PAA General Thoughts?

Now, where were we?  Ah, yes:  PAA

So, to those of you who are fans, what version and scents of PAA shaving soaps would you recommend to a self proclaimed shaving soap nut(ME) who really likes woody, natural, or floral scents?  I'm not a huge fan of food scents generally, but fruity scents are OK.  Keep in mind that I have tons of other soaps, but have yet to try PAA, so I'm mainly looking for the best performing PAA soap base/formula as well.

Have a try of Gondolier, it's a lovely light sweet woody scent in my book with a hint of warm floral.

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Thank you, sir, for your recommendation! I will definitely put this on my list. This one sounds like it is right in my wheelhouse.

Please post your thoughts on the product(s) if or when you get them.  Most have already made up their minds on the "other" issue.  Enough on that subject, please; it is exhausting.

But from what I took, this thread isn't about "What do you think about the performance of PAA/Crown/PPF/Crown/etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc products", it's about:

"I'd be curious as to others thoughts as well, as to why this particular vendor/artesian isn't discussed more often" per the OP.

I haven't seen any recent discussions that would be perceived as personal attacks on the maker or his past. The discussion has been about copying other products, taking shots at other artisans and overprice AS.

Wow , I wonder if any keen wet shavers in Aleppo are keeping up with these shocking developments

As an immigrant from Syria who has family struggling all over my homeland, including Aleppo, I truly appreciate your comment. Sometimes we need perspective to humble us and keep us on the right path...

People trying to create drama when there isn't any...

With all due respect, that's a bit naive and for those that have been around since the beginning or paid attention, a bit dismissive. There has been plenty of drama over the years, and here are just a few in recent memory...

This product came out after a well-known and respected member of the community was publicly lambasted (http://tinyurl.com/zd2yy4c). In response, he smashed his PAA scuttle and sold or outright gave away his remaining PAA products. Granted, there's more to the story but let's move on.



This product came out after another well-known member of the community dared suggest that PAA scent descriptions were nebulous or unclear.



And whatever you do, don't even consider suggesting some scents smell similar or have anything less than glowing praise of a scent... Because that would be insulting to an artist and his art.

Sure, some of this can be seen as firmly tongue in cheek, while the rest of it smacks of someone who can dish it out, but can't take it. It's also worth pointing out that none of this happens with other artisans. Some of us just prefer a classier artisan - and product - and that's okay.

I believe this is an open forum.

Erik Hodges is toxic.

He lied about being a veteran, shilled his own products using different names, tried to shut down Stirling soaps, tried to besmirch Maggards, questionable soap ingredients (FDA), banned most everywhere, hides behind his sycophant girlfriend. Nightmare.

Unfortunately, his soaps, are really pedestrian at best in today's offerings.

Toxic.

BoarderPhreak, I was referring to this current instance that you perceived as "drama", not drama between you and Douglas from a year ago.

BoarderPhreak, I was referring to this current instance that you perceived as "drama", not drama between you and Douglas from a year ago.

I and everyone else I've talked to. And it was brought to my attention; I merely mentioned it here. The drama goes beyond me; clearly you missed the two large images.

Just stick to reviews and leave the drama behind man. Nobody cares anymore. We've beaten this horse beyond its bloody death in this thread and others. Move on....

Once again, gentlemen, enough is enough. What is it about about the old adadge, "All publicity is good, even bad publicity" that you don't understand?  By this constant discussion you are giving someone you do not care for free publicity.  It's a win for that person.  Not so much for you.

As for being an open forum, I believe DFS is more open than most.  Notice that while several threads on this very topic/person have been closed for getting out of hand, none has been deleted.  They are all there for anyone to see.

Lastly, I am not saying that one side is right and one wrong but rather let me please point out that, after all of this discussion, all anyone has to do is read about our other wonderful merchants, do a comparison, and draw one's own conclusions.

Now, may I please modify the discussion slightly? That is, I have pre-ordered a bottle of Will's (Barrister_N_Mann) Barrister Reserve in the Classic scent. I LOVE B&M products and, of the ones I have, his scents are a delight. However, most often I want an unscented aftershave so it won't clash with an EdT I might wear. I would be more likely to go through a bottle faster, and thus replace it more often, while still getting all of the wonderful performance I have come to expect from B&M. I wonder why unscented is rarely, if ever, offered by B&M. Does anyone else agree or should I be looking at this from a different angle?

Will does make an Unscented shaving soap but yeah, it might interest people to have an unscented Barrister's Reserve. Alas, he's indicated that there are no plans for such (which may change down the line, who knows). Classic is a good choice though - it's quite mild and you can easily layer a different scent over it.