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B&M Reserve or Wholly Kaw ?

For what it's worth. I have thoroughly enjoyed B&M soaps, fantastic shaves and I keep reaching for them because they smell so good. I wasn't a fan of any of the scents that WK offers so I sold them.
 
You really can’t go wrong with either of these two.

My favorite scents from B&M Reserve are Spice & Cool. My favorites from WK are Lav Sublime & Pompelmo.
 
Based on performance I like the silky feel of reserve better. I always hydrate lathers well, so I never had a problem with it.

But they are both so good, that honestly, I would just pick the one that has the scent you like the most.

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I really appreciate the detailed reply , but if there’s one thing that I really dislike about this forum is if you ask about an orange and a apple, someone tells you to get a grapefruit instead .


I answered his original question immediately. For those that wanted that only, they could stop reading right there. However, there are a lot of discussions in the forums about the new B&M Excelsior base and the new WK Bufala base. Thus, someone setting out to purchase soaps from these vendors needs to be aware of these new options.

Although you won't be disappointed in B&M or WK, there are other soapmakers who are equally talented.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Curious if the OP pulled the trigger and tried anything yet?

I have both lines. I give the advantage to WK. B&m scents are too complex for my tastes. Especially for aftershave.

the best answer to the original question is both!
 
Curious if the OP pulled the trigger and tried anything yet?

I have both lines. I give the advantage to WK. B&m scents are too complex for my tastes. Especially for aftershave.

the best answer to the original question is both!
Not yet because now I am curious about the excelsior line , and I want the WK Oud with the bufala base. I can’t win!
 
I answered his original question immediately. For those that wanted that only, they could stop reading right there. However, there are a lot of discussions in the forums about the new B&M Excelsior base and the new WK Bufala base. Thus, someone setting out to purchase soaps from these vendors needs to be aware of these new options.

Although you won't be disappointed in B&M or WK, there are other soapmakers who are equally talented.
I meant more with regard to the other brands . No offense was taken I hope. I do like the sound of the excelsior line but I am not keen on the scent description of the Vespers.Is it a good scent ?

FWIW, I emailed Wholly Kaw and asked if they planned to make Oud in the buffalo base. They said because of the bufala being so limited, they were not planning on integrating the Oud.

This leads me to ask how the Pasha Pride smells .
 
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I meant more with regard to the other brands . No offense was taken I hope. I do like the sound of the excelsior line but I am not keen on the scent description of the Vespers.Is it a good scent ?

FWIW, I emailed Wholly Kaw and asked if they planned to make Oud in the buffalo base. They said because of the bufala being so limited, they were not planning on integrating the Oud.

This leads me to ask how the Pasha Pride smells .

I have both Vespers and Pashas pride. Both, again, are excellent.

Vespers is more of a winter time or Christmas type scent. A scent I love but one that may not get a lot of summertime use. Pashas pride is more Season neutral and I like it, but it’s kind of sweet smelling.

The excelsior Base is very special. Future releases and the Glissant scents are moving that direction in 2019. Just saying that Vespers would have been a better purchase in Oct/Nov rather than now.

It seems like you’re having a hard time with the decision. A trip to Maggards for B&M samples and a trip directly to WK for a few of theirs would be a wise choice. It’s fun to experiment and no one likes a full tub of something they don’t care for.

My opinion of both “new” bases being Excelsior and the WK with buffalo milk are that they are excellent. They are slightly better than those before them. Slightly. It’s impossible to greatly improve what was already a “10”. What I’m saying is, don’t choose those because you need the latest and greatest. They aren’t a mile better. Go with what scent sounds best to you and ignore the bases. It’s a safe bet as both of these soap makers are going to make you happy if you got the scent right, regardless of base.
 
I should clarify, Excelsior improves on the Glissant Base. Reserve is different in its qualities and makeup and stands alone.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
I have both Vespers and Pashas pride. Both, again, are excellent.

Vespers is more of a winter time or Christmas type scent. A scent I love but one that may not get a lot of summertime use. Pashas pride is more Season neutral and I like it, but it’s kind of sweet smelling.

