WetShaving

April 16, 2025

• Brush: Stirling 24mm Synthetic
• Blade: Personna Twin Pivot Plus Refills, Atra (1)
• Lather: Areffa Soap - Phantom of Kyiv - Soap
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Original - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Goodfellow & Co. - Face Lotion - Kelp & Sea Mineral #N/A

I enjoyed trying this soap. The base was really easy and good. We used to have stores called The Christmas Tree Shop (I think they closed all of their stores within the past couple of years) and this acent reminded me of those stores. Definitely some pine, maybe some cinnamon (narrator note - there is no cinnamon scent note). Festive without being festive is how I'd describe it, if that makes sense. Quite nice!

Ukraine rules, Russia stinks.

April 16, 2025 - BVWSC

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks w/AP Shave Co 24mm Titanium Synthetic
• Razor: Geneva Cutlery Co. 11/16 Hollow Ground Round Point
• Lather: Areffa Soap - Phantom of Kyiv - Soap
• Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
• Talc: Yardley Gold
   
  2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

This was a Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club shave, and our soap today was Phantom of Kyiv by Areffa. Here are the scent notes:

Type of aroma: woody
Initial note: hazelnut, lemon, orange, lime
Heart note: cedar, clove, rose, lily of the valley
Final note: oak, pine, patchouli, eucalyptus

This is a very nice scent. The scent strength in the soap is mild, but I found that fine. I would agree with the description as woody. Overall, I get a dried cedar vibe from it, with the citrus notes adding a refreshing quality. I thought that 1889 for the splash, and Jicky for the fragrance, complemented well.

I found the lather to be excellent. It is beef tallow based with some oils added, and is completely luxurious. Low structure, and high density. Takes hydration beautifully.

So, yeah. Great shave today!

Thanks so much to @sahenders@sub.wetshaving.social for providing the smush. Your collection is terrific!

Wednesday, April 16, 2025: BVWSC

• Brush: Yaqi 24mm Synthetic Panda
• Razor: King C. Gillette DE Razor
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (34)
• Lather: Areffa Phantom of ~~Kiyv~~ Kyiv
• Postshave: Williams Aqua Velva
• Postshave: Nivea After Shave Balm

BVWSC time, this time with Areffa's Phantom of ~~Kiyv~~ Kyiv, brought to us by @sahenders@sub.wetshaving.social. Unfortunately, April is the cruelest month (with June) for my allergies and hayfever, so I am not really able to give an informed opinion about the scent. But the base was easy to lather, and very creamy – even though it was not bear, but rather beef based (I share the very slight disappointment with @snooting@sub.wetshaving.social 🤣).

Thanks again to @sahenders@sub.wetshaving.social for another excellent discovery!

~Shared via emacs & sotd.el~

Edit: Spelling of the Ukrainian capital.

Wed 16 Apr 2025 BVWSC and Moarteen

• Brush: Chisel and Hound – Ambrosia Maple with 26 mm synthetic Maggard knot
• Razor: Koraat – r/Wetshaving exclusive MoarTeen (15/16", full hollow, carbon steel)
• Lather: Areffa Soaps – Phantom of Kyiv
• Post Shave: D.R. Harris – Marlborough
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps – Valedictorian

The Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club meets again today, and @sahenders@sub.wetshaving.social has yet again found a nice soap of a soaper I've never heard of before. The Phantom of Kyiv is a woody base with citrus on top. Warm and fresh, without clashing. Very nice! The soap base lathers easily and is super creamy.

This is my second shave with the brand-new sub-exclusive Moarteen and it went great (see here for a write-up of my first impressions and some pictures). Instead of fanboying here, I'm trying to channel my inner @whosgotthepudding@sub.wetshaving.social and avoid rose-coloured glasses when judging Ulrik's edge. The background for those interested: Ulrik's honing technique is a bit shocking if you're used to multi-stone progressions, careful slurry dosage, and discussions about the minute differences between different hone materials. Ulrik sets the bevel on a diamond plate and then finishes the edge on a finisher with nothing in between (like @walden@sub.wetshaving.social, too). That's it. And he does it with blinding speed. But here's the deal: this edge is perfectly shave ready IMO, and on par with Brad Maggard's or Ralf Aust's in my experience. Is it the smoothest, sharpest phantom edge that melts through whiskers? No, but I've never seen that from a factory edge. I've only seen that after spending time on the hones myself, or with edges from @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social.

So, what do I mean when I call this shave-ready? I can shave with it comfortably, there is no pulling sensation, and I get this "wiping whiskers off your face" feeling. The shave is close, and there's no alcohol sting from the splash. I'm a happy camper 😅

I usually try factory edges ("artisan edge" sounds weird) for only one or two shaves and then put my own on new razors, just because I think my edges are smoother and keener than the typical factory edges, but I think I'll keep using this edge at least until all the Moarteen's have been delivered and I'm curious to hear opinions roll in from the community over the next few days. It'll be difficult to resist, though, because this razor has the itsiest bitsiest bevel, it's so narrow that it's barely visible, so I'm expecting that refreshing an edge on these is going to be unbelievably quick and easy. It reminds me of Brad Maggard getting all dreamy voiced when talking about honing new 14s 2 years ago.

Tldr: great shave, great soap from Ukraine. Слава Україні!

Have a great day, friends!