Anyone tried Barrister & Mann Excelsior base?

[03Jarhead]

I came back to eat some crow.... I ordered a tub of vespers. ‍ What’s. Wrong. With. Me.... anyway after all the rave reviews I figured I better see if it’s really that good. And I’m doing a 2019 sabbatical. I think...

 

[RayClem]

I came back to eat some crow.... I ordered a tub of vespers. ‍ What’s. Wrong. With. Me.... anyway after all the rave reviews I figured I better see if it’s really that good. And I’m doing a 2019 sabbatical. I think...

I need to do a soap sabbatical in 2019. I have enough soaps to last for the next 10 years plus. However, as long as the keep coming out with great new soap bases and soap scents, I can't resist trying them. A nice warm, luxurious, fragrant lather is my favorite part of the shaving experience. If I have to shave, I might as well enjoy it.

 

[johnwick]

I’ve got about 7-8 shaves under my belt with Vespers and the AS. Really a lovely Christmas or otherwise wintertime scent. As a gentleman mentioned, the AS lingers well and smells wonderful.

2019 sabbatical is coming, but I’ll be coming back to this base for other scents afterwards. A really nice base.

 

[RayClem]

I’ve got about 7-8 shaves under my belt with Vespers and the AS. Really a lovely Christmas or otherwise wintertime scent. As a gentleman mentioned, the AS lingers well and smells wonderful.

2019 sabbatical is coming, but I’ll be coming back to this base for other scents afterwards. A really nice base.

Another nice Christmas scent is the limited edition CRSW Glide "Winter". A lovely soap and CRSW Glide is top tier.

 

[johnwick]

Another nice Christmas scent is the limited edition CRSW Glide "Winter". A lovely soap and CRSW Glide is top tier.

Out for delivery today! I’m glad to hear you like it. The scent description was puffery and marketing at its finest, but I was hooked nonetheless!

 

[Scaramouche]

Shaved with it this morning with my Feather and it does perform like Will's other offerings, i.e., excellent. I have a water softener, so soap differences are not dramatic, but it lathers well and has a great seasonal scent - reminds me of Stirling's Christmas Eve but not as resinous. Also lasts, but I used the EDC as well, and between the soap, AS and cologne it's a nice holiday package - I'll use again!

 

[SonofdavidS]

Finally figured out Vespers, had a phenomenal shave today. This shave had the extreme slickness everybody’s been talking about. Also, as mentioned by other, post-shave is outstanding as well.

I really love both Glissant and Reserve bases, I’m not quite ready to say this is better than both, but it’s at least as good.

 

[Bogeyman]

...I really love both Glissant and Reserve bases, I’m not quite ready to say this is better than both, but it’s at least as good.

When soap is this good any improvements are incremental IMO and therefore may possibly take time for some to see. The Excelsior base was designed to ease the lather troubles some had with the Reserve base if I recall and B&M tweaked other things as well, most importantly the slickness to the nth degree.

 

[johnwick]

I agree, this soap is better compared to the Glissant base rather than Reserve due to the similar lathering qualities. For me, Excelsior lathers the same as Glissant which makes for a better comparison. My impression after using Vespers for a dozen or so shaves is that it exceeds Glissant in slickness and post shave feel. But not by much as Glissant is already wonderful.

 

[agrippas]

First shave with Vespers this morning and it was top notch in every way. I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want the shave to end. Better than Reserve? Hard to say after one shave.

 

[RayClem]

Glissant and Excelsior include lanolin whereas Reserve does not. If Excelsior receives a great reception, it is possible Will will convert the Glissant scents over to the new base. However, he could also keep the popular Glissant scents and use the Excelsior base to introduce new scents. It is unlikely the Reserve base will be replaced. For one, it provides an option for those who cannot tolerate lanolin. Second, the Reserve line has a mission to resurrect some discontinued scents. Whichever way Will decides to proceed, I wish him well as he has added much to the hobby.

 

[03Jarhead]

I’ve used Vespers for 3 nights in a row and I’m impressed. I actually like the scent too, which surprised me. Definitely a nice winter soap. I think the new base does outperform it’s predecessors by a good bit, mainly in slickness. I noticed I get zero drag with my Rex Ambassador, which I do with virtually every other soap out there. It is a thirty’s soap however, much like the reserve base. I think Will has a winner here for sure.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I have an astonishing number of soaps already not including the ones I've bottom drawered and probably won't use again, but keep around to try later (and sometimes find they've improved remarkably). I've given away several, too, mostly for scent related reasons. If you ask my wife she'd tell you I have a lot of soap. She's right.

Spoiler: Disclaimer

You probably have more!

Yes, you. You know who you are.

For a while I've been at the point of not much wanting to try new soaps with few exceptions. One exception being a scent I love in a base I know to be good. This point of view has been strengthened by a series of disappointments; new soaps which were either no better than many I already owned, or, worse, not as good. Skepticism had reared its not so ugly head.

Not long ago I tried the PAA Crown King Bay Bum. It's a favorite splash for me. A member sent me a sample. I liked it and bought it. It's good, but the scent is the selling point for me. I was glad the performance was close enough to top tier.

More recently a member sent me samples of soaps which have totally changed my paradigm. Two in particular have greatly impressed me.

• Grooming Department's Lusso based soap.
• B&M's newest base in the Vespers scent.

I've not used either enough to be 100% sure of how they compare with one another but both are really great soaps.

I have my top tier soaps. A number of soaps I regard as almost top tier. Counting the top tier soaps + the almost top tier soaps I have enough soap to put some a substantial amount of soap in my will.

Problem is this. Now there are soaps above top tier Maybe there are soaps above what I'd already determined to be the top tier soaps. It's a moving target and it's moving off into the future.

