Social Mancare: soaps, deodorant, shaving products featuring: J’s handcrafted, Hoffmans, The Black Stuff

How is the scent and duration of the product on the skin ? :)

greatly depends on the brand and the scent. In my experience, few soaps leave a strong scent on the skin after using. This is why i have made the transition to spray colognes from these companies. I don’t care for too many colognes. At least, the traditional hyper powerful alcohol/flowery scents. I have a few I like from l’occitane, but I even find those overwhelming.

The J’s handcrafted colognes are much more subtle and last a long time. In the order I am getting today, I will be getting six total with three different scents. These scents are not overwhelming.

Currently, I am wearing Hoffmans affagato spray cologne. I alternate between that and the evil pumpkin, but it’s just like any other cologne-it can be too overpowering unless you are very careful. Last week, I was wearing the evil pumpkin and someone said the room smelled like a candle. I took that to mean I had used too much. With the J’s handcrafted, that’s not such an issue-they are more subtle.

Today, with my J’s I am getting apple
Cider, pumpkin spice, and flannel season (a cranberry cinnamon scent). So I will let you know how they are-but seriously, this is the best around imo, so I al sure they will be great.

He was selling a $100 flannel season bundle all last week. They won’t ship out until march, but he may still have some. https://jshandcraftedusa.com/collec...py-of-pre-order-the-js-sunburn-booboo-box-set
 
greatly depends on the brand and the scent. In my experience, few soaps leave a strong scent on the skin after using. This is why i have made the transition to spray colognes from these companies. I don’t care for too many colognes. At least, the traditional hyper powerful alcohol/flowery scents. I have a few I like from l’occitane, but I even find those overwhelming.

The J’s handcrafted colognes are much more subtle and last a long time. In the order I am getting today, I will be getting six total with three different scents. These scents are not overwhelming.

Currently, I am wearing Hoffmans affagato spray cologne. I alternate between that and the evil pumpkin, but it’s just like any other cologne-it can be too overpowering unless you are very careful. Last week, I was wearing the evil pumpkin and someone said the room smelled like a candle. I took that to mean I had used too much. With the J’s handcrafted, that’s not such an issue-they are more subtle.

Today, with my J’s I am getting apple
Cider, pumpkin spice, and flannel season (a cranberry cinnamon scent). So I will let you know how they are-but seriously, this is the best around imo, so I al sure they will be great.

He was selling a $100 flannel season bundle all last week. They won’t ship out until march, but he may still have some. https://jshandcraftedusa.com/collec...py-of-pre-order-the-js-sunburn-booboo-box-set
You're right, that's pretty much why i'm a fragrance enthusiast, only from designers, not niche, way too expensive. Are you into that world too ? expensive but with some fragrances adapted to the season you can have a pretty good scent and 10 hours + longevity.

I'm going with this bad boy these days :
s-l1600.jpg
 
@nhbbear Any recommendations on a starter pack of soap & deodorant? I was thinking of getting this for me & my 17 year old:

https://theblackstuff.com/products/give-it-a-lash-championship-edition

The black stuff is a very solid brand. John Larkin(owner) is also a really solid dude and he and I chat sometimes. I highly recommend the Irish spring rain. The black stout and pine tar are also really solid, but they do smell kind of similar-at least, in the same ballpark.

If I were to buy only two soaps and two deodorants, I would have to go with the Irish spring rain deo and either the Galway bay rum or pine tar. For the soap, I would go good room and either bay rum or spring rain for soaps. Citrus cedar wood is also a solid choice.

John Larkin does not make any bad products. Some of his smokier scents smell alike-the pine tar and black stout as well as Arthur’s choice (a limited edition with a very Smokey scent)

If you want my advice, I say go for it. But also, check out Hoffmans specifically for the deodorant or shave soap. His soaps are good, but not as exceptional as his shave soap and deodorants. Hoffmans is on an entirely different plane of existence when it comes to deodorant. I own every one of his 20 some scents. Some are my favorite scents around. Many of the deodorants smell similarly to me. They all have a vanilla(Tonka bean) base-hence the similar scent. But they all smell great. I just prefer the ones that stand out. The evil pumpkin is a fucking monster of an awesome scent. If you love coffee, do yourself a favor and get the affagato. Red hollow smells like a Carmel apple, Cookie Monster smells like crushed cookies-duh, but is very nice. And I am a fan of the great reset and great escape. Hard to describe those, but they stand out enough from the others that they are on my mantle and in rotation, but not as great as the others I listed. Also, Robert Cipolla is a solid guy as well. Great customer service and he always throws in a sample and a Swedish fish-why, I don’t know, but it’s a nice touch.

My top three brands are J’s handcrafted for soap and cologne(very hard to actually get, hence my excitement over todays delivery), Hoffmans for deodorant and shaving soap, and black stuff for soap and deodorant. I get comments all the time about how good I smell.

