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SHAVEWIZARD'S THOUGHTS

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LEA Triple Milled Soap Puck- this soap has a strange interpretation of Sandalwood and is one of the only triple milled Mentholated soaps I can think of aside from Fine Snakebite.

The LEA puck is by far the weirdest soap I have encountered thus far. The first few shaves were excellent but after that I started having trouble getting a stable lather and was just a bubbly mess. It is one soap I was imbarassed about since I have it a positive rating early on and had to retract statements about this product after further testing. This is the only soap I have had it do a complete 180 degrees turn and have no explanation as to why.


Scent is a spicy sandalwood with a medium-light menthol added. It is cool to see a mentholated triple milled soap as there are not many options in this genre.

Performance was much better than the past few tried with this soap. I did a heavy load to ensure that was not the problem and it did make a acceptable lather. With that being said I'm still leaning towards this being a poor performing soap but can't pinpoint exactly what area it is lacking for some reason. Very unusual soap to say the least.
 
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Mick's Grooming Conor- excellent ingredient list with a sturdy tub and a slightly firm consistancy similar to Stirling or Shannons Soaps. Picked up 4 tubs of various scents and for $6.95 (still on sale) for a 5 oz tub they are a fantastic value without a doubt!

Scent of Conor is unique it is warm and a good scent for colder months. Strength is not too strong off the puck but gets stronger once lathered and could still smell it on the brush a while after rinsing.

Performance is very good. The lather does take some work but if you slowly add water and keep working it you will be rewarded with a creamy protective lather.

The Shave went well and finished off with some PDP 63 balm.

Hope y'all are doing well and getting the best shaves possible. 20210120_162053.jpg
 

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Stirling Haverford- I'm sure by now most of you know about Stirling and what a terrific value they are, but on case you don't here is a little info. They sell sample slices of pucks that last for up to 20 shaves for $3.50 or a full sized 5.8 oz tub for $13.60 or sometimes a 3 oz tub for $8. The samples they offer are the perfect size to see if you like the scent and give plenty of shaves to make up your mind.

Scent of Haverford is spicy tobacco cologne that is well blended and thought out. Strength is quite strong about 8.5/10.

Performance is very good and Stirling whips up a thick creamy lather with no visible bubbles and provided a protective top notch shave. Soap itself has a brown color and thr lather starts out brown and changes to white. Finished off with matching balm which doesn't hold the scent as well as the soap, despite shaking it up a lot the base ingredient scent is most noticeable but is a good balm nonetheless.

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Fitjar Harald Fairfagre- this is my first time with Fitjar soaps and have heard great things about this small batch artisan and was super stoked to find some on sale for $4 for 100g.


Scent is VERY LIGHT on both Fitjar soaps. This one has a peppery herbal citrusy scent that did get a bit stronger after I scraped a thin layer into the shave bowl, but would still put it at around 3.5/10.

Performance was quite decent. The ingredient list is a bit unique and didn't look at it till after the shave but it appears to be a glycerin based soap with tallow? and a little Olive oil added which is surprising since it doesn't really look or feel like a m&p base. The Shave went well but did get some minor itching sensation and will see if it happens again with future use, although it could have been caused by using a face scrub prior to the shave. So far I can see why people like this artisan the soap was slick and the residual slickness was obvious. Finished off with Lisa's Somali Rose balm.

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CBL Tabacveg- this is a very unusual soap both scent and color. It color has a slight light green tint which is cool.

Scent is a mix of Tabac and Pinaud Lilac Vegetol (The Veg) and the 2 mix together to make something special. It is floral but doesn't really smell like either of the 2 components. Strength is fairly strong without being overpowering, would say about 7.5/10.

Performance CBL soaps are very good. If you take your time slowly adding water you will be rewarded with a thick protective lather. The Shave went well with no major issues. Finished off with Masters Topaz which has a sort of musky powdery slightly Floral scent.
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Bronson Motordrome- first time with this artisan. Have read a few reviews but they have had some reformulations so not sure which version this one is.


Scent is nearly identical to TTFFC Wisp which is a clean aquatic. There are many similarities to Thru The Fire Fine Craft: ingredients look similar to older soap base, both have a "car" theme with similar graffics, and the scents are nearly identical to my nose.


Performance- the soap lathered up quick and without issues. The slickness was decent and it provided a very good shave. Where this soap is lacking is the "post shave" department, although I don't really Care much about post shave feel, this stuff made my skin feel very tight and more than most soaps. No chance of touch ups after rinsing as the razor was skipping like crazy. Despite the skin feel this soap still provided a very good shave but can't help but point out the obvious. Finished off with some A/V which felt great on the skin.


