ETHOS Grooming Essentials A New Line

Hello everyone. 

I wanted to share a couple of photos and also to ask a question. So below you’ll see photos of the lather I got from an Almond sized scoop of  Ravello Tallow Shave Creme but my question is not about the Creme or the Lather.  It’s about the Shaving Bowl. Lately I’ve been finding that I can get a better  and more Lather out of this inexpensive Shave Bowl from Timeless Razors than my Copper Captains Choice bowl. Don’t get me wrong the Coopers been a good bowl for me but I’ve noticed lately using not only my shave soaps and Cremes but other brands as well that when I’m using a Badger Brush the Copper bowl compared to the Timeless one. With a synthetic brush there’s not as much difference. 

My question , is anyone else having a similar experience with the Copper bowl?  The only thingIm not crazy about with the Timeless is the height is to high and I have to be a bit careful to not bang the sides especially when using some of my better brushes. In fact Im going to give Timeless a call as I’ve talked to the owners and met them at the Maggards show ( good people ) about why they made it so high. The pattern on the bottom of the bowl just seems to build up lather faster when compared to any other bowl in my den. 

So just just curious and wondering if anyone else has experienced this or a similar situation with their different shaving bowls? 

Never used the copper bowl, but I've used a variety of others. I don't recall any bowl being nearly as good as the timeless. It is a great bowl, IMO.

I got rid of my original blue timeless some time ago, due to size and aesthetics. Also, I tend to lather from the soap tub 90+% of the time.

Still, if my memory isn't skewed, it was always the best performer... Hands down.

(Thus, I'm saying it might be more of a "the timeless is better" thing, than "something is wrong with the CC")

Here's my thoughts on the Violeta release. Bought a set of the soap and AS splash to split with a friend. Upon opening the jar of soap, it came across very much like cucumber to my nose. After face lathering, it does become a bit more "floral" but still very soft on the strength scale. It is a nice clean smell but to be honest, I probably would prefer the rose release more. I guess I was hoping the violet scent would pack more punch, be a more synthetic facet, like a candy like sweetness. I totally get that people don't want a synthetic smell and that is why I enjoy many of the Ethos releases. I will say, the aftershave splash skin food does have a bit more floral scent strength, maybe it's the jasmine coming across.

Anyways, Frank, the lather and face feel of the soap is wonderful. I decided to hold onto some of the soap and decided to pass on the aftershave. I have a few floral after shave scents that I will use to follow up after using the Violet soap. I get that the real scent is probably on the lighter side but is it possible to increase the scent strength or add any sweetness to it? Just curious. By the way, I hope you get to feeling better. Take care of ourself and nice recommendation on that book Nero . Thanks and cheers everyone

Hi Zac

I know scent is a personal thing and if you feel there could be more strength in the soap I understand.  If you were able to smell the homemade Violet infusion I made it was super strong and I was honestly afraid to put much of that in and used more of the Violet Absolute. I probably could have got a little more strength out of it if I had added an Aroma Chemical (synthetic) in the blend but I’ve had a couple of samples of that and to me they just don’t have the depth or quality of the real thing and although you would know it’s a violet scent it’s pretty far from what the real thing smells like.  As far as sweetness goes the real Violet absolute hardly has any and the Green grassy note in it definitely  the star of the show.  There was more of a stronger Floral note in the homemade infusion and maybe I could have used a little more of that.  The sweet powdery  Violet products on the commercial market like the body washes are much more sweet , more floral and more feminine smelling whereas the real Violet to me is much more masculine.
The request I got from the initial members who wanted real a Violet Shave soap with no other notes added natural or synthetic is what I went with. 

I could send you a small vial of the Violet blend that you can add to your lather or the Skin Food Splash  if you’d like . This way you could also smell what the straight Violet smells like when it’s not in any kind of soap or alcohol base. Just email me using the email address on the website and I’ll get one out to you.  You are the first that has requested more Floral and sweetness. One customer asked if I could get more powdery in it. Since this is the first time I made it if I get enough requests for any of the 3 I can easily add other essential oils to bring out all of those things in the next batch which would be next year if there’s a call for it. 

I thank  you for your feedback. I like to hear from people about their take on a product.


An also thank you on the knee situation and I’ve ordered the book that Nero suggested and I can’t wait to get into it. 

Best regards

Frank

Very interesting to hear the range of interpretations and possibilities with the formulation. I wouldn't mind a bump in overall scent strength for the soap, but I also understand some of the limits of working with naturals versus synthetics. And if given a choice, I would generally prefer a more natural form. 

