Review of Prairie Creations KISS Cream

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Some time ago I bought some KISS Cream from Prairie Creations, and while I use it only infrequently it is not because it’s a substandard product. On the contrary it’s a very nice cream, but I ordered it with tea tree oil for those days my face needs that.

The KISS cream is simple and straightforward… just as it says on the label. And while it can be somewhat hard to get out of the jar, Krissy sent a spoon along with the jar to help dish it out.

The cream is not tallow-based but the main ingredient is aloe vera juice, so there is plenty of skincare to be had – even more so when combined with the tea tree oil, which is claimed to have antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties.

Being a rather stiff cream – or possible croap – it can be a little tricky to lather, and in my experience it’s best done in a bowl. It also needs a little more water than you might expect, but once the lather is done it’s working well. Plenty of slip and cushion, and as mentioned the skin care is very nice too. It also stays fluffy – I had to leave my den once to see what the cat was up to, and the lather was just as good when I returned.

Overall I can recommend the KISS cream – it’s simple and straightforward.

PS: Some people online reports a bit of trouble shopping with Prairie Creations; that is the near opposite of my experience. Yes, it can take a bit of time from you order until it’s shipped – but it’s artisan soap, not a big company. It’s worth the wait.

Shave of the day 09 September

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Teatree Soap
Lather: Prairie Creation’s KISS Teatree Cream
Brush: Turkish No6
Razors: Cadets TP-01 Open Comb and TTO-13 Twist To Open, both with a fresh Green Astra
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Review of Derby Lavender Shave Cream

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Another of those previously unknown to me products from webshops in the far corners of the world… Derby Lavender Shave Cream at least is from a slightly more familiar brand – if by familiar you mean “have heard of before”. It is somewhat easier to find than the Dalan Cream I talked about previously, hence somewhat easier to find reviews online… but the two products are rather similar.

Overall the Derby makes an average lather, perhaps a bit above. It performs better than my glycerine soaps, but less so than my tallow pucks. It has a distinct lavender scent to it, and although it fades quickly it should last you for a three pass shave.

Decent slip and cushion, and okay as far as moisturising goes. Like most creams it’s really easy to whip up copious amounts of lather, and it don’t collapse between passes either. It’s a thirsty cream though, so for once the solution to any lather issues is to add more water, not more cream.

Overall a good choice if you want a cream and don’t want to spend too much – something for the traveller on a budget perhaps, or for your back-up den?

Shave of the day 4th September

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid LavenderSoap
Lather: Derby Lavender Cream
Brush: Vie Long 14033
Razors: Merkur (?) Bakelite Slant and Merkur 45C Bakelite, both with a Derby blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Review of Dalan d’Men Energetic Shave Cream

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One of the wonderful aspects of viewing traditional shaving as a hobby is that I have no trouble picking up previously unknown products from webshops in the far corners of the world… Dalan d’Men Energetic Shave Cream is one of those. It’s a not much spoken off online, but most of what is said is good.

Overall it makes an average lather, perhaps a bit above. It performs better than my glycerine soaps, but less so than my tallow pucks. It has a hint of menthol, but don’t bite – unlike my more heavily mentholated soaps.

Decent slip and cushion, and pretty okay as far as moisturising goes. Like most creams it’s really easy to whip up copious amounts of lather, and it don’t collapse between passes either. It can leave a little bit of residue, but a good rinse fixes that.

Overall a good choice if you want a cream and don’t want to spend too much – something for the traveller on a budget perhaps, or for your back-up den?

Shave of the day 2nd September

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Teatree Soap
Lather: Dalan d’Men Energetic Cream
Brush: Semogue 2012 LE
Razors: Merkur (?) Bakelite Slant and Merkur 45C Bakelite, both with a Derby blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Shave of the day 30th August

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Teatree Soap
Lather: Col Conk’s Bay Rum
Brush: Vie Long 14033
Razors: Merkur (?) Bakelite Slant and Merkur 45C Bakelite, both with a Derby blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Review of Col Conk’s Bay Rum shaving soap

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About a year ago I did a quick review of Col Conk’s Bay Rum soap, so I figured it was time to revisit it in light of what I learned since.

Col Conk Bay Rum is a decent enough glycerin based soap – which means it’ll leave my skin feeling dry after a shave. I did read up on the soap before buying, and there are some glowing reviews of it online… but in hindsight I feel it might be more rightly classed as a middle-of-the-road shaving soap and not a great one. It’ll gives a good shave and the scent is pretty good too – while not on the level of Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum – but other aspects are middling to bad. It is also quite subtle and far from overpowering, which is a Good Thing™.

The lather from Col Conk has decent slip, but the cushion could be better in my opinion. And the moisturizing properties simply are not there – a good aftershave or face balm is a must after using the Colonel. The lather also breaks down quicker than tallow based lather, even more so if you use the brush vigorously… my common approach to all problems with lather – add more product – goes some way  in alleviating the issue though.

The official black oak bowl I got mine in also leeches colour into the lather, leaving me with a gray and less appetizing lather… purely cosmetic, but somewhat distracting. Col Conk’s is very lather-able for me, although I do have soft water. If you got hard water it’s likely to be a case of YMMV… at least if reports online is to be believed.

Being a glycerine based soap the puck also wears faster than tallow – so even if the soap is cheaper than most it’ll wear thin quickly; some shavers online report getting a month of shaves from one puck.

Speaking of reports online – if you put the online reviews Google will find for you on a timeline, you’ll find that the most raving ones is the older, while the, ahem,  less glamorous ones are newer. there might be two explanations for this:
– They have changed the formulation, creating an inferior product.
– More and better soaps have emerged, many of which are from artisans.

Don’t get me wrong – Col Conk isn’t bad for a cheap glycerin soap… it’s just that cheap glycerin soaps are bad compared to tallow soaps in general, and compared to artisan tallow soaps in particular. But if you’re in the marked for a glycerin soap, a puck of Col Conk might be just the thing.

Shave of the day 28th August

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Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Peppermint Soap
Lather: Lea shave stick
Brush: Omega 50014 travel boar brush
Razors: Merkur 985CL open comb travel razor with a fresh Lord Platinum blade
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Sort of on the go, so shaving from the GoBag.

Quick review of the Omega 50014 travel brush

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I’ve mentioned my Omega 50014 before, but now that I used it a bit more I feel I can expand a bit on my first impressions of this travel brush.

Now that it’s properly broken in it’s gotten to be very soft, almost silky on the tips. It still retains more than enough backbone to get the lather down into my stubble, but I feel myself halfway wishing it had a tad more scritch… just a tad though. It’s wonderful for whipping up lather on my face, and works just as well in a bowl of that’s your preference while traveling – personally I tend to use a bowl at home and facelather while on the Go, but YMMV and all that; the brush works well both ways.

I do like the fact that you for all practical purposes can choose to have a small or a large handle with this brush; it adds to the flexibility and utility, and should be a boon for those who sometimes suffers from sore and stiff fingers.

The downside of this as a travel brush is that it takes a while to dry – something it shares with all non-synthetic brushes. This means that for me it’s a brush to use while going somewhere for staying in one spot… not for when I travel on the Go and don’t always know where (or if) I’ll get to shave the next morning. It does mean I keep two travel brushes on hand, but it’s a very small price to pay for what I get in return; a bit of luxury away from home.

Bottom line? If you like boar, need a travel brush and can live with a brush you have to let dry for a bit… go get a Omega 50014 – it’s well worth the rather reasonable price asked.