You were right about Varen. So very, very right. I just got an amazing shave with it, and the post-shave feeling is simply superb.Well now you've done it! ... I just put in an order for some samples... Varen included. You're on the hook now!
Zingari Man vs A&E soaps
- Thread starter JohnnShasta
- Start date
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I just received the Zingari Sego "The Merchant", so I will compare it with the Kaizen base.
I have the Cuban Highball, Peach & Cognac, Asian Plum. One of the most dense soap of all time.
I have the Cuban Highball, Peach & Cognac, Asian Plum. One of the most dense soap of all time.
I just got a bunch of samples in from Stirling. Man if you have not tried them I highly recommend it. Fair price and excellent quality.
Well, I think I am getting off the Zingari train. The shave performance is great, but I have several irresolvable grievances. I spent way too much time between reading ingredients, their order and a soap making chart.
There is no doubt that the ingredients are premium relative to alternatives. But, I just can't do the high gloss skin post shave. That combined with no alcohol based aftershave leaves my skin feeling sticky. I did try other aftershaves with alcohol, but that doesn't remove the gloss. The skin feel is nice, but not the absolute top.
What brought me to this point was Declaration Grooming samples. I realized I could get the same post shave feel as WK Siero without the scents I don't get along with plus real aftershave available and no reflective face!
So to subject of this thread originally, I will choose A&E in the future. I like the lather quality better from Zingari, but everything else is better for me. I will be choosing a scent for fall once I get through all my samples.
Side note: from my research, it appears the stable lather on Zingari is from glycerin being the second ingredient. All other soaps I checked put it just before or after the sodium hydroxide. The consequence of this is it is apparently what makes the soap softer than A&E. Obviously I don't have the exact formulas so I am just trying to infer what I can from the label and the shave.
There is no doubt that the ingredients are premium relative to alternatives. But, I just can't do the high gloss skin post shave. That combined with no alcohol based aftershave leaves my skin feeling sticky. I did try other aftershaves with alcohol, but that doesn't remove the gloss. The skin feel is nice, but not the absolute top.
What brought me to this point was Declaration Grooming samples. I realized I could get the same post shave feel as WK Siero without the scents I don't get along with plus real aftershave available and no reflective face!
So to subject of this thread originally, I will choose A&E in the future. I like the lather quality better from Zingari, but everything else is better for me. I will be choosing a scent for fall once I get through all my samples.
Side note: from my research, it appears the stable lather on Zingari is from glycerin being the second ingredient. All other soaps I checked put it just before or after the sodium hydroxide. The consequence of this is it is apparently what makes the soap softer than A&E. Obviously I don't have the exact formulas so I am just trying to infer what I can from the label and the shave.
- Thread starter
- #46
Thanks for your opinion
Both are excellent soaps. Hard to go wrong with either. I think I prefer A&E, but mostly because it lasts longer.
Used Stirling Glastonbury for the first time this morning. Slickness and protection were absolutely top notch...I was very much taken aback by the performance and post-shave face feel. The scent on Glastonbury is a kind of semi-sweet incense with a touch of mild spice. When I first opened it, it reminded me of incense you would pick up in a tie-dye t-shirt shop in Woodstock, but when I lathered it this morning, it took on a bit more complexity. My wife liked the scent which says a lot because she is extremely honest with the product I get. But again, the performance...amazing...just truly amazing. For me, this ranks up there with Cremo Sandalwood lathering shave cream from a perfomance perspective...what I would consider an end-game software product. If my collection of soaps and creams wasn't so vast, I would use something like Stirling Glastonbury, every or every other day.
Thanks for the tip @Hannah's Dad !
Thanks for the tip @Hannah's Dad !
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Fantastic to hear that, my friend. The mutton tallow Stirling soaps have been a paradigm-shifter for me. I cannot stop using these soaps.
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I now completely understand why. And again...thank you. A real end-game product!
