Monsta_AU
...can I interest you in some vintage blades?
Staff member
Forum Administrator
Grand Society
Well a big thanks to @MrT for organising the Soap Commander Group Buy, and also to Darren at Soap Commander for giving us some serious discounts on his products.
I met up with MrT yesterday since he was in the city and had a quick chat. I think we might need to organise a Sydney meetup soon as the numbers seem to be increasing steadily.
So this is a review based on initial receipt and shave only of the Vision soap. I will likely add more thoughts as I use it.
Initial thoughts
Well, I must say that the tubs this soap come in just scream quality. A solid black, textured polypropylene tub with a large capacity. There is a particular feel to them that I couldn't put my finger on initially but eventually worked it out. They are double-walled! There seems to be a very good diameter for loading, the opening would be about 8-9cm which is bigger than most tubs of cream at the 3" mark (~7.5cm). The lid seems to provide a good seal, and the texturing of the plastic helps with grip for opening it.
The soap was generously filled, actually quite a bit higher than expected. At our group buy costs, this is very good value for money. The soap appears quite hard, and the scent seems reasonable, certainly not overly strong. This is often the case with a harder soap.
Speaking of scent, my initial whiffs of it was a little concerning. It's marketed as 'Aqua, Amber & Mint' however my first sniff was all mint, however it was not a sharp toothpaste mint smell - it was indeed much softer. I had to inhale much deeper and longer to find the remaining scent. As Mint is a much more volatile molecule it performs a top note function and as such it can be a bit overpowering. There is certainly an underlying Amber note with some layering of 'other stuff' however it was quite hard to discern these over the mint.
Initial Shave
Tools: Fatboy, Vintage Wilkinson Sword Blade (2), Plisson L'occitane Synthetic, Alum.
Normal preparation - shower with face scrub followed by L'Oreal Hydra Sensitive Cleanser.
Ran some hot water through the synth, didn't shake it out too vigorously. Started to work on the soap but definitely needed more water in order to lift off a crema. A few drops of water added to the surface and it started to go but it needed yet more water until I was happy with what I had loaded in the brush. Definitely a harder soap and I would recommend treating it as per MWF before shaving (few drops of hot water on top before jumping in the shower to soften it up a bit).
Wet face with hottest water I could stand and started face lathering with the brush icking up the water on my face. Lather was particularly thirsty and I needed to dip twice on the initial lathering. Worked it into my face for about 4 minutes and the lather felt like it was drying out a bit however I proceeded with the first pass (WTG).
Slickness is there however I can tell it needs more water. Glide was decent though and cushion was great. Blade had plenty of lubrication and there was no tugging or skipping at all. It feels like the speed is being held back by the lack of slickness but I don't mind being told to slow down. I did nick myself of an existing bump, so no harm no foul there. Scent was a little more muted on the mint side letting the Amber notes come out some more. I also detected some generalised fruit sweetness but nothing too overpowering. It's definitely more a summer scent which I am starting to move away from in Sydney with the change of seasons & temps.
Lathered up again, adding a significant amount of water this time. Start feeling a little watery so started pushing the Plisson into doing what it does best - making a beautiful microlather out of a sudsy mess. You can tell this pass will be slicker. Went to it with my Semi-XTG/XTG pass and this one is much improved. Glide definitely better however it is at the expense of the cushioning effect.
Rinsed off and checked out my skin. Felt reasonably good, wouldn't say moisturised but certainly not dried out by the soap which is at least a pass in my book. Applied the Alum to help soothe the nick and that was that. Did put a few drops on top and screwed up the lid so hoping that like MWF it will soften a little with use.
Now a few hours later, skin actually feels rather good - shave was pretty much as good as it gets for me. Not a whole lot of scent on me - at least I cannot smell it. But this is a decent performing soap, and one I will be continuing to use over the next couple of weeks until I get a handle on it, and then will have a go at the Courage which is definitely more a winter scent.
I met up with MrT yesterday since he was in the city and had a quick chat. I think we might need to organise a Sydney meetup soon as the numbers seem to be increasing steadily.
So this is a review based on initial receipt and shave only of the Vision soap. I will likely add more thoughts as I use it.
Initial thoughts
Well, I must say that the tubs this soap come in just scream quality. A solid black, textured polypropylene tub with a large capacity. There is a particular feel to them that I couldn't put my finger on initially but eventually worked it out. They are double-walled! There seems to be a very good diameter for loading, the opening would be about 8-9cm which is bigger than most tubs of cream at the 3" mark (~7.5cm). The lid seems to provide a good seal, and the texturing of the plastic helps with grip for opening it.
The soap was generously filled, actually quite a bit higher than expected. At our group buy costs, this is very good value for money. The soap appears quite hard, and the scent seems reasonable, certainly not overly strong. This is often the case with a harder soap.
Speaking of scent, my initial whiffs of it was a little concerning. It's marketed as 'Aqua, Amber & Mint' however my first sniff was all mint, however it was not a sharp toothpaste mint smell - it was indeed much softer. I had to inhale much deeper and longer to find the remaining scent. As Mint is a much more volatile molecule it performs a top note function and as such it can be a bit overpowering. There is certainly an underlying Amber note with some layering of 'other stuff' however it was quite hard to discern these over the mint.
Initial Shave
Tools: Fatboy, Vintage Wilkinson Sword Blade (2), Plisson L'occitane Synthetic, Alum.
Normal preparation - shower with face scrub followed by L'Oreal Hydra Sensitive Cleanser.
Ran some hot water through the synth, didn't shake it out too vigorously. Started to work on the soap but definitely needed more water in order to lift off a crema. A few drops of water added to the surface and it started to go but it needed yet more water until I was happy with what I had loaded in the brush. Definitely a harder soap and I would recommend treating it as per MWF before shaving (few drops of hot water on top before jumping in the shower to soften it up a bit).
Wet face with hottest water I could stand and started face lathering with the brush icking up the water on my face. Lather was particularly thirsty and I needed to dip twice on the initial lathering. Worked it into my face for about 4 minutes and the lather felt like it was drying out a bit however I proceeded with the first pass (WTG).
Slickness is there however I can tell it needs more water. Glide was decent though and cushion was great. Blade had plenty of lubrication and there was no tugging or skipping at all. It feels like the speed is being held back by the lack of slickness but I don't mind being told to slow down. I did nick myself of an existing bump, so no harm no foul there. Scent was a little more muted on the mint side letting the Amber notes come out some more. I also detected some generalised fruit sweetness but nothing too overpowering. It's definitely more a summer scent which I am starting to move away from in Sydney with the change of seasons & temps.
Lathered up again, adding a significant amount of water this time. Start feeling a little watery so started pushing the Plisson into doing what it does best - making a beautiful microlather out of a sudsy mess. You can tell this pass will be slicker. Went to it with my Semi-XTG/XTG pass and this one is much improved. Glide definitely better however it is at the expense of the cushioning effect.
Rinsed off and checked out my skin. Felt reasonably good, wouldn't say moisturised but certainly not dried out by the soap which is at least a pass in my book. Applied the Alum to help soothe the nick and that was that. Did put a few drops on top and screwed up the lid so hoping that like MWF it will soften a little with use.
Now a few hours later, skin actually feels rather good - shave was pretty much as good as it gets for me. Not a whole lot of scent on me - at least I cannot smell it. But this is a decent performing soap, and one I will be continuing to use over the next couple of weeks until I get a handle on it, and then will have a go at the Courage which is definitely more a winter scent.
