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Barrister and Mann's new Omnibus base: discussion and reviews

I will not be trying the Leviathan scent as it is not one that I believe I would enjoy. It sounds like it might be too dark for me.

I do applaud Will's move to make and even better formula than Excelsior and SoftHeart. The Excelsior base is the first base that I considered to be elite. I was hoping I would find SoftHeart to be somewhat better; but I found an insignificant difference in my comparision of the two. I consider both of them to be elite, but I have ten different soap bases that I consider to be super-elite. For me, they provide an even better shaving experience and post-shave feel that the Barrister and Mann formulas. Will is capable of producing a super-elite soap base. I hope Omnibus is the advancement that moves B&M into the super-elite ranks.

If reviews of the new Omnibus formula show that it is an improvement on Excelsior and SoftHeart, I might pick up a tub later when if is released in a scent more to my liking.
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I couldn’t wait till morning to break out the Omnibus.

I fired up my trusty Blackland Bird and Paladin honey noir synthetic brush. A Feather blade (what else!?).

This base is another of Will’s ’low structure’ lathers — very dense, very slick and really adheres to the shave plane (i.e. ‘sticky’). I was rewarded with a very efficient, but very comfortable, 3 pass shave.

As for the important (to me anyway) post-shave feel: it’s a real winner. My face feels very soft and supple, without a hint of anything residual on the skin.

Is it the best post-shave I’ve ever experienced? I’m not ready to render that verdict yet; it will have to be very special to top Stirling’s mutton base, IMHO. I’ll give it a few more shaves first, but my initial thought is that it will fall short of my personal top spot.

As for the scent — it’s a brilliant, complex, Fall blend of notes that is not for the faint-hearted.
0B58D0BC-5F76-4C4A-B71C-8AB91E931E7E.jpeg
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Of note, there is an odd texture to the soap after I lathered it on the puck — several ‘chunks’ of dark ingredients (and a few lighter colored chunks) are present and loose on the surface. I’m assuming these chunks are an intended part of the ingredients; but it’s unusual nonetheless.
E75F578A-B2D3-4273-9F56-0AD8344F90A1.jpeg
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Here’s an update and response from Will regarding the ingredients (I emailed him and rec’d an immediate and kind reply):

Those chunks are small bits of hydroxyethylcellulose and perfectly harmless. I wouldn't necessarily say that they're "normal" so much as they're "a problem that cropped up when I scaled up the formula that I'm actively working to fix." Should have absolutely no effect upon the performance and I don't expect this to be an issue with future batches, assuming that my corrective method works properly.
It’s certainly not going to keep me from using (and enjoying) it!
 
"Sterling,

One other thing: The “chunks” that user Hannah’s Dad noted are indeed part of the ingredients, and are actually pieces of hydroxyethylcellulose (which does not normally clump, but seems to have decided to be persnickety here). Something else that caught me a little off-guard when we scaled up production, but I’ve figured out a way to incorporate the material so as to eliminate them. Either way, it’s harmless, and should have no effect on the performance of the soap.

Thanks again!

-Will "
 
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I couldn’t wait till morning to break out the Omnibus.

I fired up my trusty Blackland Bird and Paladin honey noir synthetic brush. A Feather blade (what else!?).

This base is another of Will’s ’low structure’ lathers — very dense, very slick and really adheres to the shave plane (i.e. ‘sticky’). I was rewarded with a very efficient, but very comfortable, 3 pass shave.

As for the important (to me anyway) post-shave feel: it’s a real winner. My face feels very soft and supple, without a hint of anything residual on the skin.

Is it the best post-shave I’ve ever experienced? I’m not ready to render that verdict yet; it will have to be very special to top Stirling’s mutton base, IMHO. I’ll give it a few more shaves first, but my initial thought is that it will fall short of my personal top spot.

As for the scent — it’s a brilliant, complex, Fall blend of notes that is not for the faint-hearted.
View attachment 1338163
Do you concur with the claim that the base is, indeed, on the firmer side?
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
It’s been 10 hours since I shaved, and my face still exhibits ‘a lush, talc-like afterfeel’ (quoting Will from an earlier post). ‘Talc-like‘ is quite accurate. My skin feels ‘dry’ like after applying talc, but it’s still hydrated and not actually ’dry.’ Impressive.
 
Another 3 pass shave this morning with the new omnibus. Thick luxurious lather that just sticks thickly onto your face. The lather itself, while thick, has great movement on my face which tells me it's slick as ****. I would imagine straight razor users will especially love this soap base. It's almost oozy gel like in consistency but feels like velvet on the face just like the original PP8 soft heart base. I did begin to notice the dark flecks in the soap.
 
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