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Deleted member 1881
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Evening chaps, another soap that wanted to review but I waited for 3-4 months to use it many times and make up better my mind.
7 days of growth.
Equipment:
Yaqi Timberwolf 26mm Synthetic
Maggards Slant / Parker 97R Handle
Bic Blade #3
Scent: I am not impressed by B&M selection, I only like better Le Grand Chypre, so for me this scent is just ok, dark orange smell with so clean-crisp smell, very citrusy, anyway I'm not good when describing scents..
Lather: Having in mind that this base can be tricky, I always followed Will's recommendation and started with a wetter brush - three flicks and gently loading. I definitely overloaded it but who cares, I needed lather for 3.5 passes (big mistake with this Shark disguised in a razor). The brush seemed loaded but not so much, a usual thing of this base, so I stopped.
Face lathering and the amount of water it needed was humongous. I was keeping adding water to the point I got tired, the soap maybe could handle even more, but I stopped feeding this hungry beast.
Performance: First pass and the slant took no prisoners, glided excellent and took almost all the hairs at once, no questions asked. The soap was protecting me but TBH I rarely cut myself in the first pass.
Second pass and the lather was there, creamy and steady, slickness very nice and the slant was singing. The blade was really sharp but I felt that it started to losing its power a bit.
Third pass ATG and the soap felt really slick but it lacked in residual slickness enough for me to understand it. I rubbed my eyes, "OMG , is this really happening? I added so much water to make it slick, what is going wrong?" Then a voice hit me: "Keep calm Randy, there are better soaps out there and you know it, you already ordered the Sieroam as well, so be patient". I couldn't buffing on the areas that there was no lather, so I didn't insist much. The slant was threatening after some time, so I was more careful with this devil's tool.
Moustache area felt a bit rough, I cut myself there, 3 bloody dots appeared the moment that Southern Witchcrafts was better by far there, even without visible lather. Maybe it was the different razor, I don't really know the behaviour of the slant well yet, what can I say, it was also my first shave with it.
I insisted under the chin, the final result was a very close shave but I needed the Alum for 3 spots.
Post Shave: I didn't put any balm or lotion to test the face feel. All I can say is that instantly after the cold rinse, the face was tight and was pulling a lot to the point that if I tried to move my lips right & left my face would break. After an hour or so, things got better but still this soap is far behind A&E's post shave feeling, the latter has more natural effect and my face is glowing and shining in a good way after rinsing and it lasts for the next day or more.
As a result, no, I wouldn't buy this soap again, my standards are now raised a lot and I expect more things from a worldwide fame soap like Barrister's. I will agree with @Wayne, this man really knows how to compare soaps, the Southern Witchcrafts is better than this one, even with less ingredients. Xanthan Gum has destroyed Will's soaps, it needs TONS of water to get the consistency you want to start the shave and the post shave is behind A&E, Declaration and Wholly.
Randy
7 days of growth.
Equipment:
Yaqi Timberwolf 26mm Synthetic
Maggards Slant / Parker 97R Handle
Bic Blade #3
Scent: I am not impressed by B&M selection, I only like better Le Grand Chypre, so for me this scent is just ok, dark orange smell with so clean-crisp smell, very citrusy, anyway I'm not good when describing scents..
Lather: Having in mind that this base can be tricky, I always followed Will's recommendation and started with a wetter brush - three flicks and gently loading. I definitely overloaded it but who cares, I needed lather for 3.5 passes (big mistake with this Shark disguised in a razor). The brush seemed loaded but not so much, a usual thing of this base, so I stopped.
Face lathering and the amount of water it needed was humongous. I was keeping adding water to the point I got tired, the soap maybe could handle even more, but I stopped feeding this hungry beast.
Performance: First pass and the slant took no prisoners, glided excellent and took almost all the hairs at once, no questions asked. The soap was protecting me but TBH I rarely cut myself in the first pass.
Second pass and the lather was there, creamy and steady, slickness very nice and the slant was singing. The blade was really sharp but I felt that it started to losing its power a bit.
Third pass ATG and the soap felt really slick but it lacked in residual slickness enough for me to understand it. I rubbed my eyes, "OMG , is this really happening? I added so much water to make it slick, what is going wrong?" Then a voice hit me: "Keep calm Randy, there are better soaps out there and you know it, you already ordered the Sieroam as well, so be patient". I couldn't buffing on the areas that there was no lather, so I didn't insist much. The slant was threatening after some time, so I was more careful with this devil's tool.
Moustache area felt a bit rough, I cut myself there, 3 bloody dots appeared the moment that Southern Witchcrafts was better by far there, even without visible lather. Maybe it was the different razor, I don't really know the behaviour of the slant well yet, what can I say, it was also my first shave with it.
I insisted under the chin, the final result was a very close shave but I needed the Alum for 3 spots.
Post Shave: I didn't put any balm or lotion to test the face feel. All I can say is that instantly after the cold rinse, the face was tight and was pulling a lot to the point that if I tried to move my lips right & left my face would break. After an hour or so, things got better but still this soap is far behind A&E's post shave feeling, the latter has more natural effect and my face is glowing and shining in a good way after rinsing and it lasts for the next day or more.
As a result, no, I wouldn't buy this soap again, my standards are now raised a lot and I expect more things from a worldwide fame soap like Barrister's. I will agree with @Wayne, this man really knows how to compare soaps, the Southern Witchcrafts is better than this one, even with less ingredients. Xanthan Gum has destroyed Will's soaps, it needs TONS of water to get the consistency you want to start the shave and the post shave is behind A&E, Declaration and Wholly.
Randy
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