Anything that can go wrong will happen while I'm shaving...

So of my end of January orders, I grabbed a tub of Razor Emporium Citrus from Pasteur's. It arrived a few days later. Opening the tub it had a very lite scent that was mostly pool chemical in nature and fairly offensive. After chatting with someone who had used this soap, I reached out to the razor company describing what I smelled. They agreed it wasn't right at all. They then shocked me, offering to send me a new tub, even though they didn't sell it to me. The new one came in a few days later smelling completely different - that is, normal citrus as expected (no chemical scent at all).

After customer service like that, I had to buy something. So I decided to go the proper route and buy their sample pack of shave soaps. This way I could try each one and find what other scent or scents I may like. Their shipping to NY (from AZ?) Is amazingly fast! Wow.

Got that yesterday and was able to use one of the soaps last night... Fireside. Not that I have a great nose, or knowledge base, to describe scents, but: It is a slightly sweet, kinda smokey scent with a background of some sort of cologne-esque aroma. It was a joy to use, but the drydown left an old-school cologne scent that I wasn't a huge fan of. Overall the scent level is low, but persistent.

The base isn't anything groundbreaking, but definitely lathers easily, works well, and isn't drying at all. I believe it is a vegetable soap. IMO, in its price range, it's a good deal for sure.

For my next outing, I'm likely to try their Barbershop. Off the tub it smells different than the other Barbershop soaps I've tried. The scent reminds me of something from vintage America 1950's (but I wasn't born yet in the 50s, so what do I know, lol).

Happy Saturday folks!

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Nice one, Paul, and very glad they did right by you! And a sample set! Have fun exploring the new smells. I grew up in the 70s and early 80s, and my Dad only used Afta. We got him stuff for Christmas, but I don't think he wore it much, so I have no "scent memories" of those times. My step-grandfather used to wear many Avon things, given the number of cool bottles that looked like cars, boats, planes, and trains, but I don't remember any specific scent. 

When I was a sophomore and working on how best to manage my coolness, I tried Stetson and kinda stuck with it for a while. But often I preferred Dad's Afta, and used that up until the 2000s? as I wanted something soothing.

Anyhow, now I am scentsless (stole that from PAA!) and only enjoy a smell from afar. 

Have a good day and I do apologize for droning on about my odors!

Nice one, Paul, and very glad they did right by you! And a sample set! Have fun exploring the new smells. I grew up in the 70s and early 80s, and my Dad only used Afta. We got him stuff for Christmas, but I don't think he wore it much, so I have no "scent memories" of those times. My step-grandfather used to wear many Avon things, given the number of cool bottles that looked like cars, boats, planes, and trains, but I don't remember any specific scent. 

When I was a sophomore and working on how best to manage my coolness, I tried Stetson and kinda stuck with it for a while. But often I preferred Dad's Afta, and used that up until the 2000s? as I wanted something soothing.

Anyhow, now I am scentsless (stole that from PAA!) and only enjoy a smell from afar. 

Have a good day and I do apologize for droning on about my odors!

Thanks Eric! It's definitely not droning on. Some good stories.

I too don't wear scents. I use scented soaps, but no cologne or aftershaves to permeate. Just the light, residual scent (if one exists) from the soap. Works well for my fickle and sensitive schnoz.

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I was never a scent guy. Scentless everything but since getting into wet shaving I’ve gradually embraced scent. I’m not about to drench myself in Brut but I’m really opening up to scent. Beyond bay rum even!!  I consider myself lucky that my wife supports my scent journey. She definitely has her likes and dislikes but doesn’t have any issues that limit my scent use. Eric I know you’re Unscented out of consideration for your wife and Paul, I’m not sure if that’s your reason for going Unscented as well but I get it. I totally respect you guys for making such a sacrifice and as I said, I consider myself fortunate that I can enjoy scents because if it came down to a choice between my wife’s happiness and scent I’m going with my wife every time.

I was never a scent guy. Scentless everything but since getting into wet shaving I’ve gradually embraced scent. I’m not about to drench myself in Brut but I’m really opening up to scent. Beyond bay rum even!!  I consider myself lucky that my wife supports my scent journey. She definitely has her likes and dislikes but doesn’t have any issues that limit my scent use. Eric I know you’re Unscented out of consideration for your wife and Paul, I’m not sure if that’s your reason for going Unscented as well but I get it. I totally respect you guys for making such a sacrifice and as I said, I consider myself fortunate that I can enjoy scents because if it came down to a choice between my wife’s happiness and scent I’m going with my wife every time.

Well said Mark and totally agree.

I got a series of samples from Razor Emporium last month. I spent the last week or two trying them out. Unfortunately, with little sample dishes you have to bowl lather. I got the ingenious idea to grab my travel bowl and use it, and hang it right in front of me throughout the shave. It has worked so well, as I don't have much counter space to work with. So, I continued to use it today with my Mick's shave. I'm very happy with this setup.

Yep, those are cheap wireframe closet shelves. I had to build some storage years ago and this was the cheap route. When I say this bathroom lacks amenities, I'm not kidding... No closet, no shelves, not even an outlet / plug. I'm lucky it has a sink, lol.

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I wanted to discuss something that has come up a few times now... The definition of a soap versus a croap.

Today I accidentally called Mo's new cream a soap, that was my bad. This has brought back memories. So, I figured let's start a mini-discussion:

At some point in the past I called a croap a soap. I was corrected by the vendor, on the ground that "if you can press your finger into it, it's a croap". While I see where he was coming from, I think that definition is a bit too rigid.

Technically, I can force my finger into a quadmill puck of razor rock WTP soap. I have tried and made a sizable dent... Thus, if you follow this rigid definition, it's a croap, too. I'm just not buying that.

