SHAVEWIZARD'S THOUGHTS

[Shavewizard420]

Grooming Dept Chypre- I sort of have mixed feelings about Grooming Dept. It is one of the only soaps I have reached the bottom of the tub, and with 6 shaves using only synthetic brush and no heavy loading, meaning this stuff can get used up VERY FAST. But on the other hand, the owner Mohomad is a great guy and sent me 2 tubs (Angel, Chypre) free due to the cancellation of Incense & Rose plus I think he may have heard my concerns about soap longevity. With all that being said, GD has some terrific soap bases and he is always working to make the best products possible so there are no hard feelings here.


Scent of this soap is fantastic! It is complex and muted pine woodsy that is different and unique. Strength is about 7.5/10 and is among some of my favorite piney woodsy scents.

Performance is very good as with all the GD soap bases, just pick a scent you might enjoy and don't worry about the base as they all perform great although they do have their slight differences. This one is Donkey Milk and has a lighter feel than the Duck Fat or Tallow and is closer to the Lamb Tallow base than any of the others. Tried to be super careful not to overload the brush or use pressure and still came out with a nice lather. The Shave went well but did get a Nick right under my nose from getting a bit too close with the blade which was my fault completely.


Hope everyone has a fun & safe New Year and will catch yall in 2021!

 

[GearNoir]

Happy New Year SW!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Happy New Year SW!

Thanks man hope u had a safe & great new years!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Vreto Cedar Sandalwood- excellent performing soap from Russia/ Syria area (sorry I forget exactly where) have only tries this sample from this artisan so cannot comment about any of their other products, but this one is very good IMO.

Scent is of course a mix of Cedar & Sandalwood and is woodsy and smells great. About 7.5/10 Strength wise would call it a fairly strong scent.

The Shave went well and paired it with this Lalique cologne which has a strong peppery note.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Tim's Soap



Tim's Soap Breakfast Of Champions- this artisan is sadly no longer in production. It's a shame since he made decent products and posted a very humble thank you to let everyone know he was retiring from the soap making business.

Scent of BOC is Coffee with some Sandalwood and is a warm Winter type of scent. About 5/10 Strength, it's not light but not overpowering either and with this type of scent the strength is good enough to avoid any possible skin irritation.

The Shave was marvelous and one of the most refreshing relaxing shaves I've had in a while. Was able to keep buffing until BBS without consequence which was surprising since I was pushing the limit. The lather has a fairly wide tolerance for water but does not require much to get the proper consistancy but will take what you can throw at it. This is a soap I tend to overlook for some unknown reason but the results speak for themselves.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Summer Break Soaps Back To School- this artisan is one with a Teacher themed products. The tubs they use are of a top quality sturdy firm plastic and feel much different from most other artisan tubs.

Scent of BTS is very unusual and I've posted my thoughts about this scent before, but just in case here it goes.... it is suppost to smell like Autumn with leaves notes, but to my nose it smells like a glue stick in the best way possible hahaha I know it sounds weird but it's what comes to mind. Strength is about 4.5-5/10 and is not a strong scent but neutral enough to be non offensive.

Performance is excellent and this is a soap base they should be proud of. Whips up a creamy lather and never got bubbly even to start with. Soap itself is mid firm texture far from being a croap. I also judge soaps on the "soap milk" which is the texture & appearance of the soapy water left in the sink and this stuff felt great even with just the residue. Shave went well but did get a small Nick which happens sometimes.

 

[Shavewizard420]

White Star Shaving Stick- I don't really want to say much about this one yet since I've only used it once so far and want to get a few uses under my belt before giving too many details. All I will say is this has a Barbershop scent that smells just like Mickey Lee Kraken, a fresh clean barbershop aquatic scent. The Shave went well and soap lathers quick and without issues but will wait to do a more through review.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Another shave with White Star Stick from Hendrix. In the fairness of transparency I did receive this soap for free, after noticing some ingredient errors on their Ebay site the owner Pete PM'ed me and offered to send me one to try as a thank you. This was very kind of him and I greatly appreciate the generosity of this community, it never ceases to amaze me.