The excelsior Base is very special. Future releases and the Glissant scents are moving that direction in 2019. Just saying that Vespers would have been a better purchase in Oct/Nov rather than now.

It seems like you’re having a hard time with the decision. A trip to Maggards for B&M samples and a trip directly to WK for a few of theirs would be a wise choice. It’s fun to experiment and no one likes a full tub of something they don’t care for.

My opinion of both “new” bases being Excelsior and the WK with buffalo milk are that they are excellent. They are slightly better than those before them. Slightly. It’s impossible to greatly improve what was already a “10”. What I’m saying is, don’t choose those because you need the latest and greatest. They aren’t a mile better. Go with what scent sounds best to you and ignore the bases. It’s a safe bet as both of these soap makers are going to make you happy if you got the scent right, regardless of base.
i agree
its hard to keep up with the latest base and machinations as a casual observer
 
I have both Vespers and Pashas pride. Both, again, are excellent.

Vespers is more of a winter time or Christmas type scent. A scent I love but one that may not get a lot of summertime use. Pashas pride is more Season neutral and I like it, but it’s kind of sweet smelling.

The excelsior Base is very special. Future releases and the Glissant scents are moving that direction in 2019. Just saying that Vespers would have been a better purchase in Oct/Nov rather than now.

It seems like you’re having a hard time with the decision. A trip to Maggards for B&M samples and a trip directly to WK for a few of theirs would be a wise choice. It’s fun to experiment and no one likes a full tub of something they don’t care for.

My opinion of both “new” bases being Excelsior and the WK with buffalo milk are that they are excellent. They are slightly better than those before them. Slightly. It’s impossible to greatly improve what was already a “10”. What I’m saying is, don’t choose those because you need the latest and greatest. They aren’t a mile better. Go with what scent sounds best to you and ignore the bases. It’s a safe bet as both of these soap makers are going to make you happy if you got the scent right, regardless of base.
Apologies if I’m hijacking the thread but @johnwick can you speak more about Pasha’s? Sri lists citrus and I think leather and oud and several other notes. Which ones dominate for you? Where is the sweetness? Like an orange blossom or like make-up powder? I know my MMV but anymore info you could add would be amazing. A road trip to Pasteur’s is not in my future.
 
Apologies if I’m hijacking the thread but @johnwick can you speak more about Pasha’s? Sri lists citrus and I think leather and oud and several other notes. Which ones dominate for you? Where is the sweetness? Like an orange blossom or like make-up powder? I know my MMV but anymore info you could add would be amazing. A road trip to Pasteur’s is not in my future.

I really didn’t explain that well and I’m horrible with scent descriptions. But I just buried my face in the jar and this is what I’ve come up with:

Slightly leathery, some Oud as well. Light powdery scent, very slightly sweet. Kind of a mix between project leather and king of Oud with a hint of sweetness. Maybe that’s the citrus I smell? I would say leather is most prominent at first but then the others come on. But I don’t think of it as a leather scent overall (which aren’t my favorites).
 
Thanks @johnwick that was really helpful since I know both those scents. Project Leather and King of Oud's love child. That's a pass for me but I bet lots of other folks will want to jump on that especially since its in the latest base.
 
Went with the B&M Cool soap as suggested. I could not decide so it was sort of a flip a coin and see what happens.
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Went with the B&M Cool soap as suggested. I could not decide so it was sort of a flip a coin and see what happens.
Excellent decision!! A8DBFDE3-4801-447E-8750-0345D4C8A0FE.gif
 
So I received the shaving soap today and I REALLY like the scent. It’s very close to the scent of Floid after shave you would find in Italy. I am glad I didn’t get the Classic scent like I initially wanted as it closely resembles the old spice my grandfather used to use. Does anyone know what the other scents are supposed to replicate?
I haven’t shaved with it yet but did a test lather and boy was this just about the easiest soap I have ever used. Nice slick gooey lather.
 
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