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.

Mike’s Natural Soap – Orange, Cedarwood, and Black Pepper

Tags

8/10, black pepper, cedarwood, Fruit, Mike's Natural Soaps, Orange, shaving soap, spice, wood

Next up, from a line of soap I haven’t touched since December; Mike’s Natural Soaps’ Orange, Cedarwood, and Black Pepper.

The lather is exactly what I expect out of Mike’s Natural: absolutely wonderful. It’s quite a thirsty cream, so use plenty of water and enough elbow grease, and you’ll work up a lather with great cushion, very good glide, which leaves your face feeling nice and moisturized to boot. As per usual, top marks for lather.

The predominate scent is most definitely the orange, with the black pepper coming up a close second bringing some kick to it, with the cedarwood serving to balance things out a bit between the other two. I find it fairly pleasant, if not something to write home about, but I’ll give it a bonus point because the girlfriend really likes it.

The strength is damned good as well; comes on good and stays without noticeable fading.

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

So, all in all, I’d say it’s a very solid 8/10.

• Cost: $8.50 for a 4 ounce bar, $1.25 for a half ounce sample.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Razor: Feather AS-D2
• Blade: Ladas Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Distilled water; saponified tallow and stearic acid; vegetable glycerin; saponified kokum butter, avocado oil, and shea butter; lanolin, fragrance and/or essential oil(s); saponified coconut oil;  kaolin clay, vitamin E.

Penhaligon’s Opus 1870 Shaving Cream

Tags

6/10, black pepper, cedarwood, cinnamon, cologne, Coriander, floral, Incense, musk, Penhaligon, Rose, sandalwood, shaving cream, spice, wood, Yuzu

Yes, yes, I know. I’ve been lazy about writing reviews lately. I’m sorry! So, here’s a new one! Penhaligon’s Opus 1870 Shaving Cream! Which, judging by the fact that I can’t find any information about it on Penhaligon’s website, appears to be discontinued. It still seems somewhat available elsewhere, but if you’re a fan you might want to stock up.

It lathers up quite nicely, although you shouldn’t go by how it looks when doing so. With just a tiny bit of water, it lathered up into something that looked like it was good to go, but was still rather severely lacking in lubrication; more water and a bit more elbow grease fixed that up quite nicely, resulting in a nice thick cream, with plenty of cushioning and good glide. All in all, a rather good shave.

The scent was a bit lacking. First off, I compared it to its corresponding cologne, which I recently got a sampler of. While similar, it’s not quite there. Here’s what it’s supposed to smell like:

Opus 1870 is a complex and elegant woody chypre. Opening with a luxurious accord of sweet citrus and fiery black pepper, the heart is lit by the delicacy of English Clove Rose and evocative incense. The base notes are glorious, smoky waves of aromatic cedarwood and sandalwood. Opus 1870 is wonderfully warm and comforting, a fragrance to wrap yourself in on cold winter nights.

There’s a bit of an additional scent that I’m picking up, it seemed to me to be somewhat silty; it reminded a bit of of J&E Atkinson’s I Coloniali mango shaving cream. Also, I didn’t really detect any of the black pepper notes that’s so noticeable in the cologne. However the florals and the woods seemed about the same.

But, all that which was noticeable was fleeting; it wasn’t strong to begin with, and I found it quickly faded.

• 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 6/10 Scent Strength
• 8/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I’ll say 6/10. Frankly, the lather isn’t nice enough to buy it just for the lather, and the scent isn’t nice enough / strong enough to buy it just for the scent. I wouldn’t bother unless you’re absolutely a fan of the EtD already.

• Cost: I had a sample sent to me by a kindly redditor who wanted to know what I thought of the cream. Otherwise, the cheapest listing I found was on amazon for $41.36, for a 150 mL / 5 oz tube.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Razor: 1966 Solid Nickel Gillette Tech
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Not sure! Probably rather similar to that of the Blenheim Bouquet, but I can’t find a listing online.