(This post was last modified: 07-21-2019, 10:41 PM by Lipripper660.)
So the box will soon be with another and here is my final report:
First and foremost, thank you Dfoulk for making this possible and thank you soap makers for providing the contents. it was an awesome trip for me although I had an inordinate amount of time with it. Started feeling guilty during the 2nd week. I cannot believe the list did not fill fast as I learned a bunch that i will discuss later. At any rate, i am shocked at what a little time does to our industry. Five years ago we had a few soaps that were performers and most of the makers in the box were not offering shaving products. there were 17 Artisans in the box and all of them proffered a great quality soap. some were quicker to lather than others. some offered high structure, peaky lather and some were low loft cream-fests. some were slicker than others but all of them were slick enough. some offered world class post finish and some were a tad tight. All of them were soaps that I could have used for every shave forever. Good Stuff.
So it became obvious to me that the next big thing is shaving is not likely to be in the soap base. I don't personally think that the next big breakthrough will be unicorn milk or pixie dust. if feels to me that we have reached a point where additional improvements to most bases will be minute. I think the next area for growth in their niche will be in scents. it was obvious while sniffing that there are fragrances houses that many of our makers visit that offer a fougere or sandalwood or leather scent already mixed as there was much similarity in the soaps thus labeled. that said, there were other makers who if using these pre-made scents had done additional blending to come up with something unique that others don't have. Don't get me wrong. the premixed smelled great but i think for a maker to win me over they will have to work on the scent palet vs coming up with another soap base. id be looking for unique and approachable scents. (in other words I don't want another Green Irish Tweed). I'm not talking about individual scents like Lisa's Somali Rose or Razormasters Toivo. I'm talking about the scent blending skill that reveals itself across all the soaps offered. I need not enjoy the scent to respect the skill behind its creation. there were some in the box that really impressed me with their scent blending skills. that, my friends, is what will cause me to get off my wallet and buy. hey, there is absolutly nothing wrong with using pre-made scents as most of them are very approachable. but to make a difference will require originality in my book. Simple or complex, I dont care. but same old same old isn't going to get it done for me.
As stated, all of them were awesome but there were a few that stuck out to me for different reasons. the Wholly Kaw finish was just out of this world good but hey, i use raw shea so that is a bonus and not a necessity. Scent? two big surprises were Lisa's Somali Rose and Razor Masters Toivo. both wildly differing on the the scent scale with Somali Rose offering refined sophisication and Toivo offering blue collar pine tar scent. they both whacked it out of the park for me. Overall soap base/ scent winners? Well I have two. Barrister and Mann ANY base has done great for me and the scents are beautifully mixed. the Reserve line is about as approachable as B&M has ever offered (no roam or lavanille in the herd.) And a sleeper which should not be a sleeper Black Tie Razor Company who offers in-house scent blends and soap base. Their scents are awesomely masculine and cover the scent wheel pretty good without going all redundant. These two would be my first choices overall.
So once again, thank you for the opportunity and if one of you brothers in lather are looking to get a scent education, get your name on the list NOW!
![[Image: QBdZ8FY.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/QBdZ8FY.jpg)