Hope y'all are doing well and getting great shaves!:)20210125_124539.jpg
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Smitten Soapery Big Daddy- this is the pre curser to Zingari Man by Heather Melton and is her earlier formula. Comes in a 4 oz tub with a rounded lid, picked this one up for around $10 which is a fantastic deal considering the performance.

Scent is sort of a Oakmoss Sandalwood and is a sweet smelling scent. Strength is mid range and neither light or strong would say about 6/10.

Performance is very good on this soap base. It can handle a ridiculous amount of water without breaking down and would put it in a similar category as Storybook Soapworks and Nerves Of Hudson St as far as water tolerance goes. This might be due to the high concentration of Kokum Butter. Anyways, had a decent shave with a slight burn from the Propoganda A/S which paired well with Big Daddy!
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Stirling British Leather- this is the old Stirling soap base. I got this from BST some years back along with Aqua DGO and this was my introduction to Stirling.


Scent is fantastic interpretation of a Leathery cologne although does not smell much like English Leather to my nose, but to be fair I have tried several EL soaps and none of them have quite captured that magic that is English Leather and seem to be missing that sharp citrusy top note. Still this is a interesting scent I like very much and appreciate it for what it is. Strength is 6.5/10.

Performance is very good on this older base. It does take a little work and the lather texture is dense without bubbles. Slickness is excellent and touch ups are easy to do with no visible lather without consequence. Had a great shave and hope you did as well!
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Have taken a break from the forums accept for some casual comments, but have still been wet shaving despite growing a beard and only shaving about half the surface area as before. It was a real struggle to grow a beard and I still want to shave it off just to have more area to shave lol. The funny part is I have been taking SOTD pics the whole time but haven't been posting them hahaha.

Hope everyone is doing well and missed y'all fine folks of the Cadre.
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Today's shave was Soap Commander Endurance. Haven't used a SC soap in a while and it's a shame since the performance is quite decent plus they were one of my first artisans (aside from Col Conk) and one with a simple recipe and a cool tub. Had a great shave and hope you did as well;)


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Yesterday was with Grandstaff Arymis a sadly discontinued artisan, Travis made some great soaps, was active on the forums, and his customer service was above and beyond the call of duty. As for the soap itself, it comes in a huge 8oz metal reel tin like HTGAM and is loaded full of soap. The texture is medium firm somewhere in the MW/Stirling range and only ended up using about half of what is on the bowl. The scent is complex floral that is different yet reminds one of Springtime, paired well with Dragon Noir which was the best pairing since I don't have many Floral aftershaves in the den. The shave went well but did get a small Nick on neck from too much buffing.

Hope everyone had a swell shave!:)
 
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Grooming Dept NYChypre for today's shave. First time with this particular scent or any Floral GD soap for that matter. Was curious to see Mo's interpretation of floral scents would be like, this one is complex and well done yet hard to describe but would say it is clean floral with perhaps some mild citrus. All I know is this ones a keeper for sure!

Performance is phenomenal which is typical of Grooming Dept soap bases at least in my experience. The soap itself is much firmer than other GD offerings somewhere around the Original Mallard texture which was great to behold.

The shave went well and paired it with L&L Mayflower which is another excellent floral scent.


Did some landscaping today so floral was appropriate choice. This has become another hobby of ours that has been kicked into overdrive this year. We stripped the side of garage and put in a bunch of flowers and about 5 bags of mulch. Was hard work but this year's garden is gonna be awesome. It's fun plus you have your own tropical oasis for a bit of peace & serenity when needed. Will post some pics soon .


Hope everyone is living life to the fullest and getting the best shaves possible!
 
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TSD Polynesian Red Mentholated- sad to see TSD soaps no longer being made. They may have took a while to arrive but They had some great scents and Joanna would make them to order.

Polynesian Red is a fruity scent that is fresh with a berry vibe. The added menthol crystals add a great deal to the enjoyment with a almost tear jerking effect. Shave went well with no complaints.
 
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Musgo Real Classic Cream- it's a damn shame what Musgo has done with their creams. The price went skyrocket and availability went down especially with certain scents. This sample is a few years old and has turned into a firm croap while still retaining that classic Musgo awesome scent.


Performance is decent and kind of wish I had picked up a full tube years ago. The triple milled soap is great but the scent of the cream is slightly different and prefer the scent of the cream. Finished off with matching aftershave. Planned on using the balm but decided it was unnecessary.
 
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