Grooming Dept

Eau de Magnolia is a hit and the floral scent continues to echo from my face following my shave. I did not use any form of aftershave and am glad I did not do so. Just a really nice scent.

OTOH, I am not so sure about Oud Osmanthus. I did get a hint of oud from it but the entire scent package was too faint for my taste. Hopefully, further usage will change this initial impression. I did follow up that shave with Shannon's Indigo Oud aftershave and it proved to be an excellent pairing.

Last up for this release will be English Lavender. Putting my nose to the puck I smell a nice combination of lemon and lavender and I am sure my shave will reflect that combination. This is one of Mo's all natural scents--essential oils and absolutes. If past experience with similar GD soaps is any indication, the ideal usage date will be sooner rather than later as these soaps have, for me, not shown scent longevity.

Eau de Magnolia is a hit and the floral scent continues to echo from my face following my shave. I did not use any form of aftershave and am glad I did not do so. Just a really nice scent.

OTOH, I am not so sure about Oud Osmanthus. I did get a hint of oud from it but the entire scent package was too faint for my taste. Hopefully, further usage will change this initial impression. I did follow up that shave with Shannon's Indigo Oud aftershave and it proved to be an excellent pairing.

Last up for this release will be English Lavender. Putting my nose to the puck I smell a nice combination of lemon and lavender and I am sure my shave will reflect that combination. This is one of Mo's all natural scents--essential oils, absolutes and resins. If past experience with similar GD soaps is any indication, the ideal usage date will be sooner rather than later as these soaps have, for me, not shown scent longevity.

South - agree 100% with you on the Mag. I eschewed the post scents to enjoy the soap. I did, and it had good staying power.



Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Grooming Dept Diamond Dust (double posting this here and in the "which soap" thread)

Was waiting to finally try this new soap out since I enjoy soaps/splashes with WS-23 chill.  But I had some trepidation because I'm never sure what Mohammad's soaps will actually smell like -- I've read the ingredients and descriptions and so often have been surprised.  This one was not a surprise, though:  and the label art captures this soap perfectly.  It smells like -- and with the cool carries the sensation of -- being in a northern pine forest on a snowy day.  Crisp and bright and clean but the fir scents are all there.  I used, as aftershave, the Talbot Champlain which is a perfectly named splash:  it truly smells like the woods in the Adirondacks Mountains in New York near Lake Champlain.  There is a difference between Diamond Dust and Champlain, however:  whereas Diamond Dust has the light scent of fir and pine and balsam that you get on a snowy day in the winter, Champlain is earthier and deeper -- a rich, heavy fir scent.  It is the scent of walking into the forest woods on a damp fall or spring day.  Same family of scent but two different experiences.  Both are in my wheelhouse, probably because I grew up summering in those woods and still go the Adirondacks a fair amount.  

One note:  the WS-23 is light.  It's a touch of cooling.  I suspect there's less of the WS-23 than in the two Summer Break WS-23 soaps, Cannonball! and Rope Swing, both of which I use a lot in the summer.  Adding Icy Stare (an unscented WS-23 splash) to the Champlain made everything work quite well.

Second note: Diamond Dust is in Kairos base, and while I had not loved Kairos before (liked it, didn't love it as a base), I'm wondering whether the formula has been tweaked because this was an altogether excellent shave.

Altogether?  A solid winner.  

Lesser Thank you for sharing your experience with 'Diamond Dust'.  Personally, this is the type of scent description I've been looking for in a shave soap since I got into this hobby a long time ago.  I am not entirely sure if I would be pleased with the actual scent once I acquire the soap and take a sniff and lather.  Chances are that I would.  I only wished that Mohammad were to release 'Diamond Dust' in the Kairos SE base speaking of which I assume that the release of the four Kairos SE soaps might have been delayed again.  

By the way, I would very much like to know if the cooling sensation from the synthetic cooling agent(s) is on the mild side or strong to the point where one's face would feel almost numb.  

Thanks and Happy Shaves!

Lesser Thank you for sharing your experience with 'Diamond Dust'.  Personally, this is the type of scent description I've been looking for in a shave soap since I got into this hobby a long time ago.  I am not entirely sure if I would be pleased with the actual scent once I acquire the soap and take a sniff and lather.  Chances are that I would.  I only wished that Mohammad were to release 'Diamond Dust' in the Kairos SE base speaking of which I assume that the release of the four Kairos SE soaps might have been delayed again.  

By the way, I would very much like to know if the cooling sensation from the synthetic cooling agent(s) is on the mild side or strong to the point where one's face would feel almost numb.  

Thanks and Happy Shaves!

You're welcome.  I, too, often wish folks tried to give better senses of what scents are like -- and, particularly with Mohammad's scents, it sometimes seems particularly difficult from the descriptions as he often has a lot going on.  The cooling sensation is on the mild side -- not vaguely close to numbing intensity.  To me, it's just a pleasant coolness not unlike what one gets when standing back and opening a fridge.  Two other points are that (1) I think there's less WS-23 in Diamond Dust than I find in the Summer Break soaps -- they are more like standing closer to the fridge upon opening, and (2) the real cooling comes from aftershave more than the soap.  Both together will provide more, of course, but it's really the aftershaves that carries the sensation.  With Cannonball!, particularly, my face is quite cool when done; not numb or close to it but pleasantly chilled.  (By the way, while I like WS-23 formulations, I really don't like menthol so I can't really compare to menthol soaps and splashes.). I hope this helps.

Lesser Thanks a lot for the additional info.  I'm glad the cooling effect is more on the mild side.  Just waiting for one of the retailers to bring 'Diamond Dust' as well as 'Tobacco and Oud'!

First and foremost I think Mo/GD is making the best soap bases in the artisan community. The efficacy and skin care is simply unmatched at any price. And generally his scents are excellent. They are all very natural and just the right level...not too heavy nor too light. Diamond Dust is fantastic from the latest release is fantastic!!! I overbought the last two releases and just listed in the Sales forum Omni,a La Rosa Profunda and English Lavender. And his preshave is the only preshave I've used that actually improves the shave performance. I'm looking fwd to the upcoming Aion line (olive oil based vegan soaps).

The Scent on this Soap is just outstanding to me, beautifully done. Really impressed with some of Mo’s latest releases, he’s outdone himself. Some of the very best scents I’ve ever experienced in a shave Soap. A very good Soap base, although I do prefer the LE Kairos Soaps with Emu Oil as far as performance is concerned. I’m definitely picking up a few of the other scents when his stockists receive them.

I'm really loving this scent & soap

why is Grooming Dept off the main page