Three FREE bottles!

[Dirtbuddy]

Wow I won!!

Thanks SO much for putting this on!! Looking forward to trying out the new product!! ��������

 

[Swazilander]

Congrats to the winners!

 

[Jough]

I am definitely in!!
Thanks Cap!
Joe

 

[Dirtbuddy]

I am definitely in!!
Thanks Cap!
Joe

It's over Joe. Winners have been announced.

 

[olpski]

Thank you Captain!

 

[h2oyeah]

Stupid busy Mondays. I got to keep a closer eye on the Captain's page. Congrats winners this is some good stuff!

 

[Sideways Tremolo]

Congrats to the winners!

 

[Doc4]

I am definiitt ...

View attachment 718775



Time is up Gentlemen! Here are the winners selected by random.org:

Olpski

Alum of Potash

FloridaCreekIndian

Doug57

Dirtbuddy


Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who entered.

The Captain likes give-aways so keep your eyes on this spot here at B&B for more in the future. Many of you are new to B&B and so are unaware. This is where I submitted my very first formula to volunteers, our Bay Rum aftershave. Those who tried it insisted that I come up with a name and start selling it. So I did and that was nearly seven years ago. It is surprising what can happen in just a few years. Take a look at our store: http://www.captainschoicestore.com/all/


For the winners, simply email your name and address to: [email protected]

Your free bottle of 45th Parallel Balm along with free sample pucks of 45th Parallel Shaving Soap as well as the Shaving Cream will be sent post haste!

... aww crud.

Congrats to the winners.

 

[Bookworm]

I'll agree with the aw crud. I figured there would be more than two days in the 'in a few days', when I looked last night. But it was already too late.

Can I suggest that the title be changed to 'Over', or Completed?

 

[clyde72]

Congratulations

@Olpski
[MENTION=38866]Alum of Potash[/MENTION]
[MENTION=113532]FloridaCreekIndian[/MENTION]
[MENTION=104921]Doug57[/MENTION]
[MENTION=114317]Dirtbuddy[/MENTION]

 

[hgraves]

I am definitely in!!

 

[Jsouthard825]

I am definitely in! Got to blind test this, then got some with a bowl, then bought the soap. Love it!

 

[tincup]

I am definitely ​ in!!! Thank you.

 

[clyde72]

I am definitely in!!

I am definitely in! Got to blind test this, then got some with a bowl, then bought the soap. Love it!

I am definitely ​ in!!! Thank you.

You three are about 2 days too late!

View attachment 718775



Time is up Gentlemen! Here are the winners selected by random.org:

Olpski

Alum of Potash

FloridaCreekIndian

Doug57

Dirtbuddy


Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who entered.

The Captain likes give-aways so keep your eyes on this spot here at B&B for more in the future. Many of you are new to B&B and so are unaware. This is where I submitted my very first formula to volunteers, our Bay Rum aftershave. Those who tried it insisted that I come up with a name and start selling it. So I did and that was nearly seven years ago. It is surprising what can happen in just a few years. Take a look at our store: http://www.captainschoicestore.com/all/


For the winners, simply email your name and address to: [email protected]

Your free bottle of 45th Parallel Balm along with free sample pucks of 45th Parallel Shaving Soap as well as the Shaving Cream will be sent post haste!

 

[Doug57]

Got mine today. Thanks! I'll try it this weekend and give my impressions. It was cold here today so I need to let it warm up a bit first.

 

[Alum of Potash]

I received mine yesterday (1/26). Lightning speed, SR-71 drone delivery indeed. Again, thanks to Scott for his generosity in sending these out to us, the lucky winners. In the box was the following:

Captain's Choice 45th Parallel shave balm (4 fl. oz.);
Captain's Choice 45th Parallel shaving cream (1/4 oz. sample);
Captain's Choice 45th Parallel shaving soap (1/4 oz. sample);
Captain's Choice 45th North shaving cream (1/4 oz. sample).

I am on the 48 hr. shaving cycle with straight razors, so I was only able to use some of them tonight (1/27). So here are some first impressions, for what it's worth, while the memory is fresh.

This evening's menu went as follows, with a Vie-Long 24mm knot horse-badger brush being used to whip up the lather and an Ertan Suer 5/8 half-hollow straight-razor being used to execute the shave, the latter two being familiar players:

Vitos crema pre-dopo barba;
45th Parallel shaving cream;
Osma bloc d'alun;
45th Parallel shave balm.

First, let me remark on the scent of the 45th Parallel line. To the nose, straight from the respective containers, the cream and balm seem identical, more of a maraschino cherry, whereas the soap is more of a cherry embedded with ice cream, Ben & Jerry's style. Ordinarily, cherry would not be my first choice as a shaving scent, but given this chance to try it, it is surprisingly pleasant and does not predominate. Scent level seems just about right with both the cream and the balm, not too strong and not too weak. My guess is that the soap version is going to be very nice in terms of teasing subtlety.

