July Soap Theme: Shaves That Make You Feel Cool! - Or...Techichi/Ethos

[Dave in KY]

I have a Rolls Razor that I have used with mixed results. Those blades are half hollow/wedge. And by rights should be easy to hone up. It's like someone took a straight razor and cut a piece off the end. Kind of gave up on it. Those lather catchers are way cool though. So many garage tinkerers during the late 1800's and on. "Inventing" new and improved items. Love the marketing and claims that were made. Love the shave Dave.

True, thanks Ken

 

[MarkB]

3 July, 2020

Another "Old School Cool" Barbershop shave today in the same Barbasol / Rive Gauche vein. But whereas FIne's attempt is to go for the Rive Gauche vibe, I think the Phoenix Shaving aims more toward the original Barbasol scent. Hope everyone has a great day!

PAA "The Cube 2.0" / PAA "CaD" Shave Soap / PAA "Atomic Rocket" Brush / 1970 Gillette Super
Gillette Nacet / Alum / PAA "CaD" Aftershave Splash / PAA "CaD" EdP

​

 

[Fightingillini22]

3 July, 2020

Another "Old School Cool" Barbershop shave today in the same Barbasol / Rive Gauche vein. But whereas FIne's attempt is to go for the Rive Gauche vibe, I think the Phoenix Shaving aims more toward the original Barbasol scent. Hope everyone has a great day!

PAA "The Cube 2.0" / PAA "CaD" Shave Soap / PAA "Atomic Rocket" Brush / 1970 Gillette Super
Gillette Nacet / Alum / PAA "CaD" Aftershave Splash / PAA "CaD" EdP

View attachment 28927​

I haven't had CaD since it was known as Barbersoul but I absolutely loved the scent. Definitely that traditional Barbasol scent. I may need to pick it up again...

 

[Maryland998]

@Dave in KY
My first “Cool” Shave of the month.

Mama Bears Lime Ice Soap
Germania Cutlery Improved Eagle Razor
Avon Oland AS
Razorock 400 Brush
Mentholated soaps are ok. But I prefer to get my cooling effect in my aftershaves.
Hope you all had a good day today.

 

[Dave in KY]

@Dave in KY

 

[MarkB]

4 July, 2020

Fireworks scented shave soap? How "cool" is that??

Yeah I sprung for the Phoenix Shaving Fireworks shave soap. Had to try it out! Couldn't resist! It does capture the smell although it's subtle.. It's not like sticking a spent Roman Candle tube up each nostril but you know what it is. A hint of something citrusy in there as well. Or it may just be the soap base. Yeah, it's a gimmick.. But the Crown King base gives a great lather (I like it just as much as the CK-6 base personally). HAD to go with the "Atomic Rocket" brush because, well what else would I use on Independence Day?!?! Went with a cooling splash of Aqua Velva and finished with a spritz of CK One.

Hope everyone has a great day!

PAA "The Cube 2.0" / PAA "Fireworks" Shave Soap / PAA "Atomic Rocket" / 1968 Gillette Slim
Gillette Silver Blue / Alum / Aqua Velva "Ice Blue" Aftershave Splash / CK One EdT

​

 

[dangerousdon]

Razor: Merkur Progress
Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (2nd Shave)
Soap/Cream: Barrister and Mann - Terror
Brush: TSC 2nd Anniversary Brush
The Ultimate Aftershave: Barrister and Mann - Terror

​

I am finally beginning my July themed shaves. And I decided to pull out my absolute coldest software that I had. The Terror set by Barrister and Mann is just that. I'll explain. first off...this soap performs just as you would expect. Pretty darn good. Terror is in their Excelsior version of shave soap. If you follow along with B&M then you will probably know the difference between this version and another version. Sorry to say...that I do not. All I know is that several years ago...B&M was all the rage and I tried a couple of their soaps. It was okay...but really no different than the many other soaps that were on the rise at the time. I had my favorites...and so never thought twice about them. Fast forward...if this Excelsior soap is base is indicative of their quality...then yeah...it's pretty darn good. Better than most...but not as good as a few.

