love, I generally use about two bottles of a splash per one tub of soap. That’s just the way my personal usage goes. And that may offset some of the prior reasoning. But I know folks who splash with reckless abandon are probably the minority.

As stated before, there are many companies that do soaps only, and no matching splashes. I agree, that I’d love to see some matching splashes from Mystic Water and CBL Soaps.

Because of the lack of Aftershave from some artisans, and the scents I wouldn’t want an aftershave to match anyway, I find myself mixing soap and aftershave scents the majority of the time anyway. So, there is absolutely a market for Aftershaves alone with no accompanying soap, so long as they were general or universal scents with a broad range and not super specific scents.

I change my soaps daily.... rarely sticking with the same soap two days in a row, so I’m less likely to get the benefit of daily usage of your soaps, but I’m more inclined to use your skin food more often to get the benefits from that.
 
Sounds like a great idea. I was just looking around for an AS that was similar to Cyril Salter French Vetiver. May be a little too divisive to be a good product for you though.

I also owe you a sample of the yardley lavender for you to at least check out.

Bob

Hi Bob

I’m not sure what that scent is like but it may not be as difficult to do but I’d have to have a sample of it to know for sure and yes that vintage Yardley is a scent is like to smell as I’m wondering if it’s based on English Lavender more than French or Bulgarian.
Send them to me when you have time and I’ll let you know.
Thank you!
 
I definitely see how many soap makers would have aftershave sales lagging soap sales, but I see that primarily because there are a lot of scents out there that I’d love to shave with.... but I don’t want to smell like as the day goes on. So far, you’ve come up with scents that people would like using as a scent throughout the day.

Is also offer the converse in sales methodology. When I find a scent set that I love, I generally use about two bottles of a splash per one tub of soap. That’s just the way my personal usage goes. And that may offset some of the prior reasoning. But I know folks who splash with reckless abandon are probably the minority.

As stated before, there are many companies that do soaps only, and no matching splashes. I agree, that I’d love to see some matching splashes from Mystic Water and CBL Soaps.

Because of the lack of Aftershave from some artisans, and the scents I wouldn’t want an aftershave to match anyway, I find myself mixing soap and aftershave scents the majority of the time anyway. So, there is absolutely a market for Aftershaves alone with no accompanying soap, so long as they were general or universal scents with a broad range and not super specific scents.

I change my soaps daily.... rarely sticking with the same soap two days in a row, so I’m less likely to get the benefit of daily usage of your soaps, but I’m more inclined to use your skin food more often to get the benefits from that.


Excellent input KJ

I thought there might be a need for not only more aftershaves but for ones that offer more than scent and the normal basic ingredients found in many that are out there and in no way is that meant as a put down as I've got plenty that fit into that category that I do enjoy. I agree I need to create broad spectrum scents so they can be used with various different soaps but also be worn as is for both the scent and the skin benefits. Example I can do a Fougere that although it might not match any of the fougeres out there perfectly it still can be used with any soap with a Fougere or green fern type scent. A good broad spectrum citrus also should work. Another good example was the Dragonsbeard scent. It has a pretty good amount of all natural ingredients that each have their own unique notes to them and I've noticed people pick up on different notes within the scnet and refer to it when describing it to someone or in a review. It's actually not what I'd consider a very complex scent as lets some colognes that have 25 or more notes in them. I believe it can be used with a variety of different Woodsy, Leathery,Spicy, Tobacco or most any darker type scents plus to be honest I wear it as is because I happen to like it and In fact on a side note I'm thinking of putting together an EDP in that scent on the next release of the Dragonsbeard Shave Soap and Skin Food splash. Bottom line I like to use more natural scents than synthetics but I've mixed the two sometimes and gotten very good results in the past.

Thank you for the input as it's all good and gives me ideas.


Oh and guess what I found in the warehouse? 🚿🧼 LOL
 
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