Just tried the Merchant from Zingari in Sego base.
Damn me, probably my top3 base. Fantastic lather, heavy, rich and dense. Needed a lot of water, slickness was excellent, post shave fantastic, the soap hardly was used after loading.
Till now, Kaizen was my top soap. Now, the king for me is Sego.
Damn me, probably my top3 base. Fantastic lather, heavy, rich and dense. Needed a lot of water, slickness was excellent, post shave fantastic, the soap hardly was used after loading.
Till now, Kaizen was my top soap. Now, the king for me is Sego.
This thread has me thinking about...software performance...specifically soaps and creams. I have a pretty good size collection, but not many products that could touch the performance of something like the Stirling Mutton formula. That's a soap that really makes the shave...better. And it got me thinking...how many of my soaps and creams... actually make my shaves better? And then...why wouldn't I want to use only those soaps and creams and not the soaps and creams that don't better the shave?
Am I nuts for continuing to use software that's just ok from a performance perspective when I have product that really make the shaves better? Should I be sorting through my collection and picking the soaps and creams out that are superior and leaving the rest behind?
Am I nuts for continuing to use software that's just ok from a performance perspective when I have product that really make the shaves better? Should I be sorting through my collection and picking the soaps and creams out that are superior and leaving the rest behind?
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Those are excellent rhetorical questions. I have asked myself the same ones over the last few years. The answers have caused me to purge my den of razors, soaps, blades and brushes that ‘fell short.’
On the contrary, I sometimes enjoy ‘saving the best for last’ — one example being a platter of sushi. I usually save my favorite (unagi) for last.
As for my shaves, though, I’ve concluded that I want every shave to be like it’s my last shave.
Since BHA/BHT is not listed on the label, how do you know if the lard that Peter uses contains those preservatives? I understand that many of the lard products sold in grocery stores for use in cooking do contain preservatives. However, there are also organic products that contain no preservatives. How do you know that Peter is not sourcing one of these?
- Thread starter
- #55
I like Stirling soaps as well, really good soap
Got 2 A&E soaps Kaizen & So call hipster they seem to work better for me then Zingari Navigator
The Zingari base with which I am familiar is the Sego base. I consider it to be among the super-elite soap bases currently available. Zingari also has a vegan soap base that I have not tried, so I cannot comment on it.
Ariana and Evans has produced quite a few different soap bases over the past several years. I have tried all of them since Peter started making his soaps in-house. With each new base, Peter made improvements to the performance. Even the older soap bases are excellent, but I consider Kaizen to be in the same super-elite group as ZM Sego. Several of the A&E soap bases are still available in the marketplace, so you have to be careful to distinguish which soap you are considering.
The latest iteration of the Kaizen soap base is Kaizen 2. It is one of the very best shaving soaps available in the marketplace, surpassing even the original Kaizen base.
Ariana and Evans has produced quite a few different soap bases over the past several years. I have tried all of them since Peter started making his soaps in-house. With each new base, Peter made improvements to the performance. Even the older soap bases are excellent, but I consider Kaizen to be in the same super-elite group as ZM Sego. Several of the A&E soap bases are still available in the marketplace, so you have to be careful to distinguish which soap you are considering.
The latest iteration of the Kaizen soap base is Kaizen 2. It is one of the very best shaving soaps available in the marketplace, surpassing even the original Kaizen base.
I think I'm reaching that same point now. It's how I'm starting to feel about it. I've invested a lot in it and I keep looking for what works best. So why use what doesn't work best? It just doesn't make sense to keep doing it.
I decided to use only US artisans because they are the only ones that can take a lot of water and stay creamy & heavy on the face.
Two exceptions:
SV 4.3 Cubebe
Officina Artigiana
I'm in the process of using each of my soaps and creams and giving them a detailed rating to determine what software makes a difference and what software doesn't. Will take me a while to work through everything, but once I'm through it, I may end up having a good-size soap/cream PIF.
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