Well, gents, I've had the chance to have two more shaves with this soap and using the skin food aftershave. The first was on Friday evening. No shower, just splashed on some warm water for 10-15 seconds, lathered up the soap and gave it a go. The razor was my Feather SS shavette with the same Proline blade. The second was yesterday morning before church, this time after a shower.
On both occasions the soap lathered up really quickly; at the beginning, it gets very foamy/bubbly (probably because of the high amount of stearic acid), but working it for a short period of time tightens it up. At that point, it looks like a pretty good lather, but don't use it then. I add water little by little (several drops at a time) and work the lather. I keep doing that until I get a lather that has a great sheen to it and shorter peaks, then I apply it to the face. On Sunday morning I added a bit more than I did on Friday, just to see what would happen. The lather did not break down, it just got a little more sheen. It was perfect for my shavette shave.
As with the first shave, on both subsequent shaves I was surprised by how little I felt the blade with this soap in comparison with other soaps. It was very slick, but because of the muted blade feel, I think it is also has quite a bit of cushion. I was mindful of just squeegee-ing off the lather with a very light touch despite the muted blade feel, and I was rewarded with a fantastic shave both times.
On Friday, there was a bit of drying of the lather around the mustache and chin area before I got to them (I always shave that area last); it revived with a tiny bit of water on my index finger. On Sunday, when I had added a bit more water during the bowl lathering stage, it did not dry out at all.
On both occasions I did an XTG pass after a relather. Second pass lather for both shaves was fantastic; not thin at all, but rich and slick.
Post-shave face feel was excellent; soft, supple, moisturized without feeling greasy or oily.
As for the skin food aftershave splash, the one thing I noticed, again, was that it dries extremely quickly. Get plenty of it on your hands and then it's perfect, but if you don't get enough of it on your hands it feels like it dries and becomes somewhat tacky before you can get the entire face and neck splashed with it. It feels great going on and after it dries down the face is soft and smooth. Oh, and it smells amazing!
That slight possible allergic response that I noted the first time I used it was nowhere near as back for the second and third uses, which was a relief. My wife again commented that she thought I smelled great after I finished shaving. I noticed, also, that the scent lasts a long time; I was catching whiffs of it in the mid-afternoon after a morning shave. The scent stays pretty close to the skin, though, for which I am also thankful. You are not going to blast anybody from across the room, but it can be smelled by those who are close to you. Just the way an aftershave ought to work. The scent is woody, complex, and sophisticated. I really like it, even though generally speaking I prefer light, citrusy, or floral scents.
Long story short, I really enjoyed trying this soap and aftershave. The soap is definitely top tier, and competes favorably with any soap I have ever tried. Slickness is at least as good as Stirling, and cushion is better by far. Post-shave face feel is top notch. The aftershave is also really nice, with great skin calming, wonderful scent, good longevity, and low to moderate silage (perfect for me).
Thanks, Frank, for the opportunity of trying these products. Whoever is next on the list, please PM me your mailing address so I can get the goods sent to you.
