Village Baber Aftershave Balm

Normally I will use upall of the product before I start my review but to do that with this productwould take far too long. Also Iain (owner and Village Barber and producer ofthe balm) asked me to review this product and I didn’t want to keep him waitingforever. In total I have used the aftershave balm for over a month everyday.

When I was asked toreview this product I agreed happily as on most of the forums this product getsvery good mentions and recommendations. First things first I generally do “judgea book by its cover” and the Village Barber Shaving Balm is packed very nicely.The bottle itself is a 125m/5 fl oz plastic, squeezable bottle, which isimportant as the balm is quite thick. The bottle is an attractive cobalt bluecolour similar to the Bristol/Bath glassware with a gold screw to cap alsoplastic. My main hang-ups are with the presentation of the packaging, whichreally shouldn’t matter if the product is good but we can all buy cheep stuffthat does the job and don’t mind how it is packaged but traditional shaving,for me, is about luxury. As you will read I really like this product and Ithink the quality packaging should reflect the quality of product.

Anyway down to whatreally matters! This is a very thick velvety balm and you really do not needtoo much to do the job. I use enough to cover the tip of my middle fingerspread over the hand then apply to my face with a small amount of pressure.When the balm touches my face I feel instant a cooling/calming effect on thepost shave areas. Even though the balm is very thick it is easy to apply andspreads well leaving a non-greasy layer on the skin, which is quickly absorbed.Within a few seconds my face feels smooth hydrated, and irritation free. Now, Ihave problem skin and can get spots very easily and using a thick balm got meworried that I would develop spots as my pores clogged but this did not happen.In fact my skin has looked healthier in the short time I have been using it andI even use it a general moisturiser for the rest of my face.

The scent – thisunfortunately is my other hang-up about this balm as I’m really not sure whatthe scent is meant to be. I have to say right from the start that it is a nicescent and one I have come to enjoy but I am confused as to what it the dominantscent. I get mixtures of juniper, citrus (lemon and lime), and woody scentwhich I think is sandalwood. There were mixed results on the “other half test”with my wife saying that she also was unable to identify on dominant scent andgenerally found the scent present. For those who have read my reviews of otherproducts you will know I really like woody scents and I am coming around tocitrus as well but this balm is trying to be both and given the quality of thebalm itself I’m not sure it needs to be. It might be best for this balm toeither warm woody scented with sandalwood, cedar, and/or pine or citrus withlemon, sweet orange or lime.

Iain Kane, owner ofthe Village Barber products, gives what I thought is a very brave guarantee ofa full refund and keep the product if you do not feel a difference after thefirst shave. Having used this product I can see why he gives this guarantee.Although I do have some issues with the packaging and scent the quality of thisbalm is unquestionable and can easily compete with other well-known products onthe market. One of the selling points form me is knowing that this productcomes from small producer with an extensive experience in the field and usesthe product in his own barber shop. I 100% recommend this balm and willcontinue to use it daily.

Scent Hydration Cooling/calming Presentation Overall

3½/5 5/5 5/5 4/5 17½/20

Edwin Jagger DE89 Razor

Not so long ago I decided to try the DE89 after several recommendations by fellow traditional shavers who love this razor. To cut (no pun intended) a long story short I’m glad I did.

The Edwin Jagger DE89 is a very attractive razor with its near perfect mirror like plating finish. I have the all chrome plain handle but they do a lined version as well. You would think the all chrome handle would become slippery but it doesn’t. Around the top of the handle there is engraved “Edwin Jagger” in subtle understated lettering. The handle trappers into an attractive neck, which screws onto the two pieces head. As with a Merkur 34C HD I reviewed the guide bars are slightly grooved.

This is a three piece razor meaning that the handle, base plate, and top plate are all separate. I my opinion this is both positive and negative. Being a three piece means it is easy to strip down for cleaning in all the little hard to get at areas and packs nice and neatly into a bag or box for travel. The down side is it can be a little fiddly compared to a TTO (twist/turn to open) or a two piece (like the Merkur 34C HD) to put back together or insert a blade. To insert a blade in the DE89 you place it over the underside of the top plate where you have a long threaded centre pin and two shorter holding pins. You then place the base plate over this and the handle screws onto the threaded centre pin holding it all together. Once assembled the components fit together like you would expect a German razor to. The blade is held level and central with equal amounts of blade visible on each side.

