The Wanderer's Journey

[FireDragon76]

I know Tabac appeals to some gentlemen. It's the perfect example for me of how our noses differ. I literally can't imagine how anyone can stand the scent of Tabac.

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I remember the time I used Tabac. Time, not times. Once. Once being too many times. I liked the shave with it and tried to convince myself I could get used to the scent. The lingering scent after the shave convinced me otherwise. Frankly it was a horrible scent to my nose and grew worse. Just a little whiff of it was horrible. Kinda like an allergy in the world of the five senses.

It's been over two years since I used Tabac that one time and I can still smell it (in my mind) sometimes (not that I try to). I'm sorry I ever encountered the scent.

There are other bad scents, but...

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I can absolutely appreciate why some might hate or be bothered by the scent of the Veg or the initial scent of Special Reserve, but I am not. Perhaps that's how others feel about Tabac's scent.

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I recall liking well enough the non scent related aspects of my one shave with Tabac.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I used to wear Tabac EdT occasionally, until one Sunday I was at church sniffing the perfume of the old woman in front of me, thinking how rude it was she was wearing so much of that ghastly perfume... only to realize it wasn't her, it was me.

The green tobacco accord in this fragrance is the culprit, methinks. It reminds me of the smell of tomato plants that have been hosed down with weed killer. I bought a sample of "cannabis" body spray from an artisan off eBay a few years ago out of curiosity, and I can't stand the stuff because it smells exactly like the redolent accord in Tabac.

 

[Somerled]

Not butter?

Nothing?

I have no idea what Marmite is, but I tend to just want a bit of butter on my toast. Occasionally, preserves or jam.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I suppose you could say that Marmite is the Tabac of foods. You either love it or hate it - no inbetweens.

Marmite - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thanks, Doug. Interesting.

 

[FireDragon76]

Marmite is one of the original biomass foods (long before Quorn). Germans had something similar during WWI. It's basically hydrolized yeast, and at one time it was an important source of vitamins for British commonwealth peoples, long before vitamin fortification was really commonplace.

I like it on toast occasionally, and it keeps forever. Instead of a buttery flavor, it's savory and salty, sort of like soy sauce.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Second Razorine shave today - first shave, second razor.

Things went better than last time. I stuck with the Goats Milk soap, as I didn't want to get a false impression with the superior lather of Mitchell's. I did pick up a little weeper, which is most unlike me, but the handling is unfamiliar, and the handle needs a little traction. All told, a decent shave was had. Not quite up to my usual DE standard, but not far behind - albeit a significantly slower process.

Finished off with the 4711 again. I really like the satsuma peel start to it, and the subtlety of the scent once that fades.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Forgot to update yesterday...

First full shave with the Razorine since leather wrapping the handle.

Huge improvement on the grip, and the bulge on the side where the leather crosses, acts as a choil for even more purchase.

I stuck with the Goats Milk soap, but added a blob (technical term) of Erasmic cream too. No irritation this time, but I need to get better with it, if I'm to achieve anything approaching my usual level of closeness. I finished off with a dollop (another technical term) of P&B Spitfire gel in case I'd gone a little too close anywhere.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I put the Perma-Sharp blade back in the Jagger for today's shave. It struggled a bit, obviously having got to the end of its usefulness, but I was far too lazy to go and fetch a fresh blade. Somehow, my blade tub had ended up in the bedroom. I persevered and got the job done. I stuck with the Goats Milk and Erasmic combo for this shave. I figure why not, they both need using up. I seem to have used this last serving of soap quite quickly. There's only a smear left, and I only served it up around two weeks ago.

Finished off with the 4711 again. I think that was habit, as I'd meant to try out the SV70 sample today. Still liking that satsuma peel scent though.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

No shave yesterday, so two day growth removal today. I added a dollop of Erasmic again, though as there's only a small amount of the Goats Milk soap around the periphery of the ramekin, the cream actually provided the bulk of the lather today. I stuck with my regular DE due to the residual brain fog, loaded with a fresh Nacet.

As Erasmic and Nacet are both less than optimal for me (though I still consider that £1/tube cream to be as good as - no worse than - the £10 to £15 per tub creams I've sampled), this was quite a tuggy shave. Not uncomfortably so, I just had to bring the off-hand into play more often, to stabilise the skin behind the razor. That's the kind of technique I tend to adapt, when there's not many shaves left on a blade, not on a fresh blade.

Finished off with the SV70. A very pleasant scent, but on first usage, I'm struggling to indentify any justification for the price tag. Not that I paid for it of course, this is one of the samples kindly sent my way by Doug. Pleasant, inobtrusive scent, and nice skin feel, but £20+ per bottle...? I'll stick with it a few shaves, and answer that later.

I do think the 4711 is priced about right at £10 a bottle, though being a tight arse, I'd still be looking to try and catch it in sales Talking of which, this is probably a good time to be doing these sample tests, as there's bound to be some post shave bargains around in the next few months.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I used to wear Tabac EdT occasionally, until one Sunday I was at church sniffing the perfume of the old woman in front of me, thinking how rude it was she was wearing so much of that ghastly perfume... only to realize it wasn't her, it was me.

Several days after first reading it, and I still get a chuckle out of this

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Another uninspiring shave with the Nacet. It's a bit like being sat with your mates in the pub, and you've got lime and soda, while they've all got a beer. Something's missing.

Redistributed the remaining Goats Milk soap around the rameking, as what was left was all clumped up in the corner. No Erasmic this time. Didn't get the lather quite right today. I did get a hassle free shave, but the glide was sub-par.

SV70 to finish again. It does have a deeper, more "aftershave" like scent than the 4711. I think the post shave is better too.

