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B&M Behold the Whatsis! On order and review.
- Thread starter Yojimbo1968
- Start date
Beaudelaire
Used my tub this morning and had a pleasant experience. This is my first B&M soap so I can't compare it to other iterations of their product, but I can say it performed nicely. The scent is intriguing. It doesn't make me swoon over it, but it is one of those scents that I believe will grow on me the more I use it. Over all, not disappointed with my purchase.
- Thread starter
- #44
First shave and I’m literally going to repeat myself. Fantastic lather. Smooth shave. Wonderful childlike scent - but subtle. I really do get the cookie. Going to order another tub. It’s that good.
Always glad to hear when someone finds a winner.
Had my first shave with btw yesterday. Quick summary:
1. Performance is as good as anything
2. Container definitely looks like it holds less than standard bm container
3. I was very afraid of rose + citrus being an allergenic disaster for me. It was fine. No burn.
4. Scent doesn’t really smell particularly floral or citrusy. It’s the kind of smell that comes from a “good” cleaning product or air freshener. Don’t let that scare you though. My preference leans slightly away from “totally natural” ( not that this isn’t. It just reminds me of things that aren’t) like that powder you sprinkle on carpet, then vacuum up.
5. Aftershave is just as good as the soap, and the scent stuck with me slightly for nearly 24 hours. I loved this feature.
Overall, big win. Would buy again.
1. Performance is as good as anything
2. Container definitely looks like it holds less than standard bm container
3. I was very afraid of rose + citrus being an allergenic disaster for me. It was fine. No burn.
4. Scent doesn’t really smell particularly floral or citrusy. It’s the kind of smell that comes from a “good” cleaning product or air freshener. Don’t let that scare you though. My preference leans slightly away from “totally natural” ( not that this isn’t. It just reminds me of things that aren’t) like that powder you sprinkle on carpet, then vacuum up.
5. Aftershave is just as good as the soap, and the scent stuck with me slightly for nearly 24 hours. I loved this feature.
Overall, big win. Would buy again.
I just got a set of the aftershave and tub of soap. Scent really isn't for me I do not think. If I wanted to sell- do you have to post to the "buy, sell, trade" forum? Soap is unused.
Yes.
Finally got around to using mine yesterday, very very imoresimp with the performance, scent is kinda meh on me right now but absolutely keeping it for performance alone. Also, as a positive critique on the container, I like that there is a small cut in/lip in the container above the soap level because it trapped a lot of the proto-later and kept it from the typical messy spill out.
Rrose Sélavy here on the forum kindly sold me his soap & AS sample. I knew what to expect from the Excelsior base as I have a Vespers sample and it is a simply superb soap. That said however I find the scent sickeningly sweet. That is why I always try to get a sample of any new B&M soap before splurging on a tub as their scents are sometimes a bit too.......eclectic. 
Rrose Sélavy here on the forum kindly sold me his soap & AS sample. I knew what to expect from the Excelsior base as I have a Vespers sample and it is a simply superb soap. That said however I find the scent sickeningly sweet. That is why I always try to get a sample of any new B&M soap before splurging on a tub as their scents are sometimes a bit too.......eclectic.
Yeah, I didn't like the scent, either, hence my offering the samples for the cost of postage. I really hope that Will makes a more straight-forward scent in the Excellsior. Based on the release schedule, I'm not going to be able to pick up a tub until the summer (at least!).
...Based on the release schedule, I'm not going to be able to pick up a tub until the summer (at least!).
A shave buddy & I were discussing this very point yesterday as to why in Heaven's name doesn't B&M intro a mass appeal scented soap in Excelsior. I just don't get it.
- Thread starter
- #53
Saw an interview with Will (and I’m paraphrasing)where he said he wanted people to dislike his soaps. The point was he wanted people to be passionate about what he was doing and about his soaps. I love the scent of Whatsis and love the scent of Vespers even more. The fact that others don’t is great. As we always say here, it’s entirely an individual thing (Stirling’s Bay Rum literally made me gag the first time I opened a tub). I love the fact B&M is pushing the scent envelope in a fantastic base. I also understand the desire to get the mass appeal soaps in excelsior. All good folks.
Don't get me wrong, I love tons of the scents that Will creates. I just don't want to shave with them day in, day out. And I REALLY don't want to smell them eight hours after I shave! Truth be told, I bought A LOT of Barrister & Mann when I first discovered artisan soapmakers. I think that I had more than fifteen B&M soaps at one point! But as much as I loved sniffing the tubs, I just wasn't using the soap to shave. Unfortunately, I find this to be the case with most of the newer American artisans. I've tried almost all of them, but there are very few that I can think of that make me want to go out and buy another tub of soap. I must be getting old...
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I like A&E, but not all their scents. Spartacus made me want to wretch as I am too old to like Metrosexual pineapple scents. I loved SoCal Hipster however as a daily user. Low key fun scent and A&E performance is top of the heap. I dislike tremendously many artisans trying to duplicate these cheesy Mall scents from the era of reformulation. There is such a thing as being too clever IMO. Mickey Lee also has a good handle on scents IMO. Just my 2 cents.
The scent to me was very sweet and hard to handle when I first received my puck. The more I use it and smell it, the more I love it.
Might not use it mid-Winter (think Leviathan), but it's a wonderful Spring/Summer wakeup....
This has happened now to me with three out of the four B&M scents I have purchased... At first you take a whiff and are like "hmm not so sure about this at all..." Then a few days later something changes. I felt this way just last week when Whatsis arrived. Did not like it at all- but I waited.. and get this... I love the smell now so much that I actually brought the tub down to my room the other day because I wanted to keep taking whiffs of it as I worked. Insanity.
- Thread starter
- #59
Weren’t you selling it?
Yes I was. I jumped the gun the first night I got it. I should have just adhered to my "wait 48 hours" policy
