Thread: The Holy Black

Has anyone used "The Holy Black" products? I found them while stumbling around the interwebs. They seem to be "small batch" productions and their scents seem to be familiar twists on some favorites like "sandalwood smoke" and "gunpowder spice."

For awhile they had supply issues and were not shipping and leaving customers in the lurch. Whether that has changed I do not know. Caveat Emptor

That doesn't sound promising unfortunately..

I am to receive a generous sample pack from them... it will be a while, since we're far apart. I will report back.

The package is in and it sure smells great. I tried a bit of the oil on my hand and seemed quite fine. They say it's multi purpose, so to start with I'll use it as preshave. So...Proper review will follow, after I've had my male grooming session tonight. [emoji111]

I can't wait to see how it turns out!

https://instagram.com/p/8ZNlnzxqqG/

https://instagram.com/p/8acqV4xqom/

That's for a very brief overview. I am very pleased with the oil and the aftershave. The Mrs thought the scent was good, but too strong. Actually that is very true... I shaved last night, put a bit on (just like 3-4 drops), went to bed, woke up washed my face and now its 3:30pm the next day and I can still smell it on my skin.

I should say, I got this package in a giveaway and it was meant to be a lot smaller.
https://instagram.com/p/5sSLScxqtE/

Instead they've sent me 2 pucks of soap, 2 soap samples, 4 aftershave samples and a good amount of snake oil (wasnt even meant to be part of the GAW), enough to shave for a year. I guess that is because of the shipping/handling trouble a few have mentioned here. I too waited probably 2 or 3 weeks before they sent the package out. I inquired, they were prompt in responding and apologized, said they were very sorry and that they will include "a little" something extra.

I do still need to give you guys a better review.. and I will, as soon as I find a bit of time. Generally, all but the soap feels top quality. I can see the snake oil and one of the aftershaves (or all of thrm, we'll see) being my go-to stuff.

The soap is good too, but it's not amazing and it's comparable to a lot of glycerin based, hard soaps (such as Mama Bear's) The smell is fantastic though. Absolutely one of the best, for me. Sadly, I don't know what this soap is (the one I tried last night), but hopefully they'll tell me. It's definitely worth the try and I will give it another go.. I admit, I used a crap brush last night and then when I put my badger to it today, the difference was obvious and immediate. Didnt try it today because I was still BBS this morning, so will wait another day.

Sorry, I realize this is a bit vague at this point, but I will write again, promise! [emoji6]

One more closeup of the soap and my wonky handmade bowl, which is actually made that way exactly for this purpose [emoji12] [emoji482]


https://instagram.com/p/8aj-s-xqjx/

Put on some Whiskey lime aftershave yesterday. I do like lime scent in general, so out of the 4, this is my favorite scent and I find it fits really well with the whiskey. The thing about these aftershaves is though, they are so highly concentrated, that they stay on for a very long time (trust my Mrs on this one).

The hydratation is still superb, they seem to be mainly based on oils. When they are left on the shelf, the ingredients of different density separate inside the vial, so need a good shake before use. I would be curious to know if the full sized commercial product is thr same as the sample I received... in which case I would expect the bottle to say something like "Shake well before use". Obviously mine came without any instructions, so I experimented.

The soap label did come with instructions. It says to apply a small amount to a damp brush, add water and mix into a rich lather. I found that a small amount won't really work, the soap has to first be softened (I soaked the surface in water for a few minutes), then spent a minute or two loading the brush. Mixing it then was easy peasy and gradually adding water worked really well. Provided good cushion and slickness for the razor.