Thread: More Bomb Praise

I recently ordered a couple of new tubs of The Bomb from Alraz. My initial praise is all about scent, as I haven't shaved with them yet. I assume the performance will be on par with my previous experiences. But the scents are the focus of this post. I have been thrilled with the scent and performance of my 100% P. racemosa bay rum Bomb, and there were a couple of additional "flavors" I just had to have. One is ProBomb, a Proraso-type scent made with EO instead of fragrance oil. It smells very close to Proraso, but slightly more addictive as the heady camphor/eucalyptus really jumps out of the tub. I keep opening it just to take a whiff. Really nice.

But the other scent is the one I'm really excited about. It's a cedar/vetiver blend. My favorite cologne in the world is L'Occitane Vetyver, which has a nice, woodsy vetiver middle and a huge cedar note in the base. It is rich and earthy and robust, but lacking some of the smokiness that I love in certain vetiver oils. Nevertheless, a hearty and vetiver-focused cologne. My favorite bath soap is Whole Foods store brand organic cedar vetiver soap. It is a lighter scent, cedarwood just edged out by vetiver in strength in their particular blend. It has a faint whiff of something smoky, and is somehow bright and earthy at the same time. These are the two benchmarks I had in mind when I asked Al to create a cedar-vetiver Bomb for me. I told him I wanted to be able to pick up both cedar and vetiver in the smell, but that vetiver should be the main attraction. This is not an easy task, as vetiver oil is potent stuff, and getting the balance right without overwhelming the cedar might verge on impossible. For an ordinary soapmaker, that is. But Al went above and beyond for me and did the near-impossible. The cedar/vetiver Bomb is explosively woodsy, rooty and dark. It reminds me of some very smoky-dirty-rooty vetiver oil I have, an acquired taste much like Islay Scotch in that once you love it, there's nothing that satisfies quite so well. The cedar is clearly there, supporting the woody aspect of the vetiver, and adding its own touch of creamy sweetness. This cream bears resemblance to both the cologne I love, though it is earthier, and to the bath soap I mentioned, though it is tilted toward vetiver a bit more and darker, as I wanted. It will serve as a great bridge between the two in my morning routine or on its own. Just superb. Without extensive guidelines, Al has made something that suits my tastes perfectly. Well done.

I have yet to shave with either, but I look forward to seeing how the scents work during the shave and to checking out the cooling effect from the ProBomb. I'll report back when I have used them.

One last note: In addition to working with me on scent, Al checked for my preference regarding the density of the creams, and he tailored them to my specifications. He also included an aftershave sample and a sample of a different scented cream. In short, Al's customer service is impeccable, among the best I've ever encountered, and I couldn't be happier with this purchase. Buy from Al with confidence.

Regards,
T