Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
Soap : Van Yulay Royay Oudh
Razor : Tatara Masamune Base + Nodachi Top Cap w/Bic Chrome Platinum
Post Shave : Van Yulay Royal Oudh Aftershave Splash
Others : Van Yulay Royal Oudh Deodorant and Cologne
I’ve got a mood, a mood for Oud! Been a while since I went with a Full Monty Shave. Figured I can’t go wrong with Monica’s Duplication of Creed’s Royal Oud.
And yes, its pretty much spot on or so close enough that any differences is not that noticeable.
Went with a face lather today, usually I bowl lather with Van Yulay soaps but I figured I’d do it differently today. Lathering up is rather easy, it is more of the runny type than the current thick sticky slick cream that is in vouge, but it is slick and it works, though I can see why some may not like it. Scent is outstanding.
Went with my Zero Zero Masamune today along with TheSOA. Irritation free BBS shave made easy. And smelling like a billion bucks.
Razor : Tatara Nodachi Base + Masamune Cap w/Supermax Diamond Edge Blade
Post Shave : Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum
Imagine spreading a thin, wet, slick layer of rather pleasant smelling snot on your face, and if not for the Cube Prep, there would be absolutely nothing really visible to indicate that you have a shaving cream layer ready to cushion and give your blade a layer to glide on.
Yeah. That’s Barbasol 1919 in a nutshell.
Scent is a very mild barbershop type, and you just need a tiny amount of the cream, rubbed between your wet hands to spread that layer over your face. You don’t need much, about a pinkie fingernail size dollop is more than enough for me (actually was a little too much) and since you are using your hands to spread it around, you can tell how slick the layer is and / or if you need more water or more cream.
Shaving with it is actually outstanding. And this is YMMV of course, reapply more cream as needed but in my case, I easily went WTG, XTG and ATG without needing more cream as the residual slickness is excellent.
It was a rather easy, and I have to say, extremely fast shave as prep and getting your face ready for a shave was ridiculously easy. This might be a good choice for those who are always in a rush / have little time to spend lathering up with a bowl and brush or face lather.
Easy, quickie BBS shave. Finished up with Clubman’s Bay Rum. Perfect!
Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
Soap : PAA Sacre Bleu
Razor : Rockwell 6S-R4 w/Gillette Nacet Blade (3)
Post Shave : Aqua Velva
I always loved PAA’s sense of humor, to a point, this one always made me smile when I see it, though I never quite got around to buying it till Douglas announced that it’s going to be unobtainium.
Sacre Bleu is what you say that roughly translates as “daaayyyyaaammmm!” when you find something that makes you go “oh my!”. Assuming of course you like the scent of Aqua Velva.
Performance is of course fantastic, as you’d expect from PAA, though the scent itself is more of how AV smells like after it has been on your face for a while, after the dry down. It is missing that menthol (can easily be added) hit when you first put on AV and there’s this blue scent that AV has in the opening that is absent when you lather up.
I’ll try adding menthol next time and see if it pops the notes up more. Still it is an extremely good go at the AV scent as you’d expect from a PAA reproduction.
Went with the old Warhammer, and this time she’s armed with the Nacet. Yeah, I have been avoiding Gillette stuff for a bit. But a Blade is a Blade is a Blade and a damn good blade is still a damn good blade regardless of who makes it. It’s smooth, sharp and a good alternative to Feathers.
Shave was fantastic. Smooth, zero irritation, smells damn freaking good and that finish is just what you want when you get that Faceturbation worthy BBS shave.
Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
Soap : HC&C Unscented Shaving Soap
Razor : Tatara Nodachi +RR Stainless Steel UFO Handle w/Bic Chrome Platinum (The Sword of Achilles)|
Post Shave : Clubman Tequila Tease Aftershave
Others : HC&C Sophisticated Gentleman Scent drops
First off, condolences to the family. May your pain be brief, your memory of Julio, long.
Man. Where do I start? Julio and I met in a wet shaving group, him residing in Puerto Rico, me, in tropical Singapore. Only in the internet age can two men so far apart come together to talk of all things, about removing hair from one’s face.
I remember his love for all his Gillette Razors, his Superspeeds were his favorites but at the time couldn’t find a better alternative to Feather Blades. And I suggested Bics since I have long used those in lieu of Feathers.
