SHAVEWIZARD'S THOUGHTS

[Shavewizard420]

GD Chypre. Grooming Deot is one of the best artisans on the market IMO. People are always compairing his various soap bases but they are all too notch IMO and right up there with the best of the best. Scent of this one is a woodsy pine that is complex and interesting. Amazing shave and forgot to use any A/S and skin was nice and protected all day long.

 

[GearNoir]

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Wholly update Batman! I have been WAY behind on posting shaves and have a whole lot of catching up to do.

This shave was with WTF Zu Zu's Petals and is a fresh green Rose scent. Soap itself is almost a cream consistancy and is much softer than previous WTF soap bases. Performance is good and is a artisan worth checking out IMO.
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Kshaveworks Black Orchid smells nice and a bit sinilar to CB Midnight Dreary. For some reason i find this soap base lacking a bit despite having some interesting scents to choose from. Project Leather was a good pairing for this type of sweet scent.
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PAA Sangre De Drago smells amazing and is a mix of Oud and Sandalwood. Performance of the PAA base is OK at best and find the CK soap base better IMO but the scent makes it worth wile.
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Wheat State Electric Lemon has a amazing sweet Lemon scent despite lemon not being one of my favorite citrus scents this one is perfectly executed. Performance is top notch and am a big fan of Wheat State Soaps.O69
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Tabac the old classic for this shave. Love it or hate it this is a classic soap that has been in production for a long time and has a soapy purfume scent. Paired well with AV Sport.

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Vreto Cedar Sandalwood for this shave. Had some lather issues latley which may be due to the cold water shaves but is seems the oils & butters in these soaps have been causing lathering issues withG50 many of my brushes despite multiple cleanings. This soap is very good and one that is lesser known artisan from Serbia and am proud to have a chance to try this great soap base. Scent is heavier on the cedar and is fairly strong.

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Ballenclaugh Woodsman excellent Pine Tar scent with a touch of citrus to round things out. Am a huge Ballenclaugh fan both the soap base and interesting scents make this artisan stand out in the crowd. Despite them not being mainstream they do have some solid fans out there and would HIGHLY recommend checking them out if you like scents that are different that most others.
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B&M Behold The Whats Is for this shave. This is a hard one to describe its sweet and smells a bit like a cookie but way more complex that that, nothing like you would expect from scent notes. The Florida Water went well with the scent.N44

Nice to see you pop in SW! Stellar lathers per usual!

You and @clyde72 and your guys’ massive update drops...two peas in a pod!

 

[Shavewizard420]

CBL Tabac Veg for todays shave. Have grown to really like this intoxicating scent mix of 2 classics, truly a unique concept. Soap whipped up a thick lather and the shave was great with no nicks or irritation. Finished off with some Project Leather.

Hope yall are doing well and getting the best shaves possible!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Hah

Nice to see you pop in SW! Stellar lathers per usual!

You and @clyde72 and your guys’ massive update drops...two peas in a pod!

Hahaha thanks brother! I was getting in a bit of trouble for being on the phone late at night which is usually when i post shaves so figured the "catch up" is the best way to get them posted as long as i dont get too far behind lol.

 

[Dave in KY]

Notes taken, thanks for the updates

 

[dangerousdon]

Awesome updates once again!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Notes taken, thanks for the updates

Awesome updates once again!

Thanks guys! There will be more to come here in the near future.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Country Club For Men Cypress & Spice for this shave. Love all the soap bases i have tried from this artisan and its too bad he is no longer making soaps under this name as they are worth checking out IMO.

Scent is Cypress & Spice of course and has a woodsy pine scent but the spice makes it much more tolerable than a straight up Pine scent. Strength is fairly strong and just opening the tub filled the den with the scent which is well done and plesent.

As for performance im not sure if this is the soap base with Greek Yougurt like the Dark Forest is, but besides the point, this stuff is a very good soap base. Whips up a thick lather with a quickness and soap can hold a crazy amount of water without breaking down. The shave went well and face felt great afterwards. Finished off with Siliski F&M post shave oil which paired well with the soap scent and provided a excellent "post shave".

 

[Shavewizard420]

Yesterdays shave was with Stache Soapworks Mystery Men. This is a great artisan soap available on Etsy for a affordable price, complex scents and great ingredients.

Scent of Mystery Men is WAY too complex to describe and has a crazy amount of scent notes almost to the point of being a jumbled mess but i appreciate the uniqueness of this scent, unfornuately this one lights my face up everytime i use it.

Performance is quite good and soap has some decent skin food but since it burns i had to rush the shave.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Todays shave was with Soao Smooth War Blend- Killer Shave Soap! This is one of the soaps i would grab if i could only choose a few soaps. Scent is a mentholated men's Aquatic cologne but with a lighter menthol than Brain Freeze made by the same artisan. Soap comes in a huge metal HTGAM type tin and is packed with over 9oz of soap.

Performance is top notch IMO and really like this one, the tin may help allow for a thicker lather due to the larger surface area to work with. The soap holds a good amount of water and keeps getting slicker the more you add to the mix. Did end up with a few nicks and weepers which usually happens when i use this particular injector. Still a refreshing shave nonetheless and finished off with a little Arko Maxium Comfort balm and some Fine American Blend A/S.

