Shave of the Day 2015

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This morning I've experienced a shave of a particular quality, something that put a smile on my face before I even drank my tea. After nearly 3 years sitting in my storage box, I've finally used my Gillette Parat for the first time. I purchased this razor back in 2012 for 13$, It was sold 'as is' and needed a few tweak to be functional again.

Razor: Gillette Rocket 'Parat'
Blade: Perma-Sharp Super Stainless
Cream: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Coconut
A.F: Aqua Velva Original Sport

Very smooth, it was almost like there was no blade loaded. A classic WTG/XTG/ATG for a genuine BSS shave with very little A.F sting.
 
Brush: Erskine butterscotch reknot (TGN 20mm finest)
Razor: Rocket HD
Blade: Feather (3)
Cream: Proraso Red
Aftershave: Speick

Continuing my exploration of mild razors and sharp blades. This started with a suggestion from @filobiblic and my positive experiences so far with the PJPF (@Pjotr Plastic Fantastic) and the Standard. Today it was the chance for a vintage razor to shine. Big thanks to @Mark1966 for the loan of the Rocket HD. Loaded with a Feather blade I thought I'd keep the playing field as level as possible by maintaining the Proraso Red lather.
Bottom Line: A decent shave but not on the same level of smoothness as either the Standard or the PJPF. Efficiency was better than the PJPF, but nowhere near the Standard. Needed to polish off with the Speick to medicate some of the minor infractions. Really enjoying my trails of mild razors with sharp blades, so far the Standard is the stand-out.
In the future I'm testing a Merkur #25 and be keen to also try a modern AS-D2 and vintage (40s) Tech. Apologies for the not so subtle hinting.
 
Razor: English knick knack
Blade: feather (2)
Brush: B&B boar
Cream: CF lavender
Post: proraso green splash

Stress free, smooth and feeling great. This Tito open razor is so easy to whip around quickly it's my go to when I have had s bit of a lie in.
 
eggbert said:
Can I hear you say mentholated?

Proraso pre shave cream
QCS iced lime
Polsiler SI on 6 (too lazy to get out of the shower and replace)
Omega 10005
Eclipse RR
Alcolado glacial

Not exactly sure what you are supposed to do with the pre shave cream but I wiped some on the face, soon realised that it doesn't lather up at all, so just left it there and went to town on the QCS.
QCS lathered nicely but I don't think it has the scent or menthol that nanny's ice and a slice does.
Nice shave, and the cold water on my face to rinse off was delightful. Just wish I had out the AG in the fridge to crank up the menthol a little but more.
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It's no wonder the scent was a bit down @eggbert. With the current duty of changing nappies in your house you are probably walking around with your nostrils blocked.
 
Firstly for @gthomas04 a SOTD pic that he can use since he seems to feel challenged by the constant photograpghs from others

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Now we have that out of the way ...

Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson
Razor: Barbasol 'Floating Head'
Blade: Personna Lab Blue - shave 2
Cream: PannaCrema Vetiver
Aftershave: Lucky Tiger

Thoughts in the other thread here - Barbasol 'Floating Head' Razor
 
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filobiblic said:
Don't think they (soap makers) will come to an agreement on labelling, so it's up to shavers. And shavers love the phrase - YMMV - so I don't think it's going to solidify into agreement anytime soon.

FWIW @Anthony of Shaver Heaven labels his tins as "soft soaps".
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I'm not asking/expecting that they'd come to an agreement etc but it just surprises me that a degree of whats basic common sense isn't applied by more of these manufacturers - now as I said, the really interesting thing to me is that they CLEARLY do it for a reason - and that reason is ONLY going to be one that benefits THEM, therefore connect the dots and the only assumption I can see is that again as stated, if you label a product as a soap it has a stronger attraction to consumers than if it was a cream. Which in itself I think is somewhat odd/curious.

'Your mileage may vary' was always used to indicate that the results/opinion of something is very personal and different users would likely see differently - but unsure how that applies to this as I'm talking about what they're selling their products as, not whether one prefers or gets best results from.

I mean lets not overly complicate things and IMHO it's a basic expectation that they label their products accurately to reflect what they ACTUALLY ARE. So for someone like Occams, credit to them as they label it as a CREAM! And it clearly is. Not that hard and by all reports a brilliant product.

I know a lot of buyers don't care but others have a strong preference for either true soaps or true creams and often they're sold without pictures etc of the product in question so it just complicates things unnecessarily.

Like I flagged from the get go - mountain out of a molehill stuff but I find the rationale behind why makers are doing this kinda curious.

PS. FWIW upon further inspection some of Shaverheavens stuff like their Berry one were very much a cream - whereas the majority now seems to be soaps - I figure this has to do with their ongoing formulation changes.
 
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Pjotr said:
Now that's just not very nice Mark. I'm sure @gthomas04 sent you that picture of himself in confidence. Ive never pictured him as a Neanderthal.
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and kind enough to share an image of the 2015 R41 prototype too.
 
