What soap/cream did you use today?

Thanks to a trade with one of our great DFS members, AlanH81, I was able to finally try Eufros Vetiver de Haiti.  TommyCarioca's description of "bacon grease" really had me intrigued and I knew I had to try it one day.  I can certainly see bacon grease as an apt description.  But to me, this one is very similar Mike's Vetiver (one of my favorites).  Vetiver de Haiti has a strong scent off the tub and that bacon grease really hits you the first time you smell the soap.  But deeper breaths reveal that nutty/dirt vibe I've always associated with Mike's.  I can't thank AlanH81 enough as this one will definitely be in the rotation for a long time!

Good job brother. A great lather fo'sho'

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Does the maple scent come through very heavily on this one?  For some reason, it seems the scent profile wouldn't work well (at least to me) but I've seen several reviews that say this is a great scent

I'm terrible at describing scents. With that said you can pick up the maple but the ginger ale and bourbon fade it to the back at least to my nose. Anyway, it's a very well done scent, pairs well with A&E Amber Rose AS

Tried Vanilla Safi by Ethos today. For full disclosure, I am not a vanilla fan at all, so I only acquired a small 1 oz. travel size just to see what a real vanilla shave soap smelled like. So, what *does* it smell like? As expected, a very natural sugary vanilla and little else. To one who tends to dislike pure vanilla, I personally would have loved some natural rum and or sandalwood added to make the fragrance more complete, but I suspect vanilla lovers will be well-pleased with the scent as-is.

Performance of the new (edit: modified) base soap was a bit different than the other Ethos soaps in my collection. I am normally a face latherer, loading soap directly onto my brush from the jar and then using my face to whip up the lather for each pass. In this case, due to the small 1oz travel size jar, I had to scoop out about a dime sized amount of the soap, and build the lather in the bowl. I don't know if it is the nature of the (edit: modified) base, the amount I used or a combination of both, but the firmer soap seemed to build a thinner lather than the other non-(edit: modified) base Ethos soaps I own. This may seem like a negative, but in actuality, if anything, it worked as well as, if not better than the other base. The lathering experience may not have felt as luxurious or as dense, but it protected my face perfectly, had excellent glide and ended with an even better post-shave feel. So, appearances proved somewhat deceiving, with the (edit: modified) base yielding a very pleasant, superb performance.

Tried Vanilla Safi by Ethos today.  For full disclosure, I am not a vanilla fan at all, so I only acquired a small 1 oz. travel size just to see what a real vanilla shave soap smelled like.  So, what *does* it smell like?  As expected, a very natural sugary vanilla and little else.  To one who tends to dislike pure vanilla, I personally would have loved some natural rum and or sandalwood added to make the fragrance more complete, but I suspect vanilla lovers will be well-pleased with the scent as-is.

Performance of the new F base soap was a bit different than the other Ethos soaps in my collection.  I am normally a face latherer, loading soap directly onto my brush from the jar and then using my face to whip up the lather for each pass.  In this case, due to the small 1oz travel size jar, I had to scoop out about a dime sized amount of the soap, and build the lather in the bowl.  I don't know if it is the nature of the F base, the amount I used or a combination of both, but the firmer soap seemed to build a thinner lather than the other non-F base Ethos soaps I own.  This may seem like a negative, but in actuality, if anything, it worked as well as, if not better than the other base.  The lathering experience may not have felt as luxurious or as dense,  but it protected my face perfectly, had excellent glide and ended with an even better post-shave feel.  So, appearances proved somewhat deceiving, with the F base yielding a very pleasant, superb performance.

Hello my friend 

I’m glad you got to try the Vanilla Safi. Just for the record that’s not my new F Base which is completely different. It’s actually a slightly modified version of my standard  base with one extra fat added, some oils I normally use in my serums and a higher percentage of the EOS Complex. 

It may take more than one time to dial in the lather right but when you do it should be very thick, & creamy. Even more so than my regular standard base. I agree on the post shave being taken up a notch. This isn’t just my opinion but the general feedback I get from most of the folks that have it in their den.


On the Vanilla aroma. This was a personal challenge because as to my knowledge and a bunch of other well known soap makers I call friends there’s never been a 100% authentic pure Vanilla shave soap ever made. A couple of soap makers suggested Frank don’t even bother trying as it would probably be next to impossible mostly due to real Vanilla is an extract which is alcohol based which obviously would not be good to use as a scent or ingredient for making soap. So I ordered a whole bunch of Madagascar Vanilla beans and infused them in a mixture of both Coconut and Jojoba oil for about 10 months using a repeated 36 hr low heat then let sit for a month method to achieve a real Vanilla oil. I backed that up when I made the soap with Vanilla Absolute. 

I have some of both the Vanilla infusion and the Absolute left and I’ve been thinking of offering a by request personal blend custom shave soap or Skin Food Splash adding authentic Sandalwood or any other of a bunch of essential oils that would blend really well with Vanilla. 

If you’d like pm or text me, we can arrange a phone chat.  

As always 

Great shaves!

CBL Barbershop & Bergamote Lemon

Stirling Deep Blue Sea with Frost Drops added.

Noble Otter / Northern Elixir

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