Petal Pusher Fancies

[oakeshott]

David was generous enough to PIF me the PPF Coconut soap which I tried last night. Keep in mind, that my daily rotation consists of MdC, C&S and Calani about 80% of the time and then periodically bring in some Panna Crema, Savons des Volcans and, for special occasions, some vintage Pen's Blenheim Bouquet. I've got at least ten or 12 others lying around for some change of pace, but those make up the bulk of things. The point is, any new soap looking to get into the rotation really has to have the complete ball game: exceptional performance, great/complex scent and ease of use. I don't believe in "dialing in" a soap.

Well, I've only used it once, but I have to admit to so far being blown away. Used the Lord Randall horsehair from Bullgoose. Horsehair brushes are my no-fail brush when I test new soaps. The razor was a recently re-honed Engels which, if anything, might have been a tad too sharp. Let the puck soak for a few minutes while I stropped and then used that soapy water from the puck to pre-moisten my beard. One of the things I've found is that there's "usually" a correlation between the quality of the soap and how much lather I can generate from the scummy water. MdC is the very best at that. I can do my first pass just from the lather built up from working in the soapy water. This was pretty darn good.

The rest of the story is as one expects from an excellent soap. The right consistency of lather with good slickness and, I think, protection. As for the scent, it's just fabulous. I've always loved the smell of suntan oil and it conjures up wonderful memories and this captured that nicely. I'll continue to use it for at least 5 more days and see how my skin reacts. I've had to give up some wonderful soaps because of irritation, but am hoping this isn't one of those.

Thanks David.

 

[Eely_Hovercraft]

You guys are going to let this cat out of the bag if we're not careful...

 

[dfoulk]

Yeah, I'll pick up a couple tubs of Coconut if I think they're starting to get more popular. On a positive note if it becomes more popular we'll likely get more scents to choose from and hopefully some aftershaves. If there's a good demand then it'll likely help to insure that the company will be around for a while as well. I'm really surprised that this one hasn't caught on yet.

 

[rodmonster]

Does PPF have a scent in the citrus family?

 

[PGHChris]

Does PPF have a scent in the citrus family?

Neroli - which I haven't tried yet but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be good. Of the ones I've had (Black Tea, Oakmoss & Sage, Briar) I think Briar is my favorite. I enjoyed Oakmoss & Sage but it was very lightly scented; barely detectable from what I could tell.

 

[rodmonster]

Neroli - which I haven't tried yet but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be good. Of the ones I've had (Black Tea, Oakmoss & Sage, Briar) I think Briar is my favorite. I enjoyed Oakmoss & Sage but it was very lightly scented; barely detectable from what I could tell.

For anyone who has tried the Neroli:

I am not a big fan of sweet scents. I like more astringent scents like essential lime, but sweet orange probably won't work for me. Is the Neroli a sweet orange or more of a bitter orange?

 

[cmh737]

For anyone who has tried the Neroli:

I am not a big fan of sweet scents. I like more astringent scents like essential lime, but sweet orange probably won't work for me. Is the Neroli a sweet orange or more of a bitter orange?

Their Neroli to me is definitely not sweet, and the only PPF scent interpretation which I do not care for. Their description states that it is the scent of the bitter orange blossom; citrusy, sweet, and metallic. I certainly get the metallic part, and to me, it's almost like a day old orange slice rind (YMMV, of course) I'm only speaking of the scent; performance is OUTSTANDING just like the others....And for the record, I love all the other scented PPF soaps!!! Definitely top tier soap for me!

 

[cmh737]

You guys are going to let this cat out of the bag if we're not careful...

And yes, I agree. PPF is most excellent!

 

[rodmonster]

Their Neroli to me is definitely not sweet, and the only PPF scent interpretation which I do not care for. Their description states that it is the scent of the bitter orange blossom; citrusy, sweet, and metallic. I certainly get the metallic part, and to me, it's almost like a day old orange slice rind (YMMV, of course) I'm only speaking of the scent; performance is OUTSTANDING just like the others....And for the record, I love all the other scented PPF soaps!!! Definitely top tier soap for me!

Yikes, that is one scary review. Metallic day old orange rind!?! Ouch! Anyone else ready to defend PPF Neroli?

