What soap/cream did you use today?

Martin de Candre shaving soap 

Yes, agreed, and I'm being somewhat facetious. But only somewhat. I'm convinced that because Stirling always kept its soap prices modest, its soaps were perceived as somehow not quite as good as soaps that are no better or not as good but much more pricey. It's human nature to want to like and believe the product you paid a lot for is vastly superior to the product you paid much less for. And very often, that's the case. 

But when it comes to this hobby, the old saying "you get what you pay for" really doesn't hold true in my experience. Particularly with soaps, balms, aftershaves, etc. And, at the risk of repeating myself, with hardware I find that a stainless steel razor with a blade gap suited to one's face is a joy to use and to look at. Does my Wolfman give me a vastly superior shave to my Gillette SuperSpeed or even my Merkur 34C? No. But the Wolfman exudes quality and care and excellence. You can feel the care and thought that went into it. 

With Stirling it's annoying that there's a widespread perception that their soaps are second-tier. As long as those who feel this way do so because they honestly get better performance from other soaps, fine. But I think a lot of it's perception. Just this man's opinion. Your mileage may vary. Discontinue use if you experience side effects including nausea, shortness of breath, or the uncontrollable urge to shave for more than four hours at a time.

Dark Limes v. (Meißner Tremonia) earthy lime

Meißner Tremonia's soaps are rich with cosmetic clay, so not only do they hold lots of water and make slick lathers, they come in a wide variety of earthy colors. Dark Limes, for instance, features black clay. It makes the soap as black as a hockey puck and just about as hard. Nevertheless, it builds a quick, easy lather, and thanks to the Shea butter, the finish is plump and comfortable. But there is an inescapable earthy note, and that combines with the gray lather to create the impression that you're shaving with wet cement. Curious.
   

Late posting today but Tabac is simply awesome!

Yes, agreed, and I'm being somewhat facetious. But only somewhat. I'm convinced that because Stirling always kept its soap prices modest, its soaps were perceived as somehow not quite as good as soaps that are no better or not as good but much more pricey. It's human nature to want to like and believe the product you paid a lot for is vastly superior to the product you paid much less for. And very often, that's the case. 

But when it comes to this hobby, the old saying "you get what you pay for" really doesn't hold true in my experience. Particularly with soaps, balms, aftershaves, etc. And, at the risk of repeating myself, with hardware I find that a stainless steel razor with a blade gap suited to one's face is a joy to use and to look at. Does my Wolfman give me a vastly superior shave to my Gillette SuperSpeed or even my Merkur 34C? No. But the Wolfman exudes quality and care and excellence. You can feel the care and thought that went into it. 

With Stirling it's annoying that there's a widespread perception that their soaps are second-tier. As long as those who feel this way do so because they honestly get better performance from other soaps, fine. But I think a lot of it's perception. Just this man's opinion. Your mileage may vary. Discontinue use if you experience side effects including nausea, shortness of breath, or the uncontrollable urge to shave for more than four hours at a time.

Hey I was just bored and looking for something to talk about. It's midday my hole in the wall fitness club for has been shuttered for good and the cold beers in the fridge look more appealing than the gym gear I currently have at home.

SHANNONS SOAPS / 25th St Lime

Today's face-lathering process was cut in half.  I was running late and didn't get to spend the amount of time on the lather-process that i like to.  I loaded for about 20 sec and face-painted for 3 minutes.  I then went into the agitation/swirl process for another four minutes.  The lather still performed well and provided more than enough cushion and slickness for a 3-pass shave, but it's not what i am used to...guess I need to stop sleeping in til 5 am and get my lazy behind out of bed at a respectable hour so I can get a good lather on

I arise early too.  What do you do that gets you up that early?  Mine was a herd of milk cows that trained my brain to not sleep past 5.

Self-employed (1-man shop)...the more I work, the more I make.  And when things get busy, I work as hard as I can for as long as I can.  I learned early on in my career, there will be times when there is very little work.  So it's important to work hard and save when times are good. 

Having said that, family is the priority.  And no one, other than me, is getting up at 3:30 in the morning.  I get a ton of work done prior anyone else getting up.  And it is very rare that I work past 5 or 5:30 pm...that's family time.  So in order to get work done, the alarm goes off early and the first pot of coffee gets started

I’m up at 3:30am with you! Ring me if you’re bored, pass on the coffee, but I’ll sip a PRE-workout powder like AminoEnergy Grape!

Homelikeshaving sandalwood