Tea Tree Pre Shave Oil
Body Shop Shaving Cream and Post Shave
Rockwell 6S

Just putting Body Shop’s Maca Root back in rotation.
Love that post shave gel.

Have a great shave, smell great, feel great have a great day!

 

Lucky Tiger’s shave cream is something that is an odd horse. You don’t need to use a brush to lather up, just apply to wet face, lather with your hands. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use a brush. 🙂
Scent is very citrus, lemon fresh and you don’t need much of it. Just pour some, just less then a teaspoon into a bowl and lather!

While you can use your hands, a brush will lather it up really, really good. You can just use the bowl like I did, or just pour some of the shave cream onto the brush and go directly on your wet face.
The lather smells really good and the lather is really slick. If you used your hands to lather into your face, I don’t have to tell you to wash it off well before handling a razor right?
Hey, there’s always that one guy. 🙂

I love good shaving creams, I love good shaving creams that smell great even more.
This is one of them.
The only downside, you should probably only buy this off Amazon Prime Singapore.
Cost about S$15.30+/- and will take about 2 – 3 weeks for it to arrive from the US (free shipping if you buy other stuff with S60.00 or more spent).

Unfortunately the post shave lotion which is really good and smells lemony / citrus fresh is not available from Amazon Prime Singapore (US) for free delivery but you can buy from Amazon US (Global store / shipping) that cost you S$20.00 or the aftershave creams (variety of scents) for around S$24.00 and pay the shipping cost assuming you buy other stuff as well to make the shipping worth it. Or do what I did. Make do with the shave cream and use Proraso stuff (white / blue line goes well scent wise with it) to fill the gaps.

Local resellers sell this (if you can find them) for a mark up of over 100% to as much as 200% extra so expect to see the shaving cream going for S$30 or more.

Have a great shave, smell great, feel great, have a great day!

Proraso White Pre Shave
Taylor of Old Bond Street
Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender
Parker 22R

First off, I want to say;
Holy crap, the scent of this Sandalwood soap is something else!

I had my TOBS Sandalwood puck set into the soap bowl the way I like it, using shredder to shred  the soap and then repacking it into the bowl. (Wife was asking why was I playing with soap! 🙂 ) 

But how did it perform? Scent wise, there is a reason why TOBS’s sandalwood herbal is their best selling soap, the moment you unwrap it, or even open the soap bowl cover, the strength of the scent throw is quite substantial, trust me, your bathroom will smell of sandal wood and herbs if you have this soap open to the air.
And unlike some other sandalwood soaps that I have, perhaps because of the herbs they used, the scent isn’t as harsh and instead is very medicinally pleasant.

It lathers like a champ too.
You don’t have to load much onto your brush to be able to generate a huge amount of very rich, good lather with this soap and it goes onto your face easy without dissipating.
This is where though, depending on whether you bought the hard puck like I did, or the cream version will decide on whether you will have a lather with good post shave slickness.
The hard puck soap version does not, I repeat DOES NOT, have that post shave slickness that the cream version has. But the hard puck version has a better shelve life.
Meaning that you can keep it around for a few years and it’ll still smell as good. Cream versions usually do not have a very long shelve life depending on what they use to perfume the soap and or if the soap has preservatives.

The downside of not having post shave slickness is that you do have to be careful if you want to go over areas that no longer have a lather. If you are using the hard puck soap, don’t. Only go over areas of your skin that still has a layer of lather. Unlike some other artisan soaps, especially Tallow variants or PAA’s CK-6 line, TOBS’s hard puck soaps don’t leave a layer of slickness that will still protect your skin if you go over it again without a layer of lather. In fact your skin will actually be “squeaky clean” and resisting instead of slippery. So going over skin that is cleared of the protecting lather might get you a nick or cut.

Just re-lather up on areas you want to go over again. You should have lots of lather in your bowl.

All in all, I like TOBS’s sandalwood herbal because it one of those soaps that is really a pleasure to your nose. Buy the cream version if you want lather with post shave slickness, otherwise the puck is fine for those who don’t mind re-lathering a few times more often.
If you are new to DE shaving, buy the cream version.