 

[rodmonster]

@Chris,

I don't know which of the other citrus scents you have tried, but I really like Mikes Lime. Astringent. Bitter. Nothing sweet about it. Any chance that you have tried it?

 

[cmh737]

@Chris,

I don't know which of the other citrus scents you have tried, but I really like Mikes Lime. Astringent. Bitter. Nothing sweet about it. Any chance that you have tried it?

I sure have tried Mikes Lime - awesome! Got a new tin just last week.

 

[IMightBeWrong]

David was generous enough to PIF me the PPF Coconut soap which I tried last night. Keep in mind, that my daily rotation consists of MdC, C&S and Calani about 80% of the time and then periodically bring in some Panna Crema, Savons des Volcans and, for special occasions, some vintage Pen's Blenheim Bouquet. I've got at least ten or 12 others lying around for some change of pace, but those make up the bulk of things. The point is, any new soap looking to get into the rotation really has to have the complete ball game: exceptional performance, great/complex scent and ease of use. I don't believe in "dialing in" a soap.

Well, I've only used it once, but I have to admit to so far being blown away. Used the Lord Randall horsehair from Bullgoose. Horsehair brushes are my no-fail brush when I test new soaps. The razor was a recently re-honed Engels which, if anything, might have been a tad too sharp. Let the puck soak for a few minutes while I stropped and then used that soapy water from the puck to pre-moisten my beard. One of the things I've found is that there's "usually" a correlation between the quality of the soap and how much lather I can generate from the scummy water. MdC is the very best at that. I can do my first pass just from the lather built up from working in the soapy water. This was pretty darn good.

The rest of the story is as one expects from an excellent soap. The right consistency of lather with good slickness and, I think, protection. As for the scent, it's just fabulous. I've always loved the smell of suntan oil and it conjures up wonderful memories and this captured that nicely. I'll continue to use it for at least 5 more days and see how my skin reacts. I've had to give up some wonderful soaps because of irritation, but am hoping this isn't one of those.

Thanks David.

Definitely agree with it being protective. Deceptively protective. I felt the lather was a bit light the first time I used it and other lighter soaps have proven less than stellar for protection on my face. I wasn't so sure I was going to like it but I had an absolutely perfect BBS shave with no irritation my very first time using the stuff. I kept using it and found that it wasn't a fluke. Somehow PPF is just perfectly protective for me. I get more slickness from MdC but more protection from PPF. I like PPF more overall, YMMV.

 

[dfoulk]

I used the PPF Sandlewood soap today and it was quite nice. I really enjoyed the scent and I'm not a huge Sandlewood/Bay Rum fan. With Sandlewood and Bay Rum type scents there are some great ones scent wise but there are a lot of really bad smelling ones as well. This one I really do like and performance is absolutely excellent as it is with all of their soaps.

I'm thinking of using it again tomorrow as well.

 

[dabrock]

I used the PPF Sandlewood soap today and it was quite nice. I really enjoyed the scent and I'm not a huge Sandlewood/Bay Rum fan. With Sandlewood and Bay Rum type scents there are some great ones scent wise but there are a lot of really bad smelling ones as well. This one I really do like and performance is absolutely excellent as it is with all of their soaps.

I'm thinking of using it again tomorrow as well.

I wonder if anyone actually knows what Bay Rum or Sandalwood really smells like as there are so many variations. I imagine the PPF Sandalwood, the only PPF I have, is more like the real Sandalwood. It smells pretty close to the EO of Sandalwood I've smelled at the local health store. I'm not a particular fan of it compared to some of the more spicy/sweat versions but it's certainly not bad either.

 

[dfoulk]

I wonder if anyone actually knows what Bay Rum or Sandalwood really smells like as there are so many variations. I imagine the PPF Sandalwood, the only PPF I have, is more like the real Sandalwood. It smells pretty close to the EO of Sandalwood I've smelled at the local health store. I'm not a particular fan of it compared to some of the more spicy/sweat versions but it's certainly not bad either.