If you put a gun to my head, and I could only pick one for each category, I am picking J’s handcrafted witch’s brew soap(caramel coffee scent), evil pumpkin deodorant from Hoffmans, and affagato shave soap from Hoffmans. The black stuff Irish spring rain puts up a hell of a fight though.


https://hoffmansshavingcompany.com/

Edit. It’s Irish mountain rain.
 
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The black stuff is a very solid brand. John Larkin(owner) is also a really solid dude and he and I chat sometimes. I highly recommend the Irish spring rain. The black stout and pine tar are also really solid, but they do smell kind of similar-at least, in the same ballpark.

If I were to buy only two soaps and two deodorants, I would have to go with the Irish spring rain deo and either the Galway bay rum or pine tar. For the soap, I would go good room and either bay rum or spring rain for soaps. Citrus cedar wood is also a solid choice.

John Larkin does not make any bad products. Some of his smokier scents smell alike-the pine tar and black stout as well as Arthur’s choice (a limited edition with a very Smokey scent)

If you want my advice, I say go for it. But also, check out Hoffmans specifically for the deodorant or shave soap. His soaps are good, but not as exceptional as his shave soap and deodorants. Hoffmans is on an entirely different plane of existence when it comes to deodorant. I own every one of his 20 some scents. Some are my favorite scents around. Many of the deodorants smell similarly to me. They all have a vanilla(Tonka bean) base-hence the similar scent. But they all smell great. I just prefer the ones that stand out. The evil pumpkin is a fucking monster of an awesome scent. If you love coffee, do yourself a favor and get the affagato. Red hollow smells like a Carmel apple, Cookie Monster smells like crushed cookies-duh, but is very nice. And I am a fan of the great reset and great escape. Hard to describe those, but they stand out enough from the others that they are on my mantle and in rotation, but not as great as the others I listed. Also, Robert Cipolla is a solid guy as well. Great customer service and he always throws in a sample and a Swedish fish-why, I don’t know, but it’s a nice touch.

My top three brands are J’s handcrafted for soap and cologne(very hard to actually get, hence my excitement over todays delivery), Hoffmans for deodorant and shaving soap, and black stuff for soap and deodorant. I get comments all the time about how good I smell.

If you put a gun to my head, and I could only pick one for each category, I am picking J’s handcrafted witch’s brew soap(caramel coffee scent), evil pumpkin deodorant from Hoffmans, and affagato shave soap from Hoffmans. The black stuff Irish spring rain puts up a hell of a fight though.


https://hoffmansshavingcompany.com/

Awesome info! I'll definitely check some out. Only looking because of this thread. Thank you.
 
You're right, that's pretty much why i'm a fragrance enthusiast, only from designers, not niche, way too expensive. Are you into that world too ? expensive but with some fragrances adapted to the season you can have a pretty good scent and 10 hours + longevity.

I'm going with this bad boy these days :
s-l1600.jpg

Price isn’t much of an issue for me. The order I have coming today is over $300 and to get my hands on J’s stuff, I usually pay around $15-20 per bar of soap on private transactions. His prices aren’t that steep, under $10 per bar and $20 for cologne, but because it is so popular, availability is the issue hence the higher price.

I just started messing with colognes again. I often find them overpowering. J’s cologne is basically a longer lasting soap scent and are more subtle than a traditional cologne.

I checked out the scent notes on that cologne and it sounds amazing. Vanilla and caramel sounds intriguing. The he owns the night one also sounds amazing. How strong is this stuff?
 
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Awesome info! I'll definitely check some out. Only looking because of this thread. Thank you.

Please let me know what you go with and what you think. Hoffmans deos are $12 each or 3 for $25. They also seem to last a long time, as does the black stuff. I just finished my first deo-an evil pumpkin, the other day. I alternate every day for variety, so it’s tough to say for sure how long you can get. That is an issue people don’t think about it how long with a bar of soap or deodorant last. The better ones last a while. That’s one of the things I hate about dr squatch-you get maybe a week out of a bar of soap and three out of one of their deos. J’s and black stuff soaps last a while. Not as long as duke cannon-that stuff never seems to disappear, but I also don’t like dukes scents.
 
Price isn’t much of an issue for me. The order I have coming today is over $300 and to get my hands on J’s stuff, I usually pay around $15-20 per bar of soap on private transactions. His prices aren’t that steep, under $10 per bar and $20 for cologne, but because it is so popular, availability is the issue hence the higher price.

I just started messing with colognes again. I often find them overpowering. J’s cologne is basically a longer lasting soap scent and are more subtle than a traditional cologne.

I checked out the scent notes on that cologne and it sounds amazing. Vanilla and caramel sounds intriguing. The he owns the night one also sounds amazing. How strong is this stuff?
Very good sillage and projection...remember the hype around Paco Rabanne One millions back in the 2009-2012s ish era ? Well, pretty much the same, not very natural scent but good smelling. not for everyone, and less hyped than Dior sauvage that has been overkill in the last decade. Or even Versace Eros.
 
