What soap/cream did you use today?

Some days!  Some days are just better than others.  I just got off a trip on the Salmon River with three of my sons and brother what a difference that makes!  Big ol strong men to carry stuff?  Wish they were going with me August 9th. I have a youth group scheduled that week.  Sometimes I feel like I’m getting too old for this but it also seems a reason to keep living.  The days start early and go late.  I’ve sand in everything I own.  And I swear the boats are getting heavier!  But I row all day and I love the whitewater. Got to watch a mom otter and her pups work the river.  The Bald Eagles must have had a family reunion as we spend every day floating past them.  The water was bracing. No smoke in the air yet and I’ve never seen it so green!  My vitamin D tank is full.  But I come off the river with a beard just getting to the itchy stage and wow I relish that first shave!  Called on the brassbird to tackle the chore and chose Rhapsody todo it.  Loaded long on a 30mm brush d enjoyed the luxury.

I’m a sucker for the odd scent and Caties Bubbles Irish Coffee really scratches that itch.  I don’t drink coffee but I love the scent of it.  I don’t drink whisky but distilling fascinates me.  Add coffee and the smokiness of whisky together and it’s a win.  But here’s the weirdness.  In the west we have a native rat called Bushy Tailed Wood Rat who creates a midden to live in.  They soak these homes in urine that has a musky, skunky scent.  I’ll be darned if this soap doesn’t build a note that is a ringer for the scent of this rat.  “Mister, you’re not doing a very good job of selling soap!” Yep, I get it. Not everyone wants to sniff rat urine but if you don’t know the scent you’d never recognize it.  It’s coffee and whisky and marvelous. But with so many wonderful memories tied to places where a pack rat built a midden this scent is just glorious to me.  

It’s getting into HOT finally here in these Idaho Hills. That means the locusts are buzzing in the grass under the junipers and a good cool drink of water is the best thing in the world. On the Salmon River there are few places to refill water but one is so choice as to make all others pale in comparison. At Arctic Creek the little lodge has put a hose in the stream and allows us guides to top off as we roll by. No lugging containers. No leaving the boat. Just oar on up, take the caps off, grab the hose and fill your jugs with as sweet a water as God has gifted us anywhere!  I’ll empty my Nalgene jugs and refill them and drying two of them down right there.  So cold it hurts your teeth. This L’Occitane Cade soap always reminds me of respite in the heat and this morning Arctic Creek rolled through. I’ll be drinking from that hose in 10 days time. It’ll likely be hot and that water will be welcomed! 

Phoenix Artisan set out to show the hobby that veg soaps can do what tallow soaps have been known for and I believe they did that.  The CK-6 formula is really nice.  User friendly. Protective. He names things weird names but I think it fits with his eclectic positioning.  Besides, Douglas is a super friendly guy.  Alliteration works, so Supreme Sandalwood Science may be the best sort of name.  It certainly is the best sort of scent.  

Glad to be busy but WOW!  Two shaves to report. Leviathan is an odd one by every measure. Date night scent?  I suppose if your dating a werewolf. Heavy on the leather with just a touch of skunk it’s a tack room to me.  The little cabin tack shed next to the Quonset.  Lots of leather and sweat and just a kiss of a skunk smell that isn’t a skunk at all.  It’s a honey and I like it but unless you are super manly and desirable……like me……it’s not a lady getter.  The ever-ready brush is the first vintage I did.  Years ago, before I knew much, I ran across this wee brush and swapped a small silvertip into it.  It’s too small for,a three pass but I seldom do that anymore. For a two pass shave it’s just fine and so handsome.

Today was Sundown, a dupe of Gillettes Sun Up I’m told.  Never sniffed Sun Up but I’ll tell ya Sundown is a clean and classy man from the 60s.  Replete with creased trousers, thin tie, and fedora.  Such a classic scent needed classic gear so a 1960 Fat Boy and an ever-ready 150 seemed the right choice.  The fat boy was found in Azle Tx and the 150 in Springfield Mo.  

