Erasmic Shave Stick

Tags

6/10, floral, shaving soap

My first impression of Erasmic’s shaving stick was that it was too brittle to be sold in this format. Like many shave sticks, it comes with a little plastic holder that has four prongs, onto which you are to impale the shaving stick. Anyways, one I removed the wrapper and went to reimpale the stick on the prongs, the soap broke off in chunks, preventing the holder from actually, you know, holding the soap. Far too brittle to be sold in this format.

The soap performed… well, pretty much exactly like the Derby shaving stick that I reviewed a while back. Good balance of glide and thickness once you dial in the right amount of water to use (not too much, be careful of adding too much between passes, not too little). A bit finnicky, but it was good stability-wise. No real noticable moisturization or other skin benefits however.

The scent was slightly less unpleasant. I wouldn’t say I like it, it was still a very artificial aroma, cloyingly floral. It was however also not very strong at all. Quite discernible when sniffing the stick directly, but not really noticeable at all when shaving.

• 6/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 4/10 Scent Strength
• 8/10 Lather Quality

Overall, meh. The scent did nothing for me, the shave was good but not great. 6/10.

• Cost: Connaught Shaving sells two of the 50 g sticks for £2.40. They also have a 75g version that comes in a plastic tub, for £3.00.

Gear used:

• Brush: Wee Scott
• Razor: Vintage Bakelite Slant
• Blade: Sharp Durablade

Ingredients: Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Parfum, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, PEG-14M, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Silicate, Magnesium Sulfate, Tetrasodium Etidronate.

RazoRock “La Famiglia” Don Marco shaving soap (original formulation)

Tags

8/10, bergamot, citrus, floral, Fruit, Neroli, RazoRock, shaving soap

So, this is yet another example of the fact that I really need to get reviews done quicker and out the door faster. Here’s a review of the original formulation of RazoRock’s “La Famiglia” Don Marco shaving soap, which has since been superceded by a new formulation. The old one can however still be found at a few spots.

The soap lathers up easily, really thick, with good amount of lubrication. Just be sure to use enough water; this is one of those soaps where you might lather it up, and it could look right, but when you go to use it, it’s not as slick as it should be, because it needs more hydration. But if you get the water balance right, it’s just an excellent soap, with a good amount of moisturization as well.

The scent is quite pleasant, orange-y and citrus-y from the bergamot, with a nice bit of sweetness from the neroli, it is really a nice little package. Unfortunately, it’s not all that strong, starting off at what I’d say is a medium amount, and experiencing some fading from there throughout the shave.

Edit: For those who don’t read the comments, Joe from RazoRock has pointed out that the only change in the formulation was an increase in the strength of the scent by 50%. I presume by that ihe means a 50% increase in the amounts of the fragrance used by either volume or weight. The base soap formula has stayed the same. So… yeah, I’ll probably like the new stuff better.

• 10/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 7/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I’ll give this an 8/10.

• Cost: As mentioned, there only appears to be a few places you can find the old formulation in stock now. One such spot sells it for $6.99.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Merkur 37C Slant
• Blade: Personna DE
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Stearic Acid, water, cocos nucifera, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, fragrance, sodium carbonate, linalool, linalyl acetate, decanal, erthyl 2-naphthyl ether, gamma-undecalactone, alpha-dimethylphenethylbutyrate, octanal, cital.

Knockout Shave Cream – Sonny

Tags

7/10, cedarwood, citrus, floral, knockout shave, lavender, lemongrass, shaving cream, wood

The real question here, is which Sonny are they referring to? The Corleone? Or the Bono?

Sonny is a blend of Cedarwood, Lemongrass, and lavender. The Lemongrass is the strongest of the bunch with the lavender coming in for 2nd. It is a rather pleasant scent; I am a fan of lemongrass overall.

The strength was pretty much spot on, strong, with nothing noticeable in the way of fading. However, the strength probably contributed to one problem:

While I generally have fairly bullet-proof skin, I did notice a fair bit of irritation and a burning sensation from this one. Thus, I’d probably recommend avoiding it if you’ve got sensitive skin, as it’ll probably hit you harder than I. I’ll be docking some points directly from the overall score for this.