Anyway...The scent notes on this soap are subtle enough and if I hadn't already known what they were, I probably couldn't tell you...I would have just said..."cold." But alas, I believe the scent profile is supposed to be Frankincense, Cold Water (whatever that smells like), and Peppermint. Again...all the scents are super subtle and I am pretty sure that if you wanted to wear any other scent with this soap and aftershave, you could.

But the real story here is the cold! The frigidness of this set as a whole. Saying that this is my coldest set is kind of an understatement...but it's not because of the soap alone. To be honest...the soap is cold...by it's not the coldest. I think Chiseled Face/Groomatorium is probably colder in the soap format. What the Terror soap does is that it builds up in intensity as you use it. But it isn't unbearable. Where this set really gets you is the aftershave.

OMG!!! The Aftershave! Okay...again...not the coldest out there upon initial splash. But this stuff lasts. And what I mean by lasting, is all day long! I love the way it feels on you. It is brisk and cold. Again...the scent likely won't interfere with any others. But you feel the cold...and you keep feeling it. And keep feeling it! Upon application...I washed my hands...twice. And several times during the day (above and beyond my COVID-19 prevention). And every time I touched my face...or dampened it with water...or sweat...the cold would invigorate. Like I said I kept washing my hands. At some point I was asking myself "why is this still activating and why is it on my hands all the time after I wash my hands?" Then it hit me (yeah I am a little slow sometimes)...I KEEP TOUCHING MY FACE! Exactly what you are not supposed to do during a pandemic...right? Just made me realize how often I really do touch my face without realizing. The other thing...mask wearing...yeah this was interesting. While wearing my mask yesterday...my face was in permanent freeze mode. Recycling my own air in the mask kept activating the cooling agents in the aftershave and felt like I had this cold ring on my face from the bridge of my nose to below my chin! Let's just say that it was an interesting experience. For those who wish to experience this arctic response on your face...I guess B&M makes an additive for your shave called Terrorade. Not sure if it has the same intensity as what the set has...but if it does...you are in for an experience.

back to the shave...I had several days of growth...and I usually get really good shaves after plowing through days of growth. Yup...ended up with a mostly BBS shave and my face felt good all day...despite the Arctic Sensation.

 

[MarkB]

5 July, 2020

Techichi shave today. Both with the Tech Hive Brush and with the 1968 Gillette Slim I bought from his eBay site. Also "cool" with the help of the Phoenix Shaving Cube preshave soap.

PAA "The Cube 2.0" / RazoRock "American Barber" Shave Soap / Techichi Tech Hive Brush / 1968 Gillette Slim
Gillette Silver Blue / Alum / RazoRock "American Barber" Aftershave Splash / Fine "American Blend" EdT

​

 

[BarberDave]

06 July 2020
Feather ASD2 / Feather Hi Stainless (4)
Matt DeRuiter Purple Neon / Amack Synth
The Holy Black Lavender Creeper Shave Soap
The Holy Black Lavender Creeper Aftershave Splash
Penhaligon's Bayolea EdT

"Cold Stuff"

Have a Great Monday Folks​

 

[Dave in KY]

Monday July 6, 2020
Razor: Kriss Kross/G Injector
Blade: Schick Injector (?)
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia
Soap: Tonsorial Williams With 444 Cooling Gel
Aftershave 1: Humphrey's Alcoholado Maravilla
Aftershave 2: Skin Bracer
Talc: Skipped
Fragrance: Ferrari Scuderia Black

 

[BarberDave]

07 July 2020
1924 Ever-Ready Shovelhead / Gem Blade (1)
TSC 2nd Anniversary Shave Brush / Blue Synth
CBL Iron Throne Shave Soap
Captain's Choice North Aftershave Splash
Penhaligon's Juniper Sling EdT

 

[dangerousdon]

Razor: Feather - ASD2
Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless (New Blade)
Soap/Cream: The Holy Black - Tangerine Creeper
Brush: Tech Hive Synthetic Tuxedo Beehive 26mm Shaving Brush
The Ultimate Aftershave: The Holy Black - Tangerine Creeper

 

[MarkB]

8 July, 2020

Good morning all!

I'm finally getting some feeling back in my face after this morning's shave. I always use the Phoenix Shaving "Ice Cube" preshave soap and that stuff is definitely cold. But today I also used their Chill Mill which is literally a menthol crystal pepper mill!!

