Shaving Acquisitions Jan. 2023

NotTheStig said:
Just arrived, in a badly battered but intact box.
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Never tried any of this stuff except the Malizia Vetiver which I had as an EDT years ago.

The Lider balm has a kind of fresh, clean, artificial floral scent which is pleasant but a little medicinal.

The Malizia Uomo Vetiver: I loved the smell but it was pricey in the UK and not a long lasting scent. Love this stuff and great to smell it again after all these years.

I've used the Wars shaving cream in the past (very good stuff) and the aftershave smells like the cream but much stronger. Will be a decent daily splash when I'm not drawn to any particular scent.

Bond aftershave balm I didn't have high hopes for. A whisky scented budget balm could have been a disaster but its pretty impressive. A strong fragrance that smells a little of whisky, tobacco and musk.

The Bialy Jelen is a birch sap balm and doesn't have any particular smell, probably just the base ingredients that make up the balm. Good for when you don't want a balm to interfere with an EDT and hopefully it'll be quite soothing.

A little disappointed with the Pinaud whisky and tobacco. It has a certain note that I recognise from other Pinaud products which my ex used to call "old man". You would probably know what I mean if you smelt it. That seems to dominate over the whisky and tobacco notes. It's also a small bottle that was hard to open.
It may grow on me though.

The difficulty is going to pick only one to finish tonight's shave.

Help me out here - which one do I go with first?
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I love the Bond Whisky - I've got the ASL and balm. Pair it with Figaro or Cella for a Cadbury's Crunchie shave ;) And the Wars is now my go to travel set after @culcreuch suggested it as a 4711 smellalike.
 
NotTheStig said:
Just arrived, in a badly battered but intact box.
View attachment 99031
Never tried any of this stuff except the Malizia Vetiver which I had as an EDT years ago.



Help me out here - which one do I go with first?
Click to expand...

Hiya doin,

Maybe 12-13 years ago I was trying lots of frags for quite a while, including some niche types. I was surprised to find the Malizia had the best vetyver scent of any huffed, even though the Malizia was least expensive by far compared to all the others.

I've got an older 1/4 full EdT bottle in use regularly and it's scent's gone in half an hour, except for close in work.. Yeah, probably like the after shave I'd guess. Which to me is just fine, since it's never used on my face but rather like a liberally splashed cologne. Can't understand the alcohol burn when done shaving. Heh, seems like punishment.

Glad to see that in your arsenal,

Martin
 
Jester said:
VERY heavy (to my nose) on the lanolin whiff though so if that's not your bag @NotTheStig , be aware. Great performer, but I PIF'd mine as I couldn't get past the background smell.
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The soap maker has said that she has taken steps to reduce the tallow smell that some users were commenting on, so her new batches should be better.


Paul.
 
Jester said:
Like a meaty funk, which overtook my Patchouli one. If as @Blademonkey has confirmed this has been addressed it's a winner. Performance is beyond reproach.
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Yes the early original Patchouli was very strong but the later No. 2 and 3 are all good. I’ve not tried a new no. 1. That said it was still an amazing soap that it was worth it.
 
Blademonkey said:
The soap maker has said that she has taken steps to reduce the tallow smell that some users were commenting on, so her new batches should be better.


Paul.
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FFS, the tallow funk is a sign of the good stuff!

I couldn't really detect much of it in the one I used, but I wouldn't be put off by it if it did! It's a glorious lather! I think it's somewhere between The Fat and OSP. IMO, if it came in a plastic tub and had some fancy artwork it'd be much more highly regarded.

***

I had a look at the spreadsheet I have drafted for my collection of blades, and it seems I have tried a ridiculous number of different types and I own enough for at least 20 years or daily shaves, but I still decided to buy some more blades.

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@pjgh I've never seen blades from this factory before, I presume the Kleen Shave are standard SS ones (the cheaper ones at 18INR) whilst the Pro 500 are platinum coated ones (20 INR). I'd expect the latter ones to be the sharper of the two.
 
#3 is my favourite so far and is May Chang. Its a sweet citrus but smells warm and a bit vanilla-cake-ish smell mixed in with the citrus, which may be the base coming through. Does NOT smell like wet sheep to me (but I have never smelt a wet sheep I hasten to add!)

If buying multiples, message Ratna on ebay with the ones you want and she will probably make a custom listing for you to combine shipping instead of paying base shipping x number of pucks. Yes they are small but last quite well and perform excellently at the price. Combined shipping makes it even more compelling to try.

Start saving ramekins or buy yourself some Gü puds because these are the best thing to store HWF in. She ships them in cling film IIRC
 
hotmetal said:
#3 is my favourite so far and is May Chang. Its a sweet citrus but smells warm and a bit vanilla-cake-ish smell mixed in with the citrus, which may be the base coming through. Does NOT smell like wet sheep to me (but I have never smelt a wet sheep I hasten to add!)

If buying multiples, message Ratna on ebay with the ones you want and she will probably make a custom listing for you to combine shipping instead of paying base shipping x number of pucks. Yes they are small but last quite well and perform excellently at the price. Combined shipping makes it even more compelling to try.
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I'd be intrigued in whether she'd be able to make up a TSR special. There's almost no chance in getting everyone to agree on one scent, but as I'm going first I'd suggest Bay Rum!
 
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