Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap : G&A Japanese Dream
Post Shave : G&A Japanese Dream Aftershave
Razor : PAA Copper DOC w/personna Blade

Credit where due.
I originally had a service lapse with G&A and the long and short, I canceled an order and told the owner in no uncertain terms that I will no longer need nor want the replacement aftershave the order was meant to help facilitate.

So imagine my surprise when I got a mail call with the replacement AS.
I accept the spirit and intent of the item sent.
Clean slate.

Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Pre-shave : Bloom water
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap : WSP Rustic Gaelic Tweed
Post Shave : WSP Gaelic Tweed (Mentholated) Aftershave and Balm
Razor : PAA Copper DOC w/Personna Blade
Other : WSP Gaelic Tweed EDP

Its essentially Creed Green Irish Tweed.
Not much more needs to be said.

Well I should say something about WSP’s EDP.
I had Creed’s GIT, but the price man, hard to drop $300+/- a pop that I’ll use up in a few months.
I have tried Armaf, still have Al Haramain’s L’Aventure, Knight and Blanche (Aventus, Green Irish Tweed and Silver Mountain Water) amongst others.
So when I gave WSPs’ EDP a try, let me say it was worth it.
Better sillage and longevity then some of the clone houses and almost true to the real thing that from memory I can’t tell if its not.
If you like scents, give WSP’s EDPs (or solid colognes) a go.
Actually, if you don’t want to drop $50-$70 on their EDPs, try their solid colognes, its a good and cheap way to see if the scent you like in your shave would work as a day scent.

As for the shave itself;
Glass “I keep touching myself” BBS shave, no feedback from the alum and I smell like a million bucks.
You really can’t ask for a more perfect shave.

Pre-shave : Shower
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap : Zingari Man : The Lothario
Post shave : Zingari Man : The Lothario aftershave balm
Razor : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Copper Double Open Comb w/Bic Blade (3)

First time use of Zingari Man’s soaps and balm. Soap performance is above average with the soap lathering up into creamy yogurt. It’ll take quite a bit of water and is perfect going on a little thick on wet face forming a very slick layer with good residual slickness and good post shave.

Balm absorbs fast into skin and relieves any tightness after a shave due to moisture loss from the soap.
Scent is good but I came in with the expectation that it would be stronger than it actually is. YMMV of course. I put this soap at mid to mid low strength 3-4/10. It’s there, its enjoyable but won’t wear on beyond the bathroom.
I’ll try blooming it a little with warm-hot water the next time to see if I can draw out the scent more.

Bic’s blade is still going smooth and sharp, glass BBS shave with just one cleanup around problem spots.

Pre-shave : Shower
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush: Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap : Wet Shaving Products’ Matterhorn
Post Shave : Wet Shaving Products’ Matterhorn Balm and Aftershave Splash
Razor : Rockwell 6S-R4 w/Personna Blade
Others : Al Haramain L’Aventure Blanche (Creed Silver Mountain Water clone)

Nod to Creed’s Silver Mountain Water.
Really fresh citrus floral scent that plays with blackcurrant notes to give that slight fresh ozone-ish scent.
I actually prefer this clone version as they use jasmine and iris instead of green tea to center the blackcurrant notes. Love it.

• 

• 

Pre-Shave : Shower w/P&G Old Spice Bath, Nivea Men face wash
Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Soap : Soap Commander Endurance
Post shave : P&G Old Spice Aftershave, Soap Commander Endurance Balm
Razor : Rockwell 6S-R4 w/Bic Super Chrome
Other : Old Shulton Old Spice EDT (not pictured)

This is Old Spice, good old Shulton Old Spice.
Well first time using Soap Commander, with the Shulton Old Spice scent.

Good old Shulton old spice scent, really good slickness, good residual slickness and post shave.
This is fracking awesome!
Oh and the Balm is good too.

What is of note though is the value of the soap.
Look at the size of that tub.
Its a freaking 6 ounce (170gm) tub for US$15, if that doesn’t scream “VALUE BUY!” I don’t know what does.

And yeah, Rockwell w/Bic blade was smooth as as an ice cold Macallan giving a true “I keep touching myself” glass BBS shave.

• 

• 

Bowl : $2 Bargain Soup Bowl
Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badger
“Pre-shave” : Shower and Nivea face wash / rinse
Soap : Southern Witchcrafts’ Druantia
Post Shave : Southern Witchcrafts’ Drurantia Aftershave splash lotion
Razor : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Copper Double Open Comb w/Supermax Diamond Edge blade (3)

First time use of the soap, so didn’t use pre-shave oils or soap so as not to spoil the scent-performance.
Also, used a larger bowl to accommodate the larger brush. Love Van Yulay’s Bowl but with the larger brush knot, I could not properly create lather without lather spilling over.
With the larger bowl, it was easier to whip up the lather with full motion and the results speak for itself.

As Described by Southern Witchcrafts :
A tribute to the druid celebration of the Winter Solstice or “Yule”, Druantia is woodsy and spicy scent perfect for crisp Winter days.

