Review & SOTD - Proraso Green Soap

Welcome all to another installment of my blog and video log!  The soap of the day is Proraso Green, a long standing soap in the wet shaving world.  Is it worthy of a place in your rotation?  Watch the video and see what happens!

SOTD 7/8/16

Hot Towel, Triple M Oil, Proraso Green, RazoRock Monster, RazoRock Bazooka, Astra SP (26), Cold Rinse.

A great shave was had today, you'd not know the blade was 26 days old!

I'd really appreciate your likes and subscriptions if you see something you like.  Let me know you've subscribed and I'll check out your channel and subscribe in return.

Many thanks!

Nick

Phoenix & Beau "Obsidian" - Shave of The Day & Review

Greetings gents!

Welcome to another post, with another video review of a fantastic soap.  Below is a brief outline of the tools used today.

SOTD 6/8/16
Phoenix & Beau Obsidian, Cadman 26mm Silvertip, RazoRock Bazooka, Astra SP (25), Cold Rinse.
Simply stunning shave, scent to die for, performance that is second to none.

Please let me know your thoughts!

FIRST IMPRESSION REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau Denali Shaving Soap

So ladies and gentlemen, I have been trying a new soap, designed with summer in mind, to give you a nice chill!  Check out the video to see my thoughts!

And to see how it compares to another stalwart in the shaving world (Proraso Green) in terms of cold, check out the below video where I simultaneously face lather both soaps.

If you have any questions about either soap, please feel free to comment on the relevant video or here and I will do my very best to assist!

Thanks again all,

Nick

A Mitchell's Wool Fat SOTD

Evening gents!

Today I videoed my shave to highlight the wonderful MWF, and how to get a cracking lather from it.  Is it rocket science or is it best to revert to basics for it?  Find out below!

As always, thanks for reading and for watching my recent installments.  Please like and subscribe if you find the content helpful or entertaining.  Comments and criticism always welcome, every day is a school day!

Thanks!
Nick

Erasmic Stick - A Lathering Test!

Here's a little video I put together for the forum members on TSR after a thread regarding the Erasmic stick and how bad it's lather is. Tested four different brushes to show how much of a variable the brush really is:

I hope it is useful to all of you who have never tried the Erasmic stick, or indeed are curious as to the difference a brush can make to the lathering of a given soap.  If you find it useful, please give the video a big fat thumbs up, and possibly a subscribe too if you would be so kind!

Thanks!

Nanny's Silly Soap "The Beef" First Impressions

Greetings readers!

Today I present my first video to you all.  I was given a sample of Nanny's Silly Soap "The Beef" in Lemon, Basil and Mandarin to test in pre-production.  This sample is a 'tweaked' version, the tweak for which I was not privy to prior to testing.

So, without further ado, here's my first video!  Apologies for the lighting issues in the video, the camera did not play nicely in the bathroom.

I hope you enjoy!  Please comment on the video, subscribe if you like what you see, and definitely check out Nanny's Silly Soap, they are fantastic!

REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau 'Spitfire' Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau Spitfire - A tallow shaving soap with the apparent ability to bend time.

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:

SCENT:
When the soap was announced, I almost anticipated the profile as it was delivered.  I expected leather, and tobacco, but not so much the gin (juniper).  It makes perfect sense, the sharpness penetrates the smooth leather to bring balance to the profile.  The tobacco is almost a supporting scent to my nose, acting as a mixer if you will.  All in all, it evokes the true spirit that must have existed in the squadrons of pilots who so bravely piloted Reginald Mitchell's masterpiece (Reginald Mitchell is a local hero around these parts, Stoke on Trent).  This is top draw scent profiling, I can see EXACTLY what Kerry was aiming for here.  One thing to note, like many soaps that are a great blend of fragrances, face lathering changes how you perceive them.  Try it, I personally love how it changes this scent, bringing to me, more tobacco to the front.

LATHERABILITY:
I tested this soap with various brushes in both the bowl and on my face, and find this soap to be on par with the rest of the P&B range.  Easy to load, easy to build, and almost foolproof.  It doesn't take long at all to get a bowl or face full of rich, dense lather at all.  Top marks yet again Kerry, guard this soap recipe with your life!

PERFORMANCE:
Excuse the Uncle Albert moment here, but during the war, you needed an airplane that could do it all, and do it all well.  During a shave, you need that too.  This soap (as I've come to expect from P&B) delivers in spades in terms of slickness and in cushion.  The soap allows the blade to glide across the face with almost reckless abandon, it is that good.  I wouldn't of course recommend complacency when using any soap, but you get that level of reassurance that when you're feeling the results of the mess hall from the night before, Spitfire will guide you through the dogfight and safely out the other side.

