Paste & Cut Travelling Box #4B - Reviews and Comments

Mark1966

Mark1966

Canberra dwelling Happy Clapping Bean Counter
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PCTB4B:


The initial proposed schedule for the box is as follows -

PCTB4B
@nsavage - Adelaide
@alfredus - Adelaide
@Robbo14 - Adelaide
@SchoolForAnts - Adelaide
@EJ_DE98 - Adelaide
@TomG - Perth
@Cris - Meadow Springs WA
@Greenpike - Perth
@Normie - Melbourne
@beerhog - Whittlesea
@tullfan - Faulconbridge

If the schedule doesn't work out, no worries, we can accommodate changes, we just need to talk. When this run is finished we can send on to the recipients of the OTHER PCTB4 if desired - let's see how we go fist though.

Once again thanks for the samples from:
@shavetheman of The Stray Whisker - http://thestraywhisker.com.au/
@todras of Australian Private Reserve - http://www.australianprivatereserve.com/
Mensbiz - http://www.mensbiz.com.au/
@SchoolForAnts of Squadron Soaps - https://squadronsoap.com.au/

Please read the instructions in the box and post your comments and reviews and PICS! here :)
 
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That would be Adelaide via -

In transit
Processed through Australia Post facility
1:03pm Thu 6 Apr
Sunshine West, VIC
 
Now this is looking promising -

In transit
With Australia Post for delivery today
5:09am Mon 10 Apr
Adelaide Airport, SA
 
The eagle has landed!

Apologies for posting this so late gents. Truth be told I had to make a trip back to work this evening to collect the box. @Mark1966 you have certainly outdone yourself this year sir. The last travelling box was chock full of exciting goodies to try out but this year it is absolutely bursting at the seems and even more impressive. As to be expected there are some items that I have tried before and that are familiar to me, that being said there is no shortage of interesting things in the box and I cannot wait to get started. There are also some items that I have never even heard of, I plan to conduct no research prior to giving these a try which will be completely different from the norm for me.

For those of you who have not had the opportunity to partake in this exciting adventure in the past I will share a word of warning. You are no doubt going to fall in love with some items in the box. Last time around I found products to try that I found I absolutely had to have in my den. Some of these items have turned in to regular mainstays that I cannot be without. Having looked over the variety of items contained in this box I have no doubt that this will happen once more and I am sure that everyone who takes delivery of the box will find the same for them.

Of course there has to be some photos. These are quite ordinary but I am sure you get the idea.

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Glad it arrived, hopefully safe and sound!

Bear in mind @nsavage that this is only one of two boxes in this round - so there is even MORE fun waiting if you join that list too :)

Also for newcomers - despite Nick's warning it can also save you money by allowing you to try stuff you then decide you don't want - that happened last time as well for a few people.

Enjoy!
 
Had a crack at the Simpsons "Caffe Latte" Shaving Cream this morning.

They definitely nailed the scent on this one i that it matches the name perfectly. Very strong coffee scent that I found to be warm, inviting and calming. I am not a big cream user and generally find that I do not get quite as nice lather from creams as I do soaps. This was definitely the case with the Simpsons. That being said the lather was definitely in the upper tiers as far as creams go.

Just a quick review today and unfortunately no photo sorry. Rest assured that there will be picures and some more extensive reviews moving forward.
 
Mark1966 said:
...and since then @nsavage ?? ;)
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I quit shaving....


In all seriousness as I have previously mentioned I have found myself to be somewhat time poor recently and a short work week seems to have made it worse it seems. That being said I have been eagerly trying some products and as such here is a multi product review.

I have not read anything about any of these soaps as part of this process. Granted that there will be some throughout that I have heard of previously or read some sort of review of in the past. There are one or two items that I have tried previously that I will try again as a test to see if my perceptions have changed as well.

As a disclaimer to my reviews I am extremely poor at describing scents and apologise in advance. The benchmark soap that I will be comparing against is Stirling as IMO it is very inexpensive and I would expect that a lot of members have had the chance to try it at some point, for those reasons I believe it is a solid benchmark to compare against. On a personal level Stirling is one of my go to soaps and provides me with everything I personally look for in a lather in terms of the amount of water it takes, the creaminess and slickness of the lather, stability of the lather and post shave feel. I will not expressly reference back to Stirling Soap directly in the below reviews but it gives the reader a point of reference. Another item of note is that although I appreciate an exceptionally well scented soap it is not the be all and end all for me. I am more interested in the quality of the lather than the scent of the soap. As long as the soap smells pleasant and doesn't smell like something my dog left on the grass I am happy.

