• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : PAA Peregrino
• Soap : PAA St Martin’s Land
• Razor : Tatara Masamune + Nodachi Cap w/Supermax Diamond Edge Blade
• Post Shave : PAA St Martin’s Land Aftershave Cologne
• Others : Menthol in Salt Grinder

As per the notes by Douglas:
Jamaican Ginger, Moroccan Chamomile, Lime Peel, Blood Orange, Neroli, Light Patchouli, Indian Sandalwood

My original and immediate reaction to the scent off the puck wasn’t the best to be honest. Probably due to the lime and neroli notes coming off giving me vibes of Arko and a certain floor washing soap that is widely used here in Singapore.
However, given a chance to lather up and allowed its dry down the scent evolves and the neroli thankfully fades off a becoming more a background note allowing the ginger, and sandalwood to come out.
Personally, I’d prefer if the Sandalwood, Ginger and Blood Orange notes were more dominant in the opening and stay dominant going into the mids but that’s my personal biases and YMMV.

In short, this opens very citrusy / citronella-ish, goes into a spicy but very green phase then settles into a herbaceous green and slightly warm scent.

But, for today, I added a good dash of menthol.
Ok, I am a menth-head but hooooo boy!
Yeah, menthol baby!
Pops those scent notes up and off, made the “floor wash” vide less so and amped that fresh, spiced, warm green dry down up a few notches into REALLY FRESH!
Yeah. Menthol just makes a lot of stuff better. 🤣

With the Zero Zero Masamune, CK-6 lather and that Supermax Diamond Edge, it was an extremely comfortable shave, to the point that I had to remind myself to NOT press down as there was hardly any blade feel at all. Just shaved via audio feedback.

It was a essentially a one pass shave and while I didn’t have to do a pickup pass, I did it anyways since I had all this lather. No point wasting it.

Perfect, zero irritation, “I keep touching myself” faceturbation BBS shave.

Stay sane
Stay happy

• Pre-shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
• Soap : PAA Big Shave S’West 2020
• Razor : Rockwell Model T w/Personna Platinum Blade
• Post Shave : PAA Big Shave S’West Star Jelly Aftershave, Aftershave Cologne
• Others : PAA Big Shave S’West Epic Solid Cologne

This soap is the definition of “Your Mileage May Very”.
I know that it was supposed to be quite leather centric with smoky mesquite, tobacco and oud balanced by chaparral, lavender, basil and musk. But my first few use of the soap, all I could smell was the chaparral, basil with a the barest touch of tobacco and leather.

Now though, I get a heavy whiff of that suede leather, dark smoky woods with the lighter woods and greens popping out at me.
Goes to show, scents and how you perceive them can change depending on your nose’s sense of smell at the time.

Grabbed the Model T for today along with the Personna Platinum blade.
Took my time, enjoying that CK-6 lather and getting faceturbation worthy BBS Shave.

Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay Happy

• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
• Soap : Van Yulay Dress Bleus (Hard Puck)
• Razor : Tatara Nodachi + RR Stainless Steel UFO Handle w/Gillette Nacet Blade
• Post Shave : Van Yulay Dress Bleus Aftershave Splash
• Others : Van Yulay Dress Bleus Deodorant and Cologne

An excerpt from ” For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon

“They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.“

Van Yulay’s Dress Bleus’ scent is a duplication of Chanel’s Bleu De Chanel and is spot on, or close enough that it doesn’t really matter.
And it does smell fantastic.
Also, I have, recently come to prefer the hard pucks and the lather that they generate, which it seems to me, a slightly thicker, more bodied lather.
YMMV.

Going with the Nodachi and Nacet.
Even with the added blade to skin feel, this razor still feels fantastically smooth to me and with the Nacet, all and any growth just melts away like butter to a hot knife.

Finished up with the paired splash and Van Yulay’s Cologne which to be honest is more of a soft EDP as though it doesn’t seem to project much or leave a silage trail, it last really long (8hrs +/- YMMV) and gives you a personal scent bubble.
Meaning someone coming up to you will smell the scent, but is non-intrusive and won’t stink up the whole room. Well, unless you overspray and bathe in the stuff.

Feeling great, smelling fantastic!
Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay happy

• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
• Soap : PAA Al Fin
• Razor : PAA Copper Ascension Twist Adjustable Double Open Comb w/Zaza Blade
• Post Shave : Phoenix Artisan Accouterments Al Fin Star Jelly Aftershave, Aftershave Cologne
• Others : PAA Al Fin Deodorant, Epic Solid Cologne and EDP

Going the Full Monty with my first true love from PAA.
Al Fin. (At Last)
One of the most unique scents you’ll come across with that blend of notes, primarily of myrtle, tobacco, bay, cypress and rose makes for one very amazing scent.
YMMV of course.

I really should drill into this soap and get the CK-6 version replacement (or just get it anyways 🤣) but it is reached for more oft than not.

Went with the CATA-DOC today along with a Zaza blade.
If there’s one thing PAA’s soaps has, it’s a ton of slickness and coupled with a razor that is built for buffing, getting that perfect BBS shave was as easy as it could get.

Finished up with the Full Monty of Al Fin’s Scent Layering.
Feeling and smelling fantastic!

Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay happy

• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• 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.

Stay safe
Stay sane
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• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Soap : Barbasol 1919 Classic (Brushless, Latherless) Shaving Cream
• 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!

Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay happy

• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• 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.

Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay happy

• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• 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.

• Pre-Shave : Shower, PAA Cube
• 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 Eucalyptus EO

“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.

Perfect, zero irritation BBS shave.

Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay happy

• Pre-Shave : Shower, Proraso Green Pre-Shave
• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Oumo 24mm ACE SHD Dual Band Manchurian Badger
• Soap : Wet The Face Valyrian Steel
• Razor : PAA Copper Ascension DOC w/Derby Premium (2)
• 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.

To my friends in the US, seriously;

Stay safe
Stay sane
Stay happy