Since this cream uses Al’s Shaving Products main line as a base, a lot of you should know what to expect. A very darned fine shave, great thickness and lather slickness, as long as you’re sure to use enough water (and elbow grease)! Good moisturization, good lather stability; great shave.

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

So, normally this would probably be a 9/10, however due to the irritation I experienced, I’m going to downgrade it to a 7/10. Still usable, but there’s better stuff out there.

• Cost: I was provided my samples free of charge for the purposes of this review; you however can get samples (0.25 oz each) of the four current Knockout Shave scents for $7.50, or buy a 4 oz tub of the “Sonny” for $25.

Gear used:

• Brush: Wee Scott
• Razor: Feather AS-D2
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue

Ingredients: sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids (stearic, oleic, linoleum, palmitic, myristic and lauric), water, glycerin, essential oils (for fragrance).

Los Angeles Shaving Soap Company – Woody Lavender

Tags

9/10, floral, LA Shaving Soap Co., lavender, shaving soap, wood

So, any of my readers who are also subscribed to /r/wicked_edge are likely aware of the LA Shaving Soap Company, set up by fellow redditor jbisinla‘s fairly new soap line (up and running for the last 7 months). It’s certainly been gaining high praise, and after trying it I can see why.

First off, the lather is great. It whips up easily, into a nice thick creamy lather, with some great glide. Not too thirsty, but it seems to have a relatively wide sweet spot, so you’re probably not going to accidentally over-water it. Great stability,and left my face feelin’ nice.

The scent is just what it says on the tin; woodsy and lavender. The lavender provides a good contrast to the wood notes base, provided by essential oils of Ho Wood, Amyris (Torchwood) and West Indian Bay. It comes together quite nicely.

The strength is what I’d say is just spot on. It’s a nice and strong scent, without being what I’d say is overpowering, with little to no fading during the course of the shave.

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

Overall, definitely worth a 9/10, IMHO.

• Cost:This scent can be found as one of five scents in their sampler pack. Although availability does seem rather sporadic. Or you can get it in a 4 oz thin tin (increased surface area for easier loading) or a 4.5 oz tub for $16.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Big Ben Super Stainless
• Bowl: Hand painted by myself (Yes, I know it’s ugly).

Ingredients: Vegetable Stearic Acid, Distilled Water, Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Vegetable Glycerin, Essential Oils (Lavender, Ho Wood, Amyris, Pimenta Racimosa (West Indian Bay)).

Knockout Shave Cream – Citrus of Paradise

Tags

9/10, cedarwood, citrus, floral, Fruit, grapefruit, knockout shave, shaving cream, wood, ylang ylang

Happy new year folks. Here’s to hoping that 2014 treats you all well. As mentioned previously, I’ll be starting off the first bit new year with new soaps and creams. Although I’ll admit, this one isn’t exactly completely new.

It’s a new brand, but it was developed in conjunction with Al over at Al’s Shaving Products. Ralph over at Knockout Shave is using, and I quote, “Al’s cream base with different essential oils to create a different scent experience.” So at the least, we’ve got a darn fine idea of how we can expect the lather to work.

So, first up I’ve got a sample of their Citrus of Paradise. Were I to have judged this one blind, I would have said that I thought I smelled predominately a sweet lemon-y scent (or maybe lemongrass-y) with some wood as a base. Their website outlines how they crafted this one from essential oils of grapefruit, Virginian cedar wood, and ylang ylang. So, my nose wasn’t all that far off I guess. No calibration required.

Both myself and the girlfriend really liked this scent, her a bit more than I. The strength was pretty much spot on; it started off quite strong, and only experienced minor fading throughout the shave. All in all, I’d say Ralph did a great job of crafting the scent for this cream.

As for the lather, well, like I said, it uses Al’s as a base, so a lot of you should know what to expect. A very darned fine shave, great thickness and lather slickness, as long as you’re sure to use enough water (and elbow grease)! Good moisturization, good lather stability; great shave.