Hope yall had a swell shave!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Crown & Crane Deep Ellum for this shave. Crown & Crane is a HIGHLY underrated artisan IMO and they have interesting scents and offer both Vegan and Tallow soap bases.

Picked up this set 2nd hand and love the scent of Deep Ellum, it is a complex citrus scent that smells like a purfum royalty would wear, very well done scent IMO.

Performance is very good and whips up a thick lather with no issues. Lather can hold a decent amount of water and provided plenty of protection. Had a great shave with no drama.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Shave with PAA went surprisingly well comsidering that i dont usually care for this particular soap base (or artisan for that matter) but believe in giving credit where credit is due. This stuff starts out bubbly at first and required a bit of work to get the right conistancy but is worth the effort.

This scent is like the Arizona desert after some rain, floral ozone with some petrichoir notes, not something i would gravatate twards but is well fone for what it is suoopst to be.

The shave really did go well and managed a very close shave with no issues despite expecting some irritation it never showed up so am quite stoked by the results.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Ginger's Garden Haight Ashbury for this shave. This is the Vegan soap base that comes in a cool tub that can either pop off or twist which is different from any other artisan's packaging.

The scent of Haight Ashbury is Patchouli dominant with perhaps some Cherry or Almond notes and smells great but unfornuately it burns my skin pretty bad each time i use it so this will go into the "no-go box".

Performance is not bad but it makes a lather that is bubbly similar to Italian soaps and that is not what i prefer in a lather, GG also has a tallow based soap with Olive Oil that produces a decent lather as well.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Shannon's Copabia Rose for this shave. Decided to "BOMB" the soap with some Menthol Glycerin and accidently added way too much so the lather suffered as a result and was very thin and watery. Shannon's is a great artisan and highly recommend checking them out if you find a scent that sounds interesting as they are a teriffic value and performance.

Scent of this soap is of course Rose but is on the sweet side of Rose and reminds me a bit of Mystic Water Jasmine as both are fairly sweet florals. This is a great Rose offering and am glad to have had the opertunity to try this soap (thanks Shannon) due to the Maggard Meet and think this is one of their best scent offerings along with Haymarket Vetiver and Pineapple Bananna.

Despite the thin lather which was 100% my own fault, the shave was not bad although there was very little what pwople would refer to as "cushion" due to the consistancy.
Hope yall had a great shave!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Today is Saturn's Day so decided to go with CB Saturday Morning for a early shave.

Scent is straight up essence of Froot Loops and is unique in the wet shaving world. This soap comes in a huge 8oz tub which is a bit unnecessary IMO as that is way too much of 1 particular soap, glad that CB finally started doing smaller sizes (2oz in particular) as it is more practical for amyone with more than a couple soaps.

The shave went well and was a bit surprised as CB seems to be hit or miss as much as B&M, Stirling, or MW in my experience, some shaves turn out much better than others. Made sure to load enough soap to provide enough protection just in case and still only loaded about half of the amount pressed in the bowl making this stuff a decent value.



Hope everyone is in good health and getting the best shaves possible! Have a good one guys!

 

[Graybeard57]

CBL Tabac Veg for today's shave. Have grown to really like this intoxicating scent mix of 2 classics, truly a unique concept.

100% agree. Great scent, great lather.

 

[Graybeard57]

Shannon's Copabia Rose for this shave. Decided to "BOMB" the soap with some Menthol Glycerin and accidently added way too much so the lather suffered as a result and was very thin and watery. Shannon's is a great artisan and highly recommend checking them out if you find a scent that sounds interesting as they are a teriffic value and performance.

Never have seen this on the website. I'll keep my eyes peeled. I love her soaps, and Shannon is a first class artisan.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Never have seen this on the website. I'll keep my eyes peeled. I love her soaps, and Shannon is a first class artisan.

Im not sure if it is still available or not as it was one of the few Shannon's Scents that Maggards did not have. Sent her a email and picked it up at the Maggard Meet Up, it is a sweet Rose scent that is somewhat similar to Mystic Water Jasmine but a bit different, both have a very sweet floral profile.

 

[Shavewizard420]

RECENT SHAVES


Smitten Soapery Big Daddy for this shave. This artisan is currently making soaps under the name Zingari SOAPS and they are high quality products for sure.

Scent of Big Daddy reminds me of Viking Tree Of Life (Oakmoss Sandalwood) and is a sweet masculine scent.

Perfrmance is excellent and this is a VERY underrated artisan that doesnt get mentioned much (if at all) on the fourms which is a shame. Kokum butter is the 1st ingredient and as a result the lather can hold a crazy amount of water. Had a great shave and finished off with F&C Muir which is another discontinued product and has a interesting complex mysterious scent.

Hope yall had a great shave!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Soap Commander Renewal for this shave. The scent of Renewal is bright and fresh smells sinilar to Irish Spring. Was in a bit of a hurry so this was not the best shave but have had worse results in the past.