The Shaving Cadre
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Mystic May
- Thread starter Spider
- Start date
remfan170
Shave Newbie
May 7, 2026 (Mystic May Every Other Day)
• Bowl: Doug Smith Pottery – Ceramic Shave Bowl
• Brush: Semogue – 1500 (Boar)
• Razor: Ern – Model 421; 11/16, Full Hollow, Square Point
• Soap: Mystic Water – Oatmeal Stout
• Aftershave: Floïd – The Genuine After Shave
• Balm: Bundubeard – Reijger Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Olympic Orchids – Olympic Amber
Michelle at Mystic Water offers a few dozen scents of shave soap. This month, I’ve been trying to share the variety of types of scent she offers. She has some of the classics (e.g. Bay Rum, Barbershop) that seem to be constructed from commercially available fragrance oils. She also excels at building simple essential oil soaps, (e.g. eucalyptus and spearmint, prospect creek peppermint) florals, (e.g. Lily of the Valley, Gardenia), and evocative blends (e.g. Egyptian Dragon, Cuppa Joe).
Today, however, I want to focus on one of the most exciting parts of her lineup: her own personal creations that are unique in the shaving world. Most important is that these soaps are inspired by her memories, yet they take us to places we want to go again. We all know just how big a role nostalgia plays wetshaving world. Some of Michelle’s soaps take us where we want to go back again by recreating a specific moment or place in time. Today’s shave soap, Oatmeal Stout, takes me back somewhere I want to go by amalgamating a lot of moments from a weekly ritual I had many years ago with my buddy Mark.
When I saw the name, I thought—probably like you did—of beer. I became nostalgic for the weekly ritual that my buddy Mark and I had years ago, where we would go to our local, very classy bar/restaurant and have dinner and drinks. We would usually start with a “Sam Smith” (Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout). We would change up throughout the night: I’d find a hazy witbier to put an orange peel in and he would move on to a porter. Mark is a Texan, so lots of wings and Tobasco. I tended to shift around a bit, but I remember a lot of burgers. Our favorite part was that each time, the chef would make a special bread pudding with a different flavor. Sometimes it was a seasonal fruit, sometimes it was a spice, it was always delicious with a light vanilla custard. All those flavors of the table, disparate scents just came together over the course of the evening. Good conversation. Kindred spirits.
Oatmeal stout carries all those scents from those tables and evenings in one soap. As Michelle puts it: It is “A dark brown soap made with Guinness stout and scented with a smooth beer fragrance that is blended with creamy oatmeal, orange peel, butterscotch, farm-fresh milk, almond and vanilla. It doesn't smell like actual beer but it is a warm, comforting scent.” Gorgeous scent, a hug in a shave…I miss my friend. Life, as it tends to, took us in different directions. I owe him a visit…Excuse me, I have a phone call to make.
Have an awesome day, friends!
• Bowl: Doug Smith Pottery – Ceramic Shave Bowl
• Brush: Semogue – 1500 (Boar)
• Razor: Ern – Model 421; 11/16, Full Hollow, Square Point
• Soap: Mystic Water – Oatmeal Stout
• Aftershave: Floïd – The Genuine After Shave
• Balm: Bundubeard – Reijger Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Olympic Orchids – Olympic Amber
Michelle at Mystic Water offers a few dozen scents of shave soap. This month, I’ve been trying to share the variety of types of scent she offers. She has some of the classics (e.g. Bay Rum, Barbershop) that seem to be constructed from commercially available fragrance oils. She also excels at building simple essential oil soaps, (e.g. eucalyptus and spearmint, prospect creek peppermint) florals, (e.g. Lily of the Valley, Gardenia), and evocative blends (e.g. Egyptian Dragon, Cuppa Joe).
Today, however, I want to focus on one of the most exciting parts of her lineup: her own personal creations that are unique in the shaving world. Most important is that these soaps are inspired by her memories, yet they take us to places we want to go again. We all know just how big a role nostalgia plays wetshaving world. Some of Michelle’s soaps take us where we want to go back again by recreating a specific moment or place in time. Today’s shave soap, Oatmeal Stout, takes me back somewhere I want to go by amalgamating a lot of moments from a weekly ritual I had many years ago with my buddy Mark.
When I saw the name, I thought—probably like you did—of beer. I became nostalgic for the weekly ritual that my buddy Mark and I had years ago, where we would go to our local, very classy bar/restaurant and have dinner and drinks. We would usually start with a “Sam Smith” (Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout). We would change up throughout the night: I’d find a hazy witbier to put an orange peel in and he would move on to a porter. Mark is a Texan, so lots of wings and Tobasco. I tended to shift around a bit, but I remember a lot of burgers. Our favorite part was that each time, the chef would make a special bread pudding with a different flavor. Sometimes it was a seasonal fruit, sometimes it was a spice, it was always delicious with a light vanilla custard. All those flavors of the table, disparate scents just came together over the course of the evening. Good conversation. Kindred spirits.
Oatmeal stout carries all those scents from those tables and evenings in one soap. As Michelle puts it: It is “A dark brown soap made with Guinness stout and scented with a smooth beer fragrance that is blended with creamy oatmeal, orange peel, butterscotch, farm-fresh milk, almond and vanilla. It doesn't smell like actual beer but it is a warm, comforting scent.” Gorgeous scent, a hug in a shave…I miss my friend. Life, as it tends to, took us in different directions. I owe him a visit…Excuse me, I have a phone call to make.
Have an awesome day, friends!
