Thank you kind sir it is very appreciated!
PAA Twelve Days of Christmas Project ("Advent Calendar")
- Thread starter djmillard
- Start date
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- #43
Hello everyone and sorry for being tardy with an update.
All samples were dropped off at the Post Office yesterday and every recipient (there ended up being 8) should have their soap/aftershave set by early next week. If there's any problem or if you haven't gotten a package by next Wednesday, 1/19, let me know.
I would be keen to hear what you make of your scent and soap (if you're trying the formula for the first time), but no strings attached. Please enjoy with my compliments.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
All samples were dropped off at the Post Office yesterday and every recipient (there ended up being 8) should have their soap/aftershave set by early next week. If there's any problem or if you haven't gotten a package by next Wednesday, 1/19, let me know.
I would be keen to hear what you make of your scent and soap (if you're trying the formula for the first time), but no strings attached. Please enjoy with my compliments.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Thanks for the awesome pif! Received my set today, will shave tonight with it. Mine was tokyo rose. Smelling the soap it smells like a decently strong scent, but I don't get pure rose it's very well mixed. It's not pure cherry coke(decent amount of floral), but I definitely could get where some people got the slight similarity. It is a little sweet and bright with a spicy or sandalwood or cardamom background, I enjoy it. Will try a shave with it tonight.
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- Thread starter
- #45
It's not over 'til the aftershave is on your face and in your spouse's nostrils.
This was the one that most intrigued me. Please follow up with your thoughts my friend!
And to @djmillard : you are a gentleman AND (quite possibly!) a Scholar, sir. Thank you for doing this!
Had the shave with it last night. This is probably slicker than some of my other favorite soaps like southern witchcrafts. This was also my first try of any paa soap. The smell of the soap didn't change much it was pleasant. The aftershave really started out fairly strong like a blast of everything, but when it somewhat quickly faded(or I went nose blind) seemed to be more woodsy. The rose and cherry blossom seemed very faint.
Coconut oud arrived in good order as it was well packed. First try with Paa and ck6. Base seemed impressive with great lather. Sent with the soap was sweet smelling - it is not my favorite by a large margin. Soap sent seemed to drop off pretty quickly after the shave. No big aversion to using it again and finishing it off. Aftershave/cologne is too much for too long - after hours I can still smell it. At times I am picking up overripe peach or plum. Sickly sweet like couch syrup or an oversecented candle. Hard for me to imagine a time of year when I would want to smell like this all day. Perhaps to the Nutcracker ballet. Thanks - I really enjoyed trying it. I saw the calendar and was curious about it. Great way to share. I would be open in the future to trying a coconut soap or splash - hopefully just coconut. Mike’s Natural would be more my sent style - but I have never tried his Coconut. I agree that Paa coconut oud has too much going on for me as well.
second day Pomegranate Bay arrived today 
hahahah had to say all that with the rhymes and all
most likely arrived yesterday but did not get to the mail with life two teens and all
thanks so much will give it a run through tomorrow and next day for sure
first smell its like what is that familiar smell ??? hmmmmmmm
not sure if its that bay rum in the background
then I think reminds me of a 80s and lipbalm that girls would have worn then
got some on my finger rubbed around to suds it up a touch to see how it is wet and kept the same smell I know some kinda change a touch but also kinda reminds me of that fruit striped gum with the zebra on it very fruity with a hint of that spice in the background like your desc spot on !
so went up put on the splash for fun
I have on PAA soap and been wanting to try the splash so have to say 30 minutes later the dry off face feel is awesome
smell not sure yet hahaahha will be fun
my first thoughts are the soap is going to be more fun to shave with than the splash to wear me thinks
now to decide what blade to try for the wolfman since that is another hunt I am on !
hahahah had to say all that with the rhymes and all most likely arrived yesterday but did not get to the mail with life two teens and all
thanks so much will give it a run through tomorrow and next day for sure
first smell its like what is that familiar smell ??? hmmmmmmm
not sure if its that bay rum in the background
then I think reminds me of a 80s and lipbalm that girls would have worn then
got some on my finger rubbed around to suds it up a touch to see how it is wet and kept the same smell
I know some kinda change a touch but also kinda reminds me of that fruit striped gum with the zebra on it very fruity with a hint of that spice in the background like your desc spot on ! so went up put on the splash for fun
I have on PAA soap and been wanting to try the splash so have to say 30 minutes later the dry off face feel is awesome
smell not sure yet
hahaahha will be fun my first thoughts are the soap is going to be more fun to shave with than the splash to wear me thinks
now to decide what blade to try for the wolfman since that is another hunt I am on !
