A&E Asian Plum

[Earcutter]

I’ve really got a lot of great soaps in my collection going on. A... lot! I should be pretty content, and should be 3017ing, but well, you know how it goes.

Today I’ve got some A&E coming in. This will be my first swim in the river “Ariana & Evans,” but I’ve heard so many great things I’m just diving right in. Samples be darned, give me a tub.

With summer just around the corner, the Asian Plum scent notes called to me. Notes: Plum, dried fruits, t*bacco, tonka bean, coffee, vanilla and a touch of Plumeria. Should be interesting!

The ingredients though! Ingredients: Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Goats Milk, Shea Butter, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Mango Butter, Glycerin, Cocoa Butter, Castor Oil, Manteca (Pig Fat), Strangisto Giaourti (strained yogurt), Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Camellia Oil from Japan, Sodium Hydroxide, Lanolin, Agave, Bentonite Clay, Beeswax, Sodium Lactate, Argan Oil, Fragrance & EO's.

This really should be a fantastic soap! I’m really looking forward to trying it. And according to the USPS, it’ll be at my door soon! I can’t wait. In the mean time, what’s your take?

 

[Earcutter]

 

[Ringer]

Just shaved with The Club's (A&E) The Novelist this morning. In terms of performance, definitely a base everyone should try at some point. I've only smelled Asia Plum once, but remember thinking it would be a great Spring time scent. Ultimately, Spartacus won out and what I ended up purchasing. I dont see many people knocking Asia Plum around the boards, so good.chamce you'll enjoy. Let us know what you think when it arrives.

 

[Earcutter]

Just shaved with The Club's (A&E) The Novelist this morning. In terms of performance, definitely a base everyone should try at some point. I've only smelled Asia Plum once, but remember thinking it would be a great Spring time scent. Ultimately, Spartacus won out and what I ended up purchasing. I dont see many people knocking Asia Plum around the boards, so good.chamce you'll enjoy. Let us know what you think when it arrives.

Too funny, went downstairs and... there it was on the front porch. Scent wise, the soap smells awesome. Plum for sure, but the plastic tub is destroying the effect. The aftershave though, it had a little plum baby puke going on lol! I’m scared to end a great shave with baby puke.

I know that’s not going to happen, I hope lol. I’ll let you know in about 30 minutes.

 

[sugardaddy]

I tried my first soap of this brand a few days ago and it performed really well. The only gripe I have about it is that the scent was just way too weak. the one I tried was Monte Carlo.

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[Earcutter]

Initial reaction: What an interesting shave! But, I’ll get to that in a second.

Scent: “Big smile - It finishes so differently than it starts! I like. It’s almost like a lilac, but it’s not flowery enough to be lilac.” Says SWMBO.

“It’s plum hon.”

“Oh is that what it is? I like it!”

So that’s a plus. It really is a “spring” scent. More importantly, the aftershave lost its hint of baby puke lol.

I really don’t mind floral. I love rose scents so the only reason I think I might be balking a little with this one is because of the sweet aftertaste it has. If a scent can have a sweet aftertaste. Remember those sugar crystal things on a stick? That kind of aftertaste. But in plum.

I like it, it’s just one of those scents that you’ll grow to love I think, or grow into indifference. I’m pretty sure (90%) i’ll grow to love it. I’ll shave with it until my MdC comes in from Spain and let you know.

The Shave: This stuff lathered like a champ for me. It didn’t expand into copious amounts of cream, it just thickened. I love that. I love that because usually when that happens it’s going to cushion like a champ and boy did it cushion like a champ!

It’s a sunny day here in NE Kansas and with the light streaming into the den, the scent of plum wafting, and this insane amount of cushion going on, I’m not going to lie, I kind of started to live in the moment a little too much. I know this because after the first pass I noted two weepers. I haven’t had a weeper in a long time... I have a feeling this soap is so protective that I could all but lop my head off and not notice. I had 2.5 days of growth! This soap helped make my first pass fell like it was my second. You know? Dang!

Bar none, my favorite part of the whole A&E shaving experience today was the lathers cushion, but it’s important to note that at the end of my third pass with my Feather SS, with what was clearly a really close shave, that even after a pass, and no soap left on the face visibly, the product is still working. So I grabbed my DE and touched up that one spot on my neck where the hair grows at an angle that’s nearly Impossible for me to get with a straight or anything resembling one. With no soap on the area, there was still plenty of glide.

I’ve been wet shaving for a while. That “residual” glide surprised me.


So I like it so far. A lot. One shave however is nothing more than one shave. I’ll say that now that everything has dried, my face feels very soft! B&M soft I think is still better. But dang did I get a close shave with this. This might be a great soap for noobs who haven’t mastered pressure yet. Or me for that matter who clearly forgets from time to time.

Fun!

 

[.soap.]

Thanks for a great review!

I've had their Summer Fig in a set for a few weeks now and you've inspired me to break the seal and try it out.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[boilerphan]

I love the A&E and The Club line. Peter Charkalis is a master with scents and his soap is an incredible performer in most of the metrics, but slickness (primary and residual) and post shave feel are best in class in my book.

Don't forget to shake the aftershaves well as he uses a lot of skin foods and I think they can separate sometimes.

I can't wait to try his Guiness beer base soap that he introduced at the NYC Expo last weekend and will be releasing to his The Club VIP members at the end of next week.

 

[Bogeyman]

Women love L'Orange Verte, especially combined with the AS.

 

[ryinzana]

Been using A&E Grecian Horse the past two days and it’s been fantastic. Great cushion/slickness. Lather has a nice sheen/yogurt consistency once you hydrate it enough. Left my face feeling very nice (no need for a balm - just followed up with a splash). A&E will definitely stay in my rotation.