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First up Reef Point Dragon Blood Soap

I can't describe the scent except to say that it is warm and complex. Perhaps a little powdery as well. I found it to be overall a very pleasant scent. The soap lathered quickly and easily but did not take a lot of water. The lather was nice and reasonably thick with an ample amount of cushion but certainly was not as creamy as I have become accustomed to. All of that being said the soap performed quite well and the lather remained stable throughout the shave. Post shave feel was good and acceptable for me. Overall I was impressed with the soap and for me it is a great mid tier offering.

Mondial Zagara Soap

I felt that this just smelt like soap. Not only that but I felt it had quite a chemical attribute in the scent. For me it was not overly pleasant and perhaps started us off on the wrong foot. I found that the soap once again althered quickly and easily but also took on very little water. The lather was OK, cushiony enough at first but certainly nowhere near as creamy as I like it to be. I also found that the lather started to break down during the shave (no more than perhaps 10 minutes altogether) and was quite simply very poor when I lathered up for the last pass. Perhaps I did not load enough soap (I thought I loaded heaps TBH) or did not lather it properly or something. I was quite surprised to find that the soap performed as poorly as I felt it did. Post shave feel was fairly average as well. I have to place this below the bottom rung and would probably avoid shaving if it was the only soap available.

Finally Dr Jon's Anne Bonny Soap and Splash

I tried Dr Jon's in the last travelling box and was largely unimpressed with it. The Anne Bonny is however a bay rum scent and as bay rum has become somewhat of a favourite of mine I felt it warranted a revisit of the soap. The scent is a particularly nice and citrusy bay rum, no real surprises here. Once again I found that this soap lathered up particularly easily but of all three of the soaps being reviewed together here took the least amount of water. Oddly enough I found the lather to be creamier and closer to what I prefer though. Certainly an ample amount of cushion and slickness as well. The lather remained stable throughout the shave. Post shave feel was really quite good. The splash (which @Mark1966 has put in these wonderful little atomisers that work exceptionally well) had a slightly stronger scent than the soap (although the scents are of course identical) and I felt that it had just the right amount of menthol in it. I didn't get any burning from alcohol or anything like that either. The splash also helped compliment the post shave feel from the soap. Overall I was surprised to find that my opinion of the Dr Jon's was quite different from previously. For me it is still a mid tier offering but that is certainly at least a rung up from where it sat previously.
 
Another double review....

For Saturday's shave I decided to try the Henri et Victoria "Le Marin" shave soap.

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The scent on the soap started as a nice aqua style scent but I found that it became very sweet throughout the lathering process. Although the scent was pleasant throughout I couldn't help but feel that I preferred the initial scent profile significantly more than I did after I felt that it changed. This soap produced a fantastic lather. It took on a reasonable amount of water (still not as much as I prefer) and created a wonderfully thick and creamy lather. The lather itself was definitely more inline with what I am accustomed to. Slickness was also particularly good. Post shave face feel was also satisfactory. For me this soap falls in at the very top of the mid tier level of soaps. If it was able to take on more water it would definitely be considered for my daily rotation.

This morning I decided to try a number of products. Obsessive Soap Perfectionist "Bay Rum", "Clubman Special Reserve" by Pinaud Clubman and The Stray Whisker "After Balm".

7MmFBgO.jpg


Having heard some mixed reviews about the OSP soap I was very curious about it. The scent is fantastic. A lovely dry bay rum scent and definitely along the lines that I enjoy. Unfortunately I found the lather to be rather lacking, it was thin and quite light. definitely not thick and creamy like I prefer. I did however find that it had a significant amount of slickness. Not being an expert on straight shaving it is hard to comment but I can only assume that this particular soap style would be preferred by straight shavers. The post shave feel was also very good. For me this soap is mid tier at best but I am not surprised that others rate it quite highly.

The Clubman special reserve had a pleasant scent and suited my preferences for an aftershave. I really don;t know what else to say about it LOL. I could definitely see myself adding a bottle of this to my den (deno, shave billabong, whatever).

