Razor: Gillette Slim
Blade: Ladas (New Blade)
Soap/cream: Ariana & Evans - St. Barts
Brush: Rudy Vey Shavmac Two Band Silver Tip Badger
Aftershave: Thayers Coconut Water Witch Hazel
After the Aftershave: Ariana & Evans - St. Barts
Same setup as before so no pic.
Second shave with this soap and I am likely ready to do a review...but I want to get at least another shave in before I give my final thoughts. This is an easy to lather soap...maybe one of the easier ones out there, but I still took my time this morning. I didn't want to miss out on any of the nuances this tub might have. I am usually quick on my loading, which sometimes gives me issues with soaps as I likely don't load enough. Not this time...I made sure there was plenty. An easy face lather, and the soap became a creamy goodness that you know and feel that there are actually high quality ingredients in it. I ended up with a perfect lather.
The scent is described as being inspired by Creed's Virgin Island Water and according to their website the owner gets crisp lime, then coconut, then rum. I'm going to disagree a little. I get some lime...it might be crisp...but it's not as pronounced as what the description makes it out to sound...at least not for me. I do get a heavy amount of coconut...but it's not heavy or sweet. To me it smells like fresh coconut water straight out of the coconut itself. And then I do get the faintest sweetness of rum.
Notes for this scent include: Bergamot, Lime, Mandarin, Coconut, Indian jasmine, Sweet Hibiscus, Ylang-Ylang and Ginger. The Base includes Sugar Cane, Musk, a slight hint of Sandalwood and White Rum.
I'll get more to the scent from the aftershave in a bit. But the shave was excellent. The lather is super stable and it is plenty slick. I think Wholly Kaw is a bit slicker...but this is definitely no slouch. There is great protection with St. Barts Also. I tried out some new angles on my face this time which were slightly awkward to handle the razor. Let's just sa
y that I dug in a little too deep at one point and I was sure that I was going to end up with at least a weeper. No way Jose...the soap did it's job. I performed a full four pass shave today. There is something about this soap that makes me want to chase a BBS or Grail shave...so four passes it was. Definitely BBS on the cheeks and the neck...while not as smooth...revealed only a small spot that wasn't like a baby's butt! Excellent shave in all. This soap has really good residual slickness and usually a soap that has great residual slickness will have great post shave qualities. But here is a bit of a disappointment to this soap...if there is any. First of all I am going to say that A&E St. Barts has good post shave feel. maybe even better than most out there. But the soaps that I am high on right now: Wholly Kaw with donley milk, Noble Otter, and Sudsy Soapery, I think it falls slightly behind Sudsy Soapery in the post shave feel department. Still up there in terms of post shave...but not the best. I might change my mind a bit as I dial it in more. But all the other qualities really make this soap shine and definitely places it solidly in the Tier 1 set of boxes...maybe even elite if I can get the post shave feel a little better.
Okay on with the aftershave! This is definitely one of the better aftershaves I have tried. Lots of good stuff for you skin in it...and has that alcohol feel to it! The listed ingredients are as follows:
Aloe Vera Juice, Vegetable Glycerin, SD 40B Alcohol, Rose Hydrosol, Calendula Extract , Red Clover Extract, Chamomile, Plantain Leaves, White Willow Bark, Vitamin E, Caprylic Triglycerides ( combination of plant sugars and fatty acids derived from palm and coconut oils for silkier feel and as a natural preservative).
The aftershave picks up where the post shave feel on the soap left off and backs that part of the experience really great. The way this scent dries down is anything but simple. Usually I will get top notes and then the aftershave dries down into a version of itself. St. Barts dries down into several layers and it doesn't do it quickly. It's a little strange and I like it. As with the soap...I get the lime and coconut at first...nice an pleasant. Then it dries down with what I initially thought was tonka bean...but I must be wrong because there isn't any in it. But that's what I get, a very tonka bean/vanilla/almond/powdery scent. Then after a couple hours...that is right...a couple of hours...I get just a light hint of sweetness and something just a little pronounced that makes me think it smells like rum...but in a good way and definitely not boozy. When I first plashed it on...I thought I was wearing pina colada, but then I realized there was no pineapple to the scent. Either way...this is some good stuff!
The Danger Zone:
I have a lot going on right now and I will share some of it with the Cadre...or as I like to call you all...my shaving family! The Gangsters of Soap...the Mobsters of Splash! But not today. Work has gone well and what I like about my job is that every case I investigate is very different from the last. I feel challenged...in a good way. I can't tell you the last time I felt challenged in a job. This is good...because if I am not constantly improving...then I get very...self destructive in my career. It's just the way I am...not one of my finer qualities...but there it is. Well evidently the powers that be must like the work I do...because they have decided to promote me! It's a pretty sizable raise too...so I am happy with that!
I hope the Cadre has a wonderful Thursday!