Brush: Vintage butterscotch Simpson
Razor: Barbasol 'Floating Head'
Blade: Personna Lab Blue - shave 3
Cream: PannaCrema Vetiver
Aftershave: Floid

I came, I saw, I conquered - or did I? The Floid revealed the full story, I may have been a little cocky using it today rather than the Lucky Tiger. What do you think of the Lucky Tiger BTW @stillshunter ?

For more details check out the review thread here - Barbasol 'Floating Head' Razor
 
Brush: L'Occitane (Plisson) Synthetic - FIRST RUN
Razor: Fatboy (7)
Blade: La brune française Wilkinsons (Made in England) (7?)
Cream: Proraso Green
Aftershave: zip, nada, none

Amazing shave with an amazing lather. That Plisson is a very good brush. Hopefully we can pull another load out of the US for members as this is a group buy that would make sense (even with a freight forwarder) due to the ridiculous local pricing.

I think this is the 7th sahve with the Wilkinson, can't remember. Still going strong since NYD.
 
Monsta_AU said:
That Plisson is a very good brush. Hopefully we can pull another load out of the US for members as this is a group buy that would make sense (even with a freight forwarder) due to the ridiculous local pricing.
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Far be it for me to poohbar yourself on proposed GB's however they're still selling locally for $AUD40 - find another $60 worth of stuff for free post or pay $10 extra - you have it in a few days).

Alternatively a groupbuy from the US see's them at $USD30 each (a store the size of L'Occitane isn't going to unit discount unless we're buying BIG units) - thats ~$AUD37 - tack on AP's minimum parcel charge of $7.20 and you're getting close to that $50 without the freight forwarder costs, currency exchange rorting, additional waiting time, hassle etc.

Point taken at $100 via AU but at current price point seems otherwise - hence anyone interested should snag one before the local ones revert to $100 each via the 'Oz Tax'.
 
Where can I get them locally for 50AU$ shipped - would order straight away for that price after reading all your praise...

On topic: first shave with Gillette Super Thins - get the jib done, but nothing to write home about. Not even sure if I give them the benefit of a 2nd shave...
 
alfredus said:
Where can I get them locally for 50AU$ shipped - would order straight away for that price after reading all your praise...

On topic: first shave with Gillette Super Thins - get the jib done, but nothing to write home about. Not even sure if I give them the benefit of a 2nd shave...
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Here you go my friend, $10 postage unless you find a few extra things to get over $100 (which I'd say is doubtful)

Yes, the Super Thins are exactly as you stated - decidedly ordinary, IIRC I actually found them a tad worse than this but at the lower end of the blade spectrum to be sure.
 
Nick the Knife said:
Here you go my friend, $10 postage unless you find a few extra things to get over $100 (which I'd say is doubtful)

Yes, the Super Thins are exactly as you stated - decidedly ordinary, IIRC I actually found them a tad worse than this but at the lower end of the blade spectrum to be sure.
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Thanks a lot! Just ordered...will have to wait for me for another month, but I guess it will make coming home a bit easier.
 
Nick the Knife said:
Far be it for me to poohbar yourself on proposed GB's however they're still selling locally for $AUD40 - find another $60 worth of stuff for free post or pay $10 extra - you have it in a few days).

Point taken at $100 via AU but at current price point seems otherwise - hence anyone interested should snag one before the local ones revert to $100 each via the 'Oz Tax'.
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I thought they were at $100 as previously advised.

$40 people, go out there and buy them out of the things!
 
Monsta_AU said:
I thought they were at $100 as previously advised.

$40 people, go out there and buy them out of the things!
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If you go into the L'occitane store to buy, have a good look at all the brushes on offer. There are actually 2 kinds (and most of the sales-assistants don't know that). The original brush has only the word "Plisson" on it. It has a bit more backbone and is ever-slightly more dense. Not noticeable unless you have both on hand so it doesn't really matter if you get either. But I'm just telling you the options FWIW.
(I'm currently in Melbourne and a few of the L'Occitane stores still have both types.)
 
Brush: Mens-U Synthetic
Razor: 30C - Maiden Voyage
Blade: 5 shave old feather
Cream: Proraso Red
Aftershave: Trumpers Skin food extract of limes

Really liked the Skin food, super keen to try the sandal wood!

The 3OC is a lot more aggressive then my old Tech Ball End. Will see how it goes.

Now I got a trumpers sample pack, some occams, speik & la toje.

What should I try next?
 
  • Merkur 37c
  • Franken-latrecentlyf Mike's Lime and some Godrej Menthol Mist
  • Permasharp (3)
  • Plisson syth
Stinking hot here so went for a cold water shave as @alfredus recommended recently. Worked a treat despite the Godrej doing nothing for the lather, waste of good Mike's actually. 37c, PSS, Plisson all held up their ends of the deal. Good shave and will stick with cold water shaves till it cools, great tip!
 
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