Scent notes: Cedar, Oakmoss, Rosewood, Moss, Cypress, Tobacco, Fungus, Sandalwood, Mitsutake, Myrrh, Amber, Orange, Ginger

Scent notes meshed together and initial impression was this was a nutty, almondish scent. As you lather and shave you can pick up the different notes though light, of ginger, orange at the forefront followed by the woods and very slight hint of tobacco and myrrh. Didn’t pick up on the rest of the notes but its blended well so there isn’t something discordant as you lather up.
Scent strength is mid low, not overpowering nor is it a perfume type, so for those who want a mild scented soap that you use, enjoy and wash over with your own scent this is one of them.

Soap itself is decent scoring relatively moderately well on slickness with moderate residual and post shave feel.
Soap itself did leave the skin feeling a little dry and tight but the no alcohol aftershave splash (needs to be well shaken before use variety) helped to refresh the skin.
Use a balm if your face still feels tight.

Supermax DE blade’s (I see what you did there Supermax) 3rd use and usually for most blades sans Feathers / Kai this is when (for me) most blades tend to leave micro-stubble behind. Problem areas need more passes with skin stretching to raise stubborn micro-stubble to be cut.

However the Supermax DE still took stuff off without skin stretching, just minor buffing with the DOC, which does this very well, leaving you with that true glass smooth “I keep touching myself” BBS shave.
Alum block application indicates no irritation.
Blade glide is still very smooth.
Overall, I am impressed, and in my books this blade has already crossed the finish line. 4th shave later in the evening and I’ll see if it goes into tomorrow’s shave.

Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Pre-Shave : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s The Cube
Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badger
Soap : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Atomic Age Bay Rum
Post Shave : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Atomic Age Bay Rum Star Jelly, Aftershave and Cologne
Razor : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Copper Double Open Comb w/SuperMax Diamond Edge Blade

First time using the made in India SuperMax Diamond Edge blade and I have to say, first use performed better then I expected. Blade took off most growth easily with the odd micro stubble left only around my trouble areas which puts these slightly ahead of most blades below Feathers. What surprised me is how smooth the blade felt. Given, I was using PAA’s CK-6 formula + The Cube, but even so, I could feel the blade glide easily over slick skin.
Didn’t have to chase BBS too hard, Had kind of a 2 and a half pass with a XTG, ATG and cleanup to get the BBS shave we all go for.
And yes, I am still touching the chin and under-chin to feel how smooth it is. 😁

Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badger
Pre-Shave : Razorock Pre-shave Oil (not pictured)
Soap : Fine Accouterments’s Green Vetiver
Post Shave : Thayers Witch Hazel : Lemon, Fine Accouterments’s Green Vetiver Aftershave Razor : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments’s Copper Double Open Comb w/Personna Blade
Others : Guerlain Vetiver

Back to one of my favorites scents, Guerlain’s 1959 Vetiver.
Reformulated more times than we care to count, but still available and still holding on to that old school “old money” DNA.
Love that scent.
The classics man, they are still selling for a reason.

• 

Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
Pre-Shave : PAA’s The Cube
Soap : Van Yulay’s Gaia
Razor : Rockwell 6S-R4 w/Personna Blade
Post Shave : Van Yulay’s Gaia Aftershave and Balm
Others : Menthol grinder, Van Yulay’s Gaia Deodorant and Cologne

Description of Shaving Soap Scent:
This fragrance I have been working on for awhile now. This one is everything about the earth.Mother Earth! From the dirt below to the ozone above. This is a very clean scent. We start with earthy notes of Woods, Vetiver, Sage, Mint, Green Grass, Cypress, Thyme, Ylang-Ylang, Mug-wort, Patchouli, Violet, Pine, Dirt, Cilantro, Eucalyptus, Sea Moss, Holy Basil, Cardamom, Sandalwood and Juniper.

One of Monica’s Special Blends

The scent of this soap is pretty complex and can probably throw you off, giving you multiple scent images.
Scent off the puck is earthy, dirty, and you don’t get the “fresh” part of the soap till you lather.
Once lathered, you get the barest of woods notes, as they are very light, while the floral and fresh notes such as Cilantro, Eucalyptus, Ylang-Ylang, mint and such are up front and center, with the green and herbal notes of grass, mugwort, thyme, vetiver and such forming the backbone.
And sometimes my nose thinks one thing and then immediately picks up something else.
But the gist of it is fresh earthy grassfields, earth wet with dew with the scent of flowers and cold winds sweeping in.

I shaved with it the the evening prior to get my head around it and it took a while to take in all the scents you get from Gaia.
I did however change a tiny bit, for my morning shave. I ground in menthol to dissolve in the lathering bowl when making the lather. It made a huge difference for me, turning the experience into something crispier, fresher. The image of Gaia waking up after her
winter’s slumber and breathing life and freshness into the world again comes to mind.

It will be interesting to wear this scent to work though.
Fresh. Earthy, green and not exactly perfumery.