What soap/cream did you use today?

I really like the scent of Terre d’Hermès and gratefully there are several shaving soap/splashes to complement it.  The two best in my book are DR Harris Windsor and Fine Accoutrements L’Orange Noir.  Fine got the nod this morning.  It’s Orange for sure but bitter Orange vs sweet.  The Orange is backed by a clean earthiness that leaves a man smelling manly without the hyper-macho of a 70s power frag (which I love by the way) without being unisex. (Nothing wrong with unisex scents but they are not my jam).  I have a meeting with my largest client in two hours and this scent has me feeling confident and ready.  (That and the fact this client is above projections by 40 percent this year.). Make it a great day friends.

Try Declaration Grooming Trismegistus

Will do!

Route 66 / Barber Shop Hop

8/19/1942

Crabtree & Evelyn Sweet Almond Oil shaving cream (vintage)

Declaration Grooming - Unconditional Surrender (Milksteak base)

dmshaver: I'm really curious about this brand, and the scent seems just right for early spring. I've been on the verge of ordering a jar several times, but every time I get to the 'Place Your Order' button, I pull back. So, please tell me, what makes it 'absolutely wonderful'? I've also heard that the lather is fairly light. Do you feel like you're getting plenty of protection when you shave?

Bouki, thank you for the question. There are several things I evaluate a shave soap for in determining how I like it. We are aware of these different categories: scent,  latherability, cushion, slickness, residual slickness, & post-shave. Ethos is, as I stated in my original post, wonderful because it has taken each of the aforementioned categories & scores a perfect 10 in each. The lather is light, you are correct, which is ideal for providing cushion & slickness (protection). The quality ingredients in Ethos give my face the best protection & post shave I have ever had.

I've used many, many brands of soaps & many bases within brands. None have given me the level of quality I've experienced with Ethos. With other soaps before I tried Ethos, I accepted less than optimal performance in at least one area because I used to think it wasn't possible to get top-tier performance in every category. With Ethos, I discovered it's possible to get top-tier performance in every category. No other soap I've used has that distinction.

I encourage you to not pull back next time you're on the Ethos site. Instead, place your order & discover Ethos.

dmshaver: many thanks to you and DanLaw for your careful evaluation of these soaps. They look like something I should try, especially since my own skin has been a little tender lately. Can you each tell what your favorite scent is?

Bouki , my particular favorite is Lavender by Ethos. It is a refreshing clean lavender scent. I have read some say, who suffer from sensitive skin, that Ethos Lavender leaves their face refreshed & irritation free. I can not speak to that since I don't have sensitive skin. Perhaps DanLaw can address that when he replies.

dmshaver: many thanks to you and DanLaw for your careful evaluation of these soaps. They look like something I should try, especially since my own skin has been a little tender lately. Can you each tell what your favorite scent is?

My take differs from dmshaver based on having extremely sensative and damaged skin

First off, all the scents are equally wonderful and, with exception of DragonsBeard, simple but perfectly executed in a classic European style.  There is no contrived complexity; the scents eschew an often overbearing synthetic tone found in other artisans. Truth told, many have been trained to favour artificial scent bombs; if this you, may have issue.  From my perspective, strongly favour perfection in execution over artificiality and brute strength. 

That stated, due to my dual skin blessings, select soaps primarily and overwhelmingly on cushion and post shave.  Regarding ETHOS, have found the GreenFresh, Succes and Agrumes respectively to be the best “scents” based on skin performance versus olfaction appeal.  It is quite unusual for me to prefer a scented soap variant over an unscented and citus over a floral based on the aforecited criteria but there you have it. - ETHOS is the sole exception to the rule encountered to date. 

Regarding the specifics of the scents:
* Clean has zero scent NONE
* Lavender reminds one of French fields in mid summer
* Agrumes is pure grapefruit to me, a more refined variety
* Succes is the best bottle [good date code] of Creed Aventus
* GreenFresh overwhelmingly smells of cucumber when the jar first opened but if one swirls the creme a bit, a wonderful Asian salad scent wafts out that is quite refreshing and relaxing

* Dragonsbeard is intense as though locked in a vault of the strongest Creed Royal Oud ever encountered

Have not tried DFS but understanding is it Italian villa bliss with bergamot and neroli carrying the day - really looking foreward to this one

You asked, so unapologetic regarding lengthy response

My take differs from dmshaver based on having extremely sensative and damaged skin

First off, all the scents are equally wonderful and, with exception of DragonsBeard, simple but perfectly executed in a classic European style.  There is no contrived complexity; the scents eschew an often overbearing synthetic tone found in other artisans. Truth told, many have been trained to favour artificial scent bombs; if this you, may have issue.  From my perspective, strongly favour perfection in execution over artificiality and brute strength. 

That stated, due to my dual skin blessings, select soaps primarily and overwhelmingly on cushion and post shave.  Regarding ETHOS, have found the GreenFresh, Succes and Agrumes respectively to be the best “scents” based on skin performance versus olfaction appeal.  It is quite unusual for me to prefer a scented soap variant over an unscented and citus over a floral based on the aforecited criteria but there you have it. - ETHOS is the sole exception to the rule encountered to date. 

Regarding the specifics of the scents:
* Clean has zero scent NONE
* Lavender reminds one of French fields in mid summer
* Agrumes is pure grapefruit to me, a more refined variety
* Succes is the best bottle [good date code] of Creed Aventus
* GreenFresh overwhelmingly smells of cucumber when the jar first opened but if one swirls the creme a bit, a wonderful Asian salad scent wafts out that is quite refreshing and relaxing

* Dragonsbeard is intense as though locked in a vault of the strongest Creed Royal Oud ever encountered

Have not tried DFS but understanding is it Italian villa bliss with bergamot and neroli carrying the day - really looking foreward to this one

You asked, so unapologetic regarding lengthy response

DanLaw & dmshaver: many thanks for your thoughtful descriptions of Ethos' fragrances. It seems I really can't go wrong with any of them. But since I'm already loaded to the gills with lavenders and citruses and Aventus-like soaps, and since Asian salads are some of my favorite foods (but not really what I want to smear all over my face), I've decided to try Ethos Colonia. With luck it will be here in a week or so. In the meantime, I'll be preparing myself to be amazed.

Beaudelaire t. (Barrister & Mann) licorice fougère

The other day I drew up a list of my favorite soap bases. The usual wet-&-heavy suspects were there: Declaration Grooming, Tallow+Steel, Grooming Dept, Saponificio Varesino. But one base I forgot to mention was Barrister & Mann’s Glissant. For several years, this has been my benchmark for what a good soap should be. Not so hard you wear out your brush loading from it, not so soft that it turns to sludge after a few uses, its texture hits that Goldilocks spot. And its lather is among the very slickest. I think I still prefer Glissant to Barrister & Mann’s Excelsior or Reserve bases (although I secretly prefer the ‘white label’ base to them all). And like all of Barrister & Mann’s bases, Glissant has one other important virtue: it doesn’t smell of anything but the fragrance. There’s nothing oily or animalic or even soapy. It’s just straight up good smelling.
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Barrister & Mann: Beaudelaire (160 grams left) ・ Razorock Baby Smooth ・ Astra Superior Platinum ・ Phoenix Shaving Peregrino ・ Soap Hoard: 11,029 g ・ Used this year: 135 g

   

ETHOS / Dragonsbeard V2