My son has a brand new tub of Abbate Y La Mantia Krokos and he gave me a heady sample to try.  I was struck by the yellow color and wondered if it might stain a brush.  Scent is very approachable although not inspiring. Performance? My hard water told me this super fatted soap would do much better in soft water but with a pretty heavy load it created an emulsion that shaved pretty well indeed.  Post was plump. Overall it’s a pretty squared away soap but I sure can’t see $60 value in it.  If it really can live up to the marketing hype perhaps it’s worth it.  But I’m guessing this is a case of pure marketing where a person found a use for the family saffron flower, and being used to high ticket item sales (saffron stamens) they weren't afraid a a sixty dollar ask.  Bully for them!  Is it as good as many soaps I have at a third the cost?  I don’t know. Right now I don’t think so.  As it was, that yellow lather was just enough out of normal to be just a bit off putting.  It didn’t appear to stain anything. It did shave very well. It smelled good. I’ll use up what I have but I can’t see myself buying this again. Saffron is for Paella. 

I’m on the third shave with Krokos and getting a better handle on what it is and isn’t. What it is seems to be a highly super fatted soap even to the point of being oily.  That leaves me with a very plump finish but it also leaves me with a very low structure lather.  Shiny? Like a new car shiny and although I like hydrated lather this one seems more like thin yogurt that frankly leaves me dripping dollops on my chest as I shave.  If I don’t take it to that level of hydration it’s pasty.  This lather is akin to when I try to lather Cremo.  I have tried beating the stuffing out of it but still end up with a super low structure emulsion (because it’s not lather) that shaves and finishes very well but is just too far out of my wheelhouse.  Perhaps soft water allows it to fluff up better?  As it is there are no peaks, stiff or soft, at all.  This is melted ice cream.  Sure shaves nice though. 

Yet another shave with Krokos and darned if it’s not a good one but man I’m digging through this soap lickety split!  It really is a great shave but I feel a bit like a toddler with a pot full of poster paint!  The stuff is everywhere when I get done……even being very careful.  The scent is really growing on me.  I haven’t weighed any soap usage so I’d be guessing but I’ve never chewed though soap like this before!  Hard water has to play a role and Highspeed I like your advice about chelating with citric acid.  That ought to help.  But it shaves well, just doesn’t fluff up and I’m not likely to bother with the citric acid as I have so many others that perform swimmingly in my H2O.  It’s fun to have a new soap to play with but it feels like too much money for the number of shaves I’d get from a tub.  

Lip, we need photos of the rat, midden and that glorious lodge watering hole. Miss your photos; along with Nero's they the source of much pleasure in this forum.

Fougère, bol en frêne (Martin de Candre) classic fougère
Shave 6 ・ 218 g left

Since this brain bowl is never covered, I was worried that the scent would fade quickly. That hasn’t been the case. Each time I lather the soap, I’m greeted by a surprisingly robust gust of fougère. HoosierShave, I remember you using Martin de Candre Fougère for many a moon. Did the scent ever dissipate, or did you ever grow tired of it?
____________
Brush PAA Peregrino ・ Razor Karve Christopher Bradley ・ Blade Astra ・ Book Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey

Bouki I apologize for such a late reply...life really got in the way of fun/hobbies over the past few days.

Despite consistently using MdC Fougere for approximately three months, I still LOVE the scent.  There are several fantastic Fougere scents to choose from but there is just something about the MdC version that is special.

Thursday and Friday's shaves...

Phoenix Shaving 11235

I haven't purchased any new soaps in months (less Ethos Rose). I am a sucker for 4711.... been through 3 gigantic 500ml glass bottles, plus various normal sized containers.

I really like the PK6 formula. Every time I make a mental note to use it more. When I caught wind that Phoenix was reintroducing their version of 4711 - loaded up.

His stuff is great if you are a fan of 4711. The scent lasts a bit longer, and the soap has the bitter petitgrain I relish in the German version. A true refreshing summer shave. Going to get some backups.

C U all tomorrow

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

Stirling Barbershop

Sent from my SM-T387V using Tapatalk

Ethos Blood Orange Cream v2…..

Razor: Gillette 1920 Bulldog Combination set #17G, gold
Blade: Pol Silver Super Iridium
Brush: Badlands Shaving Color Run, synthetic
Pre-Shave: Proraso White
Lather: Noble Otter Logbook
Aftershave: Old Spice Classic
Additional Care:
  Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Unscented

Despite consistently using MdC Fougere for approximately three months, I still LOVE the scent.  There are several fantastic Fougere scents to choose from but there is just something about the MdC version that is special.

I totally agree

It has its own lane... Seems there is a hint of spiciness and it doesn't feel out of place.

Not saying I don't love other Fougeres, as well.