After all the stress surrounding my grandma's passing, I needed some "retail therapy". Yes, I know that's not an optimal coping mechanism; but here we are.

So since we had our first BVWSC shave with Abbate Y La Mantia soap, I was curious about the great soap quality and @djundjila@wetshaving.social mentioned that they transitioned fully to hard soaps. Even more curious, I was able to find the first soap in a german webshop that started their shift towards hard soaps: Blue Tobacco, a scent that spoke to me as a former menthol cigarette smoker. Originally, I only wanted some extra items to get free shipping - and then this happened. Clearly I've got no self control...

THE GOODS:

• Abbate Y La Mantia Tobacco Blue (Blue Tobacco) shaving soap 🇮🇹
• E&S Rasage Shaman shaving soap, plus 3 body soaps (Solstice , Barber and Azur) 🇨🇵
• HAGS Barberwood soap, witch hazel toner and beard oil 🇬🇷
• Los Jabones de Joserra Masala Connection shaving soap 🇪🇦
• Saponificio Varesino sample pack (ALL of their aftershave balms, one beard wash and balm respectively plus a "Pro Victis" skin repair cream) 🇮🇹
• Meißner Tremonia Dark Limes beard soap 🇩🇪
• Freebies: Proraso beard wash sample, some self-made thank you stuff and candy

Not going to talk about the body soaps and beard stuff, since this is a wetshaving instance. But I am really curious about the performance of all the shaving soaps! Blu Tobacco is really as I envisioned: a pack of (unlit!) menthol cigarettes on the beach. The aluminium tin is really nice. Shaman by E&S could be quite something for colder months, off the puck it's already dark. Barberwood is a take on a barbershop scent with lots of wood notes added, so a full set was a no-brainer. After my initial scepticism, barbershop scents have really grown on me in the last years. Finally, only from reading the notes on the label, I knew I had to get Masala Connection. It's kinda like someone had taken all of my favourite individual scent notes, threw them together in a fragrance oil and made a shaving soap out of it. Voilà! Off the puck, it already smells divine. Never had anything by Los Jabones de Joserra before, but as I wanted to try as many european artisans as possible from different countries it made sense to me.

Even though I reside in Germany, I have to admit that I used more American wetshaving soaps than european ones. Unfortunately, artisans from "the old continent" tend to be overlooked. I'll try to put more of a spotlight on wetshaving software from the EU in my upcoming SOTDs... But needless to say, this concludes my wetshaving purchases for this year and the next year probably too. I can really recommend the seller AboutBodyCare though, very friendly thank you card, fast shipping and my package was even perfumed with E&S Solstice EdT.

Sorry, just now remembered to post our off-topic thread.

Share anything that doesn't necessarily need to be relevant to wetshaving: your weekend plans, recent events in your life, something interesting that's happened. Also music/movie/book recommendations are very welcome.

Bonus prompt question for those who can't think of something to say:
With warmer temperatures creeping up in the northern hemisphere, do you begin to use more mentholated soap/cream/aftershave in the summer months?

Bots seem to be asleep so I'm jumping in for them 😅

How was your week? Share everything off topic (or even cool shaving related stuff) you want to do this weekend. Any plans for traveling, concerts, movies? Music, film or tv recommendations? Personal stories of what's currently happening in your life?
We'd love to hear it here.

Short note: usually this thread is called Free Talk Friday or FTF for short. On the Reddit community, this used to be our "almost anything goes" thread. However, since we're a smaller community here I believe we can extend the thread for the whole weekend so no one must fear an empty thread when they miss posting on Friday.

Spanish vendor YourShaving had their 11th anniversary sale recently and today my order finally arrived in Germany.

Hardware

• Omega Roma Colosseo 31 mm brush: this should now be my thickest brush together with the MOAR BOAR. It's definitely the most dense synthetic. Quality should be a (synthetic) hair under their famous EVO line, but already feels good in its dry state.
• Leaf Shaving Thorn SE razor, fig colour: a safety razor that is said to be perfectly suited for head shaves and in one of my favourite colours. It's metallic purple, uses half DE blades and feels nice to hold.

Soaps

• Barrister and Mann - The Full Measure of Man: a great tobacco-centered scent and it's in the Omnibus base. What more to ask for?
• Ariana & Evans - Boca Negra: dark, spicy coffee is my first impression. Kaizen 2e base, we'll see how this performs.
• Wholly Kaw - Transition: chosen by a combination of liking the scent notes, the artwork and the name. It's sweet and a bit gourmand off the puck initially, but not cloying. I hope the other notes come through a bit more once it is lathered.
• HAGS - YourShaving special edition 11th anniversary soap stick: simply ordered to support them and because I never saw artisan shaving soap in the stick format. I actually would love it if this would become a regular thing, as sticks are great for travel and short trips due to their compact format. The scent? Initial impression is a combination of warm citrus and masculine aquatics. Think AdG mixed with bergamot and lime. Should be a good fit for summer.

Post Shave

• HAGS - YourShaving special edition 11th anniversary aftershave balm: the balm is a nice creamy consistency, the citrus notes pop out a bit more here.
• Moon Soaps - Old School post shave balm: consistency is definitely more of a lotion than a balm! Too thin IMHO. Scent is delightfully dark and leathery. Tested on my forearms, it made my skin feel really smooth. The pump mechanism has insane amounts of pressure though - careful not to get this stuff everywhere
• Osma alum stone: the french gold standard for real alum stones, not just pressed crystals. Great for stopping nicks, weepers and cuts from bleeding.