First off djmillard thank you. I received Mami Libre. I am not very good at picking out subtleties of aftershave and colognes. But this one is dominated by mint. I am not sure what tobacco smells like because I smell tobac and don't think tobacco. But I am sure someone else woúld pick it out. I see why you washed it off. It is ok for a bit but then starts to annoy you. I do like PAA's quality as far as their soaps and aftershaves go. I have a few and like them very much but this sent is not for me.
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- #51
The coconut really worked for me, but the oud is right out. Kind of grateful for that, because I'm now making the connection across samples - every scent with oud is no good for me. It's even worse than lavender, which I can handle in small quantities.
Glad the soap performance is good. I agree CK-6 is a winner, if not the best I've ever used.
I received the Spring-Heeled Jack and tried the aftershave (my family is requiring me to have a beard for the time being, so the lather will have to wait). The coffee smell and alcohol are very pleasant in the morning.
As the day wears on, the smell becomes less coffee and more "coffee flavor," if that makes sense--the smell of coffee ice cream or coffee stout more than the smell of coffee. The fact that I was drinking coffee all morning made the difference clearer. It's not an unpleasant scent, but it's less pleasant than brewed coffee when both are at hand.
It's a lingering scent, and it was still there at night, when it kept me awake. I don't think it's the smell that did it but the caffeine itself. I got up in the middle of the night to wash my face.
I wasn't eager to repeat that experience but was wanting to use the scent, so I added a good number of splashes to a Frankenstein bay rum concoction I've been using ever since I almost ran out of aftershave: a little of the Captain's Choice Cat O'Nine Tails, some witch hazel and rubbing alcohol and a sample vial of Burt's Bees bay rum cologne from about 20 years ago whose smell has degraded. The coffee kick smelled pretty good in this concoction, and was less overpowering. (I did still keep me up a little, but not as strongly.)
I think this one's a good one to have around to add to other scents. It's strong enough to use like essential oil, and I can see a lot of aftershaves being improved or taken in a different direction by a little coffee kick. Thanks again to @djmillard for sharing!
As the day wears on, the smell becomes less coffee and more "coffee flavor," if that makes sense--the smell of coffee ice cream or coffee stout more than the smell of coffee. The fact that I was drinking coffee all morning made the difference clearer. It's not an unpleasant scent, but it's less pleasant than brewed coffee when both are at hand.
It's a lingering scent, and it was still there at night, when it kept me awake. I don't think it's the smell that did it but the caffeine itself. I got up in the middle of the night to wash my face.
I wasn't eager to repeat that experience but was wanting to use the scent, so I added a good number of splashes to a Frankenstein bay rum concoction I've been using ever since I almost ran out of aftershave: a little of the Captain's Choice Cat O'Nine Tails, some witch hazel and rubbing alcohol and a sample vial of Burt's Bees bay rum cologne from about 20 years ago whose smell has degraded. The coffee kick smelled pretty good in this concoction, and was less overpowering. (I did still keep me up a little, but not as strongly.)
I think this one's a good one to have around to add to other scents. It's strong enough to use like essential oil, and I can see a lot of aftershaves being improved or taken in a different direction by a little coffee kick. Thanks again to @djmillard for sharing!
Thanks to the OP for sending me a sample, too. The Lime-Ginger-Tea Tree soap and aftershave splash arrived, I think, on Friday and I had a chance to use them for my Saturday evening shave.
Off the puck, the scent was nice, if not "Wow! I really like this" nice; I found it pleasant. After all I had heard about how PAA soaps are strongly scented, I was pleasantly surprised to find the scent strength on this soap about what I generally prefer; not light, by any stretch, but definitely (for my nose, anyway) not heavy-handed. The scent of the splash out of the bottle was a little bit different from that of the soap, and slightly preferable to me.
Anyway, I scooped out about the amount that I saw the OP had scooped out for his try with this soap and started lathering. It was clear pretty quickly that I wouldn't have needed that much soap. I made enough lather to shave every homeowner in my cul-de-sac.
I, too, had never used CK-6 before, but had heard good things. It took quite a while to get the lather where I wanted it, mostly because I loaded up too much soap to start with. Eventually, though, I got a nice lather. Scent in the lather was slightly fainter than off the puck, which was fine, but otherwise was identical.
I did my first pass with my Feather SR loaded with a Kai blade. It shaved great, but it was somewhat difficult to get the lather rinsed off the razor. That's when I realized that, for the purposes of a straight razor shave, I still didn't have quite enough water in the lather. Still, it was an enjoyable first pass.
In preparation for the second pass I added a bit more water and refreshed the lather. This produced a fantastic lather for my second pass, which went smoothly. After a few touch-ups I was DFS. After the shave face feel was really good; not drying at all, and it also didn't feel like it deposited a bunch of stuff on my face that I couldn't rinse off. Just nice.
