Osma Laboratoires (France)

Cella (Italy)

Colonel Ichabod Conk (USA)

Derby (Turkey)

Dovo (made in Italy)

The Gentlemens Refinery (Canada)

Geo F. Trumper (England)

Mühle (Germany)

Omega (Italy)

Proraso (Italy)

Valobra (Italy)

Vulfix (Great Britain)

Osma Syptic Pencil (aluminum sulfate) is used whenever you cut yourself.  It is far more intense and not the same thing as the Osma potassium alum blocks.  Much like syptic pencils you can get at a corner drugstore, at least they're the same aluminum sulfate, but Osma as usual has found a way to incorporate more retained water in the device.  No application of syptic pencil's as fun as watching "Star Wars" the first time, but this easily is the least irritating one I've tried of about half a dozen.  Kind of a must for a first-time shaver, and while we've always known that 'round here, until we could get this one I didn't want something common and ubiquitous (at least here in the USA) on offer.  Made in France.

This pencil's ~0.4 oz (12g) of product, weighs ~0.6 oz (17g) in its reservoir, and takes up 0.6 x 4.1" (15x104mm) in a travel bag.  Hold tip under faucet a sec and put right on the cut with pressure.  Do not share this device with anyone, it is like a hypodermic needle in that regard!

Bloc Osma Alum Block (100% pure potassium alum) is used after every shave to soothe razor irritation and close up any lil' nicks.  Alum blocks are the world's best natural astringent.

To use, leave your face wet after the shave, wet the block under the faucet for a second, and run it down your beard, with the grain growth.  A few seconds of discomfort followed quickly thereafter with a very comfortable feeling.

Seasoned hands also use the alum to examine the true performance of a blade, for while your face may look fine, a good alum block will reveal bad blade performance best of all.  It is an amazing arbiter of skills of beard prep, shaving technique, and (for us straight razor folks) edge condition.

This premium block's made in France, and lasts about a solid year with daily use.  I use this after every shave, in fact it is the only item we sell beyond Proraso's pre/post which I use daily.

There's many, many cheap solutions for this need in the marketplace.  Being intimately involved with Indian culture, I've used plenty of bargain alum; every specialist grocery shop's got 'em.  Though all are of equal ingredients 90% of the time, folks are smoking crack if they think this block's cost just buys some branding panache.  Osma's alum looks different for one, but it is the feel on the face where it shines...the absolute uniformity of the crystals in this particular chunk of alum justifies its enormous (expressed in % surcharge, as opposed to cost-per-shave) expense, as that $5-6 extra cash you thrown on the table now rewards you daily for a loooong time.  Bloc Osma's exceptional; ask around.  They tell me their alum products' water content exceeds all competition, key to why it looks far less white...the extra water they retain from that which came from the earth (technically, they tell me they 'reintroduce' the water) really helps out in making it more mild.

This block weighs ~2.8 oz (80g) and takes up a 1.5 x 2.3 x 1.0" (38x59x24mm) chunk in a travel bag.  Its waxy box lasts as a practical way to travel with it, too.  Try not to drop it; it will fracture, and likely develop some rough edges which eliminate its deliciously smooth surface advantage.

Osma Alum Block Deodorant (100% pure potassium alum) is the exact same thing you see above this.  In this case, however, you're getting a stockier (40x55mm) piece, expertly formed for use as a comfortable deodorant applicator.  Just wet the top and apply right to your underarms.  Believe me, it works!

This version is just the little alum form, in a plastic screw-bottom (aka helicoid) shell case.  A longer, thinner piece with a formed top is just below, and that one's in a tube which you could travel quite a bit with; to me this one's reservoir doesn't offer enough protection to the fragile block.

Osma Alum Block Deodorant (100% pure potassium alum) is the exact same thing you see two slots above this.  In this case, however, you're getting a 1.25 x 3.15" (31x80mm) piece that's expertly formed for use as a comfortable deodorant and put in a container that holds the alum firmly in place during application (and gives its fragile nature enough protection for travels).  Just wet the top, and apply right to your underarms.  It works!

