What soap/cream did you use today?

So my attempt to keep the den to a minimum number of soaps really fell apart over the past couple weeks.  Arriving this past Friday were the remaining 3 soaps to complete the B&M Four Horsemen collection.  I was able to get a shave in with Famine and Death this past weekend.  Not really sure I'll lather up War, that one smells a lot like cilantro...and not in a good way.

Cilantro huh…and NOT in a good way, lol.

I’ll be reviewing a soap later this week with top notes of Febreeze, Hand Sanitiser and Urinal Cake…

Here's hoping that it's not a USED urinal cake  

Nope, it WAS in a better place however I’m just going to give it away here to anyone who might enjoy the scent of Chanel #5 mixed with the sharp essence of the toilets in the London Underground

Yesterday at lunch I fell out of a perfectly good house.  My eldest son called and asked if I had time during a lunch break to pick up a desk from his office and move it to his house.  You bet, anything for my son.  So I met him at the office, loaded the desk, took it to his place and after some finagling got it into his home office space.  Yahoo!  Then when I was leaving I forgot gravity is a thing, stepped into space and simultaneously face-planted and flat-backed it on the concrete patio outside.  Metal knees, and chronology have me more cautious than ever.  Bruises heal. Sprains get better.  But a spark from a metal knee has set many a forest ablaze and who has time for that?  Thus I find myself falling like I taught in ski school; to go with the fall, and the training generally serves me well except concrete is not snow.  (Well except icy spring boilerplate snow but I digress).  My son was so concerned as I lay there after showing off my agility like a walrus.  He offered a hand up, but I wasn’t done assessing what was hurting now and what might still be hurting in five minutes.  I assure you, my pride was bruised.  After things settled I got up, picked up my phone and ear buds that had left me during the flight and told him I was fine.  And I suppose I am fine except it feels like my back did leg day at the gym.  Two bruised elbows, one sprained wrist, two tweaky fingers, strained back, banged up shoulder, and some sort of weird knee pain in both legs but it seems everything will be right as rain in a few days. The house is fine by the way.  
This morning I lathered and shaved with my off hand due to the wreck and I chose Port au Prince. This soap smells horrible off the puck and wonderful off the brush.  I’ve often said Stirling punches above its class and I think people know that by now but for some reason I’m still surprised when I grab a puck and it’s impressive.  This soap is of 5he mutton tallow days and I believe they have stopped that. Sad, as I find it some amazing stuff.

Barrister & Mann Red Letter Day

I don't know what to think of it yet. I bought a whole puck because it was on 11% sale (not huge, I know). It supposedly has all the most-requested notes from B&M users: vanilla, bergamot, cedar, sandalwood, leather, and cedar.

The Omnibus base was fantastic, as usual. Hero lather, hero performance. But I'm still trying to figure this scent out. At first, it smells like a makeup counter - all sorts of smells of cosmetics that put together don't really make a scent of its own. It has something interesting to it as a top note, though, and may grow on me. Update coming. 

So a “Potpourri” of scents? Interesting.  
Potpourri translates from French as “Putrid Pot”
Looking forward to that update, maybe I’ll wait for your update and parallel release my B&M Review of another.  Maybe Will can mesh these two together? I already have a name for this sort of hodgepodge: “STINKA”

Yesterday at lunch I fell out of a perfectly good house.  My eldest son called and asked if I had time during a lunch break to pick up a desk from his office and move it to his house.  You bet, anything for my son.  So I met him at the office, loaded the desk, took it to his place and after some finagling got it into his home office space.  Yahoo!  Then when I was leaving I forgot gravity is a thing, stepped into space and simultaneously face-planted and flat-backed it on the concrete patio outside.  Metal knees, and chronology have me more cautious than ever.  Bruises heal. Sprains get better.  But a spark from a metal knee has set many a forest ablaze and who has time for that?  Thus I find myself falling like I taught in ski school; to go with the fall, and the training generally serves me well except concrete is not snow.  (Well except icy spring boilerplate snow but I digress).  My son was so concerned as I lay there after showing off my agility like a walrus.  He offered a hand up, but I wasn’t done assessing what was hurting now and what might still be hurting in five minutes.  I assure you, my pride was bruised.  After things settled I got up, picked up my phone and ear buds that had left me during the flight and told him I was fine.  And I suppose I am fine except it feels like my back did leg day at the gym.  Two bruised elbows, one sprained wrist, two tweaky fingers, strained back, banged up shoulder, and some sort of weird knee pain in both legs but it seems everything will be right as rain in a few days. The house is fine by the way.  
This morning I lathered and shaved with my off hand due to the wreck and I chose Port au Prince. This soap smells horrible off the puck and wonderful off the brush.  I’ve often said Stirling punches above its class and I think people know that by now but for some reason I’m still surprised when I grab a puck and it’s impressive.  This soap is of 5he mutton tallow days and I believe they have stopped that. Sad, as I find it some amazing stuff.