The shave was very good and smooth. I normally do a three pass shave; with the grain, across the grain, and against the grain. With my normal method this razor gives beautiful results and a BSS finish (this is dependent also on the blade used and cream/soap). Even when I use it for a quite shave if I’m running late in the morning (with the grain and against the grain) the finish is very good. The razor is not aggressive and there is next to no clogging even with the thicker creams I have used.

Overall this is an amazing DE razor offering much more than I expected for the price. I would fully recommend this to any beginner to traditional shaving and also to the more experienced of us. There are very few, if any negative points to this razor and it is now part of my regular rotation.

Appearance Ease of use The shave Overall

4½/5 4/5 5/5 13½/15

Nanny’s Silly Soap Company – Lime Softer Formula Soap

Another review of a shaving soap by the Nanny’s Silly Soap Company. This time I have tried a sample of their Lime softer formula shaving soap. Now I’m not sure if their previous Lime soap was a hard soap but this softer formula was the same consistency as the other soaps I have tried from Nanny’s, that is to say somewhere between a soap and a cream, which I love!

The scent from this soap was, unsurprisingly, Lime but not a harsh make your nose sting scent but a sweet scent of Lime. It still had the fresh clean scent you expect from a citrus based soap. It fared well in the “other half test” again my wife proving she likes the citrus scent over a woody scent.

Unlike the other two soaps I have reviewed from the Nanny’s Silly Soap Company this one was less easy to lather needing quite a bit more hydration than the other two to get the luxurious lather I’m used to. Not sure if this is due to the “soft formula” preparation. The same almond sized amount still produced a sufficient amount of lather for three passes.

The shave this soap gave was up to the high standard set by the previous two soaps. The lather gave good cushioning and again left my face feeling hydrated. The only thing that did surprise me about the soap was the reduced amount of slickness left on my face between passes. Normally after the first and second passes, when I wet my face I am left with slickness but not with this soap. Saying that I did not have any skin irritation or feel any excess friction on the blade during my shave.

Overall again this is another very good soap from Nanny’s Silly Soap Company with a fresh clean scent. Like the Citrus Zinger soap I think it is a summer soap given its scent but you could do a lot worse during the winter months!

Scent Lather Hydration Overall

4½/5 3/5 4½/5 12/15

Nanny’s Silly Soap Company – Citrus Zinger

If you have read my other blogs you will know that I like woody scents but someone said to me to try a citrus scented shaving soap for a change. So I have acquired some samples and this is the first one I am reviewing.

The soap itself again is a soft almost cream textured soap which I love. This makes it easy to scoop out an almond sized amount to use.

When I opened the bag I was hit by strong citrus scent that reminded me of Lemon Fanta and took me back to hot summer holidays (this summer it’s all I can do to dream of hot weather!). I’m not sure that is what Sharon of Nanny's Silly Soap Company was going for when blending this soap but I like it. Reading the information on the website it also has sweet orange and nutmeg but I think the predominant scent is of lemon from the lemon grass. The scent was a winner with the “other half test” as my wife really liked the clean fresh scent

As with my review of their Forest of Norway soap this soap lathers up really well using a bowel and brush method, making enough for three passes. Again the lather was think, luxurious, and stable. It gave great cushioning for my shave and left my face feeling hydrated. The only criticism I have and it’s not a biggie, I would have liked more zing and maybe removing the nutmeg may do this.

Overall another great soap from Nanny’s Silly Soaps. I love the scent and the lather it produces. I would recommend this soap for summer months given its cool fresh scent.