Hope everyone has a great day!

PAA "Ice Cube 2.0" / PAA "St. Martin's Land" Shave Soap / Techichi Tech Hive Synth / 1968 Gillette Slim
Gillette Silver Blue / Alum / Vintage Avon "Weekend" Aftershave Splash / Brut EdT

​

 

[dangerousdon]

Razor: Feather - ASD2
Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless (2nd Shave)
Soap/Cream: The Sudsy Soapery - Twice Mint
Brush: Tech Hive Synthetic Tuxedo Beehive 26mm Shaving Brush
The Penultimate Aftershave: Humphrey's With Hazel
The Ultimate Aftershave: Proraso Aftershave Lotion (Green)

Another shave from last night. I got done with mowing the lawn and thought it was a really good time to shower and shave. So I took a cold shower (okay...I took the coldest shower I could considering water out of the tap this time of year isn't really cold at all) and then got to shaving afterward. I wanted a "Cool" shave to go with the shave theme this month, so I pulled out one of my favorite smelling soaps...Twice Mint. This stuff smells just like (as you probably already guessed) Double Mint gum. That great scent or peppermint and spearmint. This particular scent in the soap has real nice sweet edge to it that just makes it intoxicating!

I used the Tech Hive brush again to build a nice lather. I still think I prefer tallow or animal fat based soaps over veggie soaps, but honestly...this stuff...while veggie (mostly I think...I believe it does have lanolin in it which is an animal product...just a wax and not a fat) is pretty darn close to a lot of really good tallow based soaps and actually better than a lot. Anyway...the Tech Hive did exactly what it did last shave...built a whole mess of lather! Yeah...I am already sold on this guy. Great weight in the hand and wonderful balance. But it just feels right. A bigger handle for a bigger guy. And I have to say...that the 26mm knot seems to be a whole lot bigger than a 24mm. Not just two millimeters bigger...but a while lot bigger.

I just went three passes this time with the ASD2. And after my second shave with the Feather Blade...I am starting to believe that @BarberDave is on to something by using a blade that isn't as sharp. Again, I got a really good shave up top...but on the neck portion...not as smooth as I would have liked it and a bit more irritation too. There is very little blade feel...if any at all. I don't want to say that you are shaving blind here...but I think I keep adding more pressure (especially in the neck region) to compensate for not feeling the blade. This is something I want to correct. Overall, mostly positive with this shave.

I finished off my shave with a few splashes of Witch Hazel and some nice glugs and slaps or the Proraso. I don't know why I don't use Proraso Aftershave Lotion more often. Man that stuff makes my skin feel great. And the eucalyptus and menthol in it really cool things off! Three passes and a slap and man...this DFS was ready for the world!

 

[BarberDave]

 

[ShawnF]

This is the first straight razor that I ever forged. Not the prettiest, but will give a 2 pass BBS, so it is functional at least. That's kinda cool.
The soap and AS are both unexpected out of the blue gifts from Dave in KY and Spider. Just being a part of the rest of the cool kids here is pretty cool!
The brush is made by Graydog, an excellent craftsman that likes to just give stuff away. Both the brush and the craftsman are pretty damn cool.



The fact that I was actually a published photographer yet that is the photo I posted, is not so cool though...........

 

[BarberDave]

CBL/ ETHOS COOL

 

[dangerousdon]

This is the first straight razor that I ever forged. Not the prettiest, but will give a 2 pass BBS, so it is functional at least. That's kinda cool.
The soap and AS are both unexpected out of the blue gifts from Dave in KY and Spider. Just being a part of the rest of the cool kids here is pretty cool!
The brush is made by Graydog, an excellent craftsman that likes to just give stuff away. Both the brush and the craftsman are pretty damn cool.

View attachment 29630

The fact that I was actually a published photographer yet that is the photo I posted, is not so cool though...........

Shawn...you are the coolest of the cool kids!

 

[dangerousdon]

CBL/ ETHOS COOL

Dave...you photos are amazing as always! And that is one really cool photo!

 

[bentheduck]

Hey I remembered today!

I guess I could've added some WS23 to the lather to actually make it cool, but Cool did the trick anyway. A fresh, clean scent to get the day started.