First of all I would like to start by saying this...
Hi my name is Sam, and I am an addict.
Thats right, I said it. I am an addict. When I tell people that they look at me with a strange sideways glance, they must think I have a terrible vice. One that we shouldnt talk about in public.
But my vice isnt terrible...
My vice is shaving.
I have been addicted since late last year, when I tried to find a solution for the horrible razor burn I would get from using a mach 3, or an electric razor. After a huge amount of googling I found a post (probably on B&B) describing how DE razors cured his razor burn issue. So I gave it a go... 6 months later I am fully entrenched in the lifestyle. I have lost count of my creams and soaps. I have 3 beautiful DE's (and some cheap ones too). I have more aftershave than I know what to do with. I didnt realise there were creams to prep for shaving, but now I have a lifetimes supply, and I have 6 shaving brushes, and have more on the way. I am sure there are numerous people reading this right now who can empathise with me.
The problem with my addiction is that New Zealand, my homeland, does not have many places to find good shaving supplies. Even though we are the home of the Goodfella it is cheaper for me to import one from WCS. So vendors all around the world, have been recieving orders from me. One soap from one vendor struck me in particular. That soap would be Coconut from Mystic Waters.
3 things made the soap really memorable for me:
*The smell is intoxicating, seriously. It is the only soap that I go to before its time to shave with it just to have a sniff.
*The quality of the shave is second to none, and whenever I shave with it my face feels smooth as silk. It is probably the amazing amalgamation of oils, butters and other natural products.
*Michelle provided me with amazing customer service. I am sure sending a single puck of soap to New Zealand is not a very lucrative business prospect. But she made it happen and it happened quickly.
So after a few weeks of having this soap, it was time to order again. I emailed Michelle and she got back to me quickly. This time around I went with 1 Puck of Orange Vanilla, 1 Puck of Lily of the Valley and a sample of Prospect Creek. When I emailed Michelle I also told her how much I loved the coconut. She then informed me that she has changed the formulation of coconut, and that she would send me a sample to try. Who would I be to turn that down???
So today, a little after a week after I paid and the goods were sent a nice little box showed up on my doorstep with some beautiful Mystic Waters swag! AWESOME!!! That is such a quick turn around to little old Kiwiland! I ripped open the box and was treated to the breathtaking scent of artisan shaving soaps. The first bag I opened to sniff was the coconut. For anyone that has used the old coconut formulation knows this, but it smells like a very artifical coconut. I would almost say it smells like coconut M&M's, so a coconut chocolate mix. The new coconut formulation smells like natural coconut, which I have to say is superb. It is not oftern you come across a scented product that smells 1:1 of the original. It also smells like it has a slight hint of peppermint in it, but there is no mention of this in the ingredients list.
Tonight, I shaved with that awesome little sample of heaven.
For an anchor point I have taken a photo of the old formulation with the sample sliver sitting in it. As you can see from the old soap, I used it just last night. But its colour is a chocolate brown. The new soap is a much more traditional soapy colour.
Here is a pic of tonights shaving kit, with the old soap included...
...and here is a pic of the gear with the sample sliver placed in its new home, with the ingredients on the lid. As you can proabably see here tonights gear is the Semogue 1305, a Gilette Fatboy (set to 5), and a brand new Shark Blade. I used spanish floid as my aftershave. Because I dont use a prep product on my face when I use old formulation coconut, I just did a warm water prep tonight.
Once the picture related formalities were over, and I had sniffed the sample sliver until I was dizzy it was time for me to load my brush. I had soaked it for about 3 minutes in some hot water, and gave it a couple of taps to shake it out. I loaded the brush for a timed 15 seconds (the same as old coconut) and this was the resulting load,
Just what I was expecting. I have always found MW very easy to load, and havent had to spend any longer on it. Time to get down to the lather. I took my brush into my acacia wood bowl, and took it for a spin. Tonight I set two 30 second timers, and decided I would take a photo at the 30 second mark and one at the minute mark. I know that I could spend longer lathering, however I have never found the need too. Whipping the brush around the bowl I could smell the coconout aroma flourishing around the room, leaving a fresh natural scent that would attract several comments from my family later on. This is truly a wonderful aroma. Here is the result at 30 seconds.
After the whipping resumed for a further 30 seconds this was the result.
That is some thick, delicious, meringue style lather. I wouldnt expect anything less from mystic waters.
It was time to slap some of that cloudy deliciousness on my face. It spread evenly, and once again smelt absolutely amazing. I took my razor and it skated gracefully across my skin with the greatest of ease, leaving no nicks or irritation. It was a 3 pass shave, and I still had enough lather left to do another 2. Splashing my face with some cold water and then some floid, I was done. And my face feels silky smooth.
So in summary, if you havent tried MW yet, try it. No matter where you are in the world it will get to you quickly (if my examples are anything to go by), the quality of the lather is second to none, and the scents are quite simply supreme. I love the original coconut scent, but I love the new one even more. The lather provides excellent cushion and comfort, plus the soap itself has several beneficial ingredients for facial care.
What would I rate the soap? An easy 10 out of 10.
Also I would just like to point out that Michelle's customer service has been the best I have come across. She has impressed me with each order. Thank you Michelle, for your service and for the products you provide to the community.
