What soap/cream did you use today?

Encens Agrumes by GD

Brion shaving cream. Serbian. Widely available in small local stores, it even managed to make its way locally to the shiny shelves of big European apothecary retailers like DM, Rossman, Muller.

In the scent department Brion, both the cream and the aftershave splash, is trully something different. I think it's safe to say you've probably never smelled anything like this. It's just awful. A combination of dust, heavy chemicals and strong raw unrefined alcoholic drink. Yet, I love it for its originality. The cream is a bit more quiet but the splash is really loud, radiant and pungent. My wife even set a safe 1 meter distance rule while I'm wearing Brion. Performance-wise, the cream is quite decent. No complaints.



I purchased Brion on a recent trip to Serbia in Novi Sad (the second largest Serbian city and a very nice historical landmark).



While wandering the streets of Novi Sad I saw an awesome very inviting visual ad at a small pub (beer is not the main course at these well reputed gentleman club establishments but strong distilled spirits that go under different names across the region i.e. Rakija in Serbia and Bulgaria, Tzuika in Romania, Palinka in Hungary). That was the moment I felt right at home. The window ad was so reflective of the Balkans traditional way of getting wasted after a hard morning. There is little sense in staying sober too much over the course of a day.

As the smartest woman ever encountered (Slovenian) has stated: Russians live on hate and vodka, that applies to the Slavic soul. Never really understood adoptive father until meeting her.

To my Russian friends online, this not meant an insult. Much could be said of US psyche as well and, in any event, love my father and Russian culture dearly.

This is just to add that the Balkans is a mixture of cultures, ethnicities and religions that includes but is not limited to Slav. In fact, it goes well beyond one single ethnicity/religion. Greek, Slav, Muslim, Hungarian, Latin (believe it or not, Romanian is a latin language; as a Romanian it could take me as little as 6 months to become fluent in Italian) are all part of the region. Strong alcoholic beverage is one of the common delights across the region.

Pardon, thought this a product of Serbia and the photos of Novi Sad

Art of Shaving Rose Absolute shaving cream (vintage) + Rose Trilogy absolute/hydrosol. Yes, the cream has hardened into a soap, and it has lost some - but not all - of its scent. But the hydrosol really livens it up well.

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Pardon, thought this a product of Serbia and the photos of Novi Sad
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And you were perfectly right to think so. The soap is indeed Serbian and the photos were taken in Novi Sad. By following up on the initial post I just wanted to highlight that the kind of pub in the photo (and the hard drinking that takes place inside) is a common sight to the whole Balkans region that has a highly heterogeneous composition (Slav included). Sorry if my second post created confusion.

Captain's choice / Bay Rum

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Balkans legendary tough guys

Ethos Grooming
Nuage De Citron F Base
Feather razor /blade
Profumum Roma Acqua Viva

Perfect tart lemon /citrus fragrance; nice 'firm' soap to my personal liking; easy to lather; very slick; perfect packaging - reminds me of MdC Agrumes but scent is way better in Ethos; post better in Ethos. My favorite lemon [Eleven] has been supplanted. The F base is the perfect option for the face lathering non-cream guys among us. A winner fo sho!



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Kathmandu v. (Tcheon Fung Sing) faint woody floral
Shave 1 ・ 100% left

Kathmandu is a mild woody floral – so mild in fact, I had to put my snout right down to the puck to smell anything. The label says it contains African geranium oil (pelargonium graveolens), which is supposed to smell strongly of roses. Alas, that scent is barely here. The description also mentions tobacco flower, coffee, oud, incense, and carnation. Honestly? Those notes may have made it into the mix, but they’re present in such minute doses that nothing is distinct. Kathmandu just smells like a tame floral soap that would be safe in any hotel room anywhere in the world. Big disappointment. At least the excellent quality of the lather redeemed the shave.
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