Yeah, unfortunately they are all over the place so honestly I have no idea what it's supposed to smell like. I would guess something like the PPF version of Art of Shaving soap. Last year there was a spike in the price of sandlewood oil which I'm sure has lead to a lot of cheaper variations out there and manufacturers using less of the oil. I have one soap that says sandlewood on it and smells more like fabric softener than sandlewood. It smells great but it's surely not sandlewood.

As far as Bay Rums go there are even larger variations in that scent. Again I have no idea what it's actually supposed to smell like. I know which ones I like and would like to think that that's the scent it's supposed to be, but how would I know? I've smelled about 20 to 30 different bay rum scents and honestly they're all over the board. Some I really like but some smell down right foul and give me a headache.

 

[oakeshott]

I wonder if anyone actually knows what Bay Rum or Sandalwood really smells like as there are so many variations. I imagine the PPF Sandalwood, the only PPF I have, is more like the real Sandalwood. It smells pretty close to the EO of Sandalwood I've smelled at the local health store. I'm not a particular fan of it compared to some of the more spicy/sweat versions but it's certainly not bad either.

I know what it smells like. I have a vial of pure Sandalwood oil from India that I bought from a trusted supplier a few years ago. It's woody, creamy and warm. Reminds one a bit of vanilla. An extraordinarily comforting scent. I just decanted a smallish bit for David to try so he can compare it to the other sandalwood scents in his den and report back.

Day two of the PPF coconut simply confirmed the experience of day one. Terrific stuff.

 

[dfoulk]

I know what it smells like. I have a vial of pure Sandalwood oil from India that I bought from a trusted supplier a few years ago. It's woody, creamy and warm. Reminds one a bit of vanilla. An extraordinarily comforting scent. I just decanted a smallish bit for David to try so he can compare it to the other sandalwood scents in his den and report back.

Day two of the PPF coconut simply confirmed the experience of day one. Terrific stuff.

Mark, that's awesome. I'm looking forward to it and thanks again for all of your help and generosity. I suspect it might smell something like the PPF version which I would describe as woody, creamy and warm. A very comfortable scent that I'm quite fond of so far. So this will solve the sandlewood mystery for me but does anyone have any idea of what soap is a good representation of a traditional Bay Rum scent?

 

[dabrock]

I know what it smells like. I have a vial of pure Sandalwood oil from India that I bought from a trusted supplier a few years ago. It's woody, creamy and warm. Reminds one a bit of vanilla. An extraordinarily comforting scent. I just decanted a smallish bit for David to try so he can compare it to the other sandalwood scents in his den and report back.

Day two of the PPF coconut simply confirmed the experience of day one. Terrific stuff.

I wonder if the pure EO you had smelled just like the one I smelled in the store. The vial was very expensive but I'm not sure how the purity of EO's and FO's are measured so I'll assume they were the same. I got a very woody scent from it, but it also seemed rather flat compared to the shaving creams and soaps I've had before PPF, which use FO's rather than EOs plus other scents to add some spice or sweetness to the Sandalwood. I like Sandalwood EO but I do prefer a little bit of warm spice undertones to liven it up a bit.

 

[oakeshott]

I wonder if the pure EO you had smelled just like the one I smelled in the store. The vial was very expensive but I'm not sure how the purity of EO's and FO's are measured so I'll assume they were the same. I got a very woody scent from it, but it also seemed rather flat compared to the shaving creams and soaps I've had before PPF, which use FO's rather than EOs plus other scents to add some spice or sweetness to the Sandalwood. I like Sandalwood EO but I do prefer a little bit of warm spice undertones to liven it up a bit.

Traditional sandalwood oil, santalum album, comes from India and the highest quality from Mysore. It's now a threatened species and the trees are under government control. Most of the oil you find is from Australia, santalum spicatum, and is considered (though I wouldn't know) to be good, but not quite all that. It's unlikely you sampled anything from Mysore, though not impossible.

I can understand why you might think just plain sandalwood is flat; I think a lot of westerners do as we're used to something very different. In my case, it has an association with some of the hippie chicks from my youth which adds a singular layer of complexity no one else could detect. Although this gets far afield from the subject of soaps, if you like your sandalwood spiced up, try an oud attar from, for example, Agar Aura. Those are spectacular.

 

[dabrock]

Thanks, I might just give that a shot!