I applied the splash and although I enjoyed the scent, it seemed to bother my allergies a little bit, which is kind of strange, because the soap didn't bother me at all. It wasn't a huge problem and after a minute or two it calmed down, so I didn't have to rinse it off.
Overall, my experience was very pleasant. I think this CK-6 formula is great. The scent I enjoy, even though it didn't really wow me. The aftershave felt nice and smells better than the soap, but I will have to try it a few more times to see whether it will present a problem for my allergies or whether that was just a blip.
Thanks again, djmillard, for this generous PIF. I liked the soap formula enough that I started thinking I might check through the PAA catalog to find a scent I might like even more when it comes time for my next soap purchase.
Off the puck, the scent was nice, if not "Wow! I really like this" nice; I found it pleasant. After all I had heard about how PAA soaps are strongly scented, I was pleasantly surprised to find the scent strength on this soap about what I generally prefer; not light, by any stretch, but definitely (for my nose, anyway) not heavy-handed. The scent of the splash out of the bottle was a little bit different from that of the soap, and slightly preferable to me.
Anyway, I scooped out about the amount that I saw the OP had scooped out for his try with this soap and started lathering. It was clear pretty quickly that I wouldn't have needed that much soap. I made enough lather to shave every homeowner in my cul-de-sac.
I, too, had never used CK-6 before, but had heard good things. It took quite a while to get the lather where I wanted it, mostly because I loaded up too much soap to start with. Eventually, though, I got a nice lather. Scent in the lather was slightly fainter than off the puck, which was fine, but otherwise was identical.
I did my first pass with my Feather SR loaded with a Kai blade. It shaved great, but it was somewhat difficult to get the lather rinsed off the razor. That's when I realized that, for the purposes of a straight razor shave, I still didn't have quite enough water in the lather. Still, it was an enjoyable first pass.
In preparation for the second pass I added a bit more water and refreshed the lather. This produced a fantastic lather for my second pass, which went smoothly. After a few touch-ups I was DFS. After the shave face feel was really good; not drying at all, and it also didn't feel like it deposited a bunch of stuff on my face that I couldn't rinse off. Just nice.
I applied the splash and although I enjoyed the scent, it seemed to bother my allergies a little bit, which is kind of strange, because the soap didn't bother me at all. It wasn't a huge problem and after a minute or two it calmed down, so I didn't have to rinse it off.
Overall, my experience was very pleasant. I think this CK-6 formula is great. The scent I enjoy, even though it didn't really wow me. The aftershave felt nice and smells better than the soap, but I will have to try it a few more times to see whether it will present a problem for my allergies or whether that was just a blip.
Thanks again, djmillard, for this generous PIF. I liked the soap formula enough that I started thinking I might check through the PAA catalog to find a scent I might like even more when it comes time for my next soap purchase.
Again thanks so much this was a ton of fun to try something with no idea what was coming in
PAA CK6 is one of my top soaps so the performance is tops
I only have one puck of PAA though so glad I got to try this as I know some have said it varies by scent to me this was same performance
NOW the scent OH the scent
played with it last night but fresh wake up and yeah its quite a flowery fruity on the flowery side of the two in a very red rosey fragrant flower smell
the soap does have that flowery/fruity smell for sure but I did not mind it as hte fruity side comes out more in the soap and again does remind me of something in the back of my head of the 80s the stripe gum or some lip balm or cant put my finger on it !
NOW the splash the flowery side of the pomegranate came out a tad to much did give it a touch of time but then had to wash it off posting this 1 hour post as I just kept getting this odd overpowering hit hahahahah
Conclusion to all this
my wife always humors me to see what I am smelling like with all my product testing if she likes it or not etc...
she said OH BOY you smell interesting in a flowery way
hahahahahah and started to giggle as saying so !
I want to do one more pass with my GC and Lupo before I sell them but figure I can throw this in with those for someone to try
thanks again brought a smile to my face this morning trying and hearing my wife giggle with the description hahahahahaha
PAA CK6 is one of my top soaps so the performance is tops
I only have one puck of PAA though so glad I got to try this as I know some have said it varies by scent to me this was same performance
NOW the scent OH the scent
played with it last night but fresh wake up and yeah its quite a flowery fruity on the flowery side of the two in a very red rosey fragrant flower smell
the soap does have that flowery/fruity smell for sure but I did not mind it as hte fruity side comes out more in the soap and again does remind me of something in the back of my head of the 80s the stripe gum or some lip balm or cant put my finger on it !
NOW the splash the flowery side of the pomegranate came out a tad to much did give it a touch of time but then had to wash it off posting this 1 hour post as I just kept getting this odd overpowering hit hahahahah
Conclusion to all this
my wife always humors me to see what I am smelling like with all my product testing if she likes it or not etc...
she said OH BOY you smell interesting in a flowery way
hahahahahah and started to giggle as saying so !
