John's Adventures with soap samples ...

[JCinPA]

​

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael @Dtownvino for breakfast Saturday morning and I traded 100 7 O'Clock Super Platinum blades (blacks, from India) for about a dozen or so soap samples from Ethos Grooming and Canadian maker, MacDuff. I am going to love this because I hate buying whole tubs to try something out, and Mike put together a tremendous selection, all of which smell fantastic!

First up is Ethos Grooming's Dragonsbeard, and it was wonderful. Shave is below.

Monday, August 5​

• Pre shave - shower
• AL13++ (Canada), Short handle
• Polsilver Iridium (Russia) #3
• Ethos Dragonsbeard (USA)
• Reknotted and weighted Ever-Ready 150 w/TGN Silvertip (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Pinaud Clubman with added glycerin (USA)
• Pinaud Clubman talc applied with horsehair neck duster

10/10, comfortable BBS. I'm working through a dozen or so soap samples from Mike @Dtownvino and this was sample #1. Love it, and love the scent. I'm going to stick with this soap until the sample is done, I want to really dial in the lather in Lather Maestro fashion.

I will say my face feels great a couple of hours after the shave. I have skin like an alligator and am not the best judge of after-shave skin feel, but it does feel nice. Mike has some skin sensitivities, though, and he is also a soap expert, and he believes this is a great soap base for him. I highly recommend it.

My impression is it is not a particularly thirsty soap, and I got a very nicely hydrated lather this morning and the glide was very good. Tomorrow I'm going to start just a little drier and see if I can get it a little thicker. Today was a great shave, though.

 

[JCinPA]

Tuesday, August 6​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi TI .70
• Gillette Nacet (Russia) #1
• Ethos Dragonsbeard (USA)
• Stirling Tuxedo Synthetic (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Bootlegger’s El Dorado (USA)

9.5/10, DFS+ sooooo close to BBS. Very comfortable.

Second outing with the Ethos Dragonsbeard. Because I have several Ethos samples from @Dtownvino I wanted to really dial this in, so I used my “Foolproof” process, which means I used more product than needed and crept up on the right amount of water. Takes some time, but worthwhile when using a new soap.

Holy cow this was good. Really, really good. I was gobsmacked, much like I was with S.V. Recently. Tomorrow, now that I know how it behaves, I’ll try to dial it in right away with the proper amount of product. It is not a very thirsty soap, but I did not test how wide the hydration window is, but it is one of the very best lathers I’ve ever experienced. Thick, slick, and protective, and feels great after the shave.

I thought I was done with razors after finding the Henson AL13++, but while visiting with Mike for breakfast I was intrigued he felt the Yaqi Ti .70 is its equal. He even prefers it a little. He had an extra so I bought it from him, and I must say I am impressed with that razor, also. I’m going to use it for a solid week or two, but it appears to be as safe (you almost have to attempt to nick yourself—and it would be difficult), it is every bit as comfortable, and I suspect will be as close once i get used to driving it correctly. Very nice razor.

 

[jesseix]

Sounds like you’ve got some nice samples to work through! Two top producers there

 

[JCinPA]

Wednesday, August 7​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi TI .70
• Gillette Nacet (Russia) #2
• Ethos Dragonsbeard (USA)
• B&B Anniversary badger - green (Italy)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Bootlegger’s El Dorado (USA)

9.5/10, DFS+ sooooo close to BBS. Very comfortable. So, after doing my Foolproof process yesterday with a ridiculous amount of product, I dialed it in perfectly this morning. Half an almond amount spread thin in the bottom of the bowl, shake water out of the brush completely, start lathering, and drip water from your fingers into it a couple of times. Take it to the face to build, I dipped the tips just once and nailed it spot on.

My observation is this soap is not thirsty at all, be cautious adding water. I did not add water to failure to test the hydration window, but based on my first shave with it, and now having dialed it in, I believe the hydration window is fairly narrow. But if you creep up on the water, this is certainly Tier 1 lather, simply wonderful. Not hard to lather, not hard to learn, I dialed it in in 3 shaves.

Still playing with the Yaqi razor. Not as close as the AL13++ but better than my first outing with it yesterday. I’m going to give it a couple weeks, it took me a bit of use to get used to the AL13, too. But it’s a great razor, definitely prefer it to the Merkur 34C, my old standby.

 

[JCinPA]

We interrupt this soap sample journey for a special edition - Lavanda shaving cream and cologne.

I will finish the Dragonsbeard, then sample a few other scents @Dtownvino gave me then move on to the MacDuff. I nailed the Ethos lather perfectly in 3 shaves, I will say it is super easy to understand and work with and it is tremendous.