As for the 45th Parallel cream, I scooped out approximately half of the sample-sized container and started lathering away. Absolutely no problem with lathering, following my usual method of starting out with the briefly-soaked brush given a gentle squeeze and then building up lather to a desired consistency with repeated additions of droplets of water. My guess is that it would have been better to start out with only 1/3rd of the container as I had more than enough for a two-pass plus touch-ups session using half. Lather was very tight, uniform, and evenly emulsified, making for a very consistent shave from start to finish. And given the dry January air here in New England, I am often prone to weepers in the chin area where the capillaries come close to the surface. In this case, I had no problem. Subsequent application of the alum block after shaving led to little or no tingle. Thus, both lather and razor were in good order. All in all, a very nice shave. My only criticism is that the cream seems a bit dry compared to the Iberian shaving creams with lanolin that I am used to, reminding me of the old Choates shaving cream line in this regard.

As for the 45th Parallel shaving balm, I was at first put off by the push cap dispenser delivery, rather than just unscrewing a cap and simply pouring the balm into the palm, but it seems to work very well all the same, allowing for a more controlled distribution. The balm itself is reminiscent of the Proraso balm line, perhaps a little more calming in immediate application due to the absence of trace amounts of alcohol, and here there is no greasy film left lingering after application to the face. Definitely more scent than with the Proraso line, although the scent does not linger all that long. No worry of it dominating the board room in other words. Again, not too strong, not too weak.

In short, I like both of these and greatly appreciate the opportunity to try them out. If they were to be improved upon I would say concentrate less on overall emulsification in both cases, and individually, take the cream in the direction of the Iberian lanolin creams and the balm in the direction of the Proraso balm line, making the balm just a hair more liquid.

As for the Captain's Choice North shaving cream sample, I am excited to give this a try as well. The scent there seems more compatible with the original bay rum, which is what I may follow it with. That promises to be a very nice one-two punch. Better perhaps in the more humid summer season here, but I am eager to give it a shot very soon to see what happens more immediately.

 

[olpski]

Thanks Scott. I received my 4oz of 45th parallel balm yesterday. I had to let it sit a few hours so it would warm up.

I unscrewed the bottle top first to smell the balm and it was an intense black cherry smell. Very fruity.

I went to use the balm pump later in the evening, and the mechanism inside kept popping out of the pump's top preventing me from getting balm out. I disassembled it, and after about 30 min fixed the pump. The suction tube mechanism was not properly seated in the cap.

I used the balm last night after a shower and this morning after a shave. This morning I actually layered the balm over my Shea Butter after shave splash.

Overall this is very nice. The cherry smell is certainly on top, but it calms down revealing some of the other ingredients' subtle aromas. After using with the splash this morning I had this light orange/grapefruit/cherry scent that lasted for about 15 minutes. It was a great combination.

This is definitely a great winter product for dry climates or if you have dry skin.

Thank you Scott for the three free samples as well. I have yet to try them but will soon.

 

[Doug57]

Thanks Scott!

I received a 4oz bottle of the 45th Parallel Balm, plus samples of the 45th Parallel Cream and Soap, plus a sample of the Bay Rum Balm.

I decided to try the 45th Parallel shave cream this morning. I scooped out about a third of the sample and face lathered with a Merkur Silvertip brush. Since I had not tried any of the CC creams, I started with a fairly dry brush so I had to go back and add water to the tips several times. When I finally got enough water, a really nice, creamy, slick lather exploded on my face. I did a 2-pass plus touch-ups shave with a straight razor that I had just refreshed on a pasted strop. The lather provided plenty of cushion and residual slickness to make for a really nice shave. The scent is interesting and I can't quite figure out what all is in there. The cherry and almond reminded me a little of Cella, but the cherry is much more forward. There are some other hints in there too. Intriguing! The scent is fairly strong at first, but after lathering, it faded to a nice pleasant level. I felt like I wanted more something more toning this morning than a balm, so I finished up with CC Bay Rum that I already own.

Overall, it was a great shave. I'll be back with more to say when I try the soap and the balm.

Thanks again!

 

[FloridaCreekIndian]

I received my package of goodies today as well but did not shave. I will use it tomorrow but I can tell you the 45th Parallel smells fantastic and feels very nice to the hands.

 

[Alum of Potash]

48 hrs. later and a second shave with the Captain's Choice 45th Parallel cream and balm. No dry skin before shaving, a very good sign for me in January as to protection.

For this evening's shave I switched to some Jason skin oil rather than the Vitos pre-shave cream. The Jason skin oil has almond oil as a major ingredient, and I can tell you that it complement's the 45th Parallel's cherry scent very well. Also, in whipping up the lather, I added a little bit of Heritage Store liquid lanolin to the remaining half of the sample. This stuff is honey-like as to consistency, so it's hard to measure. I guess I added something like a 1/4 tsp., which may be a bit much. Think I'll add around 1/8 tsp. next time. In any case, the character of the lather definitely moved in the direction of the Iberian creams, becoming smoother, slicker, and more elastic. Maybe the R&D section might want to play with this a little bit to see what I mean?

Again, a very nice shave with no weepers. I had way more than enough lather for two passes plus touch-ups, so again, I would say that one should easily get three shaves from the sample-sized tub of cream. Application of the balm again was very nice. No problem with the pump from my end (or at least for the time being, while the bottle's full). Unlike the other two balms I have used (Proraso and Stirling), this one really seems to strike the right balance between post-shave balm protection and calming, and not leaving a residual film on the face. Scent does not seem to linger very long though.