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).
