What soap/cream did you use today?

Mike's Barber Shop

I haven't posted for a few days because I've been working through a sample of a new scent from Sir Henry's Sundries/Black Tie Razors that Dominick sent to me three days ago.  The scent is Bay Rum and as a confirmed Bay Rum fan, I was very interested.  I first became aware of Sir Henry's a couple of years ago when I bought their #13 unscented soap and two scents, Casino Royale and El Jefe. Since then I have gotten my mitts on several other scents, each one of them excellent.  I liked the products so well that about a year ago I hooked up with the team while on business in St Louis and shared a meal of toasted ravioli, a STL icon.  What I learned is that the Black Tie Razor team is made up of individuals each with a key talent to making things work and a dedication to each customer’s needs.  But it's the Bay Rum I want to tell you about! I love the many iterations of Bay Rum available and this one is stellar.  Bay rum to me is a big old dose of bay.  Not bay fragrance but real bay.  This soap is all of that.  I get lime first, then the bay and rum kick in.  There is a hint of vanilla going on plus some other things and knowing Dom, I suspect it's Sandalwood holding down the fort.  And one of the ingredients I really like in Bay Rum is that kiss of nutmeg.  Love it, but it doesn't love me so when I smelled it I thought, “well, here's a soap that isn't going to work” thinking it would fire my skin up.  But I lathered it anyway and made a pass.  The spice scent was there but there was no tingle. 2nd pass and no reaction.  Third pass and I realized that whatever level of nutmeg he had used must be below my sensitivity threshold.  This classifies as a “hug soap” for me.  It's the kind of feel that you could leave it on your face and watch Quigley Down Under and enjoy the face hug the whole time.  I asked Dominick how he put nutmeg in the mix and didn't light me up.  He said “no nutmeg but scent wizardry”. At any rate, I hauled out the 4 bay rums I have and sniffed them side by side.  Gents, I have a new favorite Bay Rum.  It pays respect to the two scents In the title but then adds depth and refinement the others don't have.  If you are a Bay Rum fan you owe it to yourself to be on the lookout for a Sir Henry's  Bay Rum release.  He told me I'd have to wait until June sometime.  I'll be waiting!

Fjellheim v. (Fitjar Islands) light conifer

A new puck of Fjellheim looks like a volcano with its top half shorn off. I've often wondered why Fitjar Islands chose to make their hard soaps this odd shape. I think I got my answer the other night as I was browsing YouTube and came across a tutorial on how to make Castile soap. It looks like one popular way to mold homemade soap is to put it into a silicon muffin pan. After it has cooled, each soap pops out shaped like an upside down muffin, or in other words, just like a puck of Fitjar Islands shave soap.

Homelikeshaving light soap

Chiseled Face / Ghost Town Barber

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Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna shaving soap (vintage)