Wednesday, July 24, 2024: 1st Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club Shave

• Preshave: Proraso Green Preshave
• Brush: Semogue C3 Galahad Horse 🐎
• Razor: Thiers-Issard 188 7/8 ‘Coq et Renard’
• Lather: Abbate y La Mantia Don José
• Postshave: Naissance 702 Witch Hazel
• Postshave: Floid The Genuine
• Postshave: Nivea After Shave Balm

It looks like I get to open the 1st Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club Shave! I did a midday shave.

First impression upon opening the sample: The banana is strong in this one. Second impression: A memory of one of the greatest films of all times hit me: Banana Joe! No way that this isn’t a homage to Bud Spencer, the original Don José!

I don’t know whether Bud Spencer is known in the US of A, and whether youngsters such as @DaveWave94@sub.wetshaving.social know who he is, but he was big in the 80s and 90s, and he was the preferred actor of my Latin teacher – which came as a surprise to us, but really shouldn’t have: there definitely is a Herculean energy in him.

Concerning the shave: I confirmed that AYLM soaps, even in this base, don’t do very well with the water we have here, and require approximately 50-100% more volume of soap per shave than the Zingari soap I used yesterday. Otherwise, good results. My head has not swollen yet, and while I feel a slight tickling on my skin, no serious reaction seems underway. I’ll probably live another day. Will I place an order for Don José? Unlikely.

Anyways, have a good day, and enjoy your BVWSC shave!

~Shared via emacs & sotd.el~

July 24, 2024 – BVWSC First Shave

• Brush: Wild West Brushworks Blue Space 26mm Cashmere

• Razor: Ralf Aust 5/8 Stainless Full Hollow Spanish Point

• Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Don Josè - Soap

• Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner

• Aftershave: Wholly Kaw - Hiatus - Aftershave

• Fragrance: Creed - Aventus

• Talc: Yardley Classic
   
  2 passes. Bowl lather. Excellent shave.

Today was the first group shave of the Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club.

AYLM Don Josè was a great way to start things off. I had zero problems with the lather. I put about a 1/4 teaspon (1ml) in a bowl, heavily loaded a damp brush, and built my lather on the face; adding water there. I found the lather to be creamy and very slick.

And I like the banana and coconut scent. I found that the sweetness of this combination was toned down in a way that made me think more of a rum drink than a dessert. As such, Hiatus, with its leaning towards a Piña Colada, matched perfectly. Since Hiatus carries the coconut, but adds pineapple, I used Aventus with its pineapple note for the fragrance. Don Josè has menthol in it, and while I would have preferred that it wasn’t there, I did not find it objectionable.

This was another trial run with a stainless steel razor. Again, excellent shave. I find no fault with stainless. I prefer larger razors, though, and might not want to spend all of August using a 5/8.

July 24, 2024 - Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club

• Brush: Zenith 508A XL/Bristle (B35) (MOAR BOAR) 31mm
• Razor: MMOC Gen 2
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (3)
• Lather: Abbate y la Mantia – Don Josè
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Ice Blue - Aftershave

Some people love the scent of banana. I can’t say that I do.

I’m glad I read a couple of posts about this soap before using it, letting me know to load it like I hate it. I spread a very large amount of soap into my loading bowl, and it was just barely enough. It’s a very flat lather. Not a grower, nor a shower. I don’t think I gave it too much water, but I also sort of, somehow, didn’t give it enough, maybe?

Oh, did I mention I also don’t enjoy menthol? I found the menthol to be stronger than light, but not painfully so. Still, it’s not for me.

Still, I’m glad I had the chance to try it thanks to the BVWSC. If you want to participate in the next event, hurry on over.

Inaugural Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club Shave

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Foundry 26mm Declaration Grooming B16 Badger Knot
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [11]
• Lather: Abbate y La Mantia - Don Josè - Soap
• Post Shave: Zingari Man/Rirana Perfume - Coconut Nanas - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Agua Fresca - Eau de Toilette

It’s been a while since I’ve used Don Josè, but the banana and coconut in this scent are excellent. I had forgotten the strength of the menthol in this one. It’s not overpowering, but it’s got a chill to it.

Today was my first use of the Foundry B16 brush. I need a couple more uses on this one, but it feels like it will be a great knot. It took a bit longer to dial in the lather, and it was low-structured and slick. The MM24 gave a flawless shave as usual.

Going from banana and coconut to pineapple and coconut with Coconut Nana’s proved to be a great transition, and Agua Fresca nicely concluded the Summer themed shave.

I’m looking forward to the next BVSC shave.

Banantastic first meeting of the Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club: 🍌 + 🥥 + 🧊

• Brush: Zenith 506B MB (27 mm × 55 mm Manchurian badger)
• Razor: Fatip - Lo Storto - Testa Dentata
• Blade: Derby Extra
• Lather: Abbate y la Mantia – Don Josè
• Post Shave: Ralon – Sport
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

Today is the first meeting of the club, and we chose Don Josè, the delicious Banana & Coconut soap of Abbate Y La Mantia.

