"Australian's All" appreciation thread!

I have held back my thoughts on this as I did not want my own thoughts to colour everyone else's opinions of the products.

Firstly a massive thanks to Dan and Andy for just going ahead and doing something for the members here.... they didn't even come to me for approval because they knew they were doing a cool thing and I would have greenlighted it in any case. I am proud to have you both here and contributing in many ways to the community that continues to grow from your continued presence here. Secondly, this is my first Squadron soap. Sad but true fact. I should have been on these far earlier but unlike some around here I don't believe in buying every single soap in existence, and I have limited storage as I live in an apartment.

The scent of this in the tub/bottle is lovely, definite fruity overtone with some citrus from the Orange, lime and Myrtle which is not a combo I would have considered. Light spice is there too with that fresh mint lifiting everything up a little more. It smells a bit like Cairns in summer if you just air-conned the whole town. Dan has really upped his technical scent game in the last 3 months after the Coeur de Vert and Lixivant releases which I loved, but this moves in a completely different direction and goes to show what can be achieved with dedication and a thirst to learn and be better.

The initial shave was Wednesday morning with my normal setup (Fatboy on 5, Plissitane) however I was on a 2-shave feather rather than my normal vintage blades.

The soap itself has great scent strength, while the performance is very good. Certainly has excellent body and definitely whips up thick and creamy on an initial face lather, and then slickens well once you start adding water to it. Seems like it can take quite a bit of water in the formulation also, and it performs as well as any SH or APR release on average. There was a little issue with cushion for me but I am not sure if that was blade related or just that the soap needs a few lathers under it's belt. Second pass with a bit more water had the slick glide I am accustomed to from B&M and APR soaps so it was all good there.

The AS is where the experiences between APR and Squardron really differs. As mentioned there is certainly less EO content in the Squadron AS formulation when comparing to APR releases, as well as what feels to be a higher witchhazel content. While APR does go on a little sticky initially, it does not last very long and I also have very oily skin. The Squadron AS seems to be more along the lines of the B&M style splash although a bit better in post-application feel. Definitely a big menth hit on application (I am a menth wuss) and that sting hangs around for a bit.

That said, it was not all plain sailing with the scent. About 15-20 minutes into the drydown I got a mixed note of sweet body odor which seems to be coming from the guava.... and that persisted for quite some time. I am guessing that is my own skin chemistry and scent mixing with the components and turning up something a little unpleasant, and of course did check with Dan and he tended to think that it was a reactive of my own with the ingredients. That said often continued use will adjust the skin chemistry a little and this may get better. More than happy to keep trying it. That said the overall scent was long-lasting and my other half could smell it on me next morning.

Looking forward to the next secret release of APR, and Andy will be getting another order from me soon I am sure. To have two guys that produce this quality of product locally is insane when you look at the per-capita size of us, and then put them into the company of other artisans who produce the similar quality product. Just amazing....
 
The AS is where the experiences between APR and Squardron really differs. As mentioned there is certainly less EO content in the Squadron AS formulation when comparing to APR releases, as well as what feels to be a higher witchhazel content. While APR does go on a little sticky initially, it does not last very long and I also have very oily skin. The Squadron AS seems to be more along the lines of the B&M style splash although a bit better in post-application feel. Definitely a big menth hit on application (I am a menth wuss) and that sting hangs around for a bit.

Just to be clear, it is an AP reserve aftershave composition for this release, for both the fragrance and the aftershave formulation itself :)

The feel of an aftershave is very often influenced by the environment it is used in, the skin of the person using it and largely by the composition of the various oils and AC's in it in addition to the skin beneficial's (or not) compounds used in the formula.
 
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Just to be clear, it is an AP reserve aftershave composition for this release, for both the fragrance and the aftershave formulation itself :)

The feel of an aftershave is very often influenced by the environment it is used in, the skin of the person using it and largely by the composition of the various oils and AC's in it in addition to the skin beneficial's (or not) compounds used in the formula.

It certainly not behaving like your normal formulation - there seems to be a significant difference in it compared to the existing ones I have. Assuming you need to adjust it for the menthol and that the menthol itself impacts it, but it goes on completely differently and much more like a B&M splash than the other APR's I have had - both full-size product and samples that you have generously provided. I even went back and applied the Myrtle in my normal fashion, then washed off and tried the AA and it's definitely more on the Alcohol/WitchHazel side, rather then the Aloe/VitE/Glycerin/Oils side like your others. Still good and you can feel the goodness in it compared to the B&M splashes, just noticeably different and as such I wrongly assumed a Squadron formulation with your scent formulation added.

I am getting more used to the scent, but there is a significant scent reaction with my own skin chemistry which is slightly unpleasant. It does disperse after a while but it is disconcerting and I am not sure if other people are getting that also. It is a very personal and individual issue, and I still enjoy the scent directly from the tub & bottle.
 
This has basically been my experience too.

I find as long as a shaving soap lathers up well, I can get it to where I like.

The rating scales of cushion and slickness are overkill because it's essentially the proportions of soap, water and agitation that can be tweaked in order to have more cushion or slickness.

Post shave may vary a little but generally redundant for all those that use any form of aftershave.
 
This has basically been my experience too.

I find as long as a shaving soap lathers up well, I can get it to where I like.

The rating scales of cushion and slickness are overkill because it's essentially the proportions of soap, water and agitation that can be tweaked in order to have more cushion or slickness.

