On my way to WCS!

[catherix]

I'm being allowed to buy some of my own bday gifts today and I'm totally stoked to shops the goods at WCS. My revised wish list is posted below and I'm hoping to solicit some thoughts and opinions on the brushes and AS in it. And of course I'd love to hear any other recommendations of things I must smell or purchase. It's my birthday for goodness sakes, I can buy anything I want! (SWMBO is likely glaring at me right now)

I'm also contemplating the Simpson 58, or really any 50 series. It's gonna be hard choosing just one or two of these brushes since I could literally walk out with all of them. But I'm confident there is a limit on what I'll be allowed to buy.

I'll try to post some pics of the haul once I'm done.

 

[AABCDS]

Long live SBAD!

 

[Prince]

Congrats - It's probably best that I'm not within driving distance of WCS.

 

[catherix]

Long live SBAD!

Darn straight!! I have a feeling its gonna flare up a bit when I walk in that place. My credit cards should be worried.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Do they have free sample displays like at Sams or Costco? Cause that would be awesome.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I have the Semo 2012 SE, and I'm really really happy with it. If it is a limited run, and the others on your list are standard stocked items, could be a factor to keep in mind.

 

[Kooze]

Soc 2012 SE is a great brush, but is currently onsale elsewhere. I'd get the soc 2-band elsewhere as well. There may be a rover on bst shortly. I've seen the rover as the DOTD for around $100. Probably my favorite Simpsons handle to face lather.

 

[Head Rigger]

That's fantastic! Don't forget to post pics for those of us that can only dream of actually going there!

Just noticed the Floid Blue on the list...check out the Floid Amber. It sounds pretty good too.

 

[catherix]

Alright guys, here we go.

We arrived right after 1 PM from our drive from the hotel in San Diego. I was an hour earlier than planned.

Pulled into the parking lot and saw the building number we needed. There's a sign in the window of the building that points you to where you need to go. It's like they knew I was coming. Parked the car and saw the front door and the logo. Big smile on my face I looked at SWMBO and she rolled her eyes. Can't believe I'm walking in this door!

As I walked in I was greeted almost immediately by Kevin and some others from the staff with a Happy Birthday. Too nice. A little quick chat before we started our shopping journey and I looked around the front while Kevin grabbed some brushes for me to look at. Shelves full of blades and samplers of AS. A display of nearly all the Simpson brushes.

Kevin brought back a couple brushes for me and I decided I must have the Semogue LE. The first purchase is ready to go. We began to discuss AS and soaps. Kevin started bringing things from my list and I was happy with everything so far.

THEN, he brought us behind the front shelves into an amazing area full of every wet shaving item you could think of. Soap, cream, brushes, AS. He started asking me a question about AS and I couldn't answer as I was quite literally blown away. I think I said something like "this place is awesome" under my breath and he and SWMBO both laughed. It's not a huge area but there's just piles and piles of gear. We spent around 45 minutes sniffing and smelling everything he would let us. You gotta be careful with this Kevin guy. He kept dissapearing while I was staring at the software. Then he would reappear with something else for me to smell. Nearly every item he reccomended ended up on the front counter in the possible pile of purchases. I especially enjoyed looking in awe at this one shelf. Something about SBAD taking over:

Pardon my ugly mug in the pic. So now I had SWMBO picking herself out some soaps and nearly had her on a few other things. And at this point it was time to checkout. Now, I hinted to it before that there was a max of how much I was allowed to spend. I broke that by a tiny bit but at the same time I bought a few soaps for her too, so we'll call it a draw. I had to pull 3 items out of the final purchase to bring it in line. CC Lime, Haslinger Coconut (my goodness it smelled good), and the bottle of Floid Blue. I would've been able to buy some of that but I decided on a Simpson Berkeley at the last second. Oh well, I'm rather pleased with my haul:

Weird thing is, I would've never bought half of this stuff if I hadn't been here in person. I bought a different RR wax than I planned and I bought the Berkeley and Semogue LE off my list. Most of the rest of it wasn't on my radar but thanks to Kevin's help I've got some great stuff here. He even threw in a sample of the Old Spice Lime so I can give it a go.