I have previously mentioned that I felt that The Stray Whisker After Balm is very similar to Natio Aftershave Balm in my opinion. These days I generally use Myrsol Emulsion as a post shave balm and this has fairly well become my go to balm. In anticipation of having the opportunity to try the after balm again I have used the Natio balm for the last few shaves. The After Balm is nice and light and thin. A small amount definitely goes along way but even so I felt that it initially felt greasy after application. This did quickly clear up though as the balm was absorbed my my skin. I do still feel that the Natio and The Stray Whisker balms are very similar. The Stray Whisker balm definitely has a slight edge over the Natio and based upon the ingredients list I would have to assume that The Stray Whisker has the slight edge over the Natio after a rough shave. That being said Natio have a Maximum Relief lotion that I have also found to be very good. For me The Stray Whisker balm is very good but I would struggle to justify adding it to my den at it's price point. Myrsol has definitely kept it's status as my go to post shave balm for now. As an additional disclaimer I have no affiliation with Natio, I simply wanted to provide a comparison and benchmark for others to compare my opinion.
 
I noted something after posting yesterday's review that I feel worth mentioning here. @Nightguard posted a SOTD picture with an OSP lather that looked significantly creamier and closer to what I prefer. This only furthers my belief that you can get a significantly different result from a puck of soap than a sample. Perhaps I am wrong, just my thoughts.

This morning I decided to try "Local Gent Shaviing Co. "Tobacco Lounge", Mennen "Skin Bracer" and Rapira "Super Stainless" blades

The scent on the soap is not the sort of thing that I enjoy. Very different from most of the other tobacco scents I have tried. I found this to be a very dark and smokey tobacco. The soap did however produce a wonderful lather. I found that the soap took on quite a lot of water and produced a reasonably thick and creamy lather. The lather remained stable throughout the shave although towards the end I felt that I may have added to much water. Nonetheless the lather assisted in producing a terrific result and I would place this in the upper mid tier for me.

The Rapira blades I found to be very similar to a Voskhod. Nice and smooth and perhaps just a touch sharper. Very impressive and I could see myself using these blades more often.

The Mennen Skin Bracer had a wonderful light fragrance that was very appealing. As with the Clubman AS from yesterday it produced a very satisfactory result and I could easily add a bottle of this to my rotation.
 
nsavage said:
SOTD picture with an OSP lather that looked significantly creamier and closer to what I prefer. This only furthers my belief that you can get a significantly different result from a puck of soap than a sample. Perhaps I am wrong, just my thoughts.
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I was going to say yesterday there are some spectacular lather shots of OSP, and personally found it awesome (and that it may be the sample vs. puck thing). Who knows with that Adelaide water though lol :D
 
No shaves since Tuesday!

You guys are masters of restraint :)
 
nsavage said:
LOL

Sorry I have a multi review coming either later today or early tomorrow. Tomorrow the box is changing hands at the Adelaide meet up as well!
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Can't wait - both for the review and the box (y)
 
nsavage said:
Another double review....

For Saturday's shave I decided to try the Henri et Victoria "Le Marin" shave soap.

ubxikyJ.jpg


The scent on the soap started as a nice aqua style scent but I found that it became very sweet throughout the lathering process. Although the scent was pleasant throughout I couldn't help but feel that I preferred the initial scent profile significantly more than I did after I felt that it changed. This soap produced a fantastic lather. It took on a reasonable amount of water (still not as much as I prefer) and created a wonderfully thick and creamy lather. The lather itself was definitely more inline with what I am accustomed to. Slickness was also particularly good. Post shave face feel was also satisfactory. For me this soap falls in at the very top of the mid tier level of soaps. If it was able to take on more water it would definitely be considered for my daily rotation.

This morning I decided to try a number of products. Obsessive Soap Perfectionist "Bay Rum", "Clubman Special Reserve" by Pinaud Clubman and The Stray Whisker "After Balm".

7MmFBgO.jpg


Having heard some mixed reviews about the OSP soap I was very curious about it. The scent is fantastic. A lovely dry bay rum scent and definitely along the lines that I enjoy. Unfortunately I found the lather to be rather lacking, it was thin and quite light. definitely not thick and creamy like I prefer. I did however find that it had a significant amount of slickness. Not being an expert on straight shaving it is hard to comment but I can only assume that this particular soap style would be preferred by straight shavers. The post shave feel was also very good. For me this soap is mid tier at best but I am not surprised that others rate it quite highly.