Post shave may vary a little but generally redundant for all those that use any form of aftershave.
Hmmm. This isn't my experience at all.
*shrug*
 
Hmmm. This isn't my experience at all.
*shrug*

Over the last ten years of using a brush and soap, I've found that as long as a soap can produce stable lather... i can get it where i want. If the soap is a dud then not much i can do with that.

However, perhaps i need to elaborate further...

It's not to say that certain soaps don't lather up quicker than others and some soaps are easier to dial in. So, I'm not talking about the process of lathering up a soap but more the end result of the lather.

Further, some ingredients do help the skin overall. I find lanolin definitely helps the skin, as does shea butter. Perhaps it doesn't make a difference in immediate post shave feel (the only soap to do this for me is MWF) but there are other benefits to additional skin conditioning ingredients.

The hype aspect is what i don't like. The latest and greatest soap coming out and everyone must experience it to believe it.... i don't think so!

The scents and extra ingredients are bonuses and yes, very enjoyable but my point is simply that just about every soap will produce a lather that can get you to BBS. No hype needed!!

Edit: to be clear, I'm not referring to the offering discussed in this thread! I was replying to another members post.
 
Before I continue with the below I have a post shave "routine" which consists of Witch Hazel, After Shave Splash, After Shave Balm and Moisturiser.

So with all of the above mentioned products being utilised post shave I used to think that the post shave qualities of the soap itself was all BS and that it made no difference how the soap left my skin providing that I used some sort of quality post shave product. I have recently being paying a lot of attention to how my face feels directly after shaving and how the post shave qualities of the soap affect my overall skin condition. Now I would have to admit that I was definitely wrong in my above assumption. If the soap has ample amounts of ingredients that directly affect the condition of your skin after the shave it plays a very large part in your skin condition.

Upon further consideration it makes a great deal of sense as well. After shave products generally do not contain the skin nourishing ingredients that the soap itself can provide. Ingredients such as various butters, oils and lanolin are generally not included in post shave products. The majority of butters and some oils that are used to produce shaving soap are very high in a number of ingredients that are readily absorbed by the skin and have a great many properties that contribute towards skin healing, moisturising and conditioning. When you take in to account how long the soap is on your skin and consider how much opportunity the skin has to absorb the beneficial elements contained in the soap it is easy to see how this can have a dramatic affect on post shave skin feel. For someone like myself who face lathers and consistently completes a three pass shave the soap would have to be in contact with my skin for somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes which is a significant length of time. Comparatively it is easy to understand how poorly formulated soaps, soaps that use a high concentration of oils such as coconut oil for example (without a suitable quantity of oils to negate the negative properties of the coconut oil) or soaps that do not contain significant enough quantities of items that are skin beneficial are either not going to provide the same level of post shave skin feel as a soap that is rich with skin beneficial ingredients or are going to leave your skin feeling dry and undernourished.

Just my personal thoughts and perhaps some food for thought for others as well.

As a disclaimer and just to be clear. I am not saying that soaps that are high in coconut oil etc. are necessarily bad here. I am saying that if you put a high concentration of oils that are not beneficial for skin in a soap and do not properly balance that out with oils that are beneficial you will generally get a soap that does not have as good face feel.
 
Not to derail this thread further... But i never said nor implied that nice skin conditioning ingredients don't have an impact.

I'm referring to the fact that nearly any soap that lathers up can give a wonderful, close and comfy shave (just look at the hoards of mdc and arko fans!).
I agree that the coconut oil should be countered as i found mdc drying.

I'm also pointing out the hype in today's soap market and the excessively subjective ratings scales used in reviews.
 
Given the positive reception to this release, it's probably rather slack of me not to have more overtly posted the notes in the fragrance design.

Here they are folks :)

Australians All Fragrance Composition

Top Notes include: Mint, Sweet Orange, Lime, Guava
Heart Notes include : Lemon Myrtle, Eucalyptus & Lavender
Base Notes include: Vanilla, Musk & Amber
 
Now that it has been a few weeks and people have had a chance to really give everything a proper run, how is everyone finding the soap and scent combo...feedback is always welcomed :)
 
Xmas awaits!
 
I love it.
I've even used the splash on a couple of no-shave days.
 
Some quick comments as I’m just waiting on little UKSteve to come out of school. First go this morning. The Orange took me by surprise, which it shouldn’t have, it’s there in Black and White it’s in there but I didn’t think it would be so prominent. Quite a bright citrus opening, the slight menthol helps with delivering that brightness. There’s something in there I don’t recognise which I’m going to assume is Guava through the middle, it’s not something seen a great deal in the Yorkshire Moors.
I’m about 6 hours in and at the minute I’m getting the odd waft of quite sweet powdery musky vanilla.
 
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I’m going to have another go on this tomorrow with some Guerlain Les Delices De Bain Shower Gel And deodorant which has a lovely delicate orange blossom, Almond, Vanilla Musk guerlinade type Accord going on.
 
I am sorry I cannot allocate some of the scents... actually I don't find it too citrusy ,It's barely, that got ridden by some kind of plants scent, which is refreshing but not identifiable. I have yet to find a APR scent I don't like, so it is great for finishing a sahve, but not sure it the soap would hit me. I am quite naive in most scents styles in wet shaving, like, say, I never have used a bay rum soap.... . The Australian alls would be an scent to carry all day, bur not sure for shaving it is complex and powerful too much for an early morning shave. anyway, it is not the most surprising scent of APR, so far I am surprised of general ledger, :)
 
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