I remember him asking me where it’s made and I said Greece and we talked about how it’s rare for blades to be made there.
And on account of how sharp, smooth and with an edge that last far longer than Feathers (YMMV) and because when we think of Greece, we think of its myths and legends, I jokingly called them “The Sword of Achilles” to replace the Feather Katanas.
Julio and I laughed about it but the nickname for the blade stuck and we often refer to the Bics as TSOAs.
Well, today’s shave is in Memory of Julio. I know he loves his HC&C soaps and he often plays with scents, sometimes mixing from two or more sources to get his “scent of the day”. I went with Sophisticated Gentleman today, a blend of cedar, musk, amber and patchouli and finished up with Clubman’s Tequila Tease. Guys if you haven’t already tried the Tequila Tease, do it! It is by far the most unique scent from the Clubman Line and smells of lime, vanilla and florals.
Going with the Tatara Nodachi, armed with a fresh Bic, The Sword of Achilles. This BBS Shave is for you brother.
Life is short, and we can just as suddenly leave this plane of existence leaving only memories behind.
As he is now oft to say, Stay Safe, Stay sane. Leave anger and hate behind you.
Stay in our memories Julio. May your soul rest in Heaven Be at peace.
Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
Soap : Long Rifle Soap Co. Saranac Shaving Soap
Razor : Rockwell Model T w/Derby Premium (4)
Post Shave : Long Rifle Soap Co Hawkeye Post Shave Tonic
Others : Menthol in salt grinder and Bottle of EucalyptusEO
“It is The Year of Our Lord, 1757, Winter is passing, the Saranac is flowing with snow melt off and the smell of broken pine branches heavy with snow hangs in the air.”
Yeah, its all too easy to imagine this scene with the scent of the soap.
It is however not my favorite as the juniper and pine notes are meshed in with that melted snow, river water note. This is not a “Fresh Blue / Green” scent but is more toward the “natural” scent you’d expect if you scooped out water from the river that is a little brackish to shave with.
Disclaimer : I do add in quite a bit of menthol and a drop of Eucalyptus EO when I use this soap. Come to think of it, I’ll probably next time use one of Pete’s scent drops and see how that goes.
As with all things scent related YMMV. What I like you might not and what I don’t you, may.
Now what I do like, love actually, is the lather. This soap’s lather is AMAZING. It is extremely thirsty, thick and sticky and once you have enough water in it, slicker than a buttered bar of soap that has been dipped in lubricating jelly. At one point during the shave I had to check if I actually had my Model T set at 4 as I could not feel the blade due to the glide. Yeah, that lather is good. Also, really starting to enjoying using the Model T.
Finished up with the Hawkeye Post Shave tonic, which smells of lemons, lavendar and cedar and feels very much more skin food than a cologne type post shave.. Scent is very rustic and old school, there is so much awesomeness there.
Post Shave : Wet The Face Valyrian Steel Aftershave, Proraso Pre-Shave
Others : Al Haramain L’Aventure Blanche (Creed Silver Mountain Water – not pictured)
It has been raining all day, since 0400+/- and its past evening now, and it still flips between being torrential to light drizzle for hours and back to turning on the water again. Non. Stop. For. Hours.
That here, in the tropics means only one thing, Winter is Coming. 🤣
Seriously though, yeah, its a tropical “winter” where temperatures drop from scorching 33°C in the shade the past few weeks to a rather comfortable 26°C during the day. Nice!
WTF’s Valyrian Steel’s scent to me (YMMV) is best described as fresh bright woods with a hint of snow and steel.
Actual notes are : Verbena, Tangerine, Cypress, Yuzu Zest, Coriander, Clary Sage, Geranium Bourbon, Blue Water Lily, Nutmeg, Saffron, Ceylon Cinnamon Bark, Amber Tobacco, Vetiver, Sandalwood, and Musk
Its a complex profile with notes that blend and play well off each other. Spices are muted, you don’t get that heavy handed nutmeg or cinnamon to the face for example, vetiver and sandalwood blends to form a more ” cold wood note” while the brighter notes like Verbena, Coriander and Clary sage gives it that slight frosty / metallic twang. And my use of Proraso’s Green Pre-Shave just brings that “snow and steel” feel more to the fore. YMMV of course, scent perception being very personal, are far, far more so.