Anyway, taking a break, lavender has always been one of my favorite scents, but I don't stock it all the time, and have not had any since I finished the B&M Reserve lavender several years ago. Sooooo, I got a tube of Ach. Brito Lavanda and their cologne, and it is wonderful stuff. The cream is as effective as Proraso red, IMO for the shave, the scent is very nice, although their is something slightly cooling and pharmaceutical-smelling in the cream. Not offputting, it's a nice scent and a great feel. The cologne is wonderful. Highly recommended.

For gear, Mike was right, I finally dialed in the Yaqi TI .70 rasor, got a BBS today, effortlessly. That's why I always give hardware a week or two of exclusive use, razors and blades before I evaluate how I like them. Thanks, Mike, you were right! And the Yaqi Aqua Highmountain badger brush is an amazing value.

Thursday, August 8​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi TI .70
• Gillette Nacet (Russia) #3
• Lavanda cream (Portugal)
• Yaqi Aqua silvertip badger (China)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Lavanda cologne (Portugal)

10/10, BBS.

P.S. The cooling feeling is menthol, but it's waaaaay down on the list of ingredients, just a touch. This cream is a real winner for me.

 

[JCinPA]

Friday, August 9​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi TI .70
• Gillette Nacet (Russia) #4
• Ethos Tonka Bean (USA)
• Stirling Tuxedo Synthetic (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Pinaud Lila Vegetal (USA)

9.5+/10, DFS+ sooooo close to BBS. Very comfortable. One very minor spot of barely-there stubble on my right neck. Fourth shave on this blade, I usually bin them at 4, although I suspect it could go longer. Loving this razor as I get more used to it.

The Tonka Bean scent is wonderful! It smells sweet and of baking spices somehow, sort of in the vanilla family, but yet not vanilla. It's not cinnamon, either, but not being able to place the scent with something similar, it puts me in mind of being in a Cinnabon store. Doesn't smell like that, but it is evocative of it. I'm not good at describing scents. But it is lovely, indeed. If you like scents with vanilla as a base note, I think you'll love Tonka Bean, if you've not tried it.

I did The Veg just because I watched Phil's brilliant video 5 times the other day. At about 30 minutes after the shave, it's dried down to that scent that will last for the day that I love. I'm blessed to be "chosen".

The Ethos base continues to shine, I love it. I will use it again on Sat or Sun, S.V. on the other weekend day, then on Monday, I'll switch over to some of the MacDuff samples Mike gave me.

 

[JCinPA]

PAUSE

I love the Ethos soaps I've tried, they are wonderful lathers, and terrific scents. I have not cycled through all of them yet, but I'm missing some of my other friends. So I'm going to spend a few days with Opuntia, my tallow Tabac, PAA Doppleganger Gray and some of my favorite aftershaves, then I will come back.

I plan to finish the Ethos Tonka bean sample (lovely scent) and then try a couple MacDuff samples next. I just want to work some old favorites in for a bit, I miss them. But this will continue.

 

[JCinPA]

Monday, August 19, shave​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi Aqua highmountain badger brush (China)
• Yaqi Ghost Ti 70 handle, AL13++ head (China & Canada)
• My last Polsiver blade (Russia) #2
• Ethos Tonka Bean (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Pinaud Clubmand a/s(USA)

9.8 DFS+, almost BBS, very comfortable. This Tonka bean scent is really wonderful! Clubman because it's like an old friend.

Well, I'm back at Mike's @Dtownvino soap samples after using my regular stuff for a while. Finished the end of the Ethos Tonka Bean. Delightful scent! Tomorrow I will try the Vanilla Safi, I think it's Mike's favorite scent, I'm looking forward to it. Then I'm going to move on to some of the MacDuff samples for a while.

Regarding Ethos, what I've discovered is it is very easy to lather, and does not take a lot of product. However, it is not too thirsty and the hydration window is not terribly wide. If you like more hydrated lathers, try my Foolproof discovery process so you know where it breaks. It goes from terrific to too thin fairly quickly. By that I mean you can add water for a while, no problem, and then adding more it's like going off a cliff and you get lather that is too thin all of a sudden. So test the hydration window. I nail a great lather every time now, it is not a hard soap to understand and it works really, really well--definitely a top tier performer. It may take you 2-3 shaves to figure out, but not more than that, most likely.

I'm saving the last of my Dragonsbeard for the end, as I think that may be the Ethos soap I pull the trigger on.

I love the Yaqi Ghost Ti 70 razor, but I am trying to determine if it's the whole package I like or the weight/balance with a titanium handle. I fell like I'm leaning toward a Titanium Henson AL13++ as my favorite razor, but their handles are too long. After a week of this experiment I am going back to the Yaqi razor head again.

I've messaged Henson to see if they will sell just the titanium razor head without the handle, I'll let folks know what they say if they respond.

