Lazy off day shave.
Been a while since I used Soap Commander and I was very quickly reminded why I am getting more of their soaps.
Amazing slickness, amazing residual slickness and great post shave. And of course scent. I’m a scent guy and they don’t disappoint.
Endurance being the old Shulton Old Spice, and a dead ringer at that. I was able to compare to my vintage 1980s-ish Old Spice EDT before P&G reformulated and made Old Spice a shadow of itself.

Thanks Stephen Davidson for pointing me towards them.

If you have never used soap commander, you need to at least give them a try. It is a shame that I can’t ship their aftershaves due to shipping issues but I can make do with the balms which finishes the shave in good order.

I am expecting a package from them soon and I’ll go into more detail on another post why they won me over as a life customer.

Bic blade is on its 6th use and still going strong. Still holding it’s edge and not feeling like it’s scraping the skin off which is a concern for BBS chasers.
Zero feedback on the alum.
For those who want a Feather alternative, I’d highly recommend Bics.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
• Pres-Shave : Bluebeard’s Revenge Pre-Shave oil
• Soap : Soap Commander’s Endurance (Old Spice)
• Razor : Rockwell 6S -R4 w/Bic Platinum Blade (6)
• Post Shave : P&G Old Spice Aftershave, Soap Commander Endurance Aftershave Balm

Musk. Overload.

If you like musk, if you are a muskhead, this is one of the soaps (and she makes an even stronger one that’s just musk) you might want to get.
Ginger’s Garden’s British Empire is as much a White Musk bomb as the old Dior’s Eau Sauvage EDP was a Myrrh bomb.
And boy does her scent last a long, long time.
Application of her cologne will last you at least 8 hours. Last time I used this, I was a little too liberal with the spray and almost 12 hours later, my clothes were still giving off that musky scent.

Of course this time I know better and a just one spray will do. I’ll probably still smell of musk even by the time I go to bed but hey, I am not complaining.

I will experiment layering this with PAA’s Supreme Sandalwood Science to see if I can tame that musk a little with a deeper sandalwood base in the future though. Or maybe with something Fougere / Floral.

R5 plate with a Bic blade.
Holy crap what was I thinking?!
I really felt that blade going over the skin and if the lather was less then stellar, I’d be punished for it. Thankfully, Irena’s Argan base soaps are slick as heck and I had no weepers but it was a very, very close shave.
No pun intended.

I really can’t believe that people were complaining that the R5-R6 plates weren’t aggressive enough.
Put a feather or Bic in there and you tell me if its not “aggressive” enough.
Alum application had a very slight sting, which told me that I almost paid for the Glass BBS chase.
Worth it though.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Pre-shave : Shower, Blue Beard’s Revenge Shave Oil
• Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian Badger
• Soap : Ginger’s Garden’s British Empire
• Razor : Rockwell 6S-R5 w/Bic Platinum (5)
• Post shave Ginger’s Garden’s British Empire Aftershave and Balm
• Others : Ginger’s Garden British Empire Cologne spray

Got tagged to come in for the midnight shift, so 4+ hours of sleep and its time to clean up before heading off for work.
Usually my evening shaves would be one of the non dress-up “scents essentials”, and I wondered if I should include this as part of the “A series of scents” and thought, might as well, since scents and the love for scents does not have to be only of products from design houses.
Our Shaving Artisans make really damn fine stuff.

Which brings us to John Frum.
Scent profile is :
Sicilian Cedrat, Black Pepper, Sea Salt, Ambergris, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, Kava Kava, White Musk & Animalic Musk.

And Holy crap is this one fantastic Sandalwood musk scent.
And I love solid colognes, for many reasons, one of which is the ease that one can reapply at any time, anywhere with as little fuss without annoying any around you unless they don’t like the way you smell, unlikely as that is.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Preshave : Shower, PAA’s The Cube Mentholated
• Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy G4 Synthetic by Frank Shaving
• Soap : PAA’s John Frum
• Razor : PAA’s Copper DOC w/Bic Platinum Blade (4)
• Post Shave : PAA’s John Frum’s Star Jelly Aftershave Balm and Aftershave Cologne
• Others : PAA’s John Frum’s Deodorant and Epic Solid Cologne

The scent of Orange, Grapefruit, Cedar, a little spice, throw in some vetiver with a little warm sweetness and holy crap what a juice!

Razorock’s Son of Zeus did a pretty good job with this, while you can tell that it’s not a “quality” clone, you can’t mistake it for what it tries to be. To be clear it is missing or the balance of woods, spice and that warm sweetness isn’t right, but I’d put this one as “good enough” and even if you don’t use the EDP / EDT that inspired it, you’ll still smell damn fine regardless.

A word on the EDT / EDP though, for those who have never used it, its a freaking beast and one that screams “HERE I AM!! LOOK AT ME!!! LOOOOOOKKKK ATTTT MEEEEEEE!!!” (or apply 1 to 2+/- hours before going out to allow scent to mellow somewhat)
Projection, sillage and longevity are nuts.

