GD Veritas Soap Sample PIF....... With a catch.

My Veritas sample arrived today.  Gus was kind enough to scrape together some remnants for me, so I was cautious not to use too much soap.  I weighed the sample jar before and after shaving, and I can tell you with hindsight that I used 2.0 +/- 0.1 grams of soap today.  That is really not a lot of soap, since it would have presumably weighed less if it had fully cured.  Anyway, because I was using the soap sparingly, I added water far more meticulously than usual, using a medicine dropper.  This 2 grams of soap took 12 ml of water!! (about 2 1/2 tsp), in addition to what was in the well-shaken, but thirsty Shavemac brush.  

The scent was IMO a pleasant, mild, clean scent.  I liked it well enough, although it did not wow me.  However, I have what may be the worst nose on this side of the Milky Way, so I would not put too much stock in that.  The lather was thin, but very effective - slick and with beaucoup ghost lather.  I did not get the inter-pass moistness that I usually get with GDept soaps, but that may have been me skimping on soap.  In any case, I simply wet my face between passes, and I had lather left over after going WTG, XTG, and ATG.  The result was near BBS - smooth as silk except for a couple of problem neck spots.  Post is hard to say.  I have come to expect great post from GDept soaps, even to take it for granted, but one shave doesn't really tell you much about the post.  I think I have another shave left, and I will report afterwards FWIW.  As it is, my skin feels fine right now.

So, thanks again Gus, and congratulations to Mohammad on another very fine soap!

Morning shave with 3 days of growth and decided to use a new feather pro which always seem to bite the first shave or two to really put lusso to work.

Gear:
Fine Bowl
ATT SE1 with Feather Pro
Albion handle by Trident Razors
Wolf Whiskers Irish Flag badger

Scent:
When reading the scent list I decided early that it wouldn't be something I'd stock in the den. However, the scent was very familiar to me. After spending hours I can't remember exactly what soap I had in passing that matches. Maybe once loaded into trythatsoap I'll get my answer. Scent wise I get the cocoa, tobacco and leather. Nothing wrong, polarizing or offputting with the scent and while I had low expectations I really enjoyed how refined the scent turned out to be.

Lather:
No secret that dealing with a very soft soap is a PIA to finger scoop and get in a bowl cleanly. Once done I used a bit to much water on the brush and had a moment of can I dig myself out of this. Kept at it and man did the lather come around. As with all Mo's soap lathering isn't an issue and ended up with enough fluff for a 3 pass full face shave.

Post:
Hard to explain but after a shave you know how you do a face splash with water and that immediate feeling after the splash really sets the stage on how your going to feel all day. I knew immediately it was going to be a good face feel day and it was.

Planning on getting another shave in tomorrow or Wednesday with different gear.

Thank you again for the PIF and I wouldn't hesitate to add a lusso soap to the must buy list based on this first shave. I'll follow up with another update once I get my follow up shave with different gear.



Sent from my Samsung S8+

Package received. I will use tomorrow and report. I get some leather scent, but no chocolate. I get woody root aroma.

I have had two shaves with the sample thus far and wanted to report back.  I am somewhat of a GD fanboy but passed on this when it was released because I didn't think I would like the scent.   I am so thankful that Gus did this PIF that allowed me the opportunity to try it.  In a nutshell: I really like it!  I like the scent, which to me, is more boozy than chocolatey. However, I really like it and would use it your round.  The performance, like most GD soaps, is excellent. That said, I would put this in the top tier of even GD soaps.  So, that's it.

Finally, I want to thank Gus for thinking of others with this PIF.  For those of you who don't know,  he does nice things like this regularly and always seems interested in helping others out. Honestly, he is one of the very best guys out there and a real stand up member of the wet shaving community.  He is an excellent example of the helpful camaraderie one can find in these forums and a real gentleman.  All that and he is from New Jersey too!

2nd shave this morning and changed a few things up.

