Good evening gentleman. I'm feeling very accomplished as I just finished off my first tub of shaving soap! Pic was taken right before I used the last of it up.
A little backstory: Deployed sailor shaving every day and tired of using the Mach 3. Right before deployment I picked up the VDH DE razor from Target and the shave butter with the Cremo horse hair brush. After using (and being disappointed by) the shave butter with the brush (Homer Simpson DOH!) and also feeling like the VDH razor was pretty meh, I was about ready to give the DE game up. It was after some research that I discovered the forum and actually learned how to use products properly. I asked my wife to send me some shave soap and a better DE razor in a care package.(although I had already ordered a soap) I provided some sites and some examples and she sent some off in a care package as a surprise. A month later, I opened the box to find a soap/aftershave set of Diamond (she's a huge baseball fan, and she wanted me to think of her when I used it) and a Merkur 34C. I used the diamond set and a tub of Sudsy Soapery sandalwood and citrus / skin bracer combo for the rest of deployment with more use going to sudsy due to the...unique smell of diamond!
Fast forward to today! I have spent quite a bit of money on my shave game this year and I have a lot of new and wonderful products! One of my new years resolutions that I made in early December was that I would stop rotating and just finish a tub of soap. I picked Diamond for two reasons. The first reason is that it was the one that was closest to being finished due to heavy use on deployment, and the second reason is that I really wanted to not have to feel bad for choosing other products over it. It's sentimental, but unexciting to me.
I stand by what I said when I mentioned the scent was unique. Diamond did not ignite my olfactory sense of freshness and cleanliness at first whiff, or second, or last. It doesn't smell bad, rather...just interesting. I'd call it "memorable." Nobody ever said anything about liking it or disliking it during the close quarter encounters of ship life for the entirety of deployment (mid November 2019 to June 2020). The best way I could describe it by my nose: Heavy grass, noticeable wood, and a hint of dirty leather and maybe some cracker jack? Did it bring me back to Busch stadium every time I opened it up? Sure!
Performance: B&M is very highly regarded and for good reason. There are many threads about all the scents and I don't think I have to go into it too much. However...
Here I am going to rank how I FEEL it performs vs every other base that I currently own. My criteria for performance include ease of lather, slickness, cushion, and residual slickness. I do believe this particular tub was the Excelsior base? Please correct me if I am wrong! Truth be told these are all extremely high end products and all of them have been absolutely brilliant. The differences are tiny and are subject to change! I also want to try some of the other popular bases later this year like Kaizen, Sego, Donkey milk, and Milksteak.
1. B&M Reserve Fern (this reserve stuff is just ridic good! I really hope I can try Seville for the first time in reserve. I think it outpaces the others)
2. Sudsy Soapery tallow (Top o' the morning)
3. Sudsy Soapery vegan (Sandalwood & citrus)
4. B&M Excelsior (Diamond / Sunny Lane)
5. This can just be a gap, as 2, 3, and 4 are all so close and are so easy to use! This isn't to take away from 6 and 7 though as they are also awesome!
6. Stirling
7. D R Harris (Arlington, Windsor. I feel bad putting these here as they are my favorite scents!)
Would I buy Diamond for myself? Nah. Was it fun to use and also sentimental? Absolutely! The performance alone would have me recommend it if you are looking for a scent profile like this.
Thanks for tuning in and happy shaves!
A little backstory: Deployed sailor shaving every day and tired of using the Mach 3. Right before deployment I picked up the VDH DE razor from Target and the shave butter with the Cremo horse hair brush. After using (and being disappointed by) the shave butter with the brush (Homer Simpson DOH!) and also feeling like the VDH razor was pretty meh, I was about ready to give the DE game up. It was after some research that I discovered the forum and actually learned how to use products properly. I asked my wife to send me some shave soap and a better DE razor in a care package.(although I had already ordered a soap) I provided some sites and some examples and she sent some off in a care package as a surprise. A month later, I opened the box to find a soap/aftershave set of Diamond (she's a huge baseball fan, and she wanted me to think of her when I used it) and a Merkur 34C. I used the diamond set and a tub of Sudsy Soapery sandalwood and citrus / skin bracer combo for the rest of deployment with more use going to sudsy due to the...unique smell of diamond!
Fast forward to today! I have spent quite a bit of money on my shave game this year and I have a lot of new and wonderful products! One of my new years resolutions that I made in early December was that I would stop rotating and just finish a tub of soap. I picked Diamond for two reasons. The first reason is that it was the one that was closest to being finished due to heavy use on deployment, and the second reason is that I really wanted to not have to feel bad for choosing other products over it. It's sentimental, but unexciting to me.
I stand by what I said when I mentioned the scent was unique. Diamond did not ignite my olfactory sense of freshness and cleanliness at first whiff, or second, or last. It doesn't smell bad, rather...just interesting. I'd call it "memorable." Nobody ever said anything about liking it or disliking it during the close quarter encounters of ship life for the entirety of deployment (mid November 2019 to June 2020). The best way I could describe it by my nose: Heavy grass, noticeable wood, and a hint of dirty leather and maybe some cracker jack? Did it bring me back to Busch stadium every time I opened it up? Sure!
Performance: B&M is very highly regarded and for good reason. There are many threads about all the scents and I don't think I have to go into it too much. However...
Here I am going to rank how I FEEL it performs vs every other base that I currently own. My criteria for performance include ease of lather, slickness, cushion, and residual slickness. I do believe this particular tub was the Excelsior base? Please correct me if I am wrong! Truth be told these are all extremely high end products and all of them have been absolutely brilliant. The differences are tiny and are subject to change! I also want to try some of the other popular bases later this year like Kaizen, Sego, Donkey milk, and Milksteak.
1. B&M Reserve Fern (this reserve stuff is just ridic good! I really hope I can try Seville for the first time in reserve. I think it outpaces the others)
2. Sudsy Soapery tallow (Top o' the morning)
3. Sudsy Soapery vegan (Sandalwood & citrus)
4. B&M Excelsior (Diamond / Sunny Lane)
5. This can just be a gap, as 2, 3, and 4 are all so close and are so easy to use! This isn't to take away from 6 and 7 though as they are also awesome!
6. Stirling
7. D R Harris (Arlington, Windsor. I feel bad putting these here as they are my favorite scents!)
Would I buy Diamond for myself? Nah. Was it fun to use and also sentimental? Absolutely! The performance alone would have me recommend it if you are looking for a scent profile like this.
Thanks for tuning in and happy shaves!