If you don’t like loud and long lasting at that, scents, just using the aftershave might be a good idea if you just want to kind of smell of Hermes Terre D Hermes without having a scent bubble the size of Texas.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Oumo SHD Silvetip Badger (love this brush but I really need to use a bigger bowl with it)
• Soap : Razorock Son of Zeus
• Razor : PAA’s Copper DOC w/Bic Platinum blade (3)
• Post Shave : Razorock Son of Zeus Aftershave, Prep
• Others : Hermes Terre D Hermes EDT

First things first.
Thank you Doug for sending the Replacement Labels and for that other thing EVEN AFTER I TOLD YOU NOT TO.
You are one infuriating man you know that?
Appreciate the gesture and thank you.

Part 8 of “A Series of Scents”

You guys may not believe this but, It really took me a while to find something to pair with PAA’s Supreme Sandalwood Science.
For one thing, its all base notes.
Sandalwood, Sandalwood and more Sandalwood.

But the funny thing is that it doesn’t just smell only of Sandalwood. (Had one bicep with PAA’s SSS Aftershave Cologne rubbed in and been sniffing it for a few hours now) but I will swear that there’s more than just sandalwood notes in there but its driving me nuts not being able to pin point it. Like it has that something floral but not quite, that almost amber note but not quite, something herbal but not quite…
Hawaiian Sandalwood giving off that floral note meshing with Indian Sandalwood’s resinous, amber-ish notes? A touch of Lavender? Creamy, woody, almost sweet balsamic … 😅
Smells seriously good but again, can’t believe its just sandalwood.

And the closest I have to Supreme Sandalwood Science is my Guerlain Heritage.
Heritage was the last of the great scents that the old master still with the name “Guerlain” created and he did it as a “Here’s how you do it!” last hurrah!
Yeah, I love this stuff.

I know the old scent notes list does not list Sandalwood in there but its there… or at least this new EDT has that massive sandalwood base while missing much of the, if it has any at all, oak moss.
Lemon, Bergamot, Lavender, Sandalwood, cedar, peppers and spice, jasmine, a touch of rose and many, many other notes that I catch glimpses of but can’t pinpoint.

Wearing Guerlain’s Heritage with Supreme Sandalwood Science though, just seems right.
Like a putting that Jacket over your shirt and tie. And both scents play so well with the other.
At this point if someone asked what does Heritage smells like, its Supreme Sandalwood Science for Base and Heart more SSS + lemon, lavender, bergamot at dry-down.

They Smell godamn awesome together.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian Badger by Frank Shaving
• Pre-Shave : Bluebeard’s Revenge Shave oil that I am using to use them up
• Soap : PAA’s CK-6 Supreme Sandalwood Science
• Razor : PAA’s Copper DOC w/Bic Platinum Blade (1)
• Post Shave : PAA’s Supreme Science Star Jelly Aftershave Balm and Aftershave Cologne
• Others : Guerlain’s Heritage EDT

Still on the Vetiver trail, this time, it’s the “other vetiver”.
If Tom Ford’s Vetiver was the roguish young master, Guerlain’s Vetiver would have been the grand head of the household.
Born in 1959, today, as we move towards 2020, he’s the old master, left alone and mostly forgotten, and while his influence is still seen in many of his progeny, his days are almost done.
And that’s a sad thing.

I love this scent.
Love that old school more robust, natural, less flighty scent.
Simple and straightforward.
Strong old Indian vetiver, good dark tobacco, nutmeg, citrus, cedar and spices, amber (pretty sure I am missing a few notes) made this one of the goto scents for a long time.
When you smell of it, you think of men like J. F. Kenedy, maybe Sean Connery, Men of strength, of character, but of an age gone by.

Fine’s take on the old Guerlain scent is a good effort. Not 100% of course, no soap will ever be, and Fine’s Green Vetiver is no different, missing a number of notes, most notably of spice, a little weak on the tobacco and I can’t detect any amber but its definitely good enough setting the table up for a great shave.
Layering on with Guerlain’s EDT will complete it.

Glass BBS shave, feeling great and an awesome start to the day.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian by Frank Shaving
• Soap : Fine’s Green Vetiver
• Razor : Rockwell 6S-R4 w/Bic Platinum Blade (3)
• Post Shave : Fines’ Green Vetiver Aftershave, Prep
• Others : Guerlain Vetiver EDT

Scent imagery is a weird thing, what do you associate with when you smell something? When you see a name tied to scent?
Some would say Dorian Grey, a fresh young vibrant man hiding an old dark soul.
Or maybe James Bond, a playful, flamboyant playboy hiding a man who can and would kill.
Citrus and spice and all things nice, hiding the old oak moss, amber, woods and dark vetiver soul.