Have a great shave, smell great, feel great and have a great day!

Proraso White Pre Shave
Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Al Fin Soap and Aftershave
Rockwell 6S

Paa’s Al Fin is …complicated. Its an original and its scent profile is …complicated.
Its floral, sort of… Earthy, sort of… Dark …tobaccoish … not really, since there are light elements of something lemony, and almost herbal as well.
The whole thing comes together to form a scent that’s complex and refreshing and yet down to earth and rough around the edges.

And yeah, using my black bowl. It sat in hot water for 15 or so minutes and I lathered while it’s still hot to the touch. 🙂
Yeah, I like my scent fix as you lather up a storm, the warmth of the bowl amps up the scent.
Kind of like if you had a scuttle.
This soap didn’t fail, all you need is to have tips coated, some water, about 2 teaspoons and you’ll still get enough lather to go at least 3-5 passes.
While the soap I have is not the CK-6 version it still lathers up very well.
Using PAA’s stuff is a joy.

Have a great shave, smell great, feel great, have a great day.

Phoenix Artisan Accouterments Atomic Age Bay Rum Soap and Aftershave
Rockwell 6S

The Soap:

PAA’s CK6 Formula Bay Rum.
This thing is nuts.
If you have never smelt bay rum, if your nose is a virgin to the aroma, the moment you open the cap the scent of bay rum will assault you with its heady, sweet, spicy, and wondrously amazing scent.

Even with just the cap open, the scent of bay rum will fill your bathroom, at least till your nose gets used to it.

And the moment you lather into a warmed bowl, mama mia!

I used my bamboo bowl today though, but the night before, my Japanese ceramic bowl that was sitting in hot water amped up the scent and the bathroom smelled nothing but bay rum. 🙂

The lather of this soap is one of the best if not the best I have used. You don’t even need to load too much on the brush, just enough to coat the tips of your brush, wet, not dripping, and you will get a very slick and thick lather easy.
Post shave slickness is very present, your fingers will glide on your skin as you rise off the soap, and it is as luxurious as it gets.

I understand that all the CK-6 (Crown King 6) formula soaps are like that so I’ll hope to get more of the other scents next time (I do have one other PAA soap …but that’s for tomorrow and its not CK-6)

I love the scent of bay rum, from Colonel Conks to Captain’s Choice to Barberry Coast’s Bay Rum.
But PAA’s is for the moment my favorite. And its done without cloves which I understand can be a tad too much for shavers with sensitive skin.

Aftershave:

The aftershave is a doozy too. Slap it on and OMG feel the burn!! Once you stop panicking, and just let it settle down, your face, like you, will let a sigh of relief and pleasure. And oh yes, smell awesomely like a pirate. 😁

Conclusion:

PAA’s Bay Rum line is definitely going to be a permanent fixture in my rotation and well worth the price and shipping halfway around the world.

https://phoenixartisanaccoutrements.com/

Have a great shave, smell great, feel great, have a great day!

Proraso White Pre Shave
Taylor of Old Bond Street Cedarwood
Thayer’s Witch Hazel Lavender
Rockwell 6S

Test run purchase trail worked out and I am happy with the online vendor (see previous post) so, I’ll be getting more from them at a later date.
Today though is Cedarwood day.

The smells! The Smells! The smell of TOBS’s soaps are something that you can only appreciate if you use them yourself. Its like trying to tell people what Durian taste like.

Still, if anything, TOBS is one of the better brands of the more “atas” stuff you can get. Went wonderfully with Proraso White Pre Shave’s ginger and tea scent.
Ended the scent layer with Hermes terre d’hermes.

Smell great, feel great, have a great day!

Saw these guys, saw their prices and they had very (VERY) competitive shipping rates.
So pulled the trigger on some items to give them a test run. I did do a little research and they are a huge online retailer group in the UK with several subsidiaries, so I know that they aren’t a fly by night or scam business.

And as they are essentially a Beauty and wellness shop they have lots of stuff for the ladies, and more important for me, very cheap way to get some UK specific items that local re-sellers will jack up prices up to really ridiculous amounts due to to shipping and tax.