 

[Esox]

Several days after first reading it, and I still get a chuckle out of this

According to Raves journal, Tabac and The Veg makes it snow. Thats dark magic. lol

 

[FireDragon76]

According to Raves journal, Tabac and The Veg makes it snow. Thats dark magic. lol

Tabac exists in a liminal realm between genius and insanity.

 

[Esox]

Tabac exists in a liminal realm between genius and insanity.

Rave has either lost the plot completely or found a way back to it. I'm not sure which! lol

I think I'm done being on the Tabac boat. I'd gift my remaining two pucks to my grandson, but he may think it's a bit of a cruel joke. I'm pretty much taking it out of my rotation.

 

[FireDragon76]

I understand what Tabac is going for, but it's really inappropriate in the modern age where the air isn't filled with various foul odors of leaded exhaust fumes and cigarettes. We simply don't need obnoxiously bracing fragrances anymore.

Perhaps this is better in a cologne or aftershave strength?

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

 

[Raven Koenes]

Rave has either lost the plot completely or found a way back to it. I'm not sure which! lol

I do so love the scent. It is a scent, however, I would just pop over to an unsuspecting teen/grandson. My issue was how work intensive it was to get any kind of slickness out of it. It's definitely work intensive. I kept hydrating it, by dipping and reapplying with a brush, ten times and I still wasn't satisfied. SV certainly takes only a few times to dial in. Proraso I know what I'm getting. Still it only takes a few times to get an acceptable slickness out of it. All of this didn't matter as much when I didn't care about slickness. It did perform well enough back then. Now it seems like a mid-tier soap that takes more effort than it's worth.

 

[Esox]

I do so love the scent. It is a scent, however, I would just pop over to an unsuspecting teen/grandson. My issue was how work intensive it was to get any kind of slickness out of it. It's definitely work intensive. I kept hydrating it, by dipping and reapplying with a brush, ten times and I still wasn't satisfied. SV certainly takes only a few times to dial in. Proraso I know what I'm getting. Still it only takes a few times to get an acceptable slickness out of it. All of this didn't matter as much when I didn't care about slickness. It did perform well enough back then. Now it seems like a mid-tier soap that takes more effort than it's worth.

Honestly, I think of it as a mid level soap too. I dont remember having a hard time getting it slick enough though. I'm pretty sure it wouldnt hold its own against CRS and Wickham, although I'll never find. Doing that would be akin to using my R41 with GSB blades at this point I think lol.

 

[Raven Koenes]

Honestly, I think of it as a mid level soap too. I dont remember having a hard time getting it slick enough though. I'm pretty sure it wouldnt hold its own against CRS and Wickham, although I'll never find. Doing that would be akin to using my R41 with GSB blades at this point I think lol.

last time I used it I typically loaded it with a very wet boar brush. This use was all synthetics. I load my synthetics dipping just the tips like I learned from you. I do this to not make a synth mess. I then hydrate as I go. It takes forever to get any slickness out of it. Did you use a boar or a synth back when you tried it? I did get it slick enough, but nothing to write home about. Everyone praises tallow for slickness and most are. It's funny how CRS, Wickham, and SV are all vegetal based, and they beat Tabac hands down in slickness, residual slickness, and post shave feel.

 

[Esox]

Did you use a boar or a synth back when you tried it?

I used both but I didnt have much luck with my boar. I loaded and loaded and loaded, tried face lathering, went back to the puck and loaded again until eventually I got enough in the brush. The synthetic loaded a lot quicker but I think by that time the puck had also absorbed quite a bit of water and was easier to load.

PdP did the same thing.

Using PdP with my 24mm Omega boar was 200 swirls around the tin. I counted 100, started face lathering and went back to the tin for another 100. Then I had enough soap for my lather.

Using my little 22mm synthetic its 30 swirls around the same tin. The synthetic fibers pick up a lot more product and work that product a lot quicker.

The longer I used that soap though, the more water it absorbed and the easier it became to load. I've noticed the same thing with all of my other soaps too. Thats why I rinse the outside of the tub and screw the lid back on after I load my brush and before I even start shaving. I want what water has been added to the puck to be absorbed and make the soaps a bit softer.

I think the shafts of boar bristles are pretty smooth compared to synthetic fibers and thats the main reason synths load so much quicker. With a boar, its more the tips that grab the soap. With synths the length of each bristle do.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

For the last couple of months, I've had an odd hybrid lathering technique. Instead of loading from a full cake or tin, I press about 15g to 20g of soap into the bottom of a ramekin, and load from that. Loading this way, kind of starts to bowl lather as well, as there's no run off wastage over the side of the tub/puck like there normally would be.

Most of you already know this, so why am I saying it now?

I noticed a quirky behaviour with soaps that don't lather as well as others. I discovered it by accident, but repeating it has led to the same results. I soak the brush for as long as it takes to fill the sink. Maybe a little longer. Then I start to load the brush, trying to reincorporate any froth that forms at the beginning.

Then leave it.

If I leave the brush sat in the ramekin while I prep my face, the lather seems to keep "working", as if the water and soap are still coming together. Once I've prepped, flipped the blade, and done whatever other faffing about needs doing, I'll give the brush a few more light pressure laps around the ramekin. It doesn't really load more soap at this stage, just a quick bowl lather type thing to finalise the consistency, then take it to the face.

The two seem to incorporate better this way. I initially noticed it on annoying soaps, when I'd had two mediocre passes, but the lather seemed much better for the last pass. I wondered if it just needed a little more time to "cook" before bringing it to the face, and sure enough it did help.

I only tend to do this with soaps that seem quite lacking, but it does seem to help bump the lather up a level. Obviously, it depends how much time you can allow for your shave - I don't have any limitation in that respect. Just keeping the same soap and water mix, and allowing a window of time before bringing it to the face, might just help you make friends with the noxious stench bomb again, Rave