 

[JCinPA]

Tuesday, August 20, shave​

• Pre shave - shower
• Ever Ready 150 reknotted w/24mm TGN silver tip (USA)
• Yaqi Ghost Ti 70 handle, AL13++ head (China & Canada)
• My last Polsiver blade (Russia) #3
• Ethos Vanilla Safi (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Bootlegger’s El Dorado (USA)

9.8 DFS+, almost BBS, very comfortable.

Wow! The Vanilla Safi smells delicious! Pairs well with the El Dorado, maybe because it has some Pinaud Classic Vanilla in it. Hit the lather spot on immediately, so easy to lather, love this stuff.

 

[JCinPA]

Wednesday, August 21​

• Pre shave - shower
• AL13++ (Canada), Yaqi Ghost Ti handle
• Polsilver Iridium (Russia) #4
• Ethos Dragonsbeard (USA)
• Reknotted Ever Ready 100T/TGN Finest 22mm (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Bootlegger’s El Dorado (USA)

9.5 DFS, very comfortable. Had to try this again, I think I’m pulling the trigger on getting some from @Dtownvino. I love some of the stronger Ethos scents he’s shared with me, but this seems like a natural shaving scent to me that I really like. The fancy scents are nice once in a while, but I generally like more subdued scents, and Dragonsbeard is one of them, albeit very sophisticated. I’m no good at describing scents.

Such top-tier performance, though, and so easy to nail the lather perfectly, every time. Yum.

 

[JoWolf]

Many happy returns John. I hope you have a great birthday

 

[JCinPA]

Monday, August 26​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi Ghost Ti 70 (China)
• Astra #2 (Russia)
• Ethos Vanilla Safi (USA)
• Omega B&B Anniversary brush (Italy)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Ethos Dragonsbeard A/S (USA)

9.5/10, DFS

That is the end of my Vanilla Safi sample from @Dtownvino . It's a wonderful scent, as was the tonka bean, but it's a bit sweet and too one-note for me to stock it. I figured it would pair nicely with the Dragonsbeard A/S because it has elements of both in it, along with other stuff. Great shave! If you like vanilla, this one is worth a try, although it's spendy. I think I'll move on to the MacDuff samples now. I still have some more Ethos to try, but I want to switch it up a bit.

 

[JCinPA]

Well, after a short break to use other products, I am back to @Dtownvino wonderful soap samples, now moving on to MacDuff shave soaps. First up is The Birth of the Cool. Scent profile is:

Notes: tobacco leaf, tobacco flower, lemon, pink pepper, neroli, rum, tonic bean, dried fruit, cedar, vanilla bean

Edmonton, Alberta

Bath, body, beard & shave products from organic shea butter soap to organic argan oil beard balms. Handcrafted in small batches. Made in Edmonton Alberta.

macduffssoapcompany.com

I don't know anything about soap chemistry, and don't really care--tallow, non-tallow, whatever. If people I respect on the topic of soaps recommend it, I'll try it. To save time tomorrow morning I put this new (to me) soap base through my Foolproof Discovery Process, outlined here:

Foolproof Lather Discovery Process (TM) for any soap

I am a Lather Master! Not being braggadocious, just stating a fact. And you can be too! I'm here to teach you. No need for a Brotherhood of Lather Masters, every member of B&B should be a Lather Master. Unfortunately, with so many people who enjoy this activity so much, and the more OCD of us...

www.badgerandblade.com

While Ethos is a fantastic lather, really, really top-notch, and does not require a ton of product, it is not thirsty. Be careful adding water when getting used to it and when you hit the ideal lather, STOP! The hydration window is not wide and you can go from best shave of your life lather to foamy and dissipating lather pretty quickly, I found.

MacDuff needs about twice the product (typical almond size for a shave -- Ethos will get it done with half an almond dollop), but takes water well, and the hydration window is fairly wide. If you like a shinier, slicker, more hydrated lather (looking at you SR shavers), this is the stuff for you. I put lather on my face when it was thick and creamy, then continued to add water to it and worked it a lot. The lather on my face stayed put and did not dissipate at all. Before I broke the soap, but with a wonderfully slick and shiny lather, I rinsed the first "pass" (was not actually shaving) and put some of the more hydrated lather on my face. Feels impossibly slick. I can't wait to shave with it for real tomorrow morning.

While it's been mentioned a little here, MacDuff is telegraphing I'm going to be very impressed with tomorrow's shave, and I find myself wondering why they don't get more traction around here. I'm going to start with the Back Country Bourbon tomorrow, partly because I'm using Duke Buffalo Trace soap in the shower. It's going to be a bourbon day, I guess. May have to hit the liquor store.

