About the artisan from the website:
“If Batman and Robin were two artisan soapmakers dating, and one was a woman, then that would be us...um no, wait...ummmmm. I'm not really good at these "About Us" pages, the whole thing seems so contrived. Plus it gives me the heebie jeebies to write in the 3rd person.
In short, we are two people very passionate about what we do, be it creating unique, long lasting aftershaves that blur the line between a cooling splash and a cologne or rebooting a classic safety razor or scent from the past, this is what we were put on God's green earth to do.
As for run on sentences, we embrace them.
Fran and I have personally curated what we believe to be one of the most original, online traditional shave boutiques out there and are super excited to share our handpicked wares and life transforming creations with you...so take your time and mosey around, if you have any questions drop us a line, we are always here to help!
Sincerely, Your Friendly, Neighborhood Artisans,
Douglas & Frances”
Packaging:
The majority of the CK1 (or as some refer to it, the kokum butter base) come in an opaque container. The top babel artwork was created by Douglas and features him on the label. The side label of the tub contains the ingredients, notes the base with kokum butter being displayed prominently (hence people incorrectly referring to this base as the kokum butter base). For those that like to load from the tub, there is ample room as the soap is not filled to the top of the container.
Scent:
The scent profile from the site lists the scent notes as “talc, rose, bergamot, oakmoss, vetiver, coumarin, musk.” The scent is very well blended and I am unable to pick out a single note. The scent does remind me of a certain shaving foam that comes in a can. It has also been described as a classic American barbershop scent.
Performance:
The soap used for this review is in the CK1 base (though it is available in CK6). I can easily recommend this scent in either base. Not a lot of soap is required either from loading from the tub, or scooped out into a bowl. It is easy to build a lather and can take a lot of water. I would easily call this base thirsty and have found that when I thought I had the lather hydrated enough that it was starting to dry out a little during the third pass.
For this review, I used the travel scuttle from PAA and the PAA Peregrino synthetic brush. I slowly added water to the scuttle to build the lather. After dialing in the hydration (perhaps adding a little more water than needed), I had a rich, creamy lather that was a little on the thinner side (PAA’s lathers can create the thick and fluffy Santa beard lather if that is your preference) that was perfect for a straight razor or shavette shave.
Post Shave:
While the CK1 base does not have as many butters as the premium PAA base, my skin still felt well moisturized post shave. It would be possible to use this base without any post shave products, but I would recommend using at least witch hazel. I have also found that when paired with the unscented Star Jelly or matching splash, the synergy between PAA products leaves the skin feeling very well nourished and hydrated.
Price:
The CK1 formula is $14.95 for four ounces, or $3.73 an ounce. If you prefer the luxury feel of the CK6 base, that will cost $24.95 for five ounces, or $4.99 an ounce. Both bases are excellent and will not disappoint.
Final thoughts:
PAA was my first artisan soap and CaD was the first scent I purchased. It is a rather thirsty base and I have underhydrated the lather a few times. I was still able to get a great shave with the product though. PAA seems to be one of those artisans that can perform well if the soap is underhydrated, perfectly dialed in, or overhydrated with a thinner lather. The scent is one of my favorites and brings a certain nostalgia to the shave (both from the scent reminding me of a certain canned foam product, and because it was the first artisan soap/scent that I purchased when I started wet shaving). If you are unsure about the scent, or PAA products, grab it in the CK1 base. It’s hard to go wrong with this base as the performance hits above its price point.