Adding More Catie's Bubbles:

Well so far the only Catie's Bubbles soap puck that I have has been a huge hit. I ordered "knee high to a grape" scented shaving soap and it's simply amazing. So based on the performance and post shave quality that this particular brand of shaving soap has, I have decided to add 6 more scents to my shave cave. The scent of this particular soap is mind blowing. When the "knee high to a grape" scented soap arrived, I didn't need to open the priority mail envelope to smell it. In fact i could smell it right through the package. The soap is extremely easy to use and the lather is extremely slick. The cushioning ability is great too, but I have use a little bit more caution than I normally do with other soaps which is the only reason as to why it's not my top performing soap. Tiki Bar's soaps have it beat in the cushioning ability and they're tied with Soap Commander in that department. The post shave feel and performance is what keeps Soap Commander on top. Soap Commander is a vegan based soap that has the feel and performance of a tallow based soap such as Barrister & Mann's soaps which have a much higher price point that keeps them from being my top brand of shave soaps.

Savile Row Brushes Ruled Out:

It's a very hard and disappointing decision that I had to make, but unfortunately it had to be made. Due to budget reasons, I have decided not to purchase any Savile Row badger brushes. They simply are too expensive for my budget. Yes I've placed huge orders at various suppliers for shaving soaps and aftershaves but when a single item such as a brush trumps the costs of one of my orders, I have to rule it out. Most of the soap that I've ordered in the past year is still in use to this day. In fact some of them look like I've barely touched them nearly a year after purchasing some of them and that's with daily use over a period of several weeks. How long will a Savile Row brush last is anybody's guess. But I have purchased some very expensive brushes before and about 2 weeks later, they would have to be tossed. I've had them fall apart on me and I've also had some to just simply break after 2 uses. My Omega 10049 Boar hair brush has outlasted many of expensive brushes and this particular brush was only $10 dollars so what does that tell you. You don't need to spend a lot of money on a brush.

Vision Becomes Top Soap:

I now have a new choice in top performing shave soap and aftershave balm and that's Soap Commander's "Vision" which is a Shea butter enriched mentholated shave soap with peppermint essential oils and it's fantastic. Between the peppermint oil and the menthol, the chill is epic and very soothing. The lather it produced didn't collapse either and had more than enough slickness to it. I also had more than enough protection during the shave which is typical of Soap Commander's shaving products. You never have to worry about getting nicks, cuts, or weepers when using any of Soap Commander's shaving products and the matching aftershave balm was mind blowing. The soothing chill I got from Vision pretty much lasted all day and it was phenominal to say the least.

Adding More Soap Commander:

Here recently I decided to do a Soap Commander binge and try out all of their scent profiles in the form of samples. This morning's shave was day 8 of 12 and the scents that I've tried are incredible. I also have a new top choice of both shaving soap and aftershave balm which has yet to be touched in both performance and post shave feel. My new top choice of shave soap will be revealed in another post. But as I've tried new scent profiles and have added them to my shopping cart on Soap Commander's website, I've had to stop because my next order is going to be $174 U.S. Dollars. I should have 7 of the 12 scent profiles that's currently offered on Soap Commander's website.

Shaving Scuttle Results:

As many people know, I recently purchased a shaving scuttle from Straight Razor Designs. I only have one regret and that is I wish I had purchased it sooner rather than later. My shave this morning was epic. It was the smoothest shave I have ever had since I've been wet shaving which say a lot. Not only did the scuttle do what it was advertised to do and keep my lather warm, my lather actually got hot between passes. It was like my beard had been slowly melted off and it was also a true B.B.S. Now my specific scuttle is not suitable for bowl lathering which is fine because as I've grown more experienced in wet shaving, I find that I get better shaves when I face lather and it takes me less time to clean up as well. This particular scuttle fits my Omega 10049 boar hair brush perfectly. The capacity that this particular scuttle has is nearly the same size as my Omega 10049 boar brush is tall, so using smaller brushes to bowl lather is also out. But this shaving scuttle is awesome and will now be used on a daily basis. So far, the only soap that I've used with this scuttle has been, Soap Commander's shaving soaps and what was already epic, got even better. I still have others to try and I'm looking forward to trying with these other brands of soaps. Tiki Bar's soaps will be epic:

Adding New Scents to the Den:

Well over the last 2 days, I have been on a Soap Commander binge trying out samples of shave soap and I now have a new top soap choice. It's called "Vision" which is a peppermint and mentholated shave soap and it's beyond belief. For a while there, I thought nothing was going to be able to top their "Purpose" scented soaps which is a bay rum scented soap and it smells like you just opened a bottle of white rum which is incredible. Endurance is also incredible and still gets used a lot as well. So while I try these other samples I got, I've been working on my wish list to help keep track of the ones that I like. Vision, Motivation and Courage scented soaps and aftershaves have beed added.

Hot Lather is in:

One of the best parts of a barbershop shave is the hot lather used. Now there's 2 ways to get hot lather. The first way is to go back to the canned shaving foam or canned goo as I like to call it, and purchase a Conair hot lather machine. I can tell you from experience that it does make a huge difference in the canned shaving foam's performance. Unfortunately I can also tell you from experience that over time, this machine will quit heating to the point to where you're wasting your time. After about 2 years worth of service, my machine gave out back when I was using canned goo on a regular basis. The other way to get hot lather is to have a shave scuttle. I recently placed an order for one at a supplier that I use and it has shipped. Basically it's a double boiler that heats up your lather and will give one of the best shaves you will ever have in your life. So wether you face or bowl lather, this device will help.