 

[Earcutter]

Thanks for a great review!

I've had their Summer Fig in a set for a few weeks now and you've inspired me to break the seal and try it out.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

I’d love to hear your take. Please post your findings here - or link us up.

 

[Earcutter]

Don't forget to shake the aftershaves well as he uses a lot of skin foods and I think they can separate sometimes.
.

Hey, thanks for that heads up. Good call. I will not forget Sunday.

 

[Earcutter]

Been using A&E Grecian Horse the past two days and it’s been fantastic. Great cushion/slickness. Lather has a nice sheen/yogurt consistency once you hydrate it enough. Left my face feeling very nice (no need for a balm - just followed up with a splash). A&E will definitely stay in my rotation.

Exactly. I forgot to mention that - good call. It does like water. Man, ten years in and to this day I still have to remind myself that soap loves water lol.

Thanks.

 

[Boghopper]

Thanks for the in depth review. A&E is on the to do list for me. That ingredient list looks interesting.

 

[agrippas]

I have five A&E soaps. They are definitely in the elite category.

 

[.soap.]

I’d love to hear your take. Please post your findings here - or link us up.

Well, inspired by this thread, I took A&E Summer Fig for its first spin tonight.

I'll need to use it several more times before actually reviewing the performance but let's just say I thoroughly enjoyed the A&E base and most of you reading this thread are likely already convinced that it's a contender.

Fig is one of my favorite smells with AdP's Blu Mediterano Fico Di Imalfi being one of my all-time favorite smells. As you can imagine, once I decided to try out an A&E option, I had no choice but to grab the fig.

Scent strength: 2/5.
Many Kay appreciated the muted scent but I'd personally prefer an artisan puts the pedal to the metal when a scent is a winner.

Scent description:
I fully anticipated the scent of a fresh cut fig and, in the back of my mind, perhaps even some hints of Fico.
The scent is definitely enjoyable but it's neither of those things. Rather, the scent brought to mind an entire bushel of uncut figs in an orchard. There are some definite "green" notes that hinted at fig leaves or even snapped twigs on the tree. There was fig scent as well but it was more like smelling the whole fruit rather than having a fresh cut fig that's ready to eat.

Aftershave:
Performance seemed to be in line with several other top shelf artisans. The scent was more potent which I truly appreciated however it was short lived and fleeting. My darling wife loves Fico and always comments on my aftershave choices but she didn't even notice this scent about 5 minutes after use.

Overall, while the scent strength isn't for me, I enjoyed the shave and will be happy to use this set to completion this spring and summer. I'm deciding on a group of four soap & aftershave combos to display out of storage and use throughout the spring & summer and this will happily make the cut.

Will I buy more A&E offerings? Not for some time. Early indications leave me preferring some other artisan favorites including B&M Reserve and L&L Grooming (now DG), both of which provide amazing performance along with top shelf scents and scent strength in my book.

Thanks for reading.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Earcutter]

Well, inspired by this thread, I took A&E Summer Fig for its first spin tonight.

I'll need to use it several more times before actually reviewing the performance but let's just say I thoroughly enjoyed the A&E base and most of you reading this thread are likely already convinced that it's a contender.

Fig is one of my favorite smells with AdP's Blu Mediterano Fico Di Imalfi being one of my all-time favorite smells. As you can imagine, once I decided to try out an A&E option, I had no choice but to grab the fig.

Scent strength: 2/5.
Many Kay appreciated the muted scent but I'd personally prefer an artisan puts the pedal to the metal when a scent is a winner.

Scent description:
I fully anticipated the scent of a fresh cut fig and, in the back of my mind, perhaps even some hints of Fico.
The scent is definitely enjoyable but it's neither of those things. Rather, the scent brought to mind an entire bushel of uncut figs in an orchard. There are some definite "green" notes that hinted at fig leaves or even snapped twigs on the tree. There was fig scent as well but it was more like smelling the whole fruit rather than having a fresh cut fig that's ready to eat.

Aftershave:
Performance seemed to be in line with several other top shelf artisans. The scent was more potent which I truly appreciated however it was short lived and fleeting. My darling wife loves Fico and always comments on my aftershave choices but she didn't even notice this scent about 5 minutes after use.

Overall, while the scent strength isn't for me, I enjoyed the shave and will be happy to use this set to completion this spring and summer. I'm deciding on a group of four soap & aftershave combos to display out of storage and use throughout the spring & summer and this will happily make the cut.

Will I buy more A&E offerings? Not for some time. Early indications leave me preferring some other artisan favorites including B&M Reserve and L&L Grooming (now DG), both of which provide amazing performance along with top shelf scents and scent strength in my book.

Thanks for reading.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Beautiful write up! As always. Thanks man.

I agree that scent strength is a huge draw. It’s massive for me too. But after taking on some of the more “complex” scent offerings from B&M and Wholy Kaw recently, a little break this spring is refreshing. Of course I hadn’t cracked into my B&M Cool Sample yet! I just know I’m going to have to get that too.

Thanks again!

 

[trashcanmagic]

Mine doesn't arrive until Wed, probably due to ordering some of the post-shave serum.

I really like lighter scents most of the time so I, too, went with the plum.

What should the lather look like when I've nailed it?

 

[Earcutter]

What should the lather look like when I've nailed it?

Interesting question. White? I just joking around. Honestly, I’ve never thought about it before. I’ll be interested to see what others say.

 

[.soap.]

Interesting question. White? I just joking around. Honestly, I’ve never thought about it before. I’ll be interested to see what others say.

Yogurt! Here's the first pass from A&E for me.

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