Thread: Declaration Grooming - Icarus Base

Very promising response from the owner of the company. Sounds like he is willing to stand behind his product.
They are on my radar for a future purchase. Thanks for starting this thread. Ken

I've always found Scott a great guy to do business with-I've bought soaps and brushes from him, and he's always been very helpful.

I agree with all the comments on the excellent performance of the Icarus base.

It's different than the DG Bison base in that the lather is more 'structured'. This is a term of art I learned from watching a video interview that Will from Barrister's made. He said the use of fats that are solid at room temperature-which Icarus does-will create a more 'structured' lather than a base that uses fats that are liquid at room temperature-as the DG Bison base does, and thus produces a more 'unstructured' lather. This is similar to the Barrister Glissant base-a more structured lather vs. the Reserve base-a more 'unstructured' lather.

As far as the scent, I can see Scott's point. The first iteration of the Icarus base was in the Santal Auster, a collaboration with Chatillon Lux. Shawn used very expensive sandalwood oil in that, and it was an expensive soap. Some reported a 'funky' smell of the base that came through, although I never experienced that with the one I got.

The first 'new' Icarus base I tried was the Sweet Lemon, and that, to my nose anyway, is a very strong scent, one of the strongest in my den. In comparison, the Shore is more muted, and Contemplation even more so. I'm going to use them more often to see if the scent increases as the soap is used.

Still unimpressed with the scent aspect of the Icarus base soaps. I did see that there is a Limited Edition now being sold in this base which is a collaboration betwen Chatillon Lux & Declaration Grooming.

Vide Poche Shaving Soap - Icarus Base - 4oz - Limited Edition

Scent notes: honeysuckle, freesia, lavender, orange, bergamot and amber

I had to place an order as I would love to find a scent I enjoy as the performance is that good! Will report when it arrives.

The postman delivered two Declaration Grooming soaps in this afternoon's mail. The first was the Icarus base Contemplation scent. The second was the Bison tallow TSM Fougere.

When I first opened the Contemplation, there was a slight funky scent, but not enough to be problematic. The overall scent was rather light, so I placed the opened jar in a sealed plastic bag for 1/2 hour to concentrate the scent.

The TSM Fougere has a nice complex Fougere scent. This is no surprise as the scent was developed in collaboration with Chatillon Lux.

I had a nice shave early in the morning using PDP 63, but I wanted to see what the Icarus base was all about. I soaked my SOC two-band badger for a few minutes, shook out the excess water and whipped up a very nice lather in short order. Although the lather appeared to be quite slick and seemed to form a protective layer, I felt the blade on my face far more than I expected considering appearance of the lather. Since it had been only 11 hours since my previous shave, it is quite possible that my skin had not recovered. Thus, I will wait 24 hours and try again tomorrow afternoon before judging the shave performance of the soap.

When I first rinsed off the lather, I did not think the face feel was going to be very good, but the experience changed once all of the water had evaporated from my skin. The face feel is different that any other product I have used. At this time, I cannot say the postshave is better than other soaps, only different. As I gain more experience with the soap, I can make better comparisons with some other top soaps.

I tried to compare the Contemplation scent to about 30 soaps in my den. The closest comparison was CRSW Puro Fresco. However, the CRSW scent was more prominent. I am hoping the Contemplation scent will strengthen as I work my way deeper deeper into the tub.

The second closest scent to my nose was CRSW Colonia Mediterrania which is supposed to be an ADP type scent. Oleo Soapworks Shiloh is also inspired by the cologne, but it was not as good a match to the Contemplation scent.

DG Icarus Contemplation definitely appears to be a great soap, but I need a lot more more data to say whether it exceeds other soaps like Wholly Kaw, Oleo Soapworks, CRSW, Barrister and Mann, and even DG Bison Tallow. More to come.

Originally Posted by Robini

Below is a response from Scott Stewart, Owner | Declaration Grooming

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Hey Richard -

You're the first person to mention a light scent on any of the new soaps, so that is interesting. They have cured for a few weeks (to let the animalic scent of the base air out) and I suspect that the scent is currently light due to some sublimation from the outside of the puck as a result.