POST SHAVE:
When you have a great shave, you feel good, and when your skin feels good post shave, you feel even better.  Here we have a soap that delivers that feel, gives that glorious finish that really shouldn't be possible given what your skin has been through. 

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
We traditional wet shavers enjoy our shave.  We enjoy not only the act of shaving, but the ritual and experience that come along with it.  There is an experience to be had here that is very different from other soaps.  Whilst some soaps have the ability to evoke powerful memories, this soap appears to have the ability to bend the space/time continuum.  You're transported to a time gone by when men were men, when you stared death in the face and radioed back to base to 'cancel two late lunches', when Britain was truly Great.  The soap itself is fantastic, the scent nostalgic, the experience?  Magical. 

REVIEW - Phoenix & Beau TSR Limited Edition 'Obsidian'

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Phoenix & Beau 'TSR Limited Edition' Obsidian - It is a shave soap that invokes ancient Gods...

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
As I've come to find with all Phoenix & Beau soaps, it is a moderately soft soap, which means it loads very easily, so a shortish load (brush dependent) and you're golden.

SCENT:
I inhaled slowly from the tub and got a hit of the dirty, wet vetiver, with a hint of sweetness that I suspect was the frankincense coming through, with the almost fern like oakmoss hitting you last.  Very primal scents.  I proceeded to make a lather in the bowl with The Monster, and quickly found that the lather is of typical P&B excellence.  The scent changes in the bowl, mellowing if you will, becoming more balanced.  Upon the face, the earthiness strikes you first and foremost, with an image of smoky fire being conjoured as the complex scents dance their mystical way up your nose. 

What struck me as I'd finished the shave was the scent changed again.  Any remains of the scent left on my skin warmed to provide a woody, almost musky aroma.  A very pleasant, but unexpected twist to the dark tale of Obsidian.

A simply stunning profile of scents here, make no mistake.  I'll use this one sparingly so as not to run out...either that or I shall have to cross Kerry's palm with mucho silver and make offerings to various deities to obtain more!

LATHERABILITY:
As briefly mentioned earlier, the whole range of P&B soaps are incredibly easy to lather.  They are fairly soft soaps, so even the softest of bristles won't fail to take plenty of product.  Again, P&B is thirsty soap, so ample water is needed during the build once you've created your proto lather which is nice and elastic.  Even the greenest of wet shavers won't fail to get a good lather with this soap.

PERFORMANCE:
Unlike the moniker of this soap, there is plenty of cushion on hand with this soap, ideal for sharper blades.  When it comes to slickness, you'll find it here in abundance.  Put it this way, you thought a politicians shoulders were slick given what slides off them, they haven't got a patch on P&B soap lather!  I've found the overall shave performance quite simply sublime throughout, from the first pass with heavy growth, right down to the ATG pass in my trouble spots.  Nay a hair of drama.  Perfect.

POST SHAVE:
You'll have noticed by now from reading my reviews, that Post Shave Finish is one of my primary factors when considering a soap purchase.  Given the base soap is the great P&B tallow formula, I knew up front I was in for a treat, and I was not mistaken.  As a pleasant afternote, the warmer woody scents developed once I'd rinsed and dried my face, always a nice touch.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
I think Kerry and I need to have a 'Godfather' type moment, where I sit him down and make him an offer he can't refuse to make more of this soap (sadly a limited edition run of 50 tubs).  This is quite simply exquisite.  The imagery the name and scents invoke are quite spellbinding.  As a younger gentleman (33), previously I wouldn't have thought the scent profile would have been my particular brand of single malt so to speak, but I was captivated by the promised profile.  The performance cannot be questioned, Phoenix & Beau soaps sit atop the podium for me in every way, Obsidian is no exception.

REVIEW - Faena Mastic Tree Shave Soap

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Faena 'Mastic Tree' - 100% vegetable soap.  If I need to tell you what a shave soap does, well, I think we need to start at the beginning!

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
It's simple.  I choose not to bloom the soap as it is very soft (I moulded the puck with my thumb to fit the pot without any issue at all), a quick 10-15 seconds load on the brush and away to the bowl we go.  Once built, I tend to lightly swirl on my face, then paint to get it even.