A few years ago, I bought a complete sample set of Abbate Y La Mantia’s offering of the time (this was before the hard soaps, the Babylon series and even before Fufluns. Vulcano and Don Josè were my favourites and I splurged on a trickhole of Don Josè. One fun aspect of AYLM sets is that they come with a comically large 200ml cologne bottle, but a regular sized 100 ml splash.

Don Josè’s banana plays the main role here, with coconut adding only support. It’s a really easy scent to enjoy. Delicious, fresh, simple. The soft base isn’t very popular around here, but I believe it’s just because it’s different from the typical American artisan base in that you need to load a lot more soap. When you do, you get sopping wet, glistening, slick, and – in this case – refreshing mentholated lather. I’m curious to see how the fellow BVWSC members will like it.

Now I’m off back to the beach 🏖

7/24/24

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks w/ C&H V19 Fanchurian
• Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 472 6/8, Full Hollow Square Point
• Lather: Abbate y La Mantia - Don Josè
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Kryptonite Aftershave Splash

I ended up being super busy and didn’t have a chance for a shave until late. Even now I’m pressing it. I’ll be brief.

This was my first time with AYLM. I had a little trouble building my lather on my first pass. I think I under loaded. The chill was strong, but not too strong. The scent was better than I was anticpating. Not overpowering or, in a way, synthetic(?) smelling, like candies. It was pleasant and fits summer well. This could be a good scent for hitting a summer BBQ.

My second pass I loaded more and had better results. Primary and residual slickness were there. Nothing that wow’d me, necessarily, but nothing to complain about. If I wasn’t in a rush, I’m sure I could have gotten more out of it. Luckily, I have enough to try again.

My Splash pairing was less about scent pairing and more about vibe. It was just great summer scents all around. The scents did pair nicely, but that’s just coincidence!

Overall, good shave. I wish I hadn’t been in a hurry.

24.07.2024 Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club, First Edition: AYLM Don José 🍌🧊

• Prep: head wash
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb MMOC
• Blade: Personna GEM
• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
• Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Don José
• Post Shave: Thayer’s Original toner; HAGS Apocalypse ASB

So finally, the time has come for the first edition of our BVWSC shave!

This was a 2-pass head shave with a fresh blade loaded into a MMOC. I chose today’s razor since it’s a community favourite and it was also a gift from @djundjila@wetshaving.social ✌🏻

Don José: AYLMs soaps are often praised, despite getting very few usages in comparison to the largely dominant US-based artisans in the wetshaving hobby. Since I was intrigued how they’ll perform for me, I was really looking forward to this shave. Much thanks to @sahenders@wetshaving.social for providing a generous sample!

On the first sniff, the soap has a rather understated scent: coconut, pencil shavings and menthol is what I get. Wait, pencil shavings?! No offense meant, as I genuinely like the smell of that. But I guess these are the woody notes that AYLM lists in their description. Some tropical, fruity notes in the background that could be the bananas…

Upon lathering the soap, it continues to be a rather mild scent - the banana actually comes out with more water added to the mix, but the coconut stays dominant. As for scent strength though, it stays on the mild side. Perhaps a 5/10, which is not at all bad per se.

Notable thing to mention: we got very soft water in my region of Germany and this soap needs to be loaded a bit longer than your typical american artisan shaving soap. It took a bit longer than usual for me to build a nice slick lather, especially since I have a bit more surface to cover as a head shaver. I still got enough soap left for at least one, if not two more uses.

An MMOC with a fresh GEM PTFE blade is not to be underestimated, but I can report that the soap performed very well in regards to cushion and slickness. The shave was comfortable, the razor glided excellent and provided enough slickness for some cleanup after two passes were done (I need to mention, as a head shaver this is crucial since you’re doing about 50% of your shaving blind for the back of your head & neck and only find the spots you’ve missed by feel).

Unfortunately, even on the second pass the banana wasn’t quite as prominent as I had hoped for. But I need to mention that I stored the sample from sahenders in its original paper wrapping and only in my bathroom cabinet. It was also there for a prolonged period of time, so I’m not going to judge the soap negatively on the minimal scent. What could definitely be felt was the menthol though, and this was a very refreshing head shave. In terms of cooling strength, it is definitely more noticeable than Moon’s Union (low amount of menthol) but not as fierce as the high menthol Stirling Glacial soap I used to own. It’s not a burning sensation at all, but I advise those of you who are not fans of menthol to be careful…

Final verdict: my first impression of Don José is that it’s a nice shaving soap for summer, albeit not very strong in scent. The banana is a bit overshadowed by the coconut and menthol. It takes longer to load and lather up, but once you’ve done that, you’ll be rewarded with a rock solid performance and good glide. If I had to rate it, I’d give it a 6.5 out of 10 based on this first impression alone. I rarely use gourmand scents, so I’d not get a full tub of it - but it has made me curious about other AYLM soaps, especially since european artisans are often overlooked. Thanks for having me on the first edition of hopefully many BVWSC shaves!