Hi my name is Sam, and I am an addict.
Thats right, I said it. I am an addict. When I tell people that they look at me with a strange sideways glance, they must think I have a terrible vice. One that we shouldnt talk about in public.
But my vice isnt terrible...
My vice is shaving.
I have been addicted since late last year, when I tried to find a solution for the horrible razor burn I would get from using a mach 3, or an electric razor. After a huge amount of googling I found a post (probably on B&B) describing how DE razors cured his razor burn issue. So I gave it a go... 6 months later I am fully entrenched in the lifestyle. I have lost count of my creams and soaps. I have 3 beautiful DE's (and some cheap ones too). I have more aftershave than I know what to do with. I didnt realise there were creams to prep for shaving, but now I have a lifetimes supply, and I have 6 shaving brushes, and have more on the way. I am sure there are numerous people reading this right now who can empathise with me.
The problem with my addiction is that New Zealand, my homeland, does not have many places to find good shaving supplies. Even though we are the home of the Goodfella it is cheaper for me to import one from WCS. So vendors all around the world, have been recieving orders from me. One soap from one vendor struck me in particular. That soap would be Coconut from Mystic Waters.
3 things made the soap really memorable for me:
*The smell is intoxicating, seriously. It is the only soap that I go to before its time to shave with it just to have a sniff.
*The quality of the shave is second to none, and whenever I shave with it my face feels smooth as silk. It is probably the amazing amalgamation of oils, butters and other natural products.
*Michelle provided me with amazing customer service. I am sure sending a single puck of soap to New Zealand is not a very lucrative business prospect. But she made it happen and it happened quickly.
So after a few weeks of having this soap, it was time to order again. I emailed Michelle and she got back to me quickly. This time around I went with 1 Puck of Orange Vanilla, 1 Puck of Lily of the Valley and a sample of Prospect Creek. When I emailed Michelle I also told her how much I loved the coconut. She then informed me that she has changed the formulation of coconut, and that she would send me a sample to try. Who would I be to turn that down???
So today, a little after a week after I paid and the goods were sent a nice little box showed up on my doorstep with some beautiful Mystic Waters swag! AWESOME!!! That is such a quick turn around to little old Kiwiland! I ripped open the box and was treated to the breathtaking scent of artisan shaving soaps. The first bag I opened to sniff was the coconut. For anyone that has used the old coconut formulation knows this, but it smells like a very artifical coconut. I would almost say it smells like coconut M&M's, so a coconut chocolate mix. The new coconut formulation smells like natural coconut, which I have to say is superb. It is not oftern you come across a scented product that smells 1:1 of the original. It also smells like it has a slight hint of peppermint in it, but there is no mention of this in the ingredients list.
Tonight, I shaved with that awesome little sample of heaven.
For an anchor point I have taken a photo of the old formulation with the sample sliver sitting in it. As you can see from the old soap, I used it just last night. But its colour is a chocolate brown. The new soap is a much more traditional soapy colour.
Here is a pic of tonights shaving kit, with the old soap included...
...and here is a pic of the gear with the sample sliver placed in its new home, with the ingredients on the lid. As you can proabably see here tonights gear is the Semogue 1305, a Gilette Fatboy (set to 5), and a brand new Shark Blade. I used spanish floid as my aftershave. Because I dont use a prep product on my face when I use old formulation coconut, I just did a warm water prep tonight.
Once the picture related formalities were over, and I had sniffed the sample sliver until I was dizzy it was time for me to load my brush. I had soaked it for about 3 minutes in some hot water, and gave it a couple of taps to shake it out. I loaded the brush for a timed 15 seconds (the same as old coconut) and this was the resulting load,
Just what I was expecting. I have always found MW very easy to load, and havent had to spend any longer on it. Time to get down to the lather. I took my brush into my acacia wood bowl, and took it for a spin. Tonight I set two 30 second timers, and decided I would take a photo at the 30 second mark and one at the minute mark. I know that I could spend longer lathering, however I have never found the need too. Whipping the brush around the bowl I could smell the coconout aroma flourishing around the room, leaving a fresh natural scent that would attract several comments from my family later on. This is truly a wonderful aroma. Here is the result at 30 seconds.
After the whipping resumed for a further 30 seconds this was the result.
That is some thick, delicious, meringue style lather. I wouldnt expect anything less from mystic waters.
It was time to slap some of that cloudy deliciousness on my face. It spread evenly, and once again smelt absolutely amazing. I took my razor and it skated gracefully across my skin with the greatest of ease, leaving no nicks or irritation. It was a 3 pass shave, and I still had enough lather left to do another 2. Splashing my face with some cold water and then some floid, I was done. And my face feels silky smooth.
So in summary, if you havent tried MW yet, try it. No matter where you are in the world it will get to you quickly (if my examples are anything to go by), the quality of the lather is second to none, and the scents are quite simply supreme. I love the original coconut scent, but I love the new one even more. The lather provides excellent cushion and comfort, plus the soap itself has several beneficial ingredients for facial care.
What would I rate the soap? An easy 10 out of 10.
Also I would just like to point out that Michelle's customer service has been the best I have come across. She has impressed me with each order. Thank you Michelle, for your service and for the products you provide to the community.
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