SCENT:
The scent to me was the original drawing point to the soap.  I had never heard of, nor smelled a mastic tree in my life.  This of course piqued my interests, aroused my suspicions as to what it could smell like.  Well, when it arrived, I had no expectation, so opened the pot and took a long slow inhale.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find a fresh, heady scent, reminiscent of a herb garden (think rosemary) with a hint of cut grass.  All together a very inviting, summery scent that could quite literally be found if you were to shave in your herb garden.  Very subtle when lathered and on the face.

LATHERABILITY:
With a quick 10-15 second load on my Body Shop synthetic brush, I got an copious amount of pre lather, thick and chewy in texture.  In the bowl, it took a reasonable amount of water to make a yoghurty lather that was almost bereft of bubbles from the outset.  A very pleasant soap to lather.

 
PERFORMANCE:
I had high expectations from the naming of the product (Premium Handmade Shaving Soap), and for the most part, I agree.  The lather is rich and creamy, providing more than adequate cushion against the blade.  In terms of glide, the performance is not bad at all, very similar (if not identical) performance to other all vegetable soaps I own.  It could use a little more glide, but it is not lacking, as the shave is performed without issue.

When a preshave oil (in this case olive oil) was used, the glide was perfect, nothing to note that could deduct points so to speak.

POST SHAVE:
This is one of the most important factors for me in a soap, particularly on days where I don't want to wear a fragrance.  I found that with the Faena, I didn't get the best post shave finish (when using the soap on its own), I got a mild amount of dryness/tightness after the shave.  I get this with just about all vegetable based soaps, and some of the cheaper tallow soaps.  Granted, I can negate this dryness with some balm, but it's worth noting that there must be something causing the dryness (comparable to that I get with Palmolive Sticks).  I suspect it could do with either some more glycerin or another ingredient to enhance the post shave feel.

When used in conjunction with a simple preshave oil, the post shave finish is absolutely spot on, cannot fault in any way the feeling on the skin.  It seems perfectly at home with a simple olive oil rub prior to lathering, in keeping with the Greek origin, my olive oil was of Greek origin.  Lovely stuff.

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
Well, it's an unusual position I find myself in.  I love the scent, I love the lather and in shave performance.  I'm not 100% certain on the post shave finish, given what I know is out there.  I'm not put off mind, as I know I can rectify the finish with a little balm or use of a preshave oil, so that one downside is a bit of a moot point.  Would I buy it again?  I would, as the scent is wonderful for summer or an evening shave, very fresh and the performance is good overall.

REVIEW - Nanny's Silly Soap "Moroccan Sands"

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Nanny's Silly Soap - Moroccan Sands

APPLICATION METHOD AND DESCRIPTION:
Load the brush (damp synthetic) for about 15-20 seconds, whip lather in a bowl, adding water until ideal consistency is achieved.  Apply to ones boat race in circular fashion, paint until even.  Shave.  Admire.

SCENT:
Now, this is where I can only quote Janice from Friends - Oh! My! God!

I LOVE this scent.  It reminds me of being in a Wiccan ritual, of heady piles of incense burning upon smouldering charcoal, filling the room with mystic smoke, designed to invoke the Gods and Goddesses.

LATHERABILITY:
I have yet to find a soap that presents a problem in lathering.  Some take a little longer to build a quality lather, others (like this) spring up a lather almost as soon as you introduce a damp brush to them.  A 15-20 second load produces plenty of lather for a full three pass shave plus touch up.  No problems here.

PERFORMANCE:
During the shave, I felt the lather protected well, cushioned against the blade and importantly, enabled a close, safe shave.  I felt no real problems occur during the shave, bar the first time I used, the lather didn't last very long on my face if applied a little thin.  No real problem, just ensure it is applied properly et voila.  It also has glide for days, very slick indeed.

POST SHAVE:
As I am sure you will have noticed if you've read any of my other reviews, that this is one of the most important aspects I consider when using and reviewing a soap.  Most vegetable based soaps leave me a little underwhelmed, not so with Nanny's.  I felt that this is up there with most tallow/lanolin containing soaps.  Having a scout through the ingredients list, I am left in no doubt that this is down to the shea butter content.  Top marks Nanny for this!

CONCLUSIVE COMMENTS:
Well, there is something special contained within the red anodised tin, something very special indeed.  The scent is heavenly, the performance superb, what more could you ask for?  I would definitely purchase again, and indeed will definitely try some of the other scents in the Signature range.  Worth every penny.