Also, you may want to check out the scent adventure with James showers. Here’s two reviews on J’s products. He even employs a “scent specialist” (his parrot, cuddles) . I once asked James for some kind of documentation on cuddles’ qualifications and the dude actually sent me a message with a certificate that says his parrot is indeed a scent specialist


 
Very good sillage and projection...remember the hype around Paco Rabanne One millions back in the 2009-2012s ish era ? Well, pretty much the same, not very natural scent but good smelling. not for everyone, and less hyped than Dior sauvage that has been overkill in the last decade. Or even Versace Eros.

It’s weird, I was never a cologne guy or I only really cared that I didn’t smell. I have a two colognes from l’occitane that run in the $80 range. The cedrat is very citrusy and the baux smells like root beer-my wife loves that one. https://www.loccitane.com/en-us/men/product-type/fragrance
 
It’s weird, I was never a cologne guy or I only really cared that I didn’t smell. I have a two colognes from l’occitane that run in the $80 range. The cedrat is very citrusy and the baux smells like root beer-my wife loves that one. https://www.loccitane.com/en-us/men/product-type/fragrance
i'm way more of a cologne enthusiast, bought my first cologne (David beckham line fragrance, lol) at 19, never left that world after, i guess its the same with you with skin soap scents etc, the smell of something like a soap and a cologne can make me remember a certain time, or event in my life. crazy.
 
i'm way more of a cologne enthusiast, bought my first cologne (David beckham line fragrance, lol) at 19, never left that world after, i guess its the same with you with skin soap scents etc, the smell of something like a soap and a cologne can make me remember a certain time, or event in my life. crazy.

Scent has been shown to be one of the best memory triggers around, followed by sound. I used to be obsessed with candles and always had one burning. Not so much anymore. I just kind of fell into soap. I owe squatch that much. I just moved on and they got shittier. I also have a serious aversion to body odor. I can’t stand the thought of someone thinking I smell bad because I know how I feel about people smelling around me.

Funny story, I was in Ireland in 2007 and in Dublin, we walked past a girl that was so incredibly beautiful. I smiled at her and she smiled back and then I smelled her. She smelled like a garbage man. Horrendously bad. I mean, I still would and all, but damn.
 
Scent has been shown to be one of the best memory triggers around, followed by sound. I used to be obsessed with candles and always had one burning. Not so much anymore. I just kind of fell into soap. I owe squatch that much. I just moved on and they got shittier. I also have a serious aversion to body odor. I can’t stand the thought of someone thinking I smell bad because I know how I feel about people smelling around me.

Funny story, I was in Ireland in 2007 and in Dublin, we walked past a girl that was so incredibly beautiful. I smiled at her and she smiled back and then I smelled her. She smelled like a garbage man. Horrendously bad. I mean, I still would and all, but damn.
Maybe she put a fragrance that wasnt fitting with her skin, some fragrance are not for any skin types, can smell nasty alcohol or event rotten eggs on some. Thats why there are more 'synthetic' fragrances these days, versace and of course paco rabanne latest releases were all pretty synthetetic.
 
just cracked open the black stuff

kids hate the smell

i love it, wife does too.
 
Maybe she put a fragrance that wasnt fitting with her skin, some fragrance are not for any skin types, can smell nasty alcohol or event rotten eggs on some. Thats why there are more 'synthetic' fragrances these days, versace and of course paco rabanne latest releases were all pretty synthetetic.

no deodorant. It was that onion-esque raunchy body odor smell
 
62B2FC50-844A-4A35-844C-AD35B519E64D.jpeg C1084EB9-6B2F-4465-B7A6-436D6F5C7F49.jpeg B4B90C43-B3BE-438F-B541-79FB9EA5C535.jpeg Holy hell. I shit flaming kittens today whenni opened the door and saw that my package has arrived. the tally is 2 apple cider; 2 pumpkin spice; 2 9 lives; 2 witch’s brew; 2 October nights; 2 sinful buns; 1 flannel season, 4 pumpkin spice colognes; 2 flannel season spray.

Of the scents I had never smelled, flannel season is my favorite followed by 9 lives. The cranberry-cinnamon lovely.

So, I have plenty to trade , especially the pumpkin spice spray(I have 4-was supposed to get two apple cider instead) so if anyone is interested, let me know. Willing to trade. Also have apple cider to trade. (Just copy and pasted my post from the soap trading group)
 
let me know
I finally got around to trying the "Frostbite" variety of this soap. They all have a very strong scent that permeated even while they were sitting in a closed drawer. "Frostbite" smelled the best, so I went with that one first. It lathers pretty well with hair, and feels pretty good on the skin. Feeling very fresh after showering with this stuff.

Edit: As this soap gets smaller and smaller, it starts to lose its integrity way sooner than I would normally expect soap to lose its integrity. This must be why he puts clay in it (to hold it together longer). It still loses integrity too soon.

I am not sure though how it compares to some of the other stuff recommended in the thread because I have not yet gotten around to trying them.

IMG-20230128-125504-01.jpg


https://avsoapco.com/products/soap


img_20230128_125504__01-jpg.965690
 
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