I would suspect, but not guarantee, that as you work past the outside of the puck the scent strength will increase accordingly.

If this is an unacceptable guess on my part then just let me know how you would like to proceed.

Thanks,

Scott Stewart
Owner | Declaration Grooming
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I can't imagine his response. The light scent seems to be a common complaint from other forums and on Facebook.

I think Scott's response is realistic. When we smell a soap directly from the jar, what we are primarily smelling is the top notes as they are the most volatile components of the aroma. All hot processed soaps have to cure after they are poured to allow excess moisture to evaporate and also allow any residual hydroxide to react with the fatty acids. In this curing process, many of the volatile components of the scent also evaporate. Most of that evaporation will occur from the top surface of the puck. Thus, when a soap is first opened, the scent we detect will be missing a portion of the top notes that are present in the soap. After several shaves with the soap, we go deeper into the puck and should start to smell the true scent. I have noted this with a number of soaps,not just this one.

I recently purchased a puck of WSP Olympus, which is supposed to be inspired by the scent of Creed Aventus. When I first opened the tin, I could hardly detect any scent at all. However, after several shaves, I finally began to smell the wonderful aroma of pineapple and other scent notesfrom the cologne scent. I wish it were stronger, but it is a nice scent.

Due to complaints about animal funkiness in the Icarus soaps, it seems Scott is allowing the soaps to cure longer than normal. Thus, you might need to go a little deeper than normal into the puck to find the true scent. You could always scrape off the top layer of the puck, but why waste an excellent soap? Unless the scent is reformulated to make it stronger, Contemplation will always be considered a lightly scented soap, but I expect the scent will strengthen as I continue to use it.

I'll be looking forward to your review of DG's Vide Poche Rich... Nice work!.. Scott W

Update on Icarus Contemplation vs Bison TSM Fougere.

On my first shave with the Icarus, I was unimpressed both with the scent and with the lather. On my second shave, I got further down into the puck and got improved scent and improved performance. Today, I shaved the third time with the soap and got significantly improved scent and excellent performance from the lather. Slickness, residual slickness, cushion, and post shave feel were all excellent. I loaded my brush about 30 seconds, but generated enough lather for four passes, so I do not need quite that much soap.

Yesterday, I shaved with the TSM Fougere with the bison base. Unlike the Icarus, I easily loaded my brush in about 15 seconds and then as I added water, the soap exploded into mounds of luxurious lather. I probably could have gotten five passes from the lather it generated, so I will cut back to 10 seconds load time the next time I use it. Lathering was easy, performance was excellent and scent was amazing.

At this point, I would say that I prefer the bison base by a slight margin, but after another few shaves with the Icarus to dial in the lather, I might find it has the edge. Either way, the performance of both soaps is excellent.

I certainly prefer the scent of the TSM Fougere to the Contemplation. Part of that is the residual funkiness in the Icarus base. That is apparent when opening the jar, but is not noticeable when lathering. Perhaps that will dissapate over time.

I am waiting for reviews of the Icarus Vide Poche developed in conjunction with Chatillon Lux. I am glad they decided to release the scent notes on that new soap as I was not at all sure I would like the Contemplation scent when I ordered it.

First shave the other night with DG Icarus Base Sweet Lemon.
Very good performance.
Easy to produce a slick, stable lather.
Scent strength is medium. As opinions of scents are so subjective. FWIW I liked the scent. But it didn't "Wow" me.
Got some other samples from Maggards. The optimum way to experiment with new soaps IMHO.
Will post up my thoughts on the others.
The more soaps I try. The more I appreciate Obies Tier thread.
I lather in the shadow of giants. Ken

I received the Vide Poche soap. The scent is very pleasing to me. I got no of the animal funkiness that I'm getting off of the Contemplation and Shore. Scent strength is a 4-5 and doesn't stick around long. I still feel the Contemplation and Shore are both a 1 if not close to unscented.

For me, I see no reason to keep trying to "make" the Shore and Contemplation work. Great performers but, for me, seriously lacking in the scent department.

I want to purchase the AS in the Vide Poche and await it becoming available again.

In closing, the Icarus base is a fantastic performer and I look forward to more scents being released.