Thread: The Gentlemen's Quarter - Free Samples

Good Morning

JP5 thank you for posting pics. I see the "Desert Ironwood" met with a little mishap during shipping! Ya know I have a customer who says he always grates his soap and then presses it into whatever container he's using. Just a thought.

Alrighty.... one more thought before I head out to the other job.

I'm gonna be a little quiet ( yes, I can actually do that lol) over the next day or two, but I'll be checking the thread and messages in case anyone has a question, and hey, just ask! I promise I have a answer I want you to have time to use your samples for a few days, a week, ten days, etc. Please take your time.....no hurry.

I believe all will have received their samples by today or tomorrow, and our one international, I hope will have his in the next 5 days or so.

Now it is true, that I feel like this is my "You only get one chance to make a first impression", so your opinions, photographs, thoughts and/or suggestions are super important to me. So after you've had time to experiment a bit, shave for a couple of weeks, whatever you feel comfortable with in your overall impressions. I do hope that you'll post here on the thread.

I appreciate you lending your handsome face

Originally Posted by churley

Good Morning

JP5 thank you for posting pics. I see the "Desert Ironwood" met with a little mishap during shipping! Ya know I have a customer who says he always grates his soap and then presses it into whatever container he's using. Just a thought.

No, it arrived fine. I just broke a piece off with my fingers to save time and put in my rice bowl for lathering.

Originally Posted by JP5

No, it arrived fine. I just broke a piece off with my fingers to save time and put in my rice bowl for lathering.

.......LOL

Bay Rum

Originally Posted by JP5

Bay Rum

ohhh, that's just beautiful JP5, I'd say you whipped up the perfect bowl of cream!

Originally Posted by churley

.......if you have hard water, these won't lather unless use distilled water, or your water is treated. If you have soft, to medium hard water.....they'll lather like a dream.

I am one of those with hard water. I am working on ways to make my samples work - e.g. a sprinkle of citric acid in my water or use more soap. I will next use the recommended distilled water to experience this great soap. However, I am just unwilling to go to that much trouble on a regular basis. So, this soap base is likely not for me. But you warned us, Colleen.

I do have to report that Gentlemen's Oak & Moss is one of the finest scents that I've experienced in a soap in a long time. At first whiff, you get mild citrus. But I just keep smelling it and getting more and more depth. Really lovely!

Thanks for the samples.

Originally Posted by MrHouston

I am one of those with hard water. I am working on ways to make my samples work - e.g. a sprinkle of citric acid in my water or use more soap. I will next use the recommended distilled water to experience this great soap. However, I am just unwilling to go to that much trouble on a regular basis. So, this soap base is likely not for me. But you warned us, Colleen.

I do have to report that Gentlemen's Oak & Moss is one of the finest scents that I've experienced in a soap in a long time. At first whiff, you get mild citrus. But I just keep smelling it and getting more and more depth. Really lovely!

Thanks for the samples.

Good Morning

Yes, tis true.....if you have hard water then the "Original" formula won't really work, because it is a true natural soap. Hard water requires a detergent and/or chelators to counteract the minerals, the original formula has neither. Distilled water will solve that problem, but I do understand that's a bit of hassle. HOWEVER......and y'all will learn that is one of my absolute favorite words lol.

I do have a "Hard Water" formula in the works It's been tested by a few people and I've gotten really good feedback so far, but OCD person that I am, I feel like it needs a few tweaks before actual production. So Mr. Houston.....about the middle of July, I'll be making another request for testers here on SRP. Maybe I could put your name down on my list to try the formula, in exchange for feedback ??

I was really happy to hear that you liked the "Gentlemen's Oak & Moss". It really is a beautiful custom blend, men love it....and women love to smell it. It's what I call a "win, win"

Well international shipping came through today! It took every fiber of my being to not chew in the lavender bar it smelled so good. Follow up pics and reviews as I shave and play with the samples. Thanks for your generous samples and excellent service!

I'll apologize upfront for the delay in getting this review on here. It's been a tremendously draining couple of weeks both at work and home.

First the scents:
I'm not one that can eloquently describe all the subtle aromas I'm getting on the soaps (any aroma for that matter). I will say that all are spot on and there wasn't a single one I did not thoroughly enjoy. I'll give what I feel is a strong, definitive description that was the first thing to pop into my head when I gave them a snort. Desert Ironwood is my favorite, but the other two are awesome (just a personal edge to the DI)

Desert Ironwood-just plain SEXY ! I would walk around in a bubble of this stuff if I could. I want a puck to put in my car. I would put a puck in the air ducts at home. I would use this as a laundry softener. I would buy the wife a "perfume" version of this stuff! The DI totally delights me. I just plain feel good from my head to my toes when this scent hits me. If I was a dog my hind leg would be doing 150mph.

Cavendish Black- MANLY. This reminds me of the old timers I use to talk to as a kid. I was a late kid-three older sisters that were all out of the house by the time I was 4; my parents were the age of everyone else's grandparents...so, I spent a lot time with my parents friends. CB takes me back to a carefree time spent gaining wisdom from my elders. Yes, I was very aware at a young age that the time I spent with my parent's friends in conversation was worth more than I could imagine. I was fortune to have parents that instilled in me from a young age the wealth of knowledge I could gain from my elders. It's a comfort thing with CB and me. Reminds me of a "better time".

Oak and Moss-REFRESHING. Maybe an odd choice of a description, but to me it reminds me of being up in the mountains on a beautiful afternoon with the sun and tempt just right for a soft flannel shirt and a fly rod in my hand. I live in San Diego county now, and I'm a mountain man at heart. For a scent to transport me to where I WANT to be vs where work has taken me is invaluable. This scent is a "daily driver" for me and a another "comfort" thing for me. It takes me to "better place" and state of mind; kind of like the total "ahhhhhh" I felt when I came home to visit my parents after I first moved out. I would be at total peace on those visits. OM does that for me.

Performance:
Colleen told me she had used a lot of wet shaver's input and trial/error to develop her formula. IT SHOWS. It took me a shave or two to dial it in (that's all on me...I'm in a "trying synthetics" phase and trying different know sizes, too! So, getting the lather I wanted was on me not the soap).
The cushion and glide/slickness I got provided one of the smoothest shaves I've had in over a year. Although I was playing with totally new types of brushes I did used a tried and true 6/8's that has become an extension of my hand. These soaps gave me the cushion and slickness that I've found with some of my favorite "go to soaps" (CF, WK). Post shave was more than hydrated and irritation free (for a baseline: normally I don't have a problem with post shave dryness or soap irritation).

When it's all said and done I have to give Colleen a "WELL DONE YOUNG LADY, WELL DONE!"

She has a customer that has already been signing her praises to a co-worker (a young man at work that I converted to wet shaving). I'll be ordering some of her soap during my next "soap run" (I've got a ton of samples that are probably going to last me the next 8-10 months).

Cheers and be safe everyone,
Jer