SOTD 9-15 October 2016

October 16:
Gillette - NEW LC (English) / Windrose - H8 / Polsilver - SI (2)
Simpson - M7 (Manchurian, faux Italian marble)
Tabac (soap)
Myrsol - F/Extra / Myrsol - Emulsion
Tabac (cologne)

Van Yulay - Soap of the Gods "Black Cavendish"
BSB-Ti | HMW Extra Dense
RazoRock Black Mamba | Feather Hi-Stainless (1)

[Image: wiXhAZE.jpg]

Again, I won't bore you by restating my thoughts about Van Yulay's soaps.  I have lots of experience with a variety of their soaps, and I can confidently say they all perform in line with my other favorite artisans and can stand up to any of them.

I picked up "Black Cavendish" with trepidation.  I absolutely love a cherry tobacco fragrance.  In fact, one of my all-time favorite scents, "Captain's Pipe" by the artisan formerly known as "Beaver WoodWright", has to be placed on the back shelf due to the nausea it evokes upon my wife.  I have to reserve my use of said Captain's Pipe to hunting season during which she's gone for a few days at a time.  Captain's Pipe quite accurately reproduces the aromatic tobacco, Captain Black Cherry.  When I saw the scent notes for "Black Cavendish" on Van Yulay's site, I feared it would elicit the same response from my wife.  Fortunately, Black Cavendish varies enough such that she's fine with it.  I very much enjoy it.  There's a definite cherry tobacco fragrance up front, but there's enough woodiness to alter it quite a bit, and set itself apart as a different fragrance.  As the shave progresses, a slightly powdery, smoky, chocolate accord quite faintly moves in to really round out this delicious fragrance.

I used the paired alcohol-free splash, just to prolong the scent. I've said this before, but all of Van Yulay's splashes have a creamy scent initially that I assume is from the skin-care ingredients.  That creaminess is pleasant, but it does fade rather quickly and allows the matching scent to come through accurately.  As a nice surprise, I did notice some sweet vanilla notes in the splash that I hadn't picked up with the lather.  

Black Cavendish is a very nice release from Van Yulay that certainly fits in the family of cherry tobacco fragrances, but its depth and complexity keeps it from being a blatant reproduction.

Another fantastic photo with an excellent write up. Thank you, 120inna55.