Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice looking set. I keep meaning to get some Paladin balm. Good stuff?
The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
There and Back Again, A Wet-Shaver's Tale
- Thread starter Smattayu
- Start date
It is an excellent balm, with the added benefit of being unscented, so you can add any frag to it to scent your post shave.
No doubt there. I was surprised that more people hadn't taken advantage of Chris's prices when he posted his fire sale in BST.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Yep, unscented is what I got with Lisa's and wanted to try Paladin before they're gone and also A&E. Thanks
Thanks Chris! I did get some pepper in it.
Thanks! The nick was nothing major, and I would agree with you on that last part.
Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Semogue 830
Soap: Oz Shaving Co Tik-Tok
Aftershave: RazoRock Santa Maria Del Fiore
EDP: Dolce & Gabbana The One
Broke out the trusty Rockwell to really test this soap on today's non-shave, and both razor and soap delivered. Rock solid two pass BBS. Great slickness and the post shave is even better than I thought. The Semogue 830 was my first shaving brush. It's been a while since I broke it out, and I always wonder why I wait so long between uses when I do get around to using it. Not even close to a dense knot, even for a boar. Nevertheless it does a really good job as long as you spend a little while longer loading it. As for the soap, Oz is tub-worthy for sure, and it's only a matter of which scent or two I'll be picking up.
I chose aftershave and frag based on the common tobacco note shared by all of the software. Not the same type of tobacco for all of them, but they played well together. The One is a mass-appealing scent for good reason; it is fantastic. My only problem with it is the same as others have had, and that is the performance is not all that great, even with the EDP version. Even with that there were no regrets with this purchase, and I expect I'll have a bottle or two of this around for as long as it is made.
Plenty of things piled up while I was on vacation, and today was mostly catch up from that, so it was a long one. Off to get some rest. Have a great night all!
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Semogue 830
Soap: Oz Shaving Co Tik-Tok
Aftershave: RazoRock Santa Maria Del Fiore
EDP: Dolce & Gabbana The One
Broke out the trusty Rockwell to really test this soap on today's non-shave, and both razor and soap delivered. Rock solid two pass BBS. Great slickness and the post shave is even better than I thought. The Semogue 830 was my first shaving brush. It's been a while since I broke it out, and I always wonder why I wait so long between uses when I do get around to using it. Not even close to a dense knot, even for a boar. Nevertheless it does a really good job as long as you spend a little while longer loading it. As for the soap, Oz is tub-worthy for sure, and it's only a matter of which scent or two I'll be picking up.
I chose aftershave and frag based on the common tobacco note shared by all of the software. Not the same type of tobacco for all of them, but they played well together. The One is a mass-appealing scent for good reason; it is fantastic. My only problem with it is the same as others have had, and that is the performance is not all that great, even with the EDP version. Even with that there were no regrets with this purchase, and I expect I'll have a bottle or two of this around for as long as it is made.
Plenty of things piled up while I was on vacation, and today was mostly catch up from that, so it was a long one. Off to get some rest. Have a great night all!
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice shave there Eric. Rest up
Thanks guys!
I've heard they addressed some of the longevity issues in a couple of the flankers, but haven't tried them yet.
Nice...well at least smelling...shave Eric! Oz Soaps are definitely a really good soap for sure!
Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: TSC Legacy
Soap: Oz Shaving Co Polychrome
Aftershave: Paladin unscented balm
EDT: Bulgari Aqua Amara
Last shave with the Oz samples before I pack them up, and I had to go with Polychrome. A pleasant, green, floral scent that just screams Spring. No Surprises with the performance, and using the 6c has become second nature. Two passes left my neck in BBS-land. A spritz of the EDT mixed with the Paladin balm left my skin feeling smooth and fantastic, and a few sprays of Aqua Amara capped off an excellent non-shave.
Aqua Amara, translated as "bitter water", is an outstanding fragrance. It opens with a fairly bitter mandarin note tempered with a floral neroli. It has the unique aquatic accord that is featured in the rest of the Aqua line, though it seems to be more in the background than in Aqua or Aqua Atlantique. It's pretty linear, and doesn't evolve a lot, except to introduce a bit of patchouli during dry down, but something about it just puts me in a great mood. It lasts all day on my skin, and has decent projection. It seems to be a pretty polarizing fragrance and has gotten plenty of hate in various reviews, but I plan on getting at least one more bottle before it's gone as I believe it has been discontinued and I love it in the warmer weather. The only thing I don't like about it is that the shape of the bottle makes it a pain to put in a pic and I don't have a stand for it lol.
This is one that I wouldn't recommend as a blind buy. If you're interested pick up a sample first.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: TSC Legacy
Soap: Oz Shaving Co Polychrome
Aftershave: Paladin unscented balm
EDT: Bulgari Aqua Amara
Last shave with the Oz samples before I pack them up, and I had to go with Polychrome. A pleasant, green, floral scent that just screams Spring. No Surprises with the performance, and using the 6c has become second nature. Two passes left my neck in BBS-land. A spritz of the EDT mixed with the Paladin balm left my skin feeling smooth and fantastic, and a few sprays of Aqua Amara capped off an excellent non-shave.