Good thing my wife's hobby is expensive (she's a quilter). Did you know that 20% of the fabric goes to make quilts? Sometimes I fear 20% of the shaving soap will end up in my den.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[kxthor]

So, I bought a tub of this soap on a whim, as I could not lather the reserve samples I bought. I love the scent and can for sure smell the cranberries and pine. The test lather that I did today was not great, the lather that I did get was thin. I ended up putting it on my face just to see how it felt and it did feel wonder, no irritation or needless or anything (I have been getting that lately with some of the veggy soaps.) Left it on my face for awhile and then wiped it away. I was going to try to test lather and shave again either tonight or in the morning but ended up using my new Declaration Grooming soap.

 

[johnwick]

@kxthor You're going to think I'm crazy, but try this with the Reserve:

• Use a very wet synthetic brush
• Swirl on the soap for 15 swirls, no more
• Load in bowl for a bit, keep adding water. Lots of water.

Reserve performs differently than any other base I've used. The instructions above are directly from the soap maker. I've had excellent success with this method. The problems guys often have is over loading the brush and it's hard to get enough water in it after doing so. Best of luck!

Hang in there on the Vespers. It performs as other soaps do. Load the brush heavy and go on. It too likes a lot of water.

 

[kxthor]

@kxthor You're going to think I'm crazy, but try this with the Reserve:

• Use a very wet synthetic brush
• Swirl on the soap for 15 swirls, no more
• Load in bowl for a bit, keep adding water. Lots of water.

Reserve performs differently than any other base I've used. The instructions above are directly from the soap maker. I've had excellent success with this method. The problems guys often have is over loading the brush and it's hard to get enough water in it after doing so. Best of luck!

Hang in there on the Vespers. It performs as other soaps do. Load the brush heavy and go on. It too likes a lot of water.

Thanks a bunch for this. I only have samples of the reserve base, so it would be hard to do this exact method. I guess I can transfer to bowl and try with a good chunk of the reserve. I had given up awhile back so the samples are a bit old. I wonder if this matters?

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

@kxthor
Hang in there on the Vespers. It performs as other soaps do. Load the brush heavy and go on. It too likes a lot of water.

Interesting.

I load the Vespers as lightly as possible. I still get a ton of lather.

It does like a lot of water. But, not much soap.

As a face latherer, after loading my soaked and shaken damp brush I apply soap like spackling. Then, I add a bit of water to the brush's tips and begin building lather. The Vespers soaps works great with my method. I can not believe how much lather I can get with so little soap.

I do not have hard water. Maybe that matters. If you have hard water, maybe try distilled water?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[RayClem]

@kxthor You're going to think I'm crazy, but try this with the Reserve:

• Use a very wet synthetic brush
• Swirl on the soap for 15 swirls, no more
• Load in bowl for a bit, keep adding water. Lots of water.

Reserve performs differently than any other base I've used. The instructions above are directly from the soap maker. I've had excellent success with this method. The problems guys often have is over loading the brush and it's hard to get enough water in it after doing so. Best of luck!

Hang in there on the Vespers. It performs as other soaps do. Load the brush heavy and go on. It too likes a lot of water.

+1 on this. The biggest problem folks have with the Reserve base is loading too much soap. The soap is nearly as soft as a cream, so it is easy to overload your brush. The soap is so thirsty that if you put too much soap on your brush, it is nearly impossible to add sufficient water to create a properly hydrated lather. While some soaps might require a 30 second load time, with Reserve 10-15 seconds should be plenty. Another alternative is to treat it like a cream and scoop out a almond size dollop of soap and apply it to your brush or bowl. A ratio of 1/2 teaspoon of soap to 1 Tablespoon of water will get you close to where you want to be.

As noted, the Excelsior base soaps such as Vespers are more typical of other artisan soaps with respect to load time.

 

[johnwick]

Thanks a bunch for this. I only have samples of the reserve base, so it would be hard to do this exact method. I guess I can transfer to bowl and try with a good chunk of the reserve. I had given up awhile back so the samples are a bit old. I wonder if this matters?

If the samples are dried out it could affect it. For me, samples can be tricky to understand how much I’m loading and whether or not the soap is getting a fair shake. I’ve always found that the ability to load directly from a full puck to be the best way to get to know a soap. Second best way is to scoop an almond size chunk out and spread it into the bottom of a bowl.

Interesting.

I load the Vespers as lightly as possible. I still get a ton of lather.

It does like a lot of water. But, not much soap.

As a face latherer, after loading my soaked and shaken damp brush I apply soap like spackling. Then, I add a bit of water to the brush's tips and begin building lather. The Vespers soaps works great with my method. I can not believe how much lather I can get with so little soap.

I do not have hard water. Maybe that matters. If you have hard water, maybe try distilled water?

Happy shaves,

Jim

Jim I would agree, Vespers produces abundant lather when used gently. My “heavy” comment was more to illustrate that it’s not going to be a deal breaker like Reserve. Excelsior is a very good soap base, one that will travel a long way with minimal loading. Do you plan to be a little less stingy when your full tub arrives? I’m someone who doesn’t go out of my way to over do it and try to waste lather at the end, but I appreciate a brush full of soap even after my third or fourth pass to then cover my face with.

I’ve also only used a synthetic for Vespers. Have you been getting these great results with your boars or just badgers?

John

 

[kxthor]

I'm still following along with this post. I will post again when I try the Vespers soap again (most likely tomorrow.) I'm just not going to worry about the reserve at this point. I just tried some of the Declaration Grooming Icarus base and I'm in love with that as well. Thanks again guys...