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2024-2025 Reflections and promises

2024 was an uneventful journey. Monotonous would be a better word.
Finished the following:
Four tallow MWF pucks. This soap stays No.1 for me. Not much to add.
Two Edwin Jagger soaps (Aloe Vera and Limes & Pomegranate). I didn't enjoy L&P scent at all. Performance for these soaps is great, but not excellent.
RazoRock Green Label. I didn't like this soap at all and it was quite a let down. I will not purchase again.
Proraso Aftershave balm. Average. I will not purchase again.
1919 Wahl Aftershave balm. Not bad but I will not purchase again. It lasted quite a while.

The surprise came from Lea, with a balm that is underwhelming, to say the least. I had high hopes for this product. Lea 3-in-1 Aftershave Balm has a very strong powdery scent that is unpleasant for me. I stopped using it after just a couple of months and will bin the rest.

DE89 stays on top, as my daily driver. The surprise comes from Yaqi Ghost 70SP. I did expect the shave to be close to the DE89 since it is a neutral blade exposure razor. And it does shave like a 0.7mm/neutral exposure razor to me, making it ideal as a daily user.

Now, for the 2025, this is the line up:

2024 friends s.jpg


All tallow. And yes, I broke my promise to never buy Cella again. Just wanted to see what you guys are talking about. So yeah, be proud, you... bunch of nerdy enablers.

That's all for now. Stay safe and enjoy your journey.
 
@Lane101 , just rotating to different soaps. I have a respectable stash of tallow MWF that will take many years to go through.
I am also a Williams enthusiast, and I really enjoy shaving with it. To me, it was the absolute best value in the shaving soap market. Very close to Arko. I enjoy everything about this soap, even its pedestrian scent.
I was also curious about Cella, since I never had a chance to properly use it.

Do you have a 2025 line-up?

Just wondering if I am the only one and I invite anyone to post theirs here.
 
I definitely don't need any more razors or blades and I like dual use soap that I can shave with, use as deodorant, treat skin conditions and allergies plus sunburn, deter insects, dogs, cats, spiders, ants, rodents, polish leather and shoes, brush my teeth with, remove surface rust and wash clothes plus get bugs off plants - ie : traditional French or African soap.

Got all different soap - mostly natural, handmade and traditional with 3-4 ingredients and no manmade chemicals.

I also make my own soap and aftershaves/perfumes, shampoo, conditioner, hydrosols and herbal medicine etc from scratch.

I do have a thing about Oud though - I'm a herbalist and mustn't buy too much next year !
 
For 2025, I resolve to:
1. Keep shaving with my King C Gillette razor.
2. Keep using Noble Otter's soaps, as long as Central Market keeps carrying them. If they cease carrying them, I will explore another recommended soap based on advice from our forum.
3. Continue using my Noble Otter brush.
4. Continue using my Bic Chrome Platinum blades until my supply is exhausted--either later March or early April. Then I may digress. I am thinking of purchasing an assortment of 20, 5-pack blades and shaving with them in alphabetical order by blade brand.
And that is it for now.
 
For 2025, I resolve to:
1. Keep shaving with my King C Gillette razor.
2. Keep using Noble Otter's soaps, as long as Central Market keeps carrying them. If they cease carrying them, I will explore another recommended soap based on advice from our forum.
3. Continue using my Noble Otter brush.
4. Continue using my Bic Chrome Platinum blades until my supply is exhausted--either later March or early April. Then I may digress. I am thinking of purchasing an assortment of 20, 5-pack blades and shaving with them in alphabetical order by blade brand.
And that is it for now.
Must get myself a King C Gillette razor - they sound great for the paltry outlay but I want a Gillette 109 from the seventies but the short 84mm version and a couple of Gillette old types from the turn of the Century - just got Gillette travel ones and techs - most I've not used because they're in Vintage grooming / shaving kits and filed neatly away and can't be bothered fishing them out - no need got plenty in razor racks which are much handier lol !
 
Must get myself a King C Gillette razor - they sound great for the paltry outlay but I want a Gillette 109 from the seventies but the short 84mm version and a couple of Gillette old types from the turn of the Century - just got Gillette travel ones and techs - most I've not used because they're in Vintage grooming / shaving kits and filed neatly away and can't be bothered fishing them out - no need got plenty in razor racks which are much handier lol !
Be careful Balin because a couple of members said that razors breed like rabbits - they're so right and so do soaps, blades, brushes and frags - I'm deffo putting the brakes on bigtime this year - cut my Klarna card in half - had to - it was crazy haha !
 

doctordial

my brain goes "thonk"
2024 was an uneventful journey. Monotonous would be a better word.
Finished the following:
Four tallow MWF pucks. This soap stays No.1 for me. Not much to add.
Two Edwin Jagger soaps (Aloe Vera and Limes & Pomegranate). I didn't enjoy L&P scent at all. Performance for these soaps is great, but not excellent.
RazoRock Green Label. I didn't like this soap at all and it was quite a let down. I will not purchase again.
Proraso Aftershave balm. Average. I will not purchase again.
1919 Wahl Aftershave balm. Not bad but I will not purchase again. It lasted quite a while.

The surprise came from Lea, with a balm that is underwhelming, to say the least. I had high hopes for this product. Lea 3-in-1 Aftershave Balm has a very strong powdery scent that is unpleasant for me. I stopped using it after just a couple of months and will bin the rest.

DE89 stays on top, as my daily driver. The surprise comes from Yaqi Ghost 70SP. I did expect the shave to be close to the DE89 since it is a neutral blade exposure razor. And it does shave like a 0.7mm/neutral exposure razor to me, making it ideal as a daily user.

Now, for the 2025, this is the line up:

View attachment 1959353

All tallow. And yes, I broke my promise to never buy Cella again. Just wanted to see what you guys are talking about. So yeah, be proud, you... bunch of nerdy enablers.

That's all for now. Stay safe and enjoy your journey.


Wow! Where did you get the Williams from? I caught onto that soap late and when I was using mine, it got discontinued. I miss that soap. Great performer for the price. I've never used the Palmolive and I'm interested in trying that. A friend gifted me a never used tube of C.O. Bigelow so I guess I'll be using that and my Stirling sheep soap puck and what other samples I have.
 
Where I live, Williams used to be sold in groceries. So, a puck or two made it into the cart every time I saw it on sale. I don't know how many pucks I have since they are all scattered. I love Williams, even if it is a bit drying. With zero post shave qualities. But one of the slickest soaps I have. It is nearly impossible to nick yourself when shaving with it.
The same can be said about Palmolive, only that the groceries were across the pond. Where I always found it for a mere 50p.

Both long gone now. Replaced by fancy, poetry-scented croaps, sold for ten times more. Oh well...
 
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