The Clubman special reserve had a pleasant scent and suited my preferences for an aftershave. I really don;t know what else to say about it LOL. I could definitely see myself adding a bottle of this to my den (deno, shave billabong, whatever).

I have previously mentioned that I felt that The Stray Whisker After Balm is very similar to Natio Aftershave Balm in my opinion. These days I generally use Myrsol Emulsion as a post shave balm and this has fairly well become my go to balm. In anticipation of having the opportunity to try the after balm again I have used the Natio balm for the last few shaves. The After Balm is nice and light and thin. A small amount definitely goes along way but even so I felt that it initially felt greasy after application. This did quickly clear up though as the balm was absorbed my my skin. I do still feel that the Natio and The Stray Whisker balms are very similar. The Stray Whisker balm definitely has a slight edge over the Natio and based upon the ingredients list I would have to assume that The Stray Whisker has the slight edge over the Natio after a rough shave. That being said Natio have a Maximum Relief lotion that I have also found to be very good. For me The Stray Whisker balm is very good but I would struggle to justify adding it to my den at it's price point. Myrsol has definitely kept it's status as my go to post shave balm for now. As an additional disclaimer I have no affiliation with Natio, I simply wanted to provide a comparison and benchmark for others to compare my opinion.
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Great review @nsavage !
 
OK here are my final reviews from the box. Apologies for them all being grouped together in one post.

Whispers from the Woods "Spearmint, Lavender and Vetiver"

Scent wise I didn't feel that this combination worked. Sure I get all of the scents coming through but they don't seem to work well together for me. The spearmint and lavender blend together happily enough but the vetiver completely separates itself so you smell it completely separately. I have used the soap before and found it to be quite good and this was no exception. I did once again feel that I would get a better result lathering directly from a tub of soap rather than from a sample sized piece. The lather was reasonably creamy with good cushion and slickness. The soap was able to take on a fair amount of water. Post shave feel was excellent. Based upon performance I would happily sit this soap in the mid tier. Based on scent (if that sort of thing really bothers you) it really struggles. On a value for money front it also fails miserably IMO. I believe the soap sells for something like $20 for 90 grams which IMO is quite pricey. not only does the performance not live up to the lofty price tag for me but if you consider the poorly thought out scent profile as well it falls far short.

Biotique Bio Palmyra

Scent wise this soap is wonderful and fresh, very acceptable. I'm not much of a cream user and feel that is worth noting here. I generally find that most creams are very easy to lather and provide a nice cushiony and slick lather. This cream was no exception and definitely in the upper tier as far as creams go. Post shave feel was good.

Panna Crema Vetiver

The scent for me was a very washed out Vetiver and not the strong dry earthy Vetiver that I prefer (Mike's Vetiver or Jabonman's Haitian Vetiver are along the lines of what I really enjoy). Soap performance was reasonable. Lather provided ample cushion and slickness but not enough creaminess for my preferences. Post shave feel was however quite good. The soap did not take on much water IMO. Not something I would buy.

Pekka "Fresh Aquatic Scent"

This is a soap I had not even heard of prior to receiving the box. The scent is truly wonderful and is exactly as described on the container. Wonderfully fresh aquatic notes. The performance of the soap really surprised me as well. The soap took quite a bit of water and produced a wonderfully creamy and slick lather with lots of cushion. Post shave feel was excellent. I have to be honest and say I was truly impressed with this soap and would definitely consider buying some in the future. Having a quick look and price wise it appears to be pretty good value for money as well. Do not be surprised if you see some of this coming in to my den in the future.

And that is it for me folks, the box will be heading along to the Adelaide meet up this afternoon where I am sure items will be poked, prodded and sniffed before it goes home with @alfredus. @Mark1966 once again many many thanks for organising this and also to everyone who helped contribute towards it. It really is a fantastic way to try many new items in a short period of time without spending obscene amounts of money.

For me the box has this time around really solidified in my mind that there are not many products out there that do not provide a good experience. I realise that at times my reviews may seem quite harsh and critical but it is important to realise that I have reached a point where I feel that i have found a group of products that work exceptionally well for me personally and I am comparing directly against these. What works for me may not work for you and what I consider to be average you may consider to be outstanding. It is all about our personal experiences and preferences. I hope each and everyone of you that receives the box enjoys the experience as much as I have and if you have not signed up already I believe there is still time to do so.....
 
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