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

This is clearly a strong 9/10. I like it a lot. So much so in fact, I think it may have earned a spot on the top 10 list… it doesn’t quite beat out TOBS’s Avocado, but I think it’ll bump Tabula Rasa’s Herb off the list.

• Cost: I was provided my samples free of charge for the purposes of this review; you however can get samples (0.25 oz each) of the four current Knockout Shave scents for $7.50, or buy a 4 oz tub of the Citrus of Paradise for $25.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Vintage Bakelite Slant (with iKon handle)
• Blade: Big Ben Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids (stearic, oleic, linoleum, palmitic, myristic and lauric), water, glycerin, essential oils (for fragrance).

Wm. Neumann & Co – Old Fashioned Soda Shaving Cream

Tags

9/10, Birch, cinnamon, citrus, clove, Coriander, floral, Fruit, lemon, mint, Neroli, nutmeg, Orange, shaving cream, soda, spice, Star Anise, vanilla, Wintergreen, Wm. Neumann & Co, wood

Now, some of you have probably noticed that I’ve been pretty lazy with getting these reviews out lately. For that, I apologize. It’s had one side effect; rather than trying several soap or cream a couple times, without getting updates out, I’d just been reusing and reusing one of them. So, rather than getting the usual 2 – 3 tries that other soaps and creams get, this upcoming cream has gotten used about ten times that. One of my most thoroughly reviewed products ever!

Wm. (William) Neumann & Co’s schtick is that the descendant of a pharmacist from the turn of the last century found a notebook wherein said gentleman had found the recipes for a bunch of custom scents that the fellow had created.

So I was prompted to purchase this product after seeing Mantic’s review of it. He says that he smelled Cola and Root beer, with a bit of cream soda; his wife got a citrus cream soda vibe. Personally, I’d say it’s cola, root beer, with a bit of Dr. Pepper. It’s a sweet, slightly tangy scent that I think if I were to sniff it blind and be asked what it smelled like, I would probably reply with something similar to “Old Fashioned Soda”. Really suits what they were going for. They describe it as a “secret combination of Orange, Lemon, Nutmeg, Coriander, Neroli, Cinnamon, Wintergreen, Clove, Birch, Star Anise, and Vanilla”, which seems like a reasonable description to me; it comes together quite nicely.

The strength of it was pretty good. It starts off pretty much perfect, although it does experience fairly significant fading as the shave progresses. Still, it was “strong enough” for the time it took to finish off each of my cheeks and the neck, which isn’t too shabby.

As for the performance of the cream itself, it’s very good, although I did find it a bit tricky to get just right. In particular, I found it was fairly easy to over-do it with the amount of water added, leaving a lather that’s too thin. Not too much water is needed at all, and a bit easy to overshoot. That said, when you do get it right, it does result in a very fine lather with some great glide and cushioning, and some good moisturization to boot.

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

All in all, I’d say it’s a pretty damned fine cream. Fine enough that I believe it deserves a spot on the top ten list; I think I’ll be putting it at number 8 for the time being. 9/10.

• Cost: $24 for 8 oz (236 mL) of the shaving cream, in a container with a hand pump. They do also make a shave soap, an aftershave (which they can’t ship outside the US due to its alcohol base), and an aftershave balm in the same scent.

Gear used:

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

Ingredients: Water, stearic acid, glycerin, myristic acid, potassium hydroxide, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, olea europaea (olive) oil, aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice, hydrolyzed silk, fragrance (contains natural oils), menthol, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e), butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, retinyl palmitate (vitamin a), allantoin, camellia sinensis (green tea) extract, aphanizonmenon flos aquae (blue-green algae) extract, urtica dioica (nettle) extract, stellaria media (chickweed) extract, ulmus rubra (slippery elm) extract, silybum marianum (milk thistle extract), althaea officinalis (marshmallow root) extract, hydroxyethylcellulose.

Fitjar Soaps – Isrose (aka Frost Rose; Scent off entry)

Tags

7/10, 8/10, floral, menthol, pine, Rose, Scent Off 2013, shaving cream, shaving soap, wood

Next up in the scent off is a product coming to us from the town of Fitjar in Norway. Fitjar Såpekokeri (aka Fitjar Soap) offered forth both a cream and a soap, which I’ll be doing in one review, in a scent they call Isrose, or “Frost Rose”. This is the first products I’ve tried from them. I’d heard mostly quite good things, and they seem to have lived up to their reputation. Here’s what everyone else had to say about it.