Blade: Ladas (New Blade)
Soap/cream: Ariana & Evans - St. Barts
Brush: Rudy Vey Shavmac Two Band Silver Tip Badger
Aftershave: Thayers Coconut Water Witch Hazel
After the Aftershave: Ariana & Evans - St. Barts
Same setup as before so no pic.
Second shave with this soap and I am likely ready to do a review...but I want to get at least another shave in before I give my final thoughts. This is an easy to lather soap...maybe one of the easier ones out there, but I still took my time this morning. I didn't want to miss out on any of the nuances this tub might have. I am usually quick on my loading, which sometimes gives me issues with soaps as I likely don't load enough. Not this time...I made sure there was plenty. An easy face lather, and the soap became a creamy goodness that you know and feel that there are actually high quality ingredients in it. I ended up with a perfect lather.
The scent is described as being inspired by Creed's Virgin Island Water and according to their website the owner gets crisp lime, then coconut, then rum. I'm going to disagree a little. I get some lime...it might be crisp...but it's not as pronounced as what the description makes it out to sound...at least not for me. I do get a heavy amount of coconut...but it's not heavy or sweet. To me it smells like fresh coconut water straight out of the coconut itself. And then I do get the faintest sweetness of rum.
Notes for this scent include: Bergamot, Lime, Mandarin, Coconut, Indian jasmine, Sweet Hibiscus, Ylang-Ylang and Ginger. The Base includes Sugar Cane, Musk, a slight hint of Sandalwood and White Rum.
I'll get more to the scent from the aftershave in a bit. But the shave was excellent. The lather is super stable and it is plenty slick. I think Wholly Kaw is a bit slicker...but this is definitely no slouch. There is great protection with St. Barts Also. I tried out some new angles on my face this time which were slightly awkward to handle the razor. Let's just sa
y that I dug in a little too deep at one point and I was sure that I was going to end up with at least a weeper. No way Jose...the soap did it's job. I performed a full four pass shave today. There is something about this soap that makes me want to chase a BBS or Grail shave...so four passes it was. Definitely BBS on the cheeks and the neck...while not as smooth...revealed only a small spot that wasn't like a baby's butt! Excellent shave in all. This soap has really good residual slickness and usually a soap that has great residual slickness will have great post shave qualities. But here is a bit of a disappointment to this soap...if there is any. First of all I am going to say that A&E St. Barts has good post shave feel. maybe even better than most out there. But the soaps that I am high on right now: Wholly Kaw with donley milk, Noble Otter, and Sudsy Soapery, I think it falls slightly behind Sudsy Soapery in the post shave feel department. Still up there in terms of post shave...but not the best. I might change my mind a bit as I dial it in more. But all the other qualities really make this soap shine and definitely places it solidly in the Tier 1 set of boxes...maybe even elite if I can get the post shave feel a little better.
Okay on with the aftershave! This is definitely one of the better aftershaves I have tried. Lots of good stuff for you skin in it...and has that alcohol feel to it! The listed ingredients are as follows:
Aloe Vera Juice, Vegetable Glycerin, SD 40B Alcohol, Rose Hydrosol, Calendula Extract , Red Clover Extract, Chamomile, Plantain Leaves, White Willow Bark, Vitamin E, Caprylic Triglycerides ( combination of plant sugars and fatty acids derived from palm and coconut oils for silkier feel and as a natural preservative).
The aftershave picks up where the post shave feel on the soap left off and backs that part of the experience really great. The way this scent dries down is anything but simple. Usually I will get top notes and then the aftershave dries down into a version of itself. St. Barts dries down into several layers and it doesn't do it quickly. It's a little strange and I like it. As with the soap...I get the lime and coconut at first...nice an pleasant. Then it dries down with what I initially thought was tonka bean...but I must be wrong because there isn't any in it. But that's what I get, a very tonka bean/vanilla/almond/powdery scent. Then after a couple hours...that is right...a couple of hours...I get just a light hint of sweetness and something just a little pronounced that makes me think it smells like rum...but in a good way and definitely not boozy. When I first plashed it on...I thought I was wearing pina colada, but then I realized there was no pineapple to the scent. Either way...this is some good stuff!
The Danger Zone:
I have a lot going on right now and I will share some of it with the Cadre...or as I like to call you all...my shaving family! The Gangsters of Soap...the Mobsters of Splash! But not today. Work has gone well and what I like about my job is that every case I investigate is very different from the last. I feel challenged...in a good way. I can't tell you the last time I felt challenged in a job. This is good...because if I am not constantly improving...then I get very...self destructive in my career. It's just the way I am...not one of my finer qualities...but there it is. Well evidently the powers that be must like the work I do...because they have decided to promote me! It's a pretty sizable raise too...so I am happy with that!
I hope the Cadre has a wonderful Thursday!