The scent is Barbershop very similar to Mickey Lee Kraken, clean aquatic barbershop.

Performance is quite good. To be honest it's not WK or GD but then again very few soap bases are. It whips up a thick lather with no issues and provided a great shave. The balm is very good as well and is the perfect texture, it's thick and not too watery but absorbs quickly leaving a smooth finish. So far I have been happy with both products and look forward to future shaves as well as the opinions of others that have used these products.


Hope everyone had a swell shave as well!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Country Club For Men Cypress & Spice- unfortunately no longer in production, these products are excellent and have tried several soap bases from this artisan. This one has the ingredient list of the Vegan base but so does Barnstormer which says "Tallow" on the label but not ingredients, so who knows lol.


Scent is Cyrpess & Spice of course. Neither note dominates the other, it's slightly woodsy while being clean smelling at the same time and the spice just adds to the profile.


Performance is excellent IMO and managed a BBS with no problem. This soap lathers immediately and has a very wide water tolerance and could have gotten away with half the load time.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Stirling Gentlemen-

Nice masculine musky cologne scent. Is strong off the puck but tones down quite a bit once lathered.

Performance of Stirling is very good and is a excellent value. Plus the sample pucks last forever and they offer some of the best samples IMO since they are just small slice off a full puck and have the same diameter. Shave went well and finished off with matching balm.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Wholly Law Project Leather- its no secret WK is among many peoples top tier performance wise and for good reason.


Scent of Project Leather is anything but Leather to my nose. It is sweet and some say Cardamom and could agree. It smells like a relative of King Of Oud as both have a similar unique sweetness and both are excellent scents IMO.


Performance is right up there with the best of the best IMO. The cost of some of these soap bases has reached a new high the past few years, some justified some perhaps not depending on ones interpretation of value. This base is top tier and find it hard to believe it could get much better than this. Had a amazing shave and couldn't be happier with the results.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Van Der Lovett Grey Edition- inexpensive triple milled soap with decent performance and a scent similar to Stirling Sandpiper. This soap was a pleasant surprise and lathers well and reminds me quite a bit of Tabac/ Fine Soaps when it comes to lather texture. Very happy I decided to try a puck of this soap and have no regrets.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Stone Cottage Soapworks Champaka-

Picked up a handful of samples and 2 bath soaps from this artisan a while back. They have ran some excellent sales from time to time and have some great scents to choose from.


Scent of Champaka is incense/ Nag Champa. Strength is the strongest of the samples and would say about 6.5/10 and is much stronger once lathered compaired to off the sample. This is a well done incense scent and I tend to gravitate towards these kind of scents and find them memorizing.

The last time I used this cream I was not very impressed although it did provide a adequate shave, it seemed to be lacking protection. This was not the case this time and aside from it being a different scent, would have to say it's perhaps due to using a bit more product than before. Had a really good shave this morning and am quite surprised how smooth my skin is almost 20 hours later. The cream loads well and had plenty of lather leftover despite going heavy with the added water. Will have to experiment further with Stone Cottage since this was a much different experience this time which goes to show you should revisit products as things change, different razor/blade combo or loading technique could make all the difference in the world.

Hope everyone is in good health and getting the best shaves possible!

 

[dangerousdon]

Nice shaves as of late. And I have to agree with you. Revisiting soaps and creams that you initially didn't like sometimes proves that it might not always be the soap's fault.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Nice shaves as of late. And I have to agree with you. Revisiting soaps and creams that you initially didn't like sometimes proves that it might not always be the soap's fault.

Thanks Don! It is really hard to find a soap that doesn't work well these days, there are a few Olive Oil based ones (Etsy, eBay, etc.) But for the most part they are all capable of delivering a comfortable shave.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Mongo Ach Brito!

Fantastic newer soap from Ach Brito. Comes as a hard triple milled rectangle shaped soap in a sturdy cardboard box.


