#1
Finally got the time to try out my recent PIF from Alex. Thanks again Alex for a GREAT PIF (even more so now that I've tried this beauty)

Some info:
SR-9/16 New York "no name" Dept store razor from a Best Quality Solingen blank. I've got some more expensive "high end" straights, but this is still one of my favorite shaving straights.
Brush-Shavemac 2 band 26/50
My top 3 soaps (my "Standards"): MDC, CF, WK
Water: local treatment plant (not hard nor soft; I'm in Southern Cali so I'm paying about the same price per ounce as gold...the water better be spot on! haha)

Just as Mohammad describes this soap on his site...it's a water hog. I guess I used about triple my normal water load. No problems once I got the right amount. Developed a nice rich lather rather quickly using my normal routine: I kind of do a hybrid face lathering routine. I load the brush, move to my scuttle to work the soap and adjust my water till it's just a little dry, then finish working it up with face lathering-I like to "hold" the brush in the scuttle and do some whipping prior to 2nd/3rd pass to warm up the lather. If you have hard water and have trouble making lather this one might present a challenege.

The scent is pleasantly subtle. I hadn't read the description prior to using the soap, and the cardamom was a pleasant surprise. Kulfi is a good description.

Now the good stuff:
Cushion and glide were excellent. I was honestly shocked at how good it was...I figured it would take a couple of shaves to dial it in due to the water required. Maybe I got lucky, but I think the soap is just that good. The whole shave was smooth as silk. I usually have at least a little razor burn on the neck no matter how good the shave and no matter if I'm using a straight or DE. My neck is sensitive. This soap gave me great protection and slickness!

Post shave:
Great feel on the skin. I don't usually need moisturizer and today was no different. That's pretty much a killer for me. If I need to moisturize post shave the soap goes to the kitchen or garage sink for hand washing. This post shave my skin was more than moisturized, soft, and no irritation noted (except those spots on my neck that are always irritated) Sorry I can't give more than that, but I think that says a lot. NO MOISTURIZER NEEDED (at least for me).

I really was amazed at the cushion and glide! I grabbed the 'Ol tried and true Clubman AS (bay rum) and hardly any burn on the neck! Trust me fellas that is a testimony with my neck.
I've really grown fond of Sterling AS and can't wait to roll with it on my second go with this soap. I think they will match perfectly.

I can safely say this soap is in my top 5 favorites!

One review down two to go...oh the agony of it!!!

Cheers,
Jer

Michael P, ANG69, jesseix and 6 others like this post
#2
Very nice review. I'm looking forward to trying some Grooming Dept. soaps as I do not own any nor have I tried any yet. They sound wonderful. Thanks for that information.
#3
(03-26-2018, 12:56 AM)Clubman Wrote: ...I can safely say this soap is in my top 5 favorites!...


What are the other four?
Secretary Ramsey put his foot into it yesterday . . . in the course of his remarks he said that California “needs water and better society.”  “So does h-ll,” yelled someone in the crowd.  
#4
(03-27-2018, 04:49 AM)BPman Wrote:
(03-26-2018, 12:56 AM)Clubman Wrote: ...I can safely say this soap is in my top 5 favorites!...


What are the other four?


Currently my favs in no particular order:
MDC-some like/some don't. I really enjoy this soap. I don't think I could screw up getting a perfect lather if I tried.
CF-one of the first creams I ever tried. Just a wonderful, wonderful soap and I really love the lime "scent"
WK-great performing soap. The scents are unique. I don't dislike the scents (obviously since it's became one of my top soaps), just different . Performance wise it's top notch.
Baum.be-literraly just used this soap for the first time last week. I didn't quite dial in the water, but was still crazy impressive.

Guess I should explain "top 5". I've got a couple other soaps that are pretty good, but these are ones that I will ALWAYS have in the den. I'm on a purge to limit all my gear, but I'll always have a little of these soaps in my cabinet.

I've heard a lot of good stuff about Oloe, too. It's next on my list of "must try".

Be safe and Cheers,
Jer

ANG69, GroomingDept and Michael P like this post
#5
Grooming Dept is one of the best soap bases available IMO. Along with WK, P&B, Tiki, B&C, and a few others. The scents he has come up with are unique and complex and performance is top notch, no matter what formula you get.

Michael P and GroomingDept like this post
#6
You can’t go wrong with any of the bases from Grooming Dept. I know this review was mallard but they are all top tier in my book.

GroomingDept likes this post


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