Anyone tried Barrister & Mann Excelsior base?

[jdp93]

Shaved with Vespers this morning and really enjoyed it. I am only one shave in with this new base, so my comments should be weighted accordingly. I thought this new base behaved more like the reserve base than the glissant. It loaded like the reserve, but I think it was a tad slicker (which is saying a lot!).

The smell is very pleasant, and the sweetness from the matching aftershave stayed with me for several hours. I think Will’s got a winner here.


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[MarsEnglish]

Shaved with Vespers this morning and really enjoyed it. I am only one shave in with this new base, so my comments should be weighted accordingly. I thought this new base behaved more like the reserve base than the glissant. It loaded like the reserve, but I think it was a tad slicker (which is saying a lot!).

The smell is very pleasant, and the sweetness from the matching aftershave stayed with me for several hours. I think Will’s got a winner here.


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Did you get a Polo Red vibe?

 

[jdp93]

Did you get a Polo Red vibe?

I didn’t, but now that you mention it, both have that cranberry note, but other than that I think they are pretty different. I should say it’s been a few years since I wore Polo Red, so take that with a grain of salt. [emoji6]


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[ShavePastor]

After testing this base through a couple of versions and shaving with the newest base for a few weeks I've come to the conclusion that it is a thirsty base that takes a little more time as I add a little water at a time. I have to notate that when I’m doing a daily work shave I tend to load and face lather and this base works fine. I just have to start out with a few splashes of water and I get a nice slick lather for a quick 1 pass shave with a moderately efficient razors. I enjoy the whole shave experience so if I have a 3 day growth for example I'll make sure I shave when I have extra the time to spend on the whole shave, including creating a wonderful lather. With time an adding water a little at a time I get a great lather and I really enjoy the face feel, glide and post feel of the Excelsior base and as you see from the photos below I get a nice creamy shinny lather. I used a synthetic for this shave. I have to say I enjoy both this new base and the Reserve base a lot and Will is consistent in his soapmaking and his fragrances which means a lot to me. The 1st photo shows the final lather and the 2nd right after I stopped adding water before building my final lather.

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Good stuff Frank!

 

[Ad Astra]

Very interested in Vespers, monitoring with interest!


AA

 

[MarsEnglish]

Just had a shave with Vespers & wanted to share a few thoughts.

Scent - masterpiece (to my nose) it is much deeper, richer & nuanced than typical shaving soaps - various notes came & went during the shave delivering a much more complex profile than I had expected. Off the dry tub - sweet & kind of bracing. During the load - somewhat resinous & warm. During the shave - earthy, mossy & green. Well played in my opinion - not many soap makers can pull this off - at this level.

Performance - I’ve read reviews that say this formula takes cues from previous bases. N O

B&M has never had a base this good. In my opinion. I should note that I like the white label, I really really like Reserve & simply love Glissant - but Excelsior is easily better at everything. Slicker, easy to lather, holds a ton of water & the post shave is superior in my opinion.

I made the mistake of loading a synthetic brush for approx 19sec — 7 dips of water later & the soap could’ve taken more.

In closing - expectations are always high for a B&M formula refresh & Will never really disappoints but he also never really gets the credit he deserves either. In my opinion, he’s basically been the standard bearer in the community for years but time & again I see other artisans recognized as “The Best” but this time - I think things have changed. There’s no weaknesses to speak of - it’s time to call it like it is - if this isn’t the best base on the market right now - it’s 1A.

Just my .02

 

[SoullessSingularity]

Finally got a really nice Lather out of Excelsior- took a lot more water than expected and also a ton more soap (1/3 or so of my sample jar). Either way, this resulted in a comfortable, slick Lather with an excellent post shave. I’m not a fan of the scent so I’ll skip Vespers but I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for this base in scents more appealing to me.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Just had a shave with Vespers & wanted to share a few thoughts.

Scent - masterpiece (to my nose) it is much deeper, richer & nuanced than typical shaving soaps - various notes came & went during the shave delivering a much more complex profile than I had expected. Off the dry tub - sweet & kind of bracing. During the load - somewhat resinous & warm. During the shave - earthy, mossy & green. Well played in my opinion - not many soap makers can pull this off - at this level.

Performance - I’ve read reviews that say this formula takes cues from previous bases. N O

B&M has never had a base this good. In my opinion. I should note that I like the white label, I really really like Reserve & simply love Glissant - but Excelsior is easily better at everything. Slicker, easy to lather, holds a ton of water & the post shave is superior in my opinion.

I made the mistake of loading a synthetic brush for approx 19sec — 7 dips of water later & the soap could’ve taken more.

In closing - expectations are always high for a B&M formula refresh & Will never really disappoints but he also never really gets the credit he deserves either. In my opinion, he’s basically been the standard bearer in the community for years but time & again I see other artisans recognized as “The Best” but this time - I think things have changed. There’s no weaknesses to speak of - it’s time to call it like it is - if this isn’t the best base on the market right now - it’s 1A.

Just my .02

Great review! Thanks for the ‘rebuttal’!