Scent is a very classy cologne, some spicy notes but hard to describe. Strength could be a little stronger since is smells amazing would say about 6/10 or so.


Performance is very similar to the Musgo Real Classic or perhaps Tabac. Whips up a creamy lather with minimal bubbles. Has a wide water tolerance but does not require a ton to get a decent lather.
The Shave went well and have no complaints!




P.S. here is a shot of the "shave milk" I referred to previously. Some soaps create a milky water like this while others do not. Not that one is better than the other but just an observation.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Gustafsons Blue Bayou-

This is one of those truly hidden gems in the wet shaving world. This soap base is still available from Square One Soapworks and there is very little info or reviews of this lesser known soap base. It comes as a 3 oz hard puck loose in a metal screw top tin for around $9 last time i checked.


Scent is a mix of Lavender and Cedarwood EO's. While I'm not usually a big fan of Lavender, this one is very well done and the 2 are perfectly balanced with each other. Strength is fairly potent 8.5/10.

Performance is top tier IMO. This base is a bit unusual in the way it lathers, similar to the older formula from Perfectly Natural, the lather is very creamy with a almost glue like texture. Combined with rediculous slickness this one has become a real winner in my book. The Shave was perfect and couldn't ask for a better BBS shave.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Razorock SMDF-

This soap comes in a 8 oz glass jar with metal lid. Can be found on sale from time to time but regular price is around $20. Texture is a firm croap with a putty quality.

Scent is suppost to be like SMN but haven't tried it yet to compare. Tuscan Tobacco Cologne with Menthol Camphor and Eucylyptus come together to make a unusual fragrance. It does have a slight medicinal herbal quality to it in a present soothing kind of way.


Performance is passable but not top tier nor is it trying to be. Lather starts out a bit bubbly but changes a bit with some work but has that typical Italian lather texture.

The Shave was OK but nothing special. Just a regular workmans shave and the slight cooling sensation felt nice despite the somewhat cool weather. The aftershave on the other hand is so cold it stings a lot. It has a fresh clean slightly aquatic scent that is lighter than many other CL aftershaves. Was planning on selling this A/S but my GF really likes the scent so IDK if I'm gonna keep it or not since the lid is cracked but doesn't leak and even though some tape should hold it, these factors have me thinking twice.


Hope everyone is in good health and gettimg the best shaves possible!

 

[Shavewizard420]

Nerves Of Hudson Street Velvet Jacket- This soap comes in a big 8 oz tub and is a pretty firm texture soap.

Scent is a tobacco type scent VERY similar to Lisa's Tobacco Bay and WSP Tobacco. Strength is pretty stout 9/10.


Performance is very good and don't think I have seen anyone complain about performance issues with this soap base. It lathers well and can handle about as much water you can throw at it without breaking down.

The Shave was very refreshing and was surprised at the number of times I could pass the razor without visable lather without causing irritation.

 

[Shavewizard420]

Tiki Vegan Fougere- this is the old Vegan base from Amanda before she sold the Tiki line to Rob from Chsiseled Face. The puck weighs more than the label states by an OZ or so, and is a hard firm puck that has some serious longevity. Got this one from the Maggard Shave Meet PIF table some years back and want to send a sincere Thank You to the mysterious person that PIF'ed this one. I have literally given away boxes of soaps to fellow wet shavers over the years and it is always cool when someone else finds a new favorite from a unloved product. It was a present surprise and wouldn't be one I normally would purchase but has turned out to be one of my prised soaps in the den, surprisingly as the ingredient list is simple as could be but the performance speaks for itself IMO.

Scent is a fresh Floral Fougere but different from most other Fougere scents. This stuff is STRONG and would rate it 10/10 Strength wise and the scent is front and center thru ought the entire shave.

Performance is excellent and would put this in the same class as Southern Witchcrafts, CC for Men, or other top notch Vegan soap bases that perform like tallow base. Did a stupid amount of buffing and did get a touch of irritation and rightfully so lol which was amplified by the Dragon Noir A/S which paired magically with the Fougere scent.

Hope y'all had a safe weekend