Grooming Dept

I'm going to give Absinthe & Leather a try. Keeping my eyes peeled for the aftershaves coming in January.

Bufflehead’s not worth the chase imo. Not many jars and too many wet shavers clamoring for it and building up the hype. I last had a jar of Fletcher and found it drying. Just comparing these two artisan ingredient lists should give an indication.

Of course I was blasted in the past by Bufflehead fanboys when I called it drying...which it was.

Much appreciated. Going to compare some ingredients over the weekend. Always seeking a little better product but there are so many. Grooming Dept seems to raise the bar a tick or two.

I have:

Mallard
Credence
After the Fire

Flight, Inciense & Rose, Wonderland, Amber & Oud and Dia, purchased today.

I love this soaps.

Thanks Mohammad

Some good feedback TheKey and while we all make our own choices as to how we spend our money I really think that shaving products from the likes of Grooming Department, Barrister and Mann, Tallow+Steel, Declaration Grooming, Wholly Kaw and Chatillon Lux to name just a few represent excellent value when you consider the enjoyment and yes, outright pleasure we experience while using them in our morning shave. As an example, I can get a tub of Grooming Department soap from Top of the Chain for CDN$24.99 which is about $14.50 in US$. For me thats equivalent to the price of a movie for my wife and I without a snack. I haven't used up a tub of shaving soap recently, however, another member did an experiment a while ago and went with one soap from new until it was gone and my memory may be failing me but I recall that he got in the neighbourhood of 60 shaves from a single tub. Thats quite a lot of utility and enjoyment for a reasonable price. I think we're the problem in that many of us just buy too much soap.

Your point about how much better can a soap be is interesting. I've been wondering lately if we've reached "peak soap", i.e., the point where the performance of most soaps is so good that incremental improvements are imperceptible and any any incremental cost related to such imperceptible improvements unjustifiable. Like in the audiophile world you referenced - should you pay more to buy a product that while undoubtedly technically better, the incremental improvements are beyond the range of human ability to perceive them. Your dog may thank you. That said, I don't think we're there yet in the shaving soap world and there are so many variables and so much of it is subjective (can you believe that some people actually do not like bay rum? ) that I think we've got plenty of room left. Always remember the asymptote.

Your point about how much better can a soap be is interesting.  I've been wondering lately if we've reached "peak soap", i.e., the point where the performance of most soaps is so good that incremental improvements are imperceptible and any any incremental cost related to such imperceptible improvements unjustifiable.

Let's call up NASA and see what they can do.

Your point about how much better can a soap be is interesting.  I've been wondering lately if we've reached "peak soap", i.e., the point where the performance of most soaps is so good that incremental improvements are imperceptible and any any incremental cost related to such imperceptible improvements unjustifiable.

Let's call up NASA and see what they can do.  

Marko you got me thinking about Big O Notation in programming talking about "asymptote"

If people would stop getting upset about my experiments. I might release a base that is out of this world. TheKey would not like the cost of it

Your point about how much better can a soap be is interesting.  I've been wondering lately if we've reached "peak soap", i.e., the point where the performance of most soaps is so good that incremental improvements are imperceptible and any any incremental cost related to such imperceptible improvements unjustifiable.

Let's call up NASA and see what they can do.  

Marko you got me thinking about Big O Notation in programming talking about "asymptote"

If people would stop getting upset about my experiments. I might release a base that is out of this world. TheKey would not like the cost of it

See that would make for a perfect experimental soap. You simply ask... "If money is not much of an object, how good can it get? Introducing the experimental Atmosphere. Let's see what we can do and how high we can go in seach of the best."

Feel free to use that.

Then, once you get it to the best that you possibly can, that becomes an ongoing soap. It's just your super high-end line.

You would then have your regular lines which are better than most anything and you have your ultimate atmospheric line, which cost, but there is no equal anywhere at any price.

Let's call up NASA and see what they can do.  

Marko you got me thinking about Big O Notation in programming talking about "asymptote"

If people would stop getting upset about my experiments. I might release a base that is out of this world. TheKey would not like the cost of it

See that would make for a perfect experimental soap. You simply ask... "If money is not much of an object, how good can it get? Introducing the experimental Atmosphere. Let's see what we can do and how high we can go in seach of the best."

Feel free to use that.

Then, once you get it to the best that you possibly can, that becomes an ongoing soap. It's just your super high-end line.

You would then have your regular lines which are better than most anything and you have your ultimate atmospheric line, which cost, but there is no equal anywhere at any price.

I think of it as like some local restaurants here that have different menus each day of the week and only appear once a week. Sometimes seasonals come in. Whereas GroomingDept is a monthly+ menu that may appear once or more a year. What's not to like? I get you want stability, but this is unique and what GroomingDept brings to the table. If you buy a car, tv, or electronic today there will be future revisions and full on new releases. Do you feel the same with those companies? Just saying...

Marko you got me thinking about Big O Notation in programming talking about "asymptote"

If people would stop getting upset about my experiments. I might release a base that is out of this world. TheKey would not like the cost of it

See that would make for a perfect experimental soap. You simply ask... "If money is not much of an object, how good can it get? Introducing the experimental Atmosphere. Let's see what we can do and how high we can go in seach of the best."

Feel free to use that.

Then, once you get it to the best that you possibly can, that becomes an ongoing soap. It's just your super high-end line.

You would then have your regular lines which are better than most anything and you have your ultimate atmospheric line, which cost, but there is no equal anywhere at any price.

I think of it as like some local restaurants here that have different menus each day of the week and only appear once a week. Sometimes seasonals come in. Whereas GroomingDept is a monthly+ menu that may appear once or more a year. What's not to like? I get you want stability, but this is unique and what GroomingDept brings to the table. If you buy a car, tv, or electronic today there will be future revisions and full on new releases. Do you feel the same with those companies? Just saying...

I think there's a way to have both. Just sayin'.

Your point about how much better can a soap be is interesting.  I've been wondering lately if we've reached "peak soap", i.e., the point where the performance of most soaps is so good that incremental improvements are imperceptible and any any incremental cost related to such imperceptible improvements unjustifiable.

Let's call up NASA and see what they can do.  

Marko you got me thinking about Big O Notation in programming talking about "asymptote"

If people would stop getting upset about my experiments. I might release a base that is out of this world. TheKey would not like the cost of it

I'm all for it! I don't know what the price would end up being but heck, I bought some Nuavia for CDN$75. I wouldn't want to pay that much for all the soaps I have but if its special I could probably convince myself that I need it.

My reference to the asymptote referred to soap makers constantly approaching perfection but never actually achieving it - the lines never meet.