After all the stress surrounding my grandma's passing, I needed some "retail therapy". Yes, I know that's not an optimal coping mechanism; but here we are.
So since we had our first BVWSC shave with Abbate Y La Mantia soap, I was curious about the great soap quality and @djundjila@wetshaving.social mentioned that they transitioned fully to hard soaps. Even more curious, I was able to find the first soap in a german webshop that started their shift towards hard soaps: Blue Tobacco, a scent that spoke to me as a former menthol cigarette smoker. Originally, I only wanted some extra items to get free shipping - and then this happened. Clearly I've got no self control...
THE GOODS:
- Abbate Y La Mantia Tobacco Blue (Blue Tobacco) shaving soap 🇮🇹
- E&S Rasage Shaman shaving soap, plus 3 body soaps (Solstice , Barber and Azur) 🇨🇵
- HAGS Barberwood soap, witch hazel toner and beard oil 🇬🇷
- Los Jabones de Joserra Masala Connection shaving soap 🇪🇦
- Saponificio Varesino sample pack (ALL of their aftershave balms, one beard wash and balm respectively plus a "Pro Victis" skin repair cream) 🇮🇹
- Meißner Tremonia Dark Limes beard soap 🇩🇪
- Freebies: Proraso beard wash sample, some self-made thank you stuff and candy
Not going to talk about the body soaps and beard stuff, since this is a wetshaving instance. But I am really curious about the performance of all the shaving soaps! Blu Tobacco is really as I envisioned: a pack of (unlit!) menthol cigarettes on the beach. The aluminium tin is really nice. Shaman by E&S could be quite something for colder months, off the puck it's already dark. Barberwood is a take on a barbershop scent with lots of wood notes added, so a full set was a no-brainer. After my initial scepticism, barbershop scents have really grown on me in the last years. Finally, only from reading the notes on the label, I knew I had to get Masala Connection. It's kinda like someone had taken all of my favourite individual scent notes, threw them together in a fragrance oil and made a shaving soap out of it. Voilà! Off the puck, it already smells divine. Never had anything by Los Jabones de Joserra before, but as I wanted to try as many european artisans as possible from different countries it made sense to me.
Even though I reside in Germany, I have to admit that I used more American wetshaving soaps than european ones. Unfortunately, artisans from "the old continent" tend to be overlooked. I'll try to put more of a spotlight on wetshaving software from the EU in my upcoming SOTDs... But needless to say, this concludes my wetshaving purchases for this year and the next year probably too. I can really recommend the seller AboutBodyCare though, very friendly thank you card, fast shipping and my package was even perfumed with E&S Solstice EdT.
29.09.2024 - SW season is back
-> 2 pass head shave. Very smooth and comfortable!
As some of you fine folks already remarked a few days ago, fall season is SW season. Unfortunately SW is seemingly not very active anymore (at least compared to other artisans) but they're the pioneers of great vegan shaving soap and alcohol-free aftershave. Especially the latter is great for head shavers like me with a sensitive scalp.
Pomona is sadly a discontinued scent. The bright gourmand with apple, honey, spices and red wine makes it a perfect companion for the early days of fall. It's very similar to cider in smell and evokes memories of a harvest festival IMHO. It was a perfect choice for the sunny autumn weather we had here today.
The soap is always working well for me, the lather is nice and quickly turns into something usable. Using my Ever-Ready 1912 again was a joy, very neat to have a razor where you just put the blade in, clamp it down and it's ready to go. Btw, this is still the same GEM blade that had a pretty bloody shave with my MMOC - now it's smooth sailing with it.
The SV Pro Victis sample was good. I guess it's intended purpose is not as an aftershave balm. It is very thick and doesn't absorb very fast, but at least it seems to be pretty good in the skin food department. It's also supposed to be anti-inflammatory, so that's neat. Nothing I'd personally buy though.
Edit: I now realised that today I'm celebrating one year of using Lemmy! Thanks for this awesome little community here, folks. After the Reddit exodus, I haven't found a new home easily but this small group is welcoming, friendly and safe. I feel like I can be myself over here and that's what matters most.