This tube/alum takes up 1.6 x 4.5" (41x114mm) of space and weighs 4.9 ounces (140g) when you get it.  You're paying some for the engineering of the reservoir here...if you just want the the little alum form itself in a plastic screw-bottom shell case, choose the one just above this.

The Osma Shaving Soap boasts a "unique formula based with Alum Stone and Shea Butter ease frie (sic) burn and prepare skin to razor crossing", so its got that going for it.  It is a pretty big cake of soap at 2.8 x 1.2" (71x31mm) and 100 grams (~3.5 ounces) net weight.  Comes in a 3 x 2" (76x50mm) WxH tin.  Made in France.

Having used this many dozens of times now, I'll declare it a fussy little soap for wanting the right water to product ratio used as well as the right amount of brush pressure, but if you've the skills it'll certainly reward with uniquely comfy lather...some of this diatribe's much the same as the "wool fat" soaps on the market, though I like this one better and especially its odor (a generic and pleasant 'French soap' sort of Ivory equivalency, though you're not buying olfactory entertainment here as you are with $$$ Brit stuff).  The alum and shea butter are indeed unique ingredients, with the shea's distinct feel/odor apparent.  On my good days I can certainly fluff it up to a brilliant white opaque cloud with an Omega synthetic; when I don't have my "A" game going I've gotta hit the little soap cake again a time or two...

The biggest surprise is with the alum block application immediately thereafter.  ZERO stinging sensation anywhere if you'll do your part; perhaps that's the moderate quantities of alum within the shaving soap itself, but the alum block will move along like glass, and that can't be a bad thing.

Made from recycled glass, the Osma 'Foot Stone' is rubbed on your feet just before a shower, or during it.  There's a coarser side and a finer-grit side.  Rub 'across the grain' of the heel and ball of the foot with the highly-useful rough side and in a few weeks be amazed at this thing's capacities which heartily trump any pumice stone.

Pretty much gave up on on any real feeling in the skin on the ball, heel, and the critical bump just aside the smallest toe on my feet long, long ago.  But even upon the first aggressive application, I detected a small presence of the sense of touch near the little toe; I'd be better off using a 16-grit lapping wheel for the heel of my poor feet if I'd expected immediate change, but with months of use now I can declare my feet haven't had this much sensation in decades.  I sense touch inside my socks walking around, laying in bed,...a welcomed change.

Wears away much faster than a pumice stone-used daily/heavily between two people, ~5mos. use was the yield.  It will 'load up', too if feet have things no soap's moving along trapped within, so to restore aggression rub it against some concrete to get a clean, effective surface.

Made in France.

The Osma 'BIO' Foot Cream is, you guessed it, rubbed upon your feet.

99% of its ingredients are natural, and 84% are 'from biological agriculture'.  It has virgin olive oil and is reputed to both fight against excessive sweat and soothe the feet.

So far, I can report one woman's opinion; "it feels like a pedicure without the water".

This is a 60 ml bottle.  Made in France.

The Osma Alum Powder is rubbed upon feet, hands, or anywhere else you'd want to control both sweat and odor.

It is talc-based, and has their famed potassium alum.

Even after the first use, I'd declare there's no chance applying an alum block to moist skin for sweat/smell areas (feet, etc) could reap alum's benefits so evenly as can this powder; it is a far more uniform applicant.  It has an inert sense to it, too, one that I've not felt with stuff you can find at USA drugstores.  I enjoy wearing sandals every day here in Florida, but to the wife's chagrin I almost always choose the pragmatic and lame-looking approach of coupling them with ankle socks...with this talc powder, however, it seems I can use my finest Mephistos as they were intended, and not worry about a tiny bit of moisture down there ruining the sense of great comfort.

A minor quibble; it does not come out of the bottle as finely as does USA baby powders.  Best to sprinkle some in a hand and apply to the feet/toes rather than shake like salt on french fries.

A 100-gram bottle.  Made in France.

