Barrister and Mann – Hallows (Scent off Entry)

Tags

7/10, Barrister and Mann, black pepper, cedarwood, cocoa, Discontinued, labdanum, oakmoss, Scent Off 2013, vetiver

The next entrant in the scent off is Barrister and Mann’s Hallows. B&M had made this scent available to the general public; unfortunately, they sold out in rapid fashion, and apparently there’s no plans to make the scent again (I guess some of the oils used are hella expensive). Alas. Here’s what the judges as a whole thought. To kick off my review, let’s see how B&M describe it:

Taking inspiration from the swamps of Boston, we combined vetiver, oakmoss, black pepper, cocoa, labdanum, and cedar to produce a deep, cold scent suited to the chilly, bitter days of late October. Gloomy, rich, and perversely elegant, Hallows is a reminder of why men once feared the dark.

This seems like a perfectly accurate description; it’s certainly suits the requirements of the contest rather well; that having been said, I can’t say that I’m really all that much of a fan of the scent itself; while I wouldn’t say it’s unpleasant, the combination just doesn’t do it for me. If I was judging it solely on how much I like it, it probably wouldn’t be doing all that well, but, since it does meet the parameters of the contest rather well, I gave it a bonus point or two to bump up to 8/10 for overall scent for the contest. The strength was definitely up there, without much fading.

The performance is typical of Barrister and Mann’s; excellent. Just be sure to use enough water and you’ll get a great lather with good thickness, glide, stability, and good moisturization to boot.

• 6/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 9/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I’d say it’s so-so. 7/10. I know there’s others out there who really liked the scent, but it just didn’t click for me.

• Cost: Alas, all sold out. Sorry.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Razor: 1966 Solid Nickel Gillette Tech
• Blade: Treet Dura Sharp
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Potasium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Fragrance, Andropogon Zizanioides (Vetiver) Oil, Cistus Ladaniferus (Labdanum) Resin, Juniperus Mexicana (Cedarwood) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Absolute, Coconut Milk, Potassium Kokum Butterate, Sodium Kokum Butterate, Unrefined Shea Butter, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Lanolin, Allantoin, Silk Protein, Tocopherol Acetate.

Barrister and Mann – Cheshire shaving soap

Tags

9/10, bermagot, black tea, citrus, earl grey, shaving soap, tea

Some of you might know that I’ve been looking for a good Earl Grey scented shaving soap or cream for a while. Well… I’m satisfied that search can be declared over.

I’ll put the disclaimer here: I was provided this sample by the manufacturer free of charge. Since, you know, he was aware that I’d been looking for a good Earl Grey scent, and there’s definitely worse business strategies than providing reviewers with something that you think they’ll enjoy.

Cheshire is a pretty damned good approximation of a classic Earl Grey tea; unlike some attempts out there, Barrister and Mann didn’t stop at the bermagot oil, but did their best to recreate the scent of the tea as well. Well, a sniff of the soap and a sniff of the tea bag, and I’m satisfied that this is probably about as close as you’re ever going to see. A damned fine job crafting a wonderful scent.

The strength too is quite good. It starts off rather strong, and during the course of the shave only fades to a “fairly strong”. Perhaps I would have preferred a tad more, but let’s face it, if they had done that there’d probably be others complaining it’s overpowered.

The lather is, well, the same as I’ve come to expect from B&M. It’s thirsty, so don’t make the mistake of being stingy with your water, otherwise you might end up with something that’s lacking for lubrication. Keep at it, and apply a little elbow grease, and you’ve got a nice slick lather that retains good thickness, with a decently wide sweet spot. And some decent moisturization properties to boot.

• 10/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 9/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Quality of Lather

So, yes, I’ll say that I’m quite pleased with this soap. I think I’ll be sticking it at #3 on the top ten list. A rather strong 9/10 overall. And, a damned fine value for the price you pay.

• Cost: A 1/2 oz sample can be had as part of their 7 piece sample pack, for $11.50, on its own for $2, or you can go for the full-sized puck for $11.

Gear used:

• Brush: Ecotools Kabuki Finishing Brush
• Razor: 1966 Gillette Tech
• Blade: Lord Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Aqua, Glycerin, Citrus bergamia (Bergamot) Oil, Salvia sclarea (Clary Sage) Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Pogostemon cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Coconut Milk, Potassium Kokum Butterate, Sodium Kokum Butterate, Unrefined Shea Butter, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Lanolin, Allantoin, Silk Protein, Tocopherol Acetate.