If you were tuning the scent in the future, I wouldn't mind more emphasis on the green grassy notes, but that is just a personal preference. I also would not want more emphasis on powder notes or sweetness. But I completely understand others will have different preferences.

I hope you heal quickly Frank.

Here's my thoughts on the Violeta release. Bought a set of the soap and AS splash to split with a friend. Upon opening the jar of soap, it came across very much like cucumber to my nose. After face lathering, it does become a bit more "floral" but still very soft on the strength scale. It is a nice clean smell but to be honest, I probably would prefer the rose release more. I guess I was hoping the violet scent would pack more punch, be a more synthetic facet, like a candy like sweetness. I totally get that people don't want a synthetic smell and that is why I enjoy many of the Ethos releases. I will say, the aftershave splash skin food does have a bit more floral scent strength, maybe it's the jasmine coming across.

Anyways, Frank, the lather and face feel of the soap is wonderful. I decided to hold onto some of the soap and decided to pass on the aftershave. I have a few floral after shave scents that I will use to follow up after using the Violet soap. I get that the real scent is probably on the lighter side but is it possible to increase the scent strength or add any sweetness to it? Just curious. By the way, I hope you get to feeling better. Take care of ourself and nice recommendation on that book Nero . Thanks and cheers everyone

Hi Zac

I know scent is a personal thing and if you feel there could be more strength in the soap I understand.  If you were able to smell the homemade Violet infusion I made it was super strong and I was honestly afraid to put much of that in and used more of the Violet Absolute. I probably could have got a little more strength out of it if I had added an Aroma Chemical (synthetic) in the blend but I’ve had a couple of samples of that and to me they just don’t have the depth or quality of the real thing and although you would know it’s a violet scent it’s pretty far from what the real thing smells like.  As far as sweetness goes the real Violet absolute hardly has any and the Green grassy note in it definitely  the star of the show.  There was more of a stronger Floral note in the homemade infusion and maybe I could have used a little more of that.  The sweet powdery  Violet products on the commercial market like the body washes are much more sweet , more floral and more feminine smelling whereas the real Violet to me is much more masculine.
The request I got from the initial members who wanted real a Violet Shave soap with no other notes added natural or synthetic is what I went with. 

I could send you a small vial of the Violet blend that you can add to your lather or the Skin Food Splash  if you’d like . This way you could also smell what the straight Violet smells like when it’s not in any kind of soap or alcohol base. Just email me using the email address on the website and I’ll get one out to you.  You are the first that has requested more Floral and sweetness. One customer asked if I could get more powdery in it. Since this is the first time I made it if I get enough requests for any of the 3 I can easily add other essential oils to bring out all of those things in the next batch which would be next year if there’s a call for it. 

I thank  you for your feedback. I like to hear from people about their take on a product.


An also thank you on the knee situation and I’ve ordered the book that Nero suggested and I can’t wait to get into it. 

Best regards

Frank

Very interesting to hear the range of interpretations and possibilities with the formulation. I wouldn't mind a bump in overall scent strength for the soap, but I also understand some of the limits of working with naturals versus synthetics. And if given a choice, I would generally prefer a more natural form. 

If you were tuning the scent in the future, I wouldn't mind more emphasis on the green grassy notes, but that is just a personal preference. I also would not want more emphasis on powder notes or sweetness. But I completely understand others will have different preferences.

I hope you heal quickly Frank.

Thank you for the kind words Zac

Like I mentioned if you’d like more grassy the Absolute is full of it and I can send you a vial of it to kick up the strength. I actually like it as is but if I were to want more strength I’d want it to stay the same just stronger with all its grassy notes. No sweetness or Powder notes. Just give me the Grass! Lol 

Have a great weekend

Dragonsbeard
Frank

Very interesting to hear the range of interpretations and possibilities with the formulation. I wouldn't mind a bump in overall scent strength for the soap, but I also understand some of the limits of working with naturals versus synthetics. And if given a choice, I would generally prefer a more natural form. 

If you were tuning the scent in the future, I wouldn't mind more emphasis on the green grassy notes, but that is just a personal preference. I also would not want more emphasis on powder notes or sweetness. But I completely understand others will have different preferences.

I hope you heal quickly Frank.

