SOTD - May 22, 2018

Declaration Grooming

Shaving Product Review - Declaration Grooming "Try This Soap"


Value (Cost, Packaging and Performance)

Lather (Density, Glide and Feel)

Post-shave (Healing, Moisture and Feel)

Scent (Quality, Strength and Longevity)

Each bar has three metrics, each representing 33% of the total (11% = below-avg, 22% = avg, 33% = above-avg, except cost)


A collaboration between Declaration Grooming and TryThatSoap.com resulting in Try This Soap in a #soap and #aftershave combo.

Art and science are not mutually exclusive, and that is the basis for the first new release underneath the Declaration Grooming name. This collaboration with TryThatSoap.com is the result of this combination of inspiration and data. When researching the ratings of the scores of scents on the website, we noticed a trend of scents that were rated highly, yet too rarely used. So with this in mind, we set out to create a scent that gives you the scents you love but have trouble finding.

The result was a fruity scent with underlying exotic woods and spices. Taking these popular notes, we blended the accord so that the sweet, rich overtones of yuzu citrus and black currant are balanced out with oak, howood and teak wood, with the zest of black pepper and thyme giving it a punch that grabs attention in all the right ways. We are excited to present our newest collaboration, the smell of science: Try This Soap.

I've reviewed quite a bit of #declarationgrooming (formerly #landlgrooming) here (click those hashtags for all the reviews) so I won't be covering anything but an update to the scent today. I actually did an in-depth review of Try This Soap before, so check that out for the full review. Today is more of an update to that.

The scent for Try This Soap is based on highly regarded, yet uncommon notes as per TryThatSoap.com along with some additional notes to round out the accord. Officially, it offers notes of yuzu citrus, black currant, oak, howood, teak wood, black pepper and thyme. Essentially it's a fruity scent with underlying woods and spices; more so the former. On open you definitely get the citrusy yuzu and sweeter black currant. These burn off a bit quickly, bringing you into the middle where the black pepper and thyme help to transition into the base of woods. Overall, the accord is bright and woodsy with a fruity intro.

I mention the scent description again, because this update centers on that. In my prior review, I say of it:

The first problem is that citrus is a volatile note; it doesn't last long and rarely past the top. And here, you can smell it mainly just in the soap... As the second problem is such that the aftershave has got a healthy dose of menthol, which masks said top notes. By the time the menthol subsides, these top notes are mostly history. Furthermore, both the soap and aftershave have a lighter medium scent strength. This doesn't help counter the menthol either. Longevity is average; 2-3 hours or so. I still get traces as a skin scent beyond that, but it's mostly unidentifiable. The soap smells quite nice, but the aftershave left me wanting. I question the inclusion of menthol; or at least the quantity.

Specifically, that the menthol masks the top notes... Now that nearly six months have passed, I'm happy to say that that is no longer the case with the aftershave! The woods have really developed and blossomed in the scent and are the dominant vibe now as well. It's still fairly bright, thanks to the fruity yuzu and black currant, but the oak, howood and teak are especially matured.

Hardware for today included the #Merkur #Futur with a #PolSilver on shave six. I love this razor... Dialed down today for a milder shave, it's still ridiculously efficient. The brush is a #yaqi piece sporting a 24mm silvertip badger knot that just goes nuts on lather generation, helped by the #GTP scuttle which keeps it warm, too.

A solid shave with some software that hasn't gotten much love since it's first use... But has matured and become much better. I'll have to break it out more often now! I followed up with #Guerlain Oud Essentiel (my new favorite scent) to keep up with the wood theme; it doesn't hurt that it has beast mode sillage and longevity!

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