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Shave of the Day Thread - 2017

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No pre-shaving at all
merkur 42c with a feather #2
yaqi sagrada familia
APR Coeur de Vert soap
APR Coeur de Vert splash

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very happy with the shave, and with the new blades I got the other day :)
 
Brush: Muhle silver-tip badger
Blade: Lord Platinum (2) (@Monsta_AU I'm not sure if this was an upgrade or a downgrade from my Astra (15) :p)
Razor: EliteRazor handle/ Muhle R89 head
Bowl: Captains Choice Lather Bowl
Soap and Aftershave: APR - Coolabah

I just have a great 2 pass shave with Coolabah moments ago. First time using a splash too and now I'm tempted to pick up more.
Scent wise, very fruity and reminds me of a fruit salad. I would demand it be brought back, but I suspect this tub will last me for quite some time.
I thought I had under-loaded and nearly went back for more, but I still got enough lather for a 3 pass shave.

I did however freak out after applying the lather to my face. I got a mild tingling sensation and started thinking to myself, "Oh no, is it iritation? Maybe it's the fragrance? Will I react the same to my other APR soaps? I might need to let it air out a bit. Just wait and see if it gets worse... wait this has menthol, that's why!". It was a facepalm :facepalm: moment for sure.
 
Pre-shave: Shower
Razor: Rockwell 6S (4,4,2)
Blade: Personna Lab Blue (2)
Brush: Wolf Whiskers Black Wolf
Soap/Cream: B&M Leviathan
Post-Shave: Witch hazel, B&M Leviathan, TSW After Balm

Don’t you just love it when you use a bit of new kit and it performs well beyond your expectations.
 
Razor: Supply v2 (mild)
Blade: Schick ProLine (#3)
Brush: The Stray Whisker 452 synthetic (24mm)
Soap/Cream: Stirling - Iced Pineapple (Mentholated)
Aftershave: APR - Coolabah

I just shaved with the second of two soaps generously lent to me by @Kaeckerut; the first being WhollyKaw:Man From Mayfair from my last SOTD.

The Scent
It's an interesting scent. There is no question that this is pineapple. In fact, It a lovely rich, sweet and ripe scent. It's not complex by any stretch. But it smells like you just sliced open a fruit at its peak. It is literally delicious.

The Lather
It lathered easily. But... it was full of bubbles. I hate bubbles. Bubbles are often a sign of an impending bad shave...
I'm typically looking less for a foam (air) and more for a cream/yoghurt (water) consistency.
The WhollyKaw from a few days ago was a thick yoghurt - and brilliant. The Stirling was a foam. I just couldn't seem to improve it. It might have been my fault. But I never got it properly dialed in. I proceeded anyway... Potentially to my doom. :nailbiting:

The Shave
The shave went surprisingly well. Hair removal was efficient with little blade-irritation.
The menthol was front and center and actually plays quite nicely off the pineapple. It is refreshingly chilling. Not a great choice for Winter (unless you're into that kind of thing). But exceptional in our hot Summer.

Now the bad: For the second time in as many shaves, I think my skin reacted poorly. It *might* have been the menthol. But I get the feeling I was reacting to the pineapple. Or, at least that's what it felt like. I'm sure it's just using synthetic pineapple but, the feeling on my skin felt like my hands do after cutting fresh pineapple... raw and stingy.
As such, I limited myself to 2 passes and skipped my post-shave therapeutic re-lathering... I just couldn't handle it sitting on my face any longer.

The Result
The result was a surprisingly good shave. I don't hold it to the same standard as WhollyKaw. Yet, in spite of my criticisms about the quality of the lather and some irritation, I still got decent results.
The splotchy irritation subsided after an hour or two and all was well in the world again.

I followed up with APR's Coolabah splash which also has pineapple notes and seems to agree with my skin these days.
NOTE: The irritation arose before applying the splash. So I can rule it out as a cause.

The Verdict
I can see why people speak so highly of Stirling. It seems to be good value.