Gear:
Karve with D plate and GSB blade
Wolf Whiskers "Lemonade" with synthetic knot

Shave:
Decided to face lather today with a DE and the synth knots are my go to for face lathering. Scent not as enjoyable today as it was yesterday probably because the lather was being built on the face over a bowl. Little much I guess for the morning.

Performance was just as good if not better than Mondays. With how smooth the shave was I really pushed the pressure and finished up with a 2 pass shave. I did buff a few spots but needed no visible lather or a reapplication of lather.

So....final thoughts.

Veritas not a go to scent for me at least.

Lusso base. One of the top performers I have used. Perspective....I shave primarily with Reserve, Bison, Icarus, T&S, GD and Eleven. This base was as smooth or smoother than that list for me at least.

Soap sample shouldn't be watery for anyone right now. Just the few days I have had the sample it has firmed up. I'd put the consistancy between Occams and TOBS.

Now if Mo would get those splashes and EDT's released I'd be very happy.

Thank you again GB for the opportunity to provide feedback.

Sent from my Samsung S8+

I had my second shave with Veritas today, and it was even better than the first.  I used a synthetic brush and all the remaining soap, which turned out to be 4.1 grams - just over twice the 2.0 grams I shaved with on Monday.  Eighteen (18) ml of water later, I had gobs of beautiful lather - still on the thin side, but absolutely superb!  I had some time on my hands, and the lather stood up to all the nitpicking I threw at it.  I walked away with an almost perfectly skin-friendly BBS - one nick on the neck, but a nick that was on me, not the lather.

It's no secret among the few who know me that I am a big Lusso fan, and, if Veritas went on sale again, I would buy it in a heartbeat.  Beyond that, and with only two shaves, I won't try to judge how Veritas stacks up against other Lusso releases.  But it doesn't really matter to me.  I always save some room in the front row for Lusso soaps, and they never disappoint.

Used my sample today. I like the liquidy nature of it as it makes it easier to face lather.  The scent was nice.  As I said, I get woody root scent like lemon grass and some industrial character. I could even go boozy like NJDJ indicates.  Performance was wonderful. Plenty of stable lather,  excellent slickness, and nice post shave feel.

Just got back from a week-long business trip to Dallas and found this sample on my desk. Cracked the top off and gave it a whiff and boy it smelled familiar. I puzzled over it for awhile and have still not come up with why. To me this smells like leather and the cherry smell of an Italian soft soap. Suffice it to say I really like this scent. I mean REALLY like it.
As the soap was so liquid, I loaded up a pretty good dollop into the bottom of a lather bowl and let it sit all night. The bathroom smelled heavenly this morning and the sample had dried quite a bit. I am most usually a face lather guy so you lather bowl was appreciative of the work. I chose a vintage ever-ready to beat it into submission. I made a good glossy lather that appeared to be the ticket and went to work. It's obvious that me lack of experience with the lather bowl and my first-time status with Grooming Dept soap was not a good combo. I believe I needed more soap solids to create the lather others report. Hey, I got a great shave, but did not have sufficient slickness to go over spots that did not have lather. Given the voluminous reports of slickness I have no doubt that I was the issue. Tomorrow I will face lather after slathering my cheeks with more of the soap and expect different and better results.
Oh, and thanks for the opportunity.

First, I want to thank GlazedBoker again for the PIF! Unfortunately, I missed the release of Veritas as i simply forgot the release date and missed out.

As for the scent, I absolutely love it. Personally, i think this scent is perfect for Valentine's Day...a chocolate-bourbon scent. Normally, a chocolate scent doesn't do it for me but mixed with the bourbon scent, well, now things are interesting

As for the lather...well, I'd rather not comment right now. I tried using it like I would a cream and, apparently, I didn't use enough. So I have scooped out the majority of the rest of the sample and have it curing in a lather bowl. I will give it a few days before I try it again and then report.

Thanks again Gus!

Second shave on the sample and I really loaded it heavy. Lather was better. Slickness was better but not as slick as I like it. Scent is heavenly. The soap might not reflect what was intended as it was liquid like a pump hand soap. Like the scent. Not impressed with the performance. Very grateful to GlazedBoker for the opportunity.