These have been around forever; the last time I've used 'em I was a youngster, with the "amber" flavor, an old Simpsons Wee Scot I got secondhand on my very first trip to Europe (still have it!), and, heaven forbid, I believe a Gillette Sensor razor.  The internet was a single page in my area of Florida, with all of us knowing kids looking at the same page where you could write something.  Times have changed since then a bit, but not this old school soap.

- This Bay Rum, essentially was the whole reason for bringing the brand in as any decent shave shop simply MUST have a Bay Rum or three, is one of the best Bay Rums I've sniffed outside of Caribbean perfumeries.  It isn't a strong scent by any means, but the odor is 'authentic' to what I think of as 'real' Bay Rum.

- The Almond variety, too, does come across as the real thing, though with it the scent's so subtle as to practically be of no consequence.

- Soaps are consistent in the lather-making across flavors.  The soaps have nothing in them which caused me any burn or irritation, and take a bit of time getting their head of steam (as does any glycerine soap), but ultimately become a thick, rich, gleaming-bright white lather buffer, a bit better suited to the straight razor, just not to the extreme in this regard like the Dovo-branded creams.  Plenty of hydration going on here, too.  They seem to like good badger brushes quite a bit, too, for I'll admit I do have trouble getting the same lovely white buffer of lather with them and my big Omega boar brushes than with the lot of Simpsons/Vulfix fellows.

The Col. Conk soaps come in two sizes; the main advantage of the bigger size to me is its accompanying bigger target for the brush to load upon.  I is the same soap, and for reasons only known to the colonel, they don't produce the lime one in the bigger size.

These little ~2.4 x 1.0" (~62x25mm) soap cakes weigh ~2.6 ounces (75g) each, and come in the little plastic blister pack you see above which, while not elegant, could certainly ably carry these things for travelling and working from within.

The Col 400 & 402 Conk Wooden Bowls are ideally sized for, you guessed it, the Col Conk smaller-sized shaving soaps.
The approximate inner diameter's 64mm, with ~31mm below the rim of the bottom portion hollowed out to accept soap.
Outer dimensions are 3.3 x 1.8" (85x46mm) WxH.
Weighs 3.2 ounces (90g).
NOTE:  This does not come with a soap from this shop.

_____

Colonel Conk Aftershaves / Colognes (4 fl. oz.)

While I'm well aware that you can just go over to the slightly larger "river" and buy this stuff, we've just got to have a Bay Rum in our shaving house, so here we are...besides, samplers are offered here; go get someone to portion you that at the darn river!

The Amber, Bay Rum, and Lime aftershave/colognes are alcohol-based, but the Almond Balm, while containing alcohol, is more of a soothing type and is based upon water.

Having never used these beyond the odd application at the old barber shops (lovin' the ancient-looking bottles!), it'll take a couple of weeks to come up with some good content for them.

Already used the Bay Rum plenty, though, and will hereby argue it's obviously better quality than that more common drugstore/barber shop "Virgin Island Bay Rum" staple that I've always been a fan of as a low price leader...even the wife remarked that it smells 'less cheap', practically a ringing endorsement.

The Almond Balm actually hurts more upon application than the Bay Rum, or really any alcohol-based aftershave I've tried of late, but after the pain subsides it does a good job of making the face feel 'sealed', and its almondy/amarettoesque scent is quite pleasant for me.  Because of that glass bottle, though, and the thick consistency of it, I can't offer the Almond Balm as a sampler until I find a better (faster) way to extract the stuff from within...any ideas, anyone?

Dovo Shaving Creams

Debuting in 2010 and made by an established Italian soap maker, Dovo's 'creams' are extremely economical given the high yield per gram of consumption.

After months of use, I'm really starting to drink the Kool-Aid that comes with this stuff being "recommended by Dovo's straight razor grinders."  The lather from this stuff is never bountiful of volume, but instead a short, slick, and dense carpet ride that surely gunks up many a safety razor with their highly-unnecessary skin guard.  Right at home with a straight, though.