Will I buy it? No.
Why? Because, as good as it is, I don't classify it as a premium soap. And we have so many wonderful and locally available products, that I just don't think Stirling solves a problem that I have.
I am spoiled with my drawers full of APR, Squadron, Wolfpack, Washpool Farms, Whispers from the Woods, and even Occams... Not to mention the other local artisans showing great promise. And then there's my soft-spot for B&M and my as-yet unused puck of MWF... I could go on.
But while Stirling is quite respectable, it'll never be high enough on my list to ever become a purchase.
That is not of criticism of Stirling, but rather a ringing endorsement of how good we have it right now.

That said, I *would* consider buying WhollyKaw which is very much a top-tier soap.
 
Great review @lerenau . Weird that my two faves have given you irritation :(. The pineapple in 'Iced Pineapple' is a fragrance oil, so I don't think there is any real pineapple in it.

What I enjoy about Stirling is the variety of scents and knowing they come in a good value soap base. I get a good post-shave and for $3 US for a 1 oz sample puck it's hard to beat.

Also good pairing on the Coolabah (y).
 
Kaeckerut said:
Great review @lerenau . Weird that my two faves have given you irritation :(. The pineapple in 'Iced Pineapple' is a fragrance oil, so I don't think there is any real pineapple in it.

What I enjoy about Stirling is the variety of scents and knowing they come in a good value soap base. I get a good post-shave and for $3 US for a 1 oz sample puck it's hard to beat.

Also good pairing on the Coolabah (y).
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Yeah. I'm conflicted... I feel I should have had a better experience than what I did.
That said, through all my dramas, I still ended up with a good shave overall... So, it might just have been me and/or bad luck.
 


Pre: Valobra Glycerlanolina soap, Castle Forbes Pre-shave
Brush: Tony Forsyth P&C LE 2017
Cream: Occam's Crushed Lime
Razor: UFO Goliath / ATT S1
Blade: Vintage Gillette Spoiler (2)
Post: Myrsol Emulsion
EdC: Alvarez Gomez Barberia

Occam's cream is just so good. Don't need to load much, beautiful lime scent, very easy to lather up, and the best performing lather I have yet to experience from a shaving cream.
I eased off a bit on the pressure, and was rewarded with an absence of weepers. Three comfortable passes for a DFS+.
Love the Alvarez Gomez Barberia cologne scent. A burst of citrus and Mediterranean spice - just wish it lasted a wee bit longer.
 
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Razor: Vintage Gillette NEW head on TSW Bren handle
Blade: Vintage British made Wilkinson Sword 'Premium Chromium' (1)
Brush: Tony Forsyth P&C LE Platypus shaving brush
Soap/Cream: Le Pere Lucien Shave Soap
Aftershave: Pitralon Swiss Aftershave

I worked backwards in chosing this setup - wanted to play with the Pitralon again and am glad I did - great stuff :)

 
Date: 21 December 2017 "SOTM"

Pre: - Cold Water straight from the tap
Brush: - Yaqi Mysterious Space Tuxedo Synth. 26/57mm bulb knot
Lather: - Route 66 ~ Lavender Woods 4x
Bowl: - Captain's Choice
Razor: - Schöne Italian Open Comb
Blade: - Treet Platinum #3
Post: - Thayers Witch Hazel / Lucky Tiger Aftershave & Face Tonic
Fragrance: - L'eau D'issey Pour Homme
 
Mark1966 said:
Razor: Vintage Gillette NEW head on TSW Bren handle
Blade: Vintage British made Wilkinson Sword 'Premium Chromium' (1)
Brush: Tony Forsyth P&C LE Platypus shaving brush
Soap/Cream: Le Pere Lucien Shave Soap
Aftershave: Pitralon Swiss Aftershave

I worked backwards in chosing this setup - wanted to play with the Pitralon again and am glad I did - great stuff :)

Click to expand...
Lovely line-up, Agent 66.
 
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