Went with the CATA-DOC along with yesterday’s Derby Premium blade. Riding on that WTF lather, with the smooth Derby is just too easy to buff to get that perfect BBS shave. Really digging the Derbys.
Finished up with the AS and Proraso Pre-Shave as a finishing balm. Whoooooooo! And finally decided to use Al Haramain’s L’Aventure Blanche, a slightly more floral (they used Jasmine and Rose instead of the Green Tea Creed used) take on Creed Silver Mountain Water but holy crap, pairs really well and I prefer this iteration of the Creed Classic.
Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
Bowl : Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl (not pictured)
Soap : Pinnacle Grooming Once Upon A Time
Razor : Blackland Vector w/Feather Pro Blade
Post Shave : Pinnacle Grooming Once Upon A Time Post Shave Splash
Others : Davidoff Amber Blend EDP (not pictured)
You have to admit, sometimes, the label is the very thing that pops out at you and make you go “Oh, wow! Now I want to know more!” And I have to be honest here, that is such a beautiful label that I can’t help but smile when I look at it and wished that I could have reached out to touch her tats (not THOSE TATS…maybe later) and stop her from eating that apple.
It’s based off of CoStume National Scent Intense and it smells FANTASTIC!
Its a sweet spiced apple and florals and I am really am enjoying the scent of this. As with most shaving soaps, smelling off the puck is one thing, and while lathering up really brings out the notes, it really pales in comparison to the After Shave.
From my experience with Pinnacle Grooming’s AS, which is a non-alcohol skin food type, you get the full scent experience that with this one, while mild, sticks to you like an Alien Face Hugger for a few hours.
If you are a shaver who prefers light, muted, gone the moment you rinse off scents, stick with the soap only, the AS is not for you.
Oh yeah, the lather is of the “good but not spectecular” for artisanal soaps. (Lather Porn provided) A little more on the foamy side but layers on well and does not dissipate, has good initial slickness, moderate residual though will reacquire that slickness if rewet, and a good post shave feel.
If Pinnacle can get this lather to be a little more “sticky slick”, more cream yogurt, it would be awesome! Still, its a good and really enjoyable soap regardless.
Decided to go with the Vector today. Just felt like having a no-nonsense precision shave which the Vector delivers in spades.
True glass, faceturbation worthy BBS Shave. Completed the shave with Davidoff’s Amber Blend EDP (I don’t have CoStume National Scent Intense yet) which complimented the spiced Apple and florals of the AS well.
Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
Soap : Tabac
Razor : Rockwell Model T w/Derby Premium Blade
Post Shave : Tabac Aftershave
Back to work, doing an evening Start of the Day shave, as its the flip shift. Taking it slow and easy. Went with Tabac which is one of the few soaps and Aftershaves that you can actually get here locally. Soap via Amazon and AS from Mustafa’s.
Just I wanted something with an old school scent along with lather I don’t have to work too hard at to get that nice creamy slick layer on. Just load up, lather up and shave.
Using the Model T now is kinda weird for me. In a good way. Ever since the replacement arrived, I actually get to use something that didn’t have its blade set so out of whack, it’s more than a decent and smooth razor and rather quite enjoyable.
Still slightly more aggressive then its 3 piece counterparts, where setting 3 on this razor feels more like between R3 and R4 with the 6S and you do feel a little more blade but it does the job and does it well.
Chose to go with a Derby Premium blade today. Many just diss Derbys but this blade is a very different animal than Derby Extras. Much more sharper and extremely smooth. I like it better than I do the Personnas.
Easy, lazy, true glass (with a little skin stretching) BBS shave.
Spiced sweet lemon, patchouli and rose. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds. Still one of my top 3 WTF soaps scents, and the best part (YMMV of course), the scent stays with you well after the shave. Helps that the wife loves this scent as well. 🙂
Brought out the old warhammer, the 6S paired with the Super-Max Diamond Edge blade. Smooth and zero irritation. Fourth use of the blade and it is still not showing any signs of loosing its edge yet. Growth still gets taken off with the barest of resistance and my usual trouble spots under the nose and chin areas were swept clean with little effort. A little skin stretching to pull up and expose the stubborn bristles and what’s left behind is just glass smooth BBS skin.
Steve's Wet Shaving in Singapore 