Other notes;

• Densest cream we've seen; cold Jif peanut buttter's thinner
• Wants dense, small, stiff brushes so cream barely tinges tips and stays within tub diameter.  Simpsons Case/Duke/Wee Scot do well
• Scents are subtle, but skin's aware of eucalyptus/mint/almond oils

The bottom line; Dovo's rather happy about their reputation, and we'll bet they've not debuted a cream in the market without some serious forethought.

Because of the density of these creams, we can't sell samples.  These are 150ml tubs, and a little bit of product goes a long, long way.

At last we in the USA market have something to be envied by our EU-based brethren (it isn't widely available in the EU, even in the internet age).

Never been as blown away with a toiletry item as I was the first time I tried The Gentlemens Refinery "The Standard" Aftershave Balm.  Low scent amplitude, okay...but in effectiveness, it begins and ends here-an absolute slam dunk.  Don't worry about how light the solution is; it balms perfectly despite its low density.

My sole complaint with this aftershave balm is that due to the creator's extreeeeeme perfectionism they insist upon an airtight dispenser system, and this can cause the product to explode out of the reservoir.  Cup your hand in a tight cocoon around the nozzle, and pump as slowly as you can.

The unscented versions of both their aftershave balm and shaving cream smell like...nothing.  Can't smell a damn thing.  Are they better than the $$$$ English 'Ultimate Comfort' equivalent for those with terribly sensitive skin?  I don't know.  They seem nearly the same to me, and each enjoy a nearly perfect record for not irritating any epidermis.

The TGR stuff's from 100% natural ingredient concoctions, and are made by a lifetime überbarber collaborating with a chemist.
THE SAMPLERS ARE A PRODUCT WE FILL OURSELVES PERSONALLY

Doing a bit of tongue-in-cheek exaggerating, of course, but it is a truly fine product in this world that can hold their dispensation tightly to chest for all retailers to beg upon, and I'm quite honoured (a little English humor there) that our modest shop can count themselves amongst the Geo's fine distributorhood.  There's an older firm on the little nose, but none better for my money - I've been a big cheerleader in my head for Geo F. Trumper since first whiff and have been an end consumer for their line a good decade now thanks to the privilege of once living in Manhattan as a younger man.  Buying Trumper's is a true slice of the good life for all to enjoy; even those two Google dudes don't have a better product on earth at their more advantaged disposal.

Geo F. Trumper's shaving creams come in either tubes or tubs-the tubs are the bigger ones, and best for sitting at home and dipping the head of your brush directly within.  If you're travelling or prefer to build a lather in a bowl, I think you're better off with the smaller tubes.  The tubes will stand up on the table.

I've used GFT for ~4yrs, blown away with its youthful, mildly citrus complexity, and have used their almond cream plenty over the years, too (all things almond is a standard checklist item for me).

There's no similar olfactory entertainer for me as is "GFT", but it isn't what you'd term having a subtle odor presence-buy GFT to be wowed by scent, or buy another.

I need another month or so becoming friends with all the varietals, but so far I'm most thoroughly impressed by the coconut oil varietal among the non-GFT quintet; the scent smells exactly like getting served a machete-chopped-coconut-with-straw refreshment in the wife's native Guyana, it couldn't be more authentic if it tried, and yet it isn't all about odor first as is "GFT"-instead being something that just won't leave the background experience of that particular shave, like some monks chanting "Co-co-nut,...co-co-nut,..." down the hallway from your bathroom.  I wish they'd take on banana; no other scent comes to mind for me which can be so brilliant when genuine and horrific when synthetic.  Almond's great, too, but other snobby Brit firms offer good almondies galore; ain't nobody else doing the coconut thing.

Company line = 12 months shelf life once exposed to air.

NOW INCLUDES SPANISH LEATHER SCENT!

These are 9-gram samples of their creams which we fill ourselves personally.  It is a USA-made airtight plastic container that can become a staple in your travelling life as a dedicated shaver.  FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Geo F. Trumper's shaving soaps come either with or without the little wooden bowl-no bowl means it is a 'refill'.  Some like soaps, some like creams, some match up their brushes to specific applications.  That's silly stuff to me; give me either and I can make a great lather, but if it is a soap it takes longer.  The big difference versus the creams is that the soaps last much longer, no matter what the company line is about that (here Trumper gives you a year to use their soaps, same as the creams, but I would easily use a soap long after that and do agree creams dry up and stop working well within a year).