Wow...I'm glad to hear you didn't hurt yourself any worse than you did. And, somehow you kept your humor about it and made an entertaining post. Do be careful...we don't bounce off concrete these days like we used to. And, Stirling does still make a few mutton tallow soaps. They might not have the same scent you do, however the formula hasn't gone away just yet.

Those jars are  made of PETG plastic not acrylic and I’m guessing that Maggards may have bought them from a soap maker I know that switched to Parkway plastic jars in an effort to keep prices down. I use Colt to make my 4.5 oz size Shave Soap and Creme jars.  My 7.5 oz jars come from France and they are also PETG plastic. Best plastic there is and the closest to glass. Colt went up 25% after Covid and their set up charge also went up  30% so it’s either raise prices a bit or switch. I personally like the quality.

With YOU Frank! I’ll pay extra for a container that will keep my software FRESH

Example: YOUR Dragonsbeard V1 is as fresh today as it was back in June 2019.  Of course there’s not much left in my 3rd tub however I have plenty of V2 to keep me in business

Furthermore….the foam inside the lid to keep the material from the air. Know what, I’m going to stop here, I’m not getting banned today for calling out these “Premium Soapers” and their shite Packaging

Keep doing what you’re doing Frank….. your Version 1 DB (that started it all) is a better container than the containers your competitors are putting their poisons in

Thank you old friend for the encouragement. Since the Dragonsbeard V1 my packaging  has changed to the PETG jars and lids I’m using today which are much better as they provide a better environment for the ingredients I use. Actually if I had my way I’d use glass jars but because of shipping costs from Europe ( the jars are heavy )  also some jars are bound to break on their way here so loss has to be considered. Once they arrive then there’s higher shipping costs to the customers and my vendors. An finally there’s always the chance of a customer dropping the jar and with glass the odds of it shattering are very high and I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to cut themselves!

The jars I use currently are certainly not inexpensive an in fact just the opposite. The brushed Aluminum lids I use cost more than the more commonly used jar &  lid and you could probably thrown in the labels into the equation.  I like what I use not only for the looks but also for the protection of the ingredients and I believe most of my customers appreciate them as you do.

On a side note I have a unopened jar of Dragonsbeard V 1 , V2 and V3  along with the V1 splash just because Dragonsbeard started it all. 

All the best

Frank

The Self-Named Dragonsbeard has kept a spot in my Top 3 for close to 4 years running (this summer will be 4 years). 

Angel, Beaudelaire, Khalifa and Spanish Fern all knocked it out of its #1 spot but at the moment it sits at the top. I would normally say with each version the material has gotten better and better HOWEVER, as with all my Ethos, for me the #1 standout has been scent. Performance of your “lotions and potions” will always be consistent because “You’re a cosmetics guy” and implied.  I pick and choose carefully as I like performing STRONG BOLD SCENTS.  

Performance of Ethos: like Yoghurt hitting my requirements of slickness, protection between the blade and my skin, minimisation of irritation/weepers….all the basics of soothing one’s skin to help counteract the effects of shaving. Great cosmetics are exactly that: good for your skin!  AGAIN, I like to smell something when I shave and your offerings have never disappointed.

Your packaging has always been premium.  Many of the others used premium and as their pricing went up, their use of premium packaging went down.  So now I question things silently like; “did the quality of the materials inside go down too?”  We have MANY choices in this shaving arena, and I LOVE to try new things. We are also creatures of habit….we always go back to what we favour most.

How does a shaving cream/croap/soap make it into the “ExtraProtein TOP 3?”
I have to continually reach for your product over and over and over again. Performance implied but it comes down to SCENT for me.

Cheers Frank!

PANTA REI * Gattopardo

Nice, mild complex lavender