Wholly Kaw fans

[ShavePastor]

Here is my evaluation of Wholly Kaw Italian Holiday which is one of the new Bufala base soaps. I will not review the performance as it is similar to Spice Vitae I evaluated above. I do prefer the scent of Italian Holiday better.

According to the WK web site, the scent notes are: leather, raspberry, honey, coffee, clary sage, amber, olibanum and woody finish to round out the base.

This is a very well blended scent. My nose picks up the scent of cucumber, even though that is not one of the notes in the accord. The scent strength is moderate. The scent is quite pleasant, but there is nothing compelling about the scent to elevate it to one of my favorites. I would rank it 7 out of 10 on scent preference according to my nose. Unlike Spice Vitae which is more suitable for cold weather, I would consider Italian Holiday to be a year-round scent.

As for performance, Bufala is one of my top-tier soap bases. As stated in the earlier post, it is similar in performance to the donkey milk formula, but I would not necessarily claim it to be better. Since I consider the donkey milk formula to be nearly perfect in performance, improving that formula would have been difficult.

Nice review on the Bufala base and the scents. Just curious, how do you think this new base stacks up against B&M Reserve from a performance standpoint, as far as the quality of lather, consistency, slickness, protection, etc..... Do you prefer one above the other?

 

[RayClem]

Nice review on the Bufala base and the scents. Just curious, how do you think this new base stacks up against B&M Reserve from a performance standpoint, as far as the quality of lather, consistency, slickness, protection, etc..... Do you prefer one above the other?

I rank WK just slightly better than Barristers Reserve. The primary difference is residual slickness of WK is just a little better than Reserve. If you use a buffing technique to achieve BBS, the WK works just slightly better. If you always re-lather for clean-up strokes, then residual slickness might not be important to you. The difference is not a big one. I rate residual slickness 10/10 for WK and 8/10 for Reserve.

I find that the new B&M Excelsior base is every bit as good as WK. Vespers was released as a limited edition. Beaudelaire has just been released as a WCS exclusive. During 2019, Will plans to transition the Gilssant base soaps over to Excelsior. Although Glissant is an excellent soap, Excelsior is an elite soap, so I am looking forward to the transition. Glissant and Excelsior both contain lanolin while Reserve does not. Thus, those sensitive to lanolin should choose the Reserve soaps.

 

[ShavePastor]

I rank WK just slightly better than Barristers Reserve. The primary difference is residual slickness of WK is just a little better than Reserve. If you use a buffing technique to achieve BBS, the WK works just slightly better. If you always re-lather for clean-up strokes, then residual slickness might not be important to you. The difference is not a big one. I rate residual slickness 10/10 for WK and 8/10 for Reserve.

I find that the new B&M Excelsior base is every bit as good as WK. Vespers was released as a limited edition. Beaudelaire has just been released as a WCS exclusive. During 2019, Will plans to transition the Gilssant base soaps over to Excelsior. Although Glissant is an excellent soap, Excelsior is an elite soap, so I am looking forward to the transition. Glissant and Excelsior both contain lanolin while Reserve does not. Thus, those sensitive to lanolin should choose the Reserve soaps.

Thanks, I love both WK & B&M Reserve. Two of my favorite soap bases for sure.

Is the Excelsior lather the same consistency as Reserve lather?

 

[RayClem]

Thanks, I love both WK & B&M Reserve. Two of my favorite soap bases for sure.

Is the Excelsior lather the same consistency as Reserve lather?

In the tub, Excelsior is firmer than Reserve, but not as firm as Glissant. One issue with Reserve was that it was easy to overload the brush and then it would be difficult to get enough water added to properly hydrate the soap. That is less of an issue with Excelsior.

Both Excelsior and Reserve produce a rich, creamy lather similar to Greek Yogurt when properly hydrated. The both give superb slickness and cushion and post shave conditioning. As noted earlier, residual slickness will be just a tad better on Excelsior than Reserve. The primary difference is likely to be whether you enjoy the vintage scents of the Reserve line, or the more modern scents of the Excelsior line.

 

[Badlander13]

When I smell Spice Vitae off the puck, I find the smell to be rather unusual. It is not a bad smell, but it is certainly not an inviting one. After lathering, the scents open up (especially the coffee) making for a more balanced accord. However, I still only rate it 5/10 on scent preference. The scent notes are: Saffron, Pink Pepper, Coffee, Cardamom, Honey, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Oud, Benzoin, Vanilla, Frankincense, Labdanum, Musk and Cassie absolute. Sri descibes the scent as a blend of essential oils, resins and aroma chemicals creating a symphony of notes appropriate for Fall and Winter.

So @RayClem your description and review sent me down the rabbit hole on TryThatSoap and I ended up reading a description of a B&M soap where Will describes using a saffron molecule to emulate the smell of running snow machine engines. I wonder if the dark unpleasant note you’re getting up front is the saffron. Really appreciate your notes on this.

 

[RayClem]

So @RayClem your description and review sent me down the rabbit hole on TryThatSoap and I ended up reading a description of a B&M soap where Will describes using a saffron molecule to emulate the smell of running snow machine engines. I wonder if the dark unpleasant note you’re getting up front is the saffron. Really appreciate your notes on this.

I know that Saffron is used to flavor and color some types of Indian dishes such as rice. South Asian dishes are not my thing, so I am not really sure what saffron smells like. It is too expensive for me to purchase some just to smell it. I know it only takes a tiny amount of it to have a big effect in cooking. Since Saffron is one of the first notes listed for Spice Vitae, that may well be the scent that seems strange to my nose. However, it is not an offensive scent, it just does not attract me. Scents that we tend to like normally remind us of something from our past that was a pleasurable experience. When we encounter a new scent, we do not recognize it as something familiar, so it does not trigger our scent memory associations. Someone from another culture or background might smell the same scent and find it reminds them of something quite pleasant. This is a worldwide hobby, so there is room for a variety of scents.