Thank you for the kind words Zac

Like I mentioned if you’d like more grassy the Absolute is full of it and I can send you a vial of it to kick up the strength. I actually like it as is but if I were to want more strength I’d want it to stay the same just stronger with all its grassy notes. No sweetness or Powder notes. Just give me the Grass! Lol 

Have a great weekend

Hey Frank that was me responding earlier, I had just included Zac's earlier response for reference. I think Zac preferred more sweetness. But I am with you on the Grass!

rocket

Sorry man I didn’t see that. An I’m glad you like the grass note and I don’t know where Zac’s getting a cucumber note out of it… we need to check that boys nose! 

rocket

Sorry man I didn’t see that. An I’m glad you like the grass note and I don’t know where Zac’s getting a cucumber note out of it… we need to check that boys nose! 

Lol  Made me laugh on that one Frank.

How many have used Thayers witch hazel? They have a cucumber option and you could try and picture if they scented a shave soap, that is what Violeta soap smelled like when I got it  out of the package. It isn't pungent by any means but just light and pleasant. Almost reminds me of Taylor of Old Bond Avocado shave cream. That had a bit more of a soapy facet but that also had a cut cucumber or avocado oil smell to it. The natural violet doesn't seem to be really strong by itself so this light floral somehow smelled like cucumber note. Seems like it takes some complementing notes to really anchor the violet scent. I could be happy with a option where the mix of a powder or a more green note could be mixed. Again, I know the synthetics can be a turn off because if it gets overdone, it gets too heady. I could even see a barbershop nod using the violet and adding like you mention, a powder note and some other facets. I guess thats making me think of Floid Blue or Razorock Baby Blue. Those had a nice scent but had that light and powdery (slight citrus or floral feel). These were light compared to the Jabonman Violetas which was a bit more candy like or maybe as someone mentioned above, green sweetness or deep floral.  I think it will be interesting to hear more feedback and what everyone else picks up.

Dragonsbeard Frank, this batch of the soap even after curing is probably the softest f base. I have been letting it air out a little bit and I'm wondering if you think the scent will change at all over time besides it lightening up in scent strength? Just curious.
By the way, I used it again today and the lather feels really nice on the face. It shaves great so I think this formula is working out really nicely. Face lathers really easily

While I'm on the other side of the fence (I'd prefer it just smelled like the flower instead of the leaf), I wouldn't mind it being stronger... whichever way it ended up. That being said, I do enjoy how it is now. It's definitely stronger in the splash.

Just a little update. So the other day I had a little injury as I tore my Meniscus muscle so I had a couple of days of rest, ice and take 3 Advils and had to elevate the leg. I'm better for sure and I have an appointment with a Dr coming up [….] Anyone have the same problem and any advice or know what to expect?  I actually did it by turning around to fast. Having running shoes on my foot stays planted while the rest of me turned around so not a good thing! Such a weird way for this to happen. One of my customers whos a Doc said my muscle may have been weak to begin with. All I know is the first two days where not fun!

Twenty years ago, I had laparoscopic surgery for a torn meniscus. I had already tried all the insurance-mandated non-surgical therapies, with no benefit. As others have said, nothing is really going to cure a piece of debris in your knee joint.

In some minor cases, I think sometimes they can actually repair tear. In my case, it had to be removed. That went very well. I never took any pain meds except the one they gave me in post-op. The doc was surprised, but I told him it hurt worse for months before the surgery, and they didn’t give me anything then.

My left knee was always a bit looser after that, but it was definitely better than before surgery, allowing me to resume the work and activities I enjoyed

It took me a few tries to find the precise wording the doctor was willing to answer, but in essence, he said that I would likely need knee replacement sooner than I would have if I had not injured the knee and required surgery.

In about a week and a half, I’m getting that knee replaced. 7 weeks later, the right knee will be replaced.

The left knee has definitely needed replacement longer, but the right knee has never been injured and it’s shot too.

I think the injury (more than the surgery itself) accelerated the timetable on the left knee, but at least in my case, it certainly wasn’t the only cause, and I would probably be replacing it anyway.

I’ll also add that after shoulder surgery a few years ago (multiple tendons completely torn in a workplace accident), I recovered very quickly. Same for the knee surgery years ago. In both cases, I was diligent about doing all my assigned home exercises and more (within recommendations), and that’s my strategy for the knees. Attitude and determination make all the difference.

sgarnett

Thank you so much for sharing the information. Hopefully I won’t need a knee replacement. Mines healing nicely just taking it easy the pain is gone but it’s still a little tender and can still tell that if I were to try and do everything I normally do to soon that it May flare up again.

I’m interested in what the Orthopedic doctor has to say.

Best regards


Frank