(This post was last modified: 09-14-2016, 11:58 PM by 120inna55.)
(09-14-2016, 11:17 PM)semperfi 45 Wrote: (09-14-2016, 01:40 PM)120inna55 Wrote: Van Yulay - Soap Of The Gods Aquarius "Espresso"
Kent V8 (vintage)
RazoRock Wunderbar Slant | Triad Rolling Hex 316 Stainless
Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum Black (2)
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Much smoother shave with my familiar handle.
Great shot 120inna55. 
What are your thoughts on that soap?
It's very slick and creamy. It has excellent post-shave, particularly for my scalp. My skin seems to get softer as the day goes on. It feels great immediately after the shave, but it seems to have a delayed peak. When I first used this soap, I thought it was a fluke, but I've come to discover it's a characteristic of this formula.
Van Yulay has 2 "hybrid" soaps. Hercules is with emu oil and Aquarius is vegan. The hybrids were a mistake in their lab that ended with good results. It's not melt-and-pour glycerin, but there is considerable glycerin in these bases. However, they also have characteristics of traditional soap, hence the "hybrid" moniker. With these 2 bases, you choose the fragrance you want from a drop-down menu. It's recommended food-type scents be reserved for Aquarius because Hercules contains honey that will possibly sweeten the scent a bit. I wanted a pure black coffee scent, so I chose Aquarius as it's going to keep the scent in the most pure form. Also, my experience with coffee scented soaps is that they often have cream and sugar accompanying them (or worse, hazelnut). PAA's Spring Heeled Jack was my favorite for being able to pull off unadulterated coffee, but it transformed a bit after using it. VY's "Espresso" in the Aquarius base is now my favorite coffee-scented soap. It's a legitimate, dark roasted, smoky coffee. The splash has ingredients that do add a bit of creaminess, but that can't be avoided in a splash with such contents. It's quite enjoyable.
I highly recommend either of these "hybrid" soaps. Many snobs (myself included) would avoid them because as first glance, one may assume they're just dressed-up melt-and-pour, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
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The Sunrise works fantastic. It is the same size and same depth as the on set in your 2nd Amigo brush. I have both Capri and Shambala and both are great. I hope they decide to restart production or sell the rights to someone else.