The soap cakes are ~85mm in diameter at the top, and ~22mm tall, with a gradual flat-bottomed tapered shape.  The wooden bowls, which are real nice, are ~105mm wide and ~40mm tall.

First shipment stiffed us on the coconut oil and sandalwood, so hopefully in January those will show up.

Geo F. Trumper's aftershaves come in a bunch of flavors, but for us Yanks they don't actually make their most lovely and esteemed older flavors in the plastic bottle, only a beautiful hand-made glass bottle.  Even more curiously, some scents in the Geo line are available both in the more concentrated cologne as well as aftershave, while others merely aftershave(...or merely cologne)  Now that we received the glass ones, though, I think maybe I shouldn't have been pragmatic; it really is a lovely bottle, and makes a far more impressive gift that way.

These just came into stock and I've only used the West Indian Limes, so I'll leave a placeholder commentary here for a couple of weeks to give each a few runs to yield a highly subjective but correct declaration.

Company line = 12 months shelf life once exposed to air.

NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING.  They've just got too pure an alcohol base and are considered hazardous for int'l airmail, sorry.

Geo F. Trumper's colognes come in really cool atomizer spritzer bottles, and are very fragrant per unit of spritz.  I've used the West Indian Limes and Spanish Leather a time or two and consider them embodiments of these rather classic and well-established scent categories.  Amazingly, I've never used the Bay Rum, but will do so straight away.  There's no accounting for taste, but I was thoroughly impressed with the GFT stuff the first time I smelled it and still welcome it in my life today.  Their esteemed marketeers describe it as having "top notes of mandain, bergamot, and lemon...a heart of tarragon, lavender, and cypress, and rests on a musk-like base, with notes of cedar and moss"...I'd love to have such evolved olfactory pleasures, but I'll agree wholeheartedly that this is a very complex odor, something that you can use for a long while and still find something new about it to you.

Company line = 12 months shelf life once exposed to air.  My most recent bottle of GFT, used ~daily, is about 25% full after ~20 months, and still smells great, but perhaps has lost a bit off the fastball.

NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING.  They've just got too pure an alcohol base and are considered hazardous for int'l airmail, sorry.

Geo F. Trumper's Skin Food is a before-and-after shaving skin moisturizer and conditioner...rub into the face against the grain before lathering up, and throw on the lightly wet skin right before any aftershave (if you use an alum block, I'd still give that a rub before anything else).  I've always liked the limes version during the summer after the shave and before any sort of heavily-alcohol-based splash.  I'll crack open the other two flavors straight away, and we'll sell sampler bottles of each soon, too.

Geo F. Trumper's neutral "Moisturising" lotion's about as inert a cosmetic as you'll encounter, made in England the same way forever.  Lasts a year after you crack it open; you'll go through it before then.  Smells like a whole bunch of nothing; the Switzerland-style polar opposite of dry.  Quite a soother.

Geo F. Trumper's talc's very fine, with a faint but persistent light lavender scent.  Makes me think of really clean babies.  Not bone-bone-dry like Osma's alum-based talc powder above, but applies far more evenly and you'd likely prefer this stuff in all but the very hottest spots or the feet (I'd get the Osma for that).  Company line = 12 months shelf life once exposed to air.  Cool metal tin packaging.

Geo F. Trumper Eucris Bath & Shower Gel's an arrived manly scent, not a mental cue to me of teen nor old man.  They describe it as "both modern and traditional".  Company line = 12 months shelf life once exposed to air, but you'll burn through this way faster than that.  200ml in stand-up plastic squeezy bottle.

Geo F. Trumper Deodorants come in three flavors; the original (far left above, a sort of mild citrus), GFT (their signature 'new' scent), and sandalwood.  None have alcohol, and the original style's a roll-on while the GFT and the sandalwood are deodorant sticks.