Report tomorrow, folks.

 

[JCinPA]

Wednesday, August 28​

• Pre shave - shower
• Pre-war Gillette Tech (USA)
• Gillette SP Black (India)
• MacDuff Birth of the Cool (Canada)
• PAA AMber Aerolite synth (USA-probably China made?)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Floid the Original A/S (Spain)
• Pinaud Clubman talc with barbershop neck duster

9.5/10, DFS+

Stuck with the MacDuff Birth of the Cool soap today. As expected, it was fantastic! Super easy to lather, very water tolerant, impossibly slick lather, up there with the best of them that I've used, for sure. I'm not good at describing face feel as I kind of have alligator skin, but @Dtownvino has some skin sensitivities and is very tuned in to this sort of thing, I'll let him chime in and endorse/not endorse this for senstitive faces, but post-shave feels great to me.

I'm not good at describing scents, but it is in the post above. The name has nothing to do with menthol or cooling feeling, it is an homage to Miles Davis, so jazz music. Very nice scent, though.

I used my beloved Gillette SP Blacks because I'm familiar with them, and will continue to use the Gillette Pre-war Tech for a while. When trying a new product I like the other elements of the shave to stay the same. MacDuff's should get some more chatter around here, I believe.

 

[JCinPA]

Thursday, August 29​

• Pre shave - shower
• Pre-war Gillette Tech (USA)
• Gillette SP Black #2 (India)
• MacDuff Back Country Bourbon (Canada)
• Yaqi Aqua Highmountain badger (China)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Bootlegger's El Dorado (USA)

10/10, BBS

I forgot how good the pre-war tech is, wow. The second shave on a Gillette black is usually the best and today was no exception. This MacDuff soap is truly top-tier stuff. I may shave with tallow Tabac tomorrw just to check, for performance, tallow Tabac is my standard benchmark, but I think this is right there with it.

I don't comment on after-shave feel much because I have lizard skin, nothing bothers it, but @Dtownvino has some sensitivies and he likes this stuff. Scent is terrific, I like bourbon scents, and used Duke Buffalo Trace in the shower this morning. This soap is every bit as easy to lather as the Ethos samples I've tried, it's just more forgiving in that it has a wider hydration window (Ethos is easy to lather, as well, you just blow through the hydration window quicker). This was my third lather with MacDuff and I nailed a perfect lather with just a couple additions of water in the mug, then finished with 30 seconds on the face.

Highly recommended!

 

[bk200006]

John, how would you rate the scent strength of Macduff’s compared to other popular makers? Considering picking up a tub this weekend but prefer a stronger scent.

 

[schizm]

For me, MacDuffs soaps are the absolute top.
Everything about them suits me from the properties to virtually every scent.
The skin after shaving is in fantastic condition.
Some of the best soaps I have tried and now probably my favourite although the level is now very high and even.
I am also surprised by their relatively low popularity.

 

[JCinPA]

Im using MacDuff again tomorrow and I’ll comment on scent strength.

@schizm Agreed. I’m surprised they fly so under the radar. Curious!

 

[JCinPA]

Sunday, September 8​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi Ghost 90 SS head on Titanium handle (China)
• Gillette Platinum "Swede" #7 (Russia)
• Ethos Dragonsbeard (USA)
• Reknotted Ever Ready 450 (USA)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Ethos Dragonsbeard A/S (USA)

10/10, BBS. Combination of me enjoying the shave and taking my time, a tremendous soap, and terrific blade.

Back to Dragonsbeard, because while I have some, I'm thinking of laying in some more. Not sure if I mentioned it in this thread, but my all-time favorite soap to date has been Noble Otter Two Kings, no longer in production, sadly. Dragonsbeard has risen to the top of my list now, closely followed by S.V. Felce Aromatica.

This soap shaves as nice as my other favorites, no better, but as nice, that means S.V., tallow Tabac, Cella, Stirling Varen. Where it think it excels all others is the post-shave feel, especially if you use the splash. My only complaint would be I wish it had a slightly stronger scent strength, like his Tonka Bean or Vanilla Safi. But other than that this is the new king of the hill in my shave den.

Well, maybe tied. If someone put a gun to my head and said I had to shave with only this or S.V. Felcy Aromatica, I don't know what I'd do.

 

[Flanders]

I guess you don't have the skin food splash yet John? That stuff is eternal, it is easily noticeable on skin 18hrs later and clothes past 24hrs. Be careful how much you use! Strangely enough, I don't have the soap yet as I bough the SFS when the soap wasn't available for a long time. I am still waiting for Colonia, after he had a mishap last week I am not sure how much longer it's going to be. I might have to order the Colonia and stash it for next summer and get a Dragonsbeard to use this Fall. Cheers.