Razor: Rex Envoy
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge Yellows
Brush: Spiffo! 24mm Two Band Badger
Soap: The Club Vida
Aftershave: The Club Vida
Other: Mont Blanc Starwalker
One of my favourite wet shaving groups to hang out in is the Lather & Blade group on Facebook. There is a good blend of newbs, veterans, Canadians, artisans and more. At least once a week there is a live train where a bunch of folks take turns doing live shaves. It can go on for hours. Then there are the occasional chats and live rooms that open up. I really enjoy the group and there is always some fun and good-natured ribbing to be had. I’m lucky enough to have made a few great friends there. In honour of the group, Peter from A&E/The Shaving Shop worked on a group soap (I believe with some scent assistance from SoSharpDavid). Vida is the end result.
The scent of Vida is very different from what I would expect from Peter. I find Peter tends to gravitate to the bold, in-your-face scents with rich notes, the big compliment pullers. Vida is a big departure from that. That isn’t a bad thing. I tend to like those scents too but my den gets pretty full of that scent profile. That tends to leave my options a bit light for the warmer weather. I was surprised by the scent on this but it was something my shave den sorely needed. Scent notes on this are Lime, Agave, Tomato Leaf, Carnation, Pink Pepper, Tobacco Leaf, Hedione, Birch Tar, Guaiac Wood and Texas Cedarwood. To my nose, this has a sharp Lime punch over a woodsy cedar base. There is a touch of floral and spice in there but lime and cedar are for sure stars of the show. Scent strength on this is also medium and while it will carry for a while, given the type of scent, it isn’t going to be a heavy hitter in that department. I can say this is a really nice blend that is not offensive to any senses and would work for any occasion. A perfect versatile scent for any season, but in particular for the warmer months.
This release was done in the Kaizen 2e base (Kaizen 2 base with emu oil). Kaizen has gotten a lot of love from the community but I was in the vast minority preferring the pre-Kaizen base. I found it much easier to lather and while not as luxurious of a lather as Kaizen, it performed just as well for me. This Kaizen 2 base has me re-thinking that. I have found K2e just as easy to lather as pre-Kaizen and feels so much better on the skin. I also had a bad run of luck with skin irritation using the Kaizen base but so far I haven’t had issues with the K2 offerings I’ve tried. That bodes well because Peter makes some bangers for scents. The splash on this one is on the thicker side. I’ve had that on a couple of occasions. I don’t know if that is intentional or just a combo of ingredients and scents. It still performs and smells great.
Given the fact that this scent wasn’t going to have huge longevity, I decided to pair this up with Mont Blanc Starwalker. While not a match, I found it did compliment very well giving a real relaxing vibe. A perfect end to a fantastic shave… even if I got around to posting a day late 😉
All for now – J