I think it has to be fairly soft ... Easily pressed, and maybe... Not always, you come away with some in your finger? I don't know. Perhaps if it can dent with a tap? It's a hard definition to pin down (to me)... A grey area. Anyone else have some insight or just an opinion?

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I don't think I have much to contribute, but there was an interesting discussion regarding MacDuff's soaps, and one guy saying they are so soft that he uses it like a cream, i.e., scoops some out into a bow to load his brush before face lathering. I tried that this morning and will use that copper bowl you sent tomorrow. for some reason, I used a small bowl this morning, mainly because it could float on top of my brush warmer while I showered.

I can't site a thread at the moment, but I remember a few years ago some gents making the case that most artisan soaps are croaps. And for what it's worth, I agree with you regarding easily sticking my finger in (croap) vs having to press harder (soap). And this should be done when the soap hasn't been used for a while, as I find that when I use the same soap every day and I don't let it dry with the lid off, it does get a little softer feeling.

Looking forward to reading other's thoughts.

I wanted to discuss something that has come up a few times now... The definition of a soap versus a croap.

Today I accidentally called Mo's new cream a soap, that was my bad. This has brought back memories. So, I figured let's start a mini-discussion:

At some point in the past I called a croap a soap. I was corrected by the vendor, on the ground that "if you can press your finger into it, it's a croap". While I see where he was coming from, I think that definition is a bit too rigid.

Technically, I can force my finger into a quadmill puck of razor rock WTP soap. I have tried and made a sizable dent... Thus, if you follow this rigid definition, it's a croap, too. I'm just not buying that.

I think it has to be fairly soft ... Easily pressed, and maybe... Not always, you come away with some in your finger? I don't know. Perhaps if it can dent with a tap?  It's a hard definition to pin down (to me)... A grey area. Anyone else have some insight or just an opinion?

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Nice topic Paul.

To me the key issue is "Why should we care?"  Back in the day, how firm a soap was may have been more important to most shavers than it is today.  Probably the hardest soaps lasted longer.  In a household that didn't spend one penny more than necessary on shaving - and perhaps only owned one soap at a time - harder soaps may have stood out as better values than croaps, and croaps as better values than better than creams, other things being equal.  Harder soaps probably  absorbed less water, and may have been less likely to grow mold etc. over time.  There is still a common view that soaps, in general, have longer shelf lives than creams, in general.  (I have no idea if this is supported by current science.)

These days what I really care about are things like

• How easy is it to load?
  
• How protective is it?
  
• How do I feel about the scent?
  
• How skin nourishing is it?
  
• How resistant to hard water degradation?
  
• How conveniently does it travel?
  

No doubt there are other considerations.  These days, the "How easy is it to load" nudges me slightly away from the hardest soaps.  Beyond that, I don't care.  For example, the only shelf life I care about is my own, as I would probably have to outlive Methuselah to use the soaps I have.

I wanted to discuss something that has come up a few times now... The definition of a soap versus a croap.

Today I accidentally called Mo's new cream a soap, that was my bad. This has brought back memories. So, I figured let's start a mini-discussion:

At some point in the past I called a croap a soap. I was corrected by the vendor, on the ground that "if you can press your finger into it, it's a croap". While I see where he was coming from, I think that definition is a bit too rigid.

Technically, I can force my finger into a quadmill puck of razor rock WTP soap. I have tried and made a sizable dent... Thus, if you follow this rigid definition, it's a croap, too. I'm just not buying that.

I think it has to be fairly soft ... Easily pressed, and maybe... Not always, you come away with some in your finger? I don't know. Perhaps if it can dent with a tap?  It's a hard definition to pin down (to me)... A grey area. Anyone else have some insight or just an opinion?

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Nice topic Paul.

To me the key issue is "Why should we care?"  Back in the day, how firm a soap was may have been more important to most shavers than it is today.  Probably the hardest soaps lasted longer.  In a household that didn't spend one penny more than necessary on shaving - and perhaps only owned one soap at a time - harder soaps may have stood out as better values than croaps, and croaps as better values than better than creams, other things being equal.  Harder soaps probably  absorbed less water, and may have been less likely to grow mold etc. over time.  There is still a common view that soaps, in general, have longer shelf lives than creams, in general.  (I have no idea if this is supported by current science.)

These days what I really care about are things like

• How easy is it to load?
  
• How protective is it?
  
• How do I feel about the scent?
  
• How skin nourishing is it?
  
• How resistant to hard water degradation?
  
• How conveniently does it travel?
  

No doubt there are other considerations.  These days, the "How easy is it to load" nudges me slightly away from the hardest soaps.  Beyond that, I don't care.  For example, the only shelf life I care about is my own, as I would probably have to outlive Methuselah to use the soaps I have.

Some interesting thoughts Mike.

I can only speak to my experience, In regards to 'why do we care'. It is mostly because I've been called out for mislabeling a croap and it stuck in my mind. When I was reminded of it today, I figured it would be fun to discuss. In the end, you are right, it doesn't really matter... It's just fun.

You bring up creams, and that's a more polarizing difference to distinguish. Anyone who's a tub latherer will likely have a strong opinion against creams. I'd imagine creams likely don't last as long - ounce per ounce? Also, you could be right that they might be more volatile and go bad quicker? However, they are easier to load, and I believe easier for a soaper to scent (do I have that right, Frank Dragonsbeard ?). So, I guess there's always a trade-off.

Now that the discussion has made it all the way down to creams, this makes me think of those oils and butters. Is there any effect on the 'dehydration' of the butters and oils to make a triple or quad milled soap? Just a thought.

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