After all the stress surrounding my grandma's passing, I needed some "retail therapy". Yes, I know that's not an optimal coping mechanism; but here we are.
So since we had our first BVWSC shave with Abbate Y La Mantia soap, I was curious about the great soap quality and @djundjila@wetshaving.social mentioned that they transitioned fully to hard soaps. Even more curious, I was able to find the first soap in a german webshop that started their shift towards hard soaps: Blue Tobacco, a scent that spoke to me as a former menthol cigarette smoker. Originally, I only wanted some extra items to get free shipping - and then this happened. Clearly I've got no self control...
THE GOODS:
- Abbate Y La Mantia Tobacco Blue (Blue Tobacco) shaving soap ๐ฎ๐น
- E&S Rasage Shaman shaving soap, plus 3 body soaps (Solstice , Barber and Azur) ๐จ๐ต
- HAGS Barberwood soap, witch hazel toner and beard oil ๐ฌ๐ท
- Los Jabones de Joserra Masala Connection shaving soap ๐ช๐ฆ
- Saponificio Varesino sample pack (ALL of their aftershave balms, one beard wash and balm respectively plus a "Pro Victis" skin repair cream) ๐ฎ๐น
- Meiรner Tremonia Dark Limes beard soap ๐ฉ๐ช
- Freebies: Proraso beard wash sample, some self-made thank you stuff and candy
Not going to talk about the body soaps and beard stuff, since this is a wetshaving instance. But I am really curious about the performance of all the shaving soaps! Blu Tobacco is really as I envisioned: a pack of (unlit!) menthol cigarettes on the beach. The aluminium tin is really nice. Shaman by E&S could be quite something for colder months, off the puck it's already dark. Barberwood is a take on a barbershop scent with lots of wood notes added, so a full set was a no-brainer. After my initial scepticism, barbershop scents have really grown on me in the last years. Finally, only from reading the notes on the label, I knew I had to get Masala Connection. It's kinda like someone had taken all of my favourite individual scent notes, threw them together in a fragrance oil and made a shaving soap out of it. Voilร ! Off the puck, it already smells divine. Never had anything by Los Jabones de Joserra before, but as I wanted to try as many european artisans as possible from different countries it made sense to me.
Even though I reside in Germany, I have to admit that I used more American wetshaving soaps than european ones. Unfortunately, artisans from "the old continent" tend to be overlooked. I'll try to put more of a spotlight on wetshaving software from the EU in my upcoming SOTDs... But needless to say, this concludes my wetshaving purchases for this year and the next year probably too. I can really recommend the seller AboutBodyCare though, very friendly thank you card, fast shipping and my package was even perfumed with E&S Solstice EdT.
17.08.2024 - Shaman Head Shave
-> 2 pass head shave, 1 pass neck cleanup. Very comfortable shave.
Second use of E&S Shaman soap - still a very nice scent, but it takes noticeably longer to get a good lather going with it. It requires a really wet brush and the lather also has a slightly brown tinge to it. Scent is a real banger though, definitely up there with the good tobacco fragrances. Today something that smells like plum stood out to me, but since there's not a single mention of plum in their official scent notes, it might have been the combination of something else. Overall though, it's not really suitable for the current warm season and should feel much better once fall/autumn weather hits.
Head shave musings: a) I really get my best results from two pass shaves, anything more would be useless - a single pass shave is serviceable, but delivers the same results as my RX5 dry shaver. So if I have the time, I should always opt for two passes.
b) using two balms is uncommon, but since the Moon Soaps one has the consistency of a toner, it felt natural. Still will be the last balm by Moon that I get - I actually prefer scented toners and 'common' aftershave balms (well, not as common as drugstore stuff but rather the less-artisan stuff) c) I actually looked up Yul Brynner's shaving routine again and really found some pics that showed him shaving his dome with a straight razor in front of a mirror. So yes, the man was really a fucking bold head shaver. I only did it once with my KAI shavette loaded with a guarded blade and even that was intimidating. Much posthumous respect to Yul!