The soap is good; not great, but quite good. It lathers up quite easily,
however does thin out a bit when enough water is added to give it what I
think it a good level of glide. I didn’t really notice anything in the
way of moisturization after the fact. I did have quite good lather
stability however.

Upon a trying it a few more times, I’ve actually switched my initial
opinion; the cream seems to be working better than the soap; it does
require a bit more elbow grease, but it gave what I considered to be a
superior balance of glide and lather thickness. Good stability, still
not much noticable on moisturization.

As for what they had to say about their scent off entry:

The inspiration for this scent is from frost roses on the windows of my log cabin in Telemark. One of the most magical Christmases I have ever had was spent here. The Frost roses were exquisitely beautiful, and they looked a bit like the pine trees that grow right outside the window. So the Christmas scent Frost Rose became a blend of sweet rosa damascena aand rose geranium, spicy pine and icy menthol.

The aroma of rose with the touch of pine is pretty nice, with a reasonable strength level. However, I’m not sure that the menthol is all that suitable for what’s supposed to be a seasonal scent winter/autumn scent. It reminds one of winter, but it’s not something that I’d want to be using during winter. Even living in a spot with one of the mildest winters in Canada, I’m still not eager to try and cool my face down further in the mornings once we get to this time of year!

• 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 8/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Lather Quality for the cream; 8/10 for the soap

Overall, I’d say that I’ll give the soap a 7/10 and the cream a 8/10.

• Cost: The cream can be had for 155 NOK (about $25.50 USD) for a full 175 mL jar, or a 20 mL sample (shown) is available for 20 NOK (~$6.40 USD). The soap is available for 111 NOK (~$18.25 USD) for a 100g refill; extra if you want a plastic bowl with an aluminium lid, or a wooden bowl.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Brush: Wee Scott
• Razor: Feather AS-D2
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’clock Black
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients (shaving cream): Potassium stearate, potassium cocoate (from organic oconut oil), glycerin, olea europea (organic virgin olive oil), essential oils(rosa damascena, rose geranium, pine, menthol).

Ingredients (shaving soap): Glycerin, sodium stearate, sodium cocoate (from unrefined, organic oconut oil), coconut fatty acid, lauric acid, cocus nuciferi, olea europea (organic virgin olive oil), sorbitol, sodium laurate, sodium laurate sulphate, sodium lauryl sulphate, pentasodium pentetate, tetrasodium etidronate, essential oils (rosa damascena, rose geranium, pine, menthol).

Al’s Shaving Products – Scent of the Month: Zenyatta Aranciata Shaving Cream

Tags

8/10, Al's Shaving Products, citrus, floral, Fruit, Orange, petitgrain, shaving cream, SOTM, wood, ylang ylang

Next up we’ve got another Scent of the Month from Al’s Shaving Products.

The sweet citrus blend of the orange orange and the petitgrain are most immediately perceptible in this scent, supported by the base of the woodsy scents; the ylang ylang softening up the scent a bit. I do rather like it; I was pondering between a 8 or a 9, but as the girlfriend also appears to have quite enjoyed it, a 9 it is.

The strength could have been a bit better, although I know that’s sometimes hard to do with citrus aromas. It came on at what I’d say is about medium/strong strength, and only faded a bit from there.

As for the lather; despite the fact that the fragrance changes can apparently have a slight difference in performance, overall it’s the same great product. Great balance of glide and thickness, being a bit on the thirsty side to get there. Good moisturization, and good lather stability.

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

Anyhow, I’ll be giving this a 8/10 overall.

• Cost: This sample was provided gratis for the purposes of this review. A 4 oz tub will set you back $20.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Travel Tech head on an Ikon wave handle
• Blade: Asco Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: “The forumula of Al’s Shaving Cream is Triethanolamine and preservative (parabens) free and only contains sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids (stearic, oleic, linoleic, palmitic, myristic and lauric) in addition to water, glycerin and botanicals.”