Scent Lather Hydration Overall

4½/5 4/5 4½/5 13/15

Proraso “Red Tube” Sandalwood and Shea Butter

I was quite excited to give this new shaving cream from the famous Proraso a try. This cream comes from their new format for 2012, which is Paraben free, Silicone free, and SLS free. As I’ve stated before I love woody scents to my shaving creams and I have used the “Green Tube” Proraso for sometime and enjoyed it. The ascetics of the packaging are spot on. I find that all the Proraso range is packaged very nicely and looks traditional and eye catching.

So far so good but how was the scent? Not good I’m afraid, not good at all! If there is Sandalwood in there I cannot smell it, in fact I cannot identify was scent the cream is. To me it smelt a little like detergent, not a pleasant soap smell like you get with a Palmolive shave stick but a slightly odd smell. The cream also failed the “other half test” as my wife was not impressed.

Ok scent is one thing but how did it lather? Ok really. Using about an almond sized amount in my bowel and using a Tubby 2 shaving brush the cream whipped up into a decent lather, enough for 3 passes. Not the best quality I’ve never had but a good amount that remained stable in the bowel. The lather covered my face well but I did find some larger bubbles than with other creams I have tried and even than the “Green Tube” Proraso.

During my shave the cream offered decent cushioning and my face felt hydrated afterwards but not as much as I have got from other creams and even not as much as the “Green Tube” Proraso range.

Overall I’m really not sure what Proraso have done to this cream for it not to come up to the standard set by their other products. I feel a little let down by this cream, as I was expecting big things given ingredients used and the other products in the range. Would I use it again or recommend it? No, I’ll stick to the “Green Tube” in the future.

Scent Lather Hydration Overall

1/5 3/5 2½/5 6½/15

The Bluebeards Revenge Shaving Cream

I have been traditional DE shaving for some time now and have stuck with the “traditional” creams and soaps. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered and tried the new shaving cream from The Bluebeards Revenge range.  Aesthetically the packaging the pot comes in is very attractive with is “skull and cross bones” (Jolly Roger) motif, unique text font and blue box.

The range is advertised and marketed with the unique selling point that it reduces beard growth due to an addition of Decelerine™, which means less shaving and therefore better for the skin. Personally I do not know or understand the science behind this and I have no idea if any independent research has gone into its development. I used the whole 100ml pot (as I do with all the products I test) and may have noticed a small reduction in beard growth. Was this an actual reduction or was I just because I was looking for it so I found it, to be 100% honest I have no idea.

Leaving the beard reduction aside how did the cream match up to other shaving cream products on the market that I have tried? Well let’s see. The cream itself is quite dense, which allows for either direct application to the brush or a quick scoop with a finger. I personally favored the direct brush application for this cream, gently dabbing and swirling my brush in the cream until all the tips of the brush were covered then bowel lathering. It was great to see how quickly this cream lathered up to a rich smooth lather with minimal bubbles. Once I applied the cream to my face it felt as good as it looked. It gave good coverage and was stable on the face with no dripping or slippage. During the shave the cream gave good amounts of cushioning and slickness allowing for a comfortable shave. The cream retained the moisture well also the warmth from the brush and bowel. My face felt hydrated but not as much as other creams I have tried. I easily got three passes from the lather made in the bowel, which I would estimate came from about an almond size amount of cream.

The scent reminded me of trips to the barbers when I was young, as it has that old barber shop smell. There were also some mild woody undertones to the scent but I could not distinguish what they were. With “the other half test” (asking my wife to smell it) this cream came out very well and my wife loved that scent it gave.

Overall if you consider this cream as just a shaving cream and leave aside the bread growth reduction then it is a very nice easy to use cream that could compete well with more established creams already on the market. For me the bread growth reduction element it what puts me off. I come from a medical background and I’m not too happy with things interfering with my normal body processes unless I understand the way it works. I also have too much hair loss on the top of my head so I don’t want to loose it from my face as well. Above all I love to shave and something that reduces the amount of shaving I do does not appeal to me. I would use this cream again and it could become a regular for me if the added ingredient of Decelerine™ was removed.

Scent Lather Hydration Overall

4/5 5/5 3½/5 12½/15