They do have a “local” business online store page so prices are in SGD.
Free delivery for standard shipping (which took 4 weeks +/-)
Tracked delivery is $19.90 (I think they ship just as slow considering the price, just that you actually know where your package is at the moment)
https://www.lookfantastic.com.sg/


Order date was on the 25th Feb, arrived today 26th Mar.
Since it wasn’t on priority mail, it took about a month. I do already have a ton of shaving stuff, it wasn’t too bad a wait. Though I would feel more comfortable next time paying for priority mail with tracking, that way at least, you’ll know where the package is during its journey to your home. Also you’ll know if you need to contact the retailer to claim for a lost package if it happens.

Package was left in the mailbox, so either no one was home to collect it when it arrived, or it was as intended. Either way ….

I got my Taylor of Old Bond Street stuff. Wheeeeee!
Prices were :
$15.60 for the Cedar wood cream
and
$12.80 for the Sandalwood soap puck, which went into one of my soap bowls.
(I used a discount…they have discounts every month it seems so that’s an even bigger plus.

Have to say, THEY SMELL GREAT!
And the prices… seriously, have you seen the local prices for these?
From Lazada…

And from Q0010, make sure you select local stock and not shipped from overseas …

and the same stuff from Lookfantasic’s price :

Prices are almost doubled or even tripled in some cases. So here’s a heads up if you want to get stuff from the UK.
And if you don’t mind waiting, especially if you already have a bunch of soaps (or can make do and buy from Mustafa those Goorej creams for $2.2 or the Old Spice Shaving cream for $2.90!) and can wait for these to come in the mail.

And as far as I can tell, they are originals, the scent profiles on these soaps are good and my bathroom is now smelling of Sandal Wood and Cedar (I made a test lathering run with the soaps).
Wife made a mention of “you been buying all these perfumes har?!”
hahaha!
I’ll buy more from them in the future.
Not anytime soon but probably soon enough, I want TOOBs Jermyn street line, those smell really great from memory.

Bluebeard’s Revenge Pre Shave, Cream and Balm

Parker SR1 shavette

Yeah, felt like going shavette today and matching it with Bluebeard’s Revenge seems like a good idea to set today’s theme.

Kinda liking the scent now, its still very subtle and muted for me but liking it.
I am still not digging the post shave oil, though since I was using the shavette, it did what it’s supposed to do. No nicks or cuts with the blade gliding smoothly though the cream was better then I remember when I first used it. More water on the brush till you see the sheen, its very slick and post shave slickness is there. Good stuff.

The post shave balm is definitely one of the better ones though. I chased the BBS and while the Alum didn’t indicate any burns, the witch hazel wash and this balm did. Skin did feel less burn after so that’s the aloe kicking in. 

• 

Home made Pre Shave with Tea Tree extract
Heath’s Shaving Cream (Tea Tree and pepper)
Heath’s Post Shave (Tea Tree and Pepper)
Rockwell 6S

Face just kind of recovered from the overly enthusiastic BBS chase a few days ago (was still feeling a little burn yesterday) so I am going with the Tea Tree extracts this morning and going gentle with the razor.
6S is set to R2, gentle but good enough to still get that BBS 🙂

• 

Proraso Cypress and Vetiver Pre Shave
Fine Accouterment’s Green Vetiver
Bodyshop’s Maca Root and Aloe Post Shave
Guerlain’s Vetiver
Rockwell 6S

What can I say, I love Vetiver.
Besides Old Spice and Bay Rum, it’s one of the scents that take me back to the days of old growing up in the 70s.
Fine’s Green Vetiver is very Guerlain, its a new puck, so its only fair to match it with my old bottle of (trying very hard not to use it too often) Guerlain. Like the Guerlain, Fine’s Green Vetiver is very earthy, a little darker than the newer Vetiver now out in the silver box.
Guelain’s newer stuff has a different formula and the stuff inside look more greenish then the old gold yellow of the older better Vetiver, smells lighter and “fresher” but compared to the old Vetiver, the new stuff just somehow seems to lack that special something the old one has.
Once this bottle is gone though, it’ll be a sad day.