I want to do one more pass with my GC and Lupo before I sell them but figure I can throw this in with those for someone to try
thanks again brought a smile to my face this morning trying and hearing my wife giggle with the description
hahahahahaha- Thread starter
- #55
Wow, thanks for the thorough responses and thoughts - quite exhaustive!
@kingfisher - I admit a very generous sample was used by me, and I subscribe to the "more product, less water" school of thought. Hope your neighbors enjoyed a taste of the tropics.
I likewise keep looking for a soap from PAA that really sticks out to me to make a purchase of CK-6 in (though I have heard from a few that they actually like the cheaper soap better...). I may finally have found that in Et Tu - but I have too many soaps already.
This calendar, plus a large number of aftershave samples have actually indicated to me that, by and large, PAA is not an artisan that really hits home for me, which is probably a good thing given the ridiculous amount of variety and money one could easily indulge in.
B&M is a different matter. I was already in trouble before the Omnibus base came out.
@kingfisher - I admit a very generous sample was used by me, and I subscribe to the "more product, less water" school of thought. Hope your neighbors enjoyed a taste of the tropics.
I likewise keep looking for a soap from PAA that really sticks out to me to make a purchase of CK-6 in (though I have heard from a few that they actually like the cheaper soap better...). I may finally have found that in Et Tu - but I have too many soaps already.
This calendar, plus a large number of aftershave samples have actually indicated to me that, by and large, PAA is not an artisan that really hits home for me, which is probably a good thing given the ridiculous amount of variety and money one could easily indulge in.
B&M is a different matter. I was already in trouble before the Omnibus base came out.
I will offer up Mami Libre to anyone in the US that wants it. If you would like it PM me with your address! There is plenty left.
I can tell you two products from PAA that I really enjoy. One is their so-called Star Jelly aftershaves. If you haven’t tried them, they are really quite remarkable. Not a splash, not a balm, not even really a lotion, not a gel. It has a wonderful consistency. It seems like the kind of product that would dry out in the pump and get plugged up but it never does. It is not drying nor is it overly hydrating. Just a really nice post-shave product.
The second is a razor called the Meta4. Similar to the RR Mambo 72, but smoother feeling on the skin and more efficient. Good price, and a cool retro handle that looks like the old Gillette redtip handle. You can even buy different colors for the top, which can be screwed on and off. Nice razor for the price.
- Thread starter
- #58
Great feedback, thanks. I do actually have one Star Jelly that I ordered back in November - the Space Nog, and I agree the product is both very effective and somewhat unique. While I really like the scent, I probably should have gotten one that goes with other fragrances better and is less seasonal.
I have heard good things about the razors. I'm currently trialing a few new things, but PAA's have been on my radar awhile. Good input on the Meta 4. I have some clunky razors and would like to try something with a more nimble head (it's part of why I keep coming back to my 34C). How aggressive is it?
I would say moderate. On a scale of 1-10, with a 1 being a Feather AS-D2 and a 10 being the Yaqi Knight Helmet, it is probably about a 4 or so. Thin so it fits into the mustache area really well.
There is one peculiarity, though, and that is that not only are the blade tabs covered, but they corners of the blade are quite a ways from the corner of the razor. I don't really care, because I can get the stubble right under the nostrils with the long part of the blade pretty easily since the razor head is very thin. Some people use the corner of the blade to get that area. If you are one of those people, that would be impossible.
I received "Rustler's Ridge" last night, and put it to use this morning. The I didn't get a super lather from the soap, but it was nice and slick, and shaved well with the fresh blade. The scent sort of reminded me of Bottle Top candies, specifically the cola flavored.
The aftershave experience was different, I'm used to higher alcohol content, so there wasn't as much of a cooling brace when I put it on, and it seemed to soak into the skin quickly. There was a momentary burst of...pine?...forest?...whatever it was, it took me back to the days at Boy Scout camp. Very nice.
A scent of vanilla plus something else remains 3 hours after the shave. It's a little like Caron pour Homme, but not quite as smooth or creamy. It's pleasant, but I wish the woodsy scent lasted a lot longer.
My skin feels great! I have to hand it to PAA regarding their conditioners. Thank you again for the products!
The aftershave experience was different, I'm used to higher alcohol content, so there wasn't as much of a cooling brace when I put it on, and it seemed to soak into the skin quickly. There was a momentary burst of...pine?...forest?...whatever it was, it took me back to the days at Boy Scout camp. Very nice.
A scent of vanilla plus something else remains 3 hours after the shave. It's a little like Caron pour Homme, but not quite as smooth or creamy. It's pleasant, but I wish the woodsy scent lasted a lot longer.
My skin feels great! I have to hand it to PAA regarding their conditioners. Thank you again for the products!
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