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B&M Eigengrau first use

I took a chance last week when Barrister and Mann were doing some spring cleaning and grabbed a tub of their Eigengrau shave soap in the Ominibus base while it was on sale.

Where to start? I guess scent since this is such a unique or at least non-standard scent. B&M describes it as moonlight on snow, but I live in the Southeastern US so that really isn't a smell I'm expert enough on to comment on, but I will say this - I like it. It comes off the puck swinging, and it leads with a pleasant earthy scent ( probably the fir and lichen they mention on the label ) that they soften with a dash of florals. When lathered I think the floral comes forward a little and to me, it balances everything out a little. Now I have to admit I've started really enjoying more adventurous takes on shaving scents and 'earthy' doesn't bother me so I dug this more and more as I was exposed to it. I will see how more use alters my perception.

So, time to talk about performance. Simply ridiculous in all the best ways possible that could be taken. This is my first exposure to their Omnibus base, but I was already a fan of their Reserve base and this just takes it up a notch from that. Lather creation was easy with my damp RR synthetic brush - thirty swirls on the puck loaded plenty of soap for me to bowl lather. It took water well as I built the lather and it never seemed to threaten to fall apart. Applying the product to my face was a pleasure as it covered nicely, and while thick it wasn't pasted on. Shaving with the Rockwell 6C on plate 4 with a ( new to me ) Sharp 7AM Plus Platinum blade was a simple procedure. I did a full 3 passes and some extended buffing since the razor was behaving so well in partnership with this soap. I basically ended up with about as close to a full BBS as I get without resorting to face gymnastics in a few spots. I followed the shave with some Aqua Velva ( closest I could come to 'snow' in my AS collection ) and it is also an AS that will alert you to less than stellar shaving experiences. I didn't feel any feedback from the AV. Post shave feel a few hours later is impressive, especially knowing the AV didn't really add anything to that.

So thumbs up from me so far. I'll continue to use this soap and see what else I learn from it. I hope he brings it back next winter because I'm thinking I may have to spring for the matching AS.
 
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I like Eigengrau. The scent is mainly iris, and I think the whole moonlight on snow thing is misleading. It’s an evocative idea, but snow doesn’t smell like iris no matter what the lighting conditions are. Unless you are seeing the moonlit snow from beside a group of irises in the wood - and that hasn’t happened to me so far.

For a floral B&M scent I like 42 best (potted petunia with sperm whale, tea and pan-galactic gargle blaster). But that’s just because I like petunia better than iris. Both are well blended scents.
 
I like Eigengrau. The scent is mainly iris, and I think the whole moonlight on snow thing is misleading. It’s an evocative idea, but snow doesn’t smell like iris no matter what the lighting conditions are. Unless you are seeing the moonlit snow from beside a group of irises in the wood - and that hasn’t happened to me so far.

For a floral B&M scent I like 42 best (potted petunia with sperm whale, tea and pan-galactic gargle blaster). But that’s just because I like petunia better than iris. Both are well blended scents.
It's far more floral forward after lathering to me. One of my first artisan soaps was a lilac scented one to match a bottle of Lilac Vegetal AS I'd picked up ( Master not Pinaud ) and it had an earthy accord from the clay in it ( smelled it in all this particular artisan's products I ever purchased ) so I like that kind of combo.

Yeah for a Georgia boy it's hard to wrap my head around the snow thing. I think I was just assuming this was some kind of menthol bomb when I first saw it and didn't really investigate it any further.
 
I understand Eigengrau was inspired by an old Frederic Malle fragrance called L’eau d’Hiver (“winter water”) which was supposed to evoke sunlight on snow, and featured floral heliotrope and iris with musk and honey.
 
I understand Eigengrau was inspired by an old Frederic Malle fragrance called L’eau d’Hiver (“winter water”) which was supposed to evoke sunlight on snow, and featured floral heliotrope and iris with musk and honey.
I like when people try something new scent-wise. I have enough citrus, barbershop, and cologne dupes already in my soap collection. When I saw this on sale I took a chance and was rewarded.
 
Darn, I forgot about the connection to historic fragrance while contemplating the sale. I still maintain that he released too many around the same time, it just causes my brain to shut down. I was excited about Taiga, but glad I only got a sample. Thanks for the review.
 
None of B&M scents are misses for me. The one i dislike the most is FMOM and even that one i'll still use. I bought a Lavanille bar soap the last time i ordered and regretfully i now need the shave soap and aftershave. I might as well buy LGC and Cologne Russe and be done with it.
 
I grabbed Eigengrau a few months ago in the Omnibus base, which i love. The scent for me really took it back to when i was a kid playing soccer, those cold muddy days. Grass, mud and the scent of cold air whilst cleaning my soccer boots in -10 Celsius. I know this scent has had mixed reviews, its not for everyone.
 
I understand Eigengrau was inspired by an old Frederic Malle fragrance called L’eau d’Hiver (“winter water”) which was supposed to evoke sunlight on snow, and featured floral heliotrope and iris with musk and honey.
I found some of that Frederic Malle L’eau d‘Hiver perfume in a high end fragrance store the other day. It’s pretty nasty, actually. Smells just like women’s make-up, like a foundation cream or something that middle aged women tend to over-apply with a builder’s trowel. Thankfully Eigengrau is a very different scent, and a lot better.
 
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