Mühle Shaving Soap's based upon vegetable oil.  You'll get a 65-gram soap cake (62 x 25mm WxH), and the individual soaps are packaged in a waxy box which presumably could stand on its own for a trip or two without breaking down after accepting a somewhat wet soap.

The fine British brands you've probably heard of are a bit squeamish about the editorial style at this shop, preferring only to dole out their lovely shavingstuffs to those whom will acquiesce to their demands for final say of any and all content related to their soaps/creams/aftershaves.  Stubbornly uncooperative in this regard, here we can only offer you Mühle as something that you must knowingly pay extra for a complex/intense odor to enjoy throughout a shave...I don't think they work any better than my old Proraso/Omega standbys, but they're far more interesting for the olfactory dept.

Available in 3 flavors:  Aloe, Sandalwood, and Sea Buckthorn.

Above:  Mühle's shaving soaps can also be delivered in a tasteful wooden black bowl that's made in Germany.
$36.50 Free Shipping Worldwide

Extremely-complicated formulas of soothing lotions (23 ingredients in the aloe!) with scents matching their shaving soaps/creams.

You get 100ml of aftershave, at least 90 very generous uses by our rough calculation.

I've never before smelled anything quite like Sea Buckthorn; it is a delicious scent, somewhat fruity/citrusy with a feeling like the beach or fresh seagrass or something.  I love it; clearly they've got a winner there.

Note:  All contain alcohol.

To the left's the sample container we use, which holds 5ml (enough for ~5 shaves).

Mühle doesn't offer "commercial" samples of their aftershaves - YOU ARE BUYING SOMETHING WE FILL PERSONALLY, done as an over-the-top service for you.

We're picky.  We use good plastic.  The tiny USA-made container's especially inert, and the airtight lid allows enduring freshness.

Selling 1 scent's an absolute killer in shipping/transaction costs; rock-bottom postage to move the thing is $1.71!

The Proraso family of products (from Florence, Italy) are amongst the most respected creams/aftershaves/soaps around.  Everyone owes it to themselves to try Proraso's Pre/Post Cream as well as Proraso's shaving soap/cream.  They also make 2 wonderful aftershaves; a soothing balm which is alcohol-free, and an aftershave 'splash' with alcohol for those with more ardent skin.  I'd consider their products in general as a rite of passage to this shaving-obsessed world of ours, and a "gateway drug" to the stuffs that have more complex odors and higher pricetags.

We now offer purchased-alone pricing and purchased-with-anything-else pricing for the Proraso line.  YOU MUST PURCHASE AT LEAST ONE NON-PRORASO ITEM TO QUALIFY FOR THE DISCOUNTED PRICING, because those in the Western USA can add a few of those things together and make us ship at a net loss...a $3 bolt, a $4 syptic pencil, I don't care as long as we don't pay to send you the stuff...any one item of anything but Proraso and have at the discounted prices, thanks...limit of 1 of each Proraso item per order, please (you can buy 1 of each item, but not 2+ of any 1 item).

Vulfix Luxury Shaving Cream

Made in England and, this newbie reeks of 'traditional British shaving cream' quality.

Given quantity and price, this is the poor man's taste of the complex scents that you pay through the nose for in the famed old established English brands.  Proraso may be their equal in function, but not in odor's delight.

You'll get a 180-gram tub of soft cream perfect for dipping wet brushes directly within.  I get a few months of daily use from a single tub, even from a large cream-eating brush.

Available in Persian Musk, Sicilian Lime, Lavender, delicious Sandalwood with a 'Cream of Wheat' texture, English Rose, and Lavender.  Tremendous viscosity.  Being a 'quaint' company, these are sealed with old-fashioned household tape from the maker, and packed by weight-expect odd cream topography when opening.

Vulfix Shaving Cream Samples hold 10g of product, enough for a few tries depending on how thirsty of a brush you've got.

Vulfix doesn't offer "commercial" samples; YOU ARE BUYING SOMETHING WE FILL PERSONALLY, done as an over-the-top service for you.  We use a USA-made airtight plastic container with a flip-top lid.