Aqua Amara, translated as "bitter water", is an outstanding fragrance. It opens with a fairly bitter mandarin note tempered with a floral neroli. It has the unique aquatic accord that is featured in the rest of the Aqua line, though it seems to be more in the background than in Aqua or Aqua Atlantique. It's pretty linear, and doesn't evolve a lot, except to introduce a bit of patchouli during dry down, but something about it just puts me in a great mood. It lasts all day on my skin, and has decent projection. It seems to be a pretty polarizing fragrance and has gotten plenty of hate in various reviews, but I plan on getting at least one more bottle before it's gone as I believe it has been discontinued and I love it in the warmer weather. The only thing I don't like about it is that the shape of the bottle makes it a pain to put in a pic and I don't have a stand for it lol.
This is one that I wouldn't recommend as a blind buy. If you're interested pick up a sample first.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
OMG, Eric, how funny - I almost went with the Aqua Amara today! I literally was debating whether to go with it or the Chanel. I opted for the Chanel only because I was in the mood for the MdC Agrumes soap and the lemon won out over the orange. Perhaps the Amara tomorrow. It's interesting juice - I dig it! Definitely a unique "summer frag" and certainly "rotation worthy" in my book. I agree with your comments about it. The only thing that I'll add, for me, is that I get a bit of an incense note in the dry down, way, way down the line. This juice has really good longevity for me - all day. 
OMG, Eric, how funny - I almost went with the Aqua Amara today! I literally was debating whether to go with it or the Chanel. I opted for the Chanel only because I was in the mood for the MdC Agrumes soap and the lemon won out over the orange. Perhaps the Amara tomorrow. It's interesting juice - I dig it! Definitely a unique "summer frag" and certainly "rotation worthy" in my book. I agree with your comments about it. The only thing that I'll add, for me, is that I get a bit of an incense note in the dry down, way, way down the line. This juice has really good longevity for me - all day.
Lol, that's great! It would have been even better if you'd used Amara, but maybe next time
I was honestly surprised at how long it lasts on my skin. It is great juice for sure.
Nice shave yesterday Eric! I love your descriptions and analysis of the frags too! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Don!
Razor: Rockwell 6c
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Semogue 830
Shaving cream: Via Barberia Fructi
Aftershave: Via Barberia Fructi serum
EDT: Lalique Encre Noir Sport
Nice and laid back shave this morning. I chose a cream(though it is very soap-like in consistency until you start loading it) that I really haven't been crazy about in the past, performance wise. The scent is delightful and the matching aftershave is some of the best I've ever used, so I'm occasionally willing to give the cream another chance.
The Semogue 830 made another appearance for this shave, as it is way easy to overload this cream and the 830 makes that less likely. I discovered while face lathering that I've been adding too much water to this cream every other time I used it. I used about half of what I have in previous attempts, and while the lather seemed a bit too dry at first it performed better than my previous experiences. Two passes and a bit of clean up with the 6c left me with a nice BBS. The aftershave serum is magic, and one shot of it made my skin feel downright amazing.
This was my first use of the sample of Encre Noir Sport that @cmh737 sent to me. I have a bottle of Encre Noir and love it, but it is not a versatile fragrance. This has the same DNA as the original, but the darkness of Encre Noir is more subdued and it has a very nice grapefruit/citrus vibe that stands out at the front. It stays true to the original, but is much brighter. Also like the original, it performs much higher than it's price point and I will be buying a full bottle.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Semogue 830
Shaving cream: Via Barberia Fructi
Aftershave: Via Barberia Fructi serum
EDT: Lalique Encre Noir Sport
Nice and laid back shave this morning. I chose a cream(though it is very soap-like in consistency until you start loading it) that I really haven't been crazy about in the past, performance wise. The scent is delightful and the matching aftershave is some of the best I've ever used, so I'm occasionally willing to give the cream another chance.
The Semogue 830 made another appearance for this shave, as it is way easy to overload this cream and the 830 makes that less likely. I discovered while face lathering that I've been adding too much water to this cream every other time I used it. I used about half of what I have in previous attempts, and while the lather seemed a bit too dry at first it performed better than my previous experiences. Two passes and a bit of clean up with the 6c left me with a nice BBS. The aftershave serum is magic, and one shot of it made my skin feel downright amazing.
This was my first use of the sample of Encre Noir Sport that @cmh737 sent to me. I have a bottle of Encre Noir and love it, but it is not a versatile fragrance. This has the same DNA as the original, but the darkness of Encre Noir is more subdued and it has a very nice grapefruit/citrus vibe that stands out at the front. It stays true to the original, but is much brighter. Also like the original, it performs much higher than it's price point and I will be buying a full bottle.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!