Barrister and Mann – Ferox shaving soap

Tags

9/10, Barrister and Mann, citrus, grapefruit, herbal, rosemary, sage, shaving soap, tea tree, thyme, vetiver

I’m pretty sure that Barrister and Mann’s formulation doesn’t change between their scents, with the exception of the fragrance portion. The Ferox performed quite like I expected: it’s a rather thirsty soap, kind of. I mean, if you only use a bit of water, it’ll be ok, but if you use a fair large splash, it’ll be great. It’s not quite as thirsty as Mike’s Natural is, but almost. Anyways, it works up into something really slick, nice and thick, with great moisturization properties.

The scent is quite nice. If I had to pick one word for it, it’d be “invigourating”. It’s a blend of grapefruit, sage, thyme, rosemary, tea tree, and vetiver. The grapefruit gives a nice tartness and pep, which is tempered nicely by the herbal elements, and supported by the earthiness of the vetiver. It was designed to be a “springtime” scent, and I think it fits that bill.

The strength was pretty decent. It came on reasonably strong, and didn’t fade much during the course of the shave.

• 9/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 8/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Quality of Lather

I’ll happily round this one up to a 9/10. It’s quite an enjoyable shave, and although perhaps a little stronger would have been nice, but I’ll generally prefer a middling-strength scent that doesn’t fade much to a strong one that disappears quickly.

• Cost: A 3.75 oz puck of Ferox goes for $12, or you can get it included as one of 6 1/2 oz samples for $10. Also, they’re the only soap-maker I know that takes Bitcoin, if that’s your gig.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Razor: 1966 Gillette Tech
• Blade: Merkur Super
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Citrus grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Salvia officinalis (Sage) Oil, Thymus zygis (Thyme) Oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oil, Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) Oil, Andropogon zizanioides (Vetiver) Oil, Coconut Milk, Potassium Kokum Butterate, Sodium Kokum Butterate, Unrefined Shea Butter, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Lanolin, Allantoin, Silk Protein, Tocopherol Acetate.

Barrister and Mann – Bay Rum

Tags

9/10, Barrister and Mann, bay rum, shaving soap

Yesterday was Barrister and Mann’s launch day, so I figured it would be a good time to review one of the samples that he had asked for my feedback on. My first impressions from this soap is that it’s very reminiscent of Mike’s Natural, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Lather-wise, at first try, with just a little bit of water you can whip up a thick cream that is somewhat deficient in the lubrication aspect. And if you stop there, you might come away thinking that this is a so-so soap, nothing to write home about.

But, like Mike’s, if you keep adding water, that water will be put to good use by the soap; it’ll only thin out slightly, staying nice and creamy, but significantly increases the amount of glide. There’s nothing wrong with it being a fairly thirsty soap, but it helps to know it is before you try it! After the shave, it left my face feeling quite nice, soft, and moisturized. Despite the fact that the new (well, really old!) razor I was using kinda hacked it up.

The scent is just a fantastic Bay Rum, minus the typical cloves that many people apparently can’t stand. I myself don’t mind cloves, but I also wasn’t particularly missing their absence. What did go into the aroma was “West Indian Bay (none of that cooking bay stuff), sweet orange, real blackstrap rum, benzoin (a warm, vanilla-like scent), and just a hint of cassia cinnamon, which provides a pleasant warmth.” All told, it made quite a nice blend.

Strength-wise, I’d say it was spot-on. Nice and strong, and almost nothing in the way of fading. Much more and I feel it would have gotten into the realm of overpowering, but as is I thought that it was just about perfect.

• 9/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 10/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Quality of Lather

Frankly, considering that this is from a neophite soap-maker, I’d say he’s setting himself up for some great expectations (considering the other two samples I’ve seen, I don’t think this one’s just a fluke). I look forward to seeing the rest of what he comes up with. Overall, a strong 9/10; highly recommended.

• Cost: As mentioned, the sample I used was provided because the soapmaker (fellow redditor BostonPhotoTourist) wanted my feedback. They haven’t yet added samples to their store, however we’ve been told that they plan on doing so within the next few weeks. The full-sized 3.75 oz pucks will be $10. A damned good price for what you get.

Gear used:

• Brush: Ecotools Kabuki Finishing Brush
• Razor: Gillette Old Style with WWI US Service Set
• Blade: Shark Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Ricinoleate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Citrus sinensis (Sweet Orange) Oil, Pimenta racemosa (West Indian Bay) Oil, Rum, Styrax Benzoin Oil, Cassia auriculata (Cassia) Oil, Coconut Milk, Potassium Kokum Butterate, Sodium Kokum Butterate, Unrefined Shea Butter, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Lanolin, Allantoin, Silk Protein, Tocopherol Acetate.