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The 2nd Annual Williams Mug Soap 3017 Challenge!
- Thread starter Spider
- Start date
Day 4:
The last few days have been a mixed bag. I’m starting to notice that in order to get a workable lather, I have to load the mess out of it, which is lowering at its lifespan. If I continue lathering this way I will probably exhaust soap in about 2 weeks. As much as I’d love to exhaust a Williams puck as fast as humanly possible, I feel like it’s a little bit of a copout on my part. I may have to settle with a thinner lather to stretch the soap out a bit.
The last few shaves have been fairly normal, satisfying shaves. Yesterday and today I used the Merkur Progress with Gillette Minora blades and Paco Rabanne Pour Homme for the aftershave.
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The last few days have been a mixed bag. I’m starting to notice that in order to get a workable lather, I have to load the mess out of it, which is lowering at its lifespan. If I continue lathering this way I will probably exhaust soap in about 2 weeks. As much as I’d love to exhaust a Williams puck as fast as humanly possible, I feel like it’s a little bit of a copout on my part. I may have to settle with a thinner lather to stretch the soap out a bit.
The last few shaves have been fairly normal, satisfying shaves. Yesterday and today I used the Merkur Progress with Gillette Minora blades and Paco Rabanne Pour Homme for the aftershave.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
bosch
Master TSC Shave Member
I find the need to load a bit more during the shave itself, if the brush needs more.This...
Not at all. It’s bargain soap, and if you need to use more to get a great lather, so be it. It still works out to be way cheaper than most modern soaps in the long run.
I’ve been enjoying the Simpsons Brushes!
Two tips that might help your lather be even better.
Try a different brush. If you normally use a badger, try a synthetic, or vice versa. I find different brushes perform better for different soaps. For me, synths work better for Williams. Also, if it’s been a while…. Clean your brush. Buildup can affect your lather.
Second tip, load from the puck, in your hand. That way you can easily flip the puck, and load from both sides. If you’ve soaked your puck, and softened the whole thing, might as well get the full benefit and load from both sides.
Try a different brush. If you normally use a badger, try a synthetic, or vice versa. I find different brushes perform better for different soaps. For me, synths work better for Williams. Also, if it’s been a while…. Clean your brush. Buildup can affect your lather.
Second tip, load from the puck, in your hand. That way you can easily flip the puck, and load from both sides. If you’ve soaked your puck, and softened the whole thing, might as well get the full benefit and load from both sides.
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
8 shaves in on my puck of Canadian Williams (I know, I know, I started a day early and gave it a test shave beforehand too) and still silky smooth lathers. Sure, they aren't as pretty as some of my other ones, but man are they slick. For some reason I cannot get a lather dialed in with my boar brushes, though. Never have been able to so rather than fight it, just sticking to my synth and lone HM badgers for this 3017. Life's too short for sup-par lathers!
bosch
Master TSC Shave Member
February 8
Williams Day 7
Much better lather this morning. Loaded for longer and slowly added more water to the mix. Very happy with the result. After a few days with the Spanish Aqua Velva, I came back to the American version. The biggest difference I’ve noticed so far is that the American scent is stronger and last longer on me, with a bigger menthol kick to boot. I’ll keep using them both for further comparison.
Williams Day 7
Much better lather this morning. Loaded for longer and slowly added more water to the mix. Very happy with the result. After a few days with the Spanish Aqua Velva, I came back to the American version. The biggest difference I’ve noticed so far is that the American scent is stronger and last longer on me, with a bigger menthol kick to boot. I’ll keep using them both for further comparison.
Fightingillini22
Master TSC Shave Member
Interesting, I've seen that import AV pop up at various points throughout my wet shaving career but have yet to try it. Sounds like I might be okay sticking to the one readily available at Walmart if our version is stronger and bigger!
I personally prefer the scent of the Spanish version. It's more like the original blue AV. It's a lighter scent, but to me that makes it better. The dark blue reformulation made a couple of the notes more harsh.
Of course, you can go on eBay and buy vintage bottles of the previous version for a good price to really experience AV the way it was meant to be.
Yes, a bigger longer lasting scent with more of a menthol feel for me. The bottles I have are 103ml US size and 200ml Spanish, just in case we weren’t speaking the same language by saying “bigger.”
I’m still on the fence. I dont know that I’d characterize the US as harsher, but perhaps “brassy-er,” a little more in your face and “hey notice me.” The US version lasts about 30-60 minutes on my skin.
I agree that the Spanish version is lighter and feels like a beautiful, well balanced scent. I also like that I can use it without fear of massive silage or having it clash if I want to use an additional fragrance, since it seems to be gone within 15-20 minutes after putting it on, like a classic aftershave should be (or so I’ve read). It feels more intimate as a scent, which I also like.
Yeah, haven’t tried this avenue yet. Perhaps for the future.