 

[jdp93]

Second shave this morning with Vespers. I don't find it any thirstier than the Reserve base, but this may have something to do with my water? This is really great stuff. My wife paid me an unsolicited compliment on the scent, which is very rare. The soap is extremely slick, which is what I look for most in a soap. The post-shave is great, but that quality doesn't rank high with me as my skin is on the oilier side, and I use a moisturizer in the drier weather.

 

[Senate515]

So I've used excelsior once so I can't claim to be an expert with it, but I also intentionally used reserve and glissant for subsequent shaves and guess what I find them all to be in the same league, my initial impressions are excelsior is a great soap is it leaps and bounds over Will's other soaps IMO no. I found it was a thirsty soap, like reserve, easily lathers like reserve, not sticky/gummy like reserve, lather built quicker than glissant but nothing that is going to make a difference in my day. Bottom line great soap, great scent, top of the line soaps are already great so the improvements can't be night and day rather incremental. Enjoy any B&M soap they all work

 

[RayClem]

I ordered Vespers and should get it in a few days. I expect it to be a great soap since Will is a top artisan. I rate the Reserve base as a slight improvement over Glissant. Thus, I expect the Excelsior base to be a slight improvement over Glissant, but not necessarily an improvement over Reserve. If the Excelsior base is as good as Reserve and Will converts the Glissant scents over to the new base, he will have a winner.

 

[03Jarhead]

I’m curious as to whether or not the new base is going to be $25 per tub, or if the Vespers offering is at that price point due to being a seasonal. I’ve noticed even the PAA CK6 base is now $25 per tub. Will this be the new norm? If it is, I can see a fair amount of people not being interested in purchasing soaps like they normally do, myself included. I want to try the vespers, but with the scent description I held off on purchasing a whole tub. Hopefully Will releases some more scents in the very near future.

 

[RayClem]

As exotic ingredients (both base components and scents) are becoming more common in artisan soaps, the prices have climbed. Many soaps are not $20 and up with a few at the $25 level. There are still some bargains out there such as Ariana and Evens, an outstanding soap at $17-18.

 

[MarsEnglish]

Ingredients are truly going up in price for sure. I think a trend that I see, is some soapmakers are looking at the skincare industry for ingredients as traditionally skincare technology leads every other personal care category. Shave soap up until recently was a ways down that list. I think there will always be buyers for both high end and low end soaps and everything in between.

Yeah I’m pretty much at the top of my budget with these soaps. I remember the days of 12-15 being pricey. At least at that level I could justify a purchase as merely pocket change. But today’s prices have changed that entirely - 3 soap purchase a few years ago =$35 or so Today that purchase would set you back nearly $75-90 for a top soap maker. Don’t get me wrong, I do own a few SV & C&S soaps but I’m now drawing a line in the sand - I’m unwilling to go over $25 & truthfully not really willing to go that high anymore. I mean, do I really need another soap to add to the already 30yr stockpiles?

 

[Ad Astra]

Still waiting on my Vespers from Black Friday .. just had to order the aftershave, ensuring slow-as-can-be trucking.

Maybe Wednesday ... only two more days ... two weeks?

On the bright side; there IS some shave soap laying around ... literally everywhere.


AA

 

[johnwick]

I have used a Vespers sample from Maggards the last few days and could not be happier in the performance. Ended up ordering the soap and AS. Performance is on par with the reserve base and for me provides even better slickness. I’m really impressed in Glissant, Reserve and now Excelsior. Post shave is where it’s really shining. I’ll be joining the 2019 sabbatical so I’ll miss out on additional scents for awhile, but am looking forward to making a serious dent in my Vespers the next few months. I’m not a fanboy of the “latest and greatest” soaps and bases, in fact I tried this out predicated on scent. But they are really on to something with this base and it will be long lasting for years to come.

 

[Sharp_Obsession]

I am very impressed with the Vespers soap and the new Excelsior base. I was ready to walk away from B+M as the Latha, Glissant, and Reserve bases are just not my favorite soaps. But Will has a hit on his hands with Excelsior.

 

[Ad Astra]

Vespers in the house - and this stuff smells terrific!

A lot going on, and it's all Christmas!


AA

 

[MarsEnglish]

Vespers in the house - and this stuff smells terrific!

A lot going on, and it's all Christmas!


AA

Congrats!! Glad you like it.

That didn’t take long at all!! Lol

 

[Ad Astra]

Congrats!! Glad you like it.

That didn’t take long at all!! Lol

This time of year ... my days are about three days long each. Anyways.

First shave with Vespers!

Love the scent. Performance seems same as other B&Ms; so one shave gives little data ...

The aftershave lingers, which is really, really nice! It's kind of funny, makes you want/wish for the EDC, but do you really want to smell like Christmas itself?

The notes are amazing; it really paints a picture of the season. A happy thing to wake up to for the next month for sure.

But I'm pretty sure only Father Christmas himself can rock the cologne .... too good for mortals.


AA uh, oh. I'm going to get coal in my stocking now for saying that ....