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).

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

Tags

9/10, Al's Shaving Products, cedar, citrus, Fruit, Orange, shaving cream, SOTM, spice, wood

The 2nd of the two Scents Of The Month from Al for April is Casablanca. It’s cedar scent with orange, conifers (well, other conifers, since cedar itself is a conifer too!), and spices. It is an absolutely lovely masculine scent. While the cedar is most noticeable at first, the orange caught up within a few sniffs; together the two make quite a pairing, and the spiciness gives just a little bit of kick to back it all up.

I would have liked just a tiny bit more oomph to it. It’s not strongly scented, but not weak either. Once applied, it does manages to last the shave without much in the way of fading.

As for the shave itself, it’s the great shave I’ve come to accept from Al’s. Thirsty cream, so use a fair bit of water. It’s not easy to screw up, having a nice and wide sweet spot for acceptable water content, giving you a good balance of the amount of lubrication you get and the thickness of the cream for your cushioning. Good moisturizing properties as well, giving a nice soft feeling to the face.

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

Needless to say, I’m giving this one a 9/10. It could possibly use a bit more scent to it, but all in all I’d say that it could still easily be “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

• Cost: This sample was provided gratis for the purposes of this review. The SOTMs are available for $18 for a 4 oz tub.

Gear used:

• Brush: Wee Scott
• Razor: Gillette Old Style with WWI US Service Set
• Blade: Shark 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: Rosebud Shaving Cream

Tags

9/10, Al's Shaving Products, citrus, floral, lavender, musk, Rose, shaving cream, SOTM, spice

Al’s Shaving Products has three of their “Scents of the Month” coming out for April, and I was offered a chance to get a sneak peek at two of them. The first would be the Rosebud.

As per usual, Al’s Shaving Products provided a very nice shave. It’s a thirsty cream, so don’t skimp on the water; it’ll be put to good use, and you don’t need to worry much about overshooting the water content, as it’s got a pretty wide sweet spot. Nice and thick, while plenty slick, and leaving the face feeling more and soft and moisturized than most creams do.

The aroma is a floral scent (rose and lavender), with a base of musk and hints of citrus and spice. The florals were tempered nicely by the other scents, avoiding becoming cloyingly sweet. Al says that he was shooting for “a cleaner version of Pierre cardin pour Monsieur [more] oriented for younger audiences, [that] dries with notes that are similar to Old Spice”, if that helps you make a decision on whether or not you’d like it.

The strength is pretty decent. It comes on strongly, and stays that way throughout about half of a pass or so, after which it’ll start fading somewhat. By the end of each pass, it’s definitely still there, but not quite what I’d call strongly so. At the start of the shave, it’s at a 10/10, by the end, about a 8/10, IMHO.

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

I’m happy enough to round this one up to a 9/10. If the scent sounds appealing, I suggest getting it while you can.

• Cost: This sample was provided gratis for the purposes of this review. The SOTMs are available for $18 for a 4 oz tub.

Gear used:

• Brush: Ecotools Kabuki Finishing Brush
• Razor: Vintage Bakelite Slant
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox
• 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.”