• Brush : Friendship Shaving’s Macy Dual Band Manchurian
• Pre-Shave : Shower, bloom water
• Soap : Wet The Face’s Tallow Grey’s Vetiver puck
• Razor : Rockwell 6S-R3 w/Bic Platinum Blade
• Post Shave : WTF’s Grey’s Vetiver Aftershave splash, Prep
• Others : Tom Ford’s Grey Vetiver EDP

Silver Mountain Water oddly enough was my first Creed scent that I purchased back in the day during the 1990s, so it holds a special place in my heart.

But as I got older and realize that spending thousands of dollars on Creed just wasn’t sustainable for me due to my love of scents and wanting to “get them all” I looked for alternatives. Or just stop buying them altogether because they either didn’t smell as good being “inspired by” scents with their own and sometimes very different takes making them a different beast altogether or just smelt cheap.

So imagine my surprise when I first used WSP’s Matterhorn, the moment I opened the can and sniffed the soap, I was immediately reminded of the original SMW.
(WSP’s Matterhorn EDP is a damn fine clone too, but for today, I am show casing a cheaper alternative)
Shaving soap “clones” with the exception of a few are rarely “on the nose” but I will have to say that WSP’s reproduction of WSM is as close to the real thing that I have the pleasure to smell for a long time.

Enter the Middle Eastern scent houses.
They are often looked down on by the West, pegging them as cheap low quality scents but that’s far from the truth. (cheap yes, low quality, no)
I paired today’s shave with Al Haramain’s L’Aventure Blanche EDP which while is tagged by the maker as a female scent because of the rose and jasmine notes, is really a unisex scent.
Using rose and jasmine to play off the blackcurrant notes instead of Creed’s green tea, giving their version a more floral slant, it is in my opinion the better scent.
Really, really love it.
And that it only cost US$35+/-

Quality is at the time of writing (baring reformulation) the same as the others in the L’Aventure line with initial projection and sillage blast for the first two hours or so, personal zone projection and sillage for about 3-4 hours after, and as a skin scent for another 2 or so hours. Total scent longevity is about 8+/- hours depending on environment and your skin.
YMMV. Try to a tester at a store before buying if you aren’t sure.

Oh, and yes, gotta chase that BBS.
Glass “I keep touching myself” BBS shave, feeling great, smelling fantastic and a great start to the day.

• Bowl : Van Yulay Resin
• Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badger
• Pre-shave : Shower, PAA’s The Cube Mentholated
• Soap : WSP’s Rustic Matterhorn
• Post shave : WSP’s Matterhorn’s Aftershave Splash and Balm (mentholated)
• Razor : PAA’s Copper DOC w/Lord Platinum Blade (1)
• Ohers : Salt grinder with menthol crystals, Al Haramain’s L’Aventure Blanche (Silver Water Mountain Water clone)

So I did a thing.
Went to the hardware store, got a few things and modified the bowl to see if I can make a lather generation monster.

• 

• 

Plastic mesh and some expoxy. Unfortunately I didn’t pay attention and didn’t check if the epoxy was the clear type and it wasn’t.
Still, this was more of an experiment to see if the concept would work.

Results :

This took exactly 42.69 secs to get. Yes, I timed it.
I can use this bowl as is, though I am going to go get another bowl and this time, clear epoxy. 🤣

And oh yeah, Glass BBS Shave, Blade started to leave micro stubble behind on passes that needed clean up passes so at least 4 good runs, more if I am willing to put up with a dulling blade.
Not bad, pretty much my standard.

• Bowl : Modified 6.25″ Soup Bowl
• Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badger
• Pre-shave : Shower, TOBS Pre-Shave Oil
• Soap TOBS Platinum Collection
• Post Shave : TOBS Sandalwood Aftershave Lotion
• Razor : Rockwell 6S-R4 w/Lord Platinum (4)

Old spice.
Of one the best of the old school scents. Wife loves it anyways.
Glass BBS shave, smelling great, great off day shave.
Lord Blade is holding up well even on the third use, still taking of growth easily though I suspect it is starting to loose its edge. Pretty good for a made in Egypt blade.
Next shave or two will tell.
Lots of shopping chores to do, groceries, the like.

I am thinking of just sandpapering the insides of the bowl as it is not ceramic but a polycarbonate plastic. (Indestructible and cheap, was $2 I think) That should create a surface with lots of micro ridges to generate Lather-Porn worthy lather faster.
I’ll experiment. These bowls are cheap.

As is, with Doug’s soaps, beautiful slick lather is still relatively easy to get but it does require a little more time turning suds into cream.

• Bowl : 6.25″ Soup Bowl
• Pre-Shave : PAA’s The Cube Mentholated
• Brush : Oumo SHD Silvertip Badgers
• Soap : PAA’s Cold Spice
• Post Shave : PAA’s Cold Spice Aftershave Cologne and Star Jelly Balm
• Razor : Vikings Blade The Emperor Augustus w/Lord Platinum Blade (3)
• Others : PAA’s Cold Spice Deodorant and EDP