Al’s Shaving Products – Scent of the Month: Bikini Bottom Shaving Cream

Tags

8/10, Al's Shaving Products, aquatic, bergamot, citrus, floral, honeysuckle, kelp, ozone, sandalwood, shaving cream, SOTM

Back again with another scent of the month from Al’s: this one is Bikini Bottom, inspired by the Art of Shaving’s Ocean Kelp line (and evidently Spongebob Squarepants). My first initial impression is of the ozonic scents common to the so-called “aquatic” fragrances; underneath that I mostly pick out a subtle floral; everything else kind of blends in together. Here’s what Al had to say about it:

Bikini Bottom is our new light and refreshing aquatic scent. Notes of kelp that give Bikini Bottom a subtle delicate floral and citrus character that some people associate with honeysuckle.  Notes of petitgrain with touches of bergamot, sandalwood and ozone add to its complexity.  Bikini Bottom has a unique aroma and incredible performance.

Nope, looks like I just misinterpreted something he mentioned. Please ignore. He mentioned that he adjusted the formula to give it a bit more in the way of moisturization; I didn’t really notice much in the way of difference, with either the moisturization or the lather, except for perhaps it needing a bit more elbow grease to lather up all nice like. Or perhaps I was just imagining it; it’s sometimes hard to tell, and it was still at the very least quite close. Either way, it’s still a top notch lather. One of the few actual complaints I have about Al’s products is that he doesn’t give the full ingredient listing, so it’s hard to tell if you think he’s been tweaking things.

Anyways, I can’t really say that I was too much of a fan of the scent, but I’m not really a fan of the aquatic scents overall. I’m sure there’s a lot of you out there that’ll like it more than I.

Strength wise is was quite good; comes on very strong, fading to what I’d say was a middle-strong level by the time I finished one of the passes.

• 7/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 9/10 Scent Strength
• 9/10 Quality of Lather

Anyhow, I think I’ll round this one to an 8/10. If you do like the aquatic fragrances, I’d highly recommend it.

• Cost: This sample was provided gratis for the purposes of this review. A 4 oz tub will set you back $20.

Gear used:

• Brush: The Colonel
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Personna DE
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: “The forumula of Al’s Shaving Cream is Triethanolamine and preservative (parabens) free and only contains sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids (stearic, oleic, linoleic, palmitic, myristic and lauric) in addition to water, glycerin and botanicals.” With the caveat that the ozone scent isn’t from an essential oil (as no such thing exists).

Domino Shaving Cream

Tags

3/10, floral, shaving cream

Domino is a shaving cream from Macedonia. The tube says that it’s scented after the famous French perfume of the same name; if that’s actually the case, I feel sorry for the French because it must be some vile stuff. Of course, I also think that might be a lie, since Google didn’t turn up a French perfume by that name; only one out of India. Or the after-shave of the same name made by the same company. That is also rather vile.

Anyways, it’s mostly what I would say is an unpleasantly harsh, soapy / chemically smell, combined with a cloyingly fake floral smell. I honestly can’t really tell what they might have been trying for with the scent, but it didn’t turn out good. At least it’s not overpoweringly strong & bad smelling (unlike the aftershave).

The lather didn’t seem to bad at first; good thickness, ok glide, whipped up pretty easily. However there was a fair bit more irritation than I usually get. At the end, it seemed to have more of a drying effect than the moisturization I’m looking for.

• 3/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 6/10 Scent Strength
• 6/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I really would not recommend this product. 3/10. Smells bad. At least it’s really cheap.

• Cost: A 60 mL tube cost $2.

Gear used:

• Brush: Wee Scott
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE81BL (Red)
• Blade: Personna DE

Ingredients: Stearic Acid, Aqua, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Cocos Nucifera, Capric Acid, Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Sorbitol, Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Allantoin, Perfume, Coumarin, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, d- Limonene, Linalool, 3-Methyl-4-(2,6,6-trimethyl-2-cyclohexenyl)-3-buten-2-one, 2-(4-tert-Butylbenzyl) Propionaldehyde, Cl 19140, Cl 28440