All and all, a fantastic experience. Kevin was a lot of fun to chat with and helped me pick a lot of great things. He spent right around an hour with us and was patient and helpful. If you ever have the chance to visit WCS I highly reccomend it. I'll be back as soon as I can get back down here.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Weird thing is, I would've never bought half of this stuff if I hadn't been here in person. I bought a different RR wax than I planned and I bought the Berkeley and Semogue LE off my list. Most of the rest of it wasn't on my radar but thanks to Kevin's help I've got some great stuff here. He even threw in a sample of the Old Spice Lime so I can give it a go.

All and all, a fantastic experience. Kevin was a lot of fun to chat with and helped me pick a lot of great things. He spent right around an hour with us and was patient and helpful. If you ever have the chance to visit WCS I highly reccomend it. I'll be back as soon as I can get back down here.

So basically Kevin is a pushy used car salesman? Sounds like a terrible person, making you spend all that money. He should really be ashamed of such selfless enabling.




Nice haul! And happy birthday!

 

[catherix]

I have the Semo 2012 SE, and I'm really really happy with it. If it is a limited run, and the others on your list are standard stocked items, could be a factor to keep in mind.

Caught your post right as we got there and did take it into account. And I wanted something new to try so this one stuck out for me.

Thanks mate! Had a very nice time. Great way to spend a birthday!
That's fantastic! Don't forget to post pics for those of us that can only dream of actually going there!

Just noticed the Floid Blue on the list...check out the Floid Amber. It sounds pretty good too.

I smelled the amber right before we left. Very nice. I will likely pickup both in the future.

Soc 2012 SE is a great brush, but is currently onsale elsewhere. I'd get the soc 2-band elsewhere as well. There may be a rover on bst shortly. I've seen the rover as the DOTD for around $100. Probably my favorite Simpsons handle to face lather.

I decided the Semogue LE is the most different than my other brushes so it was the big purchase in the bunch. Hopefully the price was decent but I'm pretty happy either way.

Do they have free sample displays like at Sams or Costco? Cause that would be awesome.

No free crackers or little hot dogs. But I managed a sample of Old Spice Lime.

 

[catherix]

So basically Kevin is a pushy used car salesman? Sounds like a terrible person, making you spend all that money. He should really be ashamed of such selfless enabling.




Nice haul! And happy birthday!

Haha! I know you're kidding of course but he was really good at his job. John should be happy with him! I believe he's a wetshaver himself and was very knowledgable. He picked up on my preferences very quickly and made some great reccomendations.

 

[slugg77]

So basically Kevin is a pushy used car salesman? Sounds like a terrible person, making you spend all that money. He should really be ashamed of such selfless enabling.




Nice haul! And happy birthday!

As a sales manager at a car dealership, I WISH my staff was half as effective

Nice haul man, it is on my list of places to go one day.

 

[Mendel]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing and happy birthday!

 

[catherix]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing and happy birthday!

Thanks Mendel!!

 

[RaiserLiebe]

I have Simpsons Duke 2 and Colonel. The Duke 2 is very good, but handle too small for me. The Colonel is PERFECT in my book. Great handle size and wonderful soft bristles with just the right hint of scritch.
Cheers

I'm being allowed to buy some of my own bday gifts today and I'm totally stoked to shops the goods at WCS. My revised wish list is posted below and I'm hoping to solicit some thoughts and opinions on the brushes and AS in it. And of course I'd love to hear any other recommendations of things I must smell or purchase. It's my birthday for goodness sakes, I can buy anything I want! (SWMBO is likely glaring at me right now)



I'm also contemplating the Simpson 58, or really any 50 series. It's gonna be hard choosing just one or two of these brushes since I could literally walk out with all of them. But I'm confident there is a limit on what I'll be allowed to buy.

I'll try to post some pics of the haul once I'm done.

 

[SIG9]

Sounds like a wonderful trip. I recently had a similar experience at Merz Apothecary in Chicago. It's like being a kid in a candy store. Having a helpful salesperson is a huge plus. I imagine you'll remember the experience for some time to come.

 

[barneykiller]

Yup. First time I went there I didn't buy anything I had planned and ended up buying totally different (albeit awesome) items. I love that place <3

 

[AceByTerror]

Sigh.... it was only just days ago I was there... now I'm back in Canada...sniffle sniffle.

 

[FL shaver]

Nice! Happy birthday! I think my favorites are the Portuguese and Spanish products.