Shave Dad 3 Ring Circus by Tobin’s Throwbacks

How’s it going? Welcome into the den. I’m Tobin. Before I start this review, I want to show you what came in the mail yesterday from Patrick Croman, also known as the Oky Shaver, who joined me back in October for We Shave. He made that for me and mailed it to me. Thank you, Patrick! I love it. It’s made out of the same kind of material that street signs are made of. I freaking love this; it is badass. Thank you again, Patrick!

Speaking of We Shave, today is July 18th, and I believe next week on the 10th—so, a week from tomorrow—Chris Williams, known as De Razor Shaving here on YouTube, will be joining me for a live shaving chat. We’ll decide on a time, and I’ll let you all know by the end of the weekend. I want to give everyone close to a week’s heads-up. It’s been hotter than Hades here in the Pacific Northwest. We have had a heat wave with highs around 105 degrees. Today, however, has cooled down into the upper 90s. I promise I will have an outdoor shave for you guys this weekend, but first, I’ve got this review to do.

Pete Hendricks has released “Chilling,” and PAA has “Crab Newton” and “Crab Apple.” I also have a special offer for you guys from Frank at Strike Gold Shave, which I’ll talk about in just a moment. Just to clarify upfront, I did not pay for the soap and splash; they were sent to me for review by Frank and Jerry. This is a collaboration called “Shave Dad’s Three Ring Circus.” It’s a banger and, in my opinion, a gourmand.

I’ve only watched one other review of this, and that was from Matthew Lawrence. The brush I’m using today is a gift from him, which I’ve been wanting to use in a shave. I thought it would go well with the shade of the Day photos. To be honest, I haven’t taken those yet, but I think it’s going to work. Matthew was the last one who joined me if you guys don’t know him; he is also here on YouTube. I have used this brush for a minimum of five shaves now, and I love it.

If you haven’t used Frank’s products yet, he just put four or five sets on his website. At the time of this recording, Pasture Pharmacy still had a handful as well. If you order through Frank, this offer is only good until the 17th, which is one week from today. Normally, he has a free shipping threshold of $50 for orders in the continental United States. However, for the next week, Frank has offered free shipping on any purchase for you guys. Thank you, Frank! Just enter “Tobin” in the promo code box at checkout.

In a minute, I’ll share some really cool items that you should check out, including some discounted items beyond what might already be on your radar. Real quick, let’s talk about the scent notes and the fragrance. The notes include orange, raspberry, red berries, fig, caramel, and vanilla. This absolutely smells like cotton candy. My wife gives it a ten, while Emily only gives it a six. I think it’s a little too gourmand for her. However, my wife can’t get enough of it, which is why, if you look closely at my bottle, you’ll see I’ve used quite a bit of it already. That’s because I’ve been wearing it for her.

As many of you know, I’m a nighttime shaver, but today is the middle of the day. I didn’t shave last night because I worked late and had a crazy day. I might talk about that more later in the video if we have time or maybe in a “Rambles, Rant, and Razor” video. You never know what to expect when you’re out there driving a city bus like I do, and I have quite the story to share with you all. But that’s not why you’re here.

What we’re doing today is discussing this fragrance. I just added a little bit more water. This is a tallow base. If you’ve never used Frank’s base before, I was chatting with him, and he mentioned he upped a couple of the ingredients in this. So, while it’s still his normal base, it has been modified a little. This is a creamy, dense, luxurious lather. I freaking love it!

The scent of the soap is slightly different from the splash, primarily right out of the tub. However, once you whip it up and awaken those fragrance oils, the scents smell the same. There is a muted difference, but it’s very small. If you’re familiar with Killian’s “Single Malt,” I did a review of “Old Bush Malt” from Murphy & McNeil, which was a killer set, and then I reviewed “237” from First Line Shave. Both of those are inspired by Killian’s “Single Malt,” which is a delicious and amazing fragrance.

I would put this “Three Ring Circus” in the same vein—it’s not exactly the same fragrance, but it is an extremely well-done cotton candy fragrance. When it comes to projection, I’d only give it a four. As for the actual scent strength of the cotton candy, it’s perfectly balanced. When I first saw that cotton candy was going to be a part of this, I was intrigued. Part of me was concerned it might be too much, reminiscent of a candy floss like in Baccarat Rouge, but it’s extremely well done.

The presence of caramel, vanilla, fig, and the berries adds a dark richness to the dry down, which is not exactly cotton candy. It leans more into the realm of gourmand, with that sweetness and a combination of caramel and vanilla. The way these elements work together doesn’t lead to a stark vanilla scent, even though it does have that smell.

I highly recommend this one. If you can get your hands on it, do it! It might not be exactly what you think it is or expect it to be, as it wasn’t for me. Again, I’ve only seen Matthew’s review. If you haven’t watched Matt’s video, you should definitely check it out if you’re considering buying this after watching my review. I always recommend getting a few different opinions if you’re on the fence about something.

This is a one-and-done product, meaning once the Pasture’s Tour is sold out and Strike Gold Shave is sold out, it’s gone and won’t be back. It is a killer fragrance, and I guarantee most women are going to love it. I can assure you that they will enjoy it on you, and it might even tempt them to steal it. I do believe that there’s an EDP of it, and Frank still has some of those on his website too.

Quickly, before I grab the razors, let’s discuss some killer deals on Frank’s website. He has fragrances regularly priced at $37.99 now on sale for $7.60. Remember, this free shipping deal is only for the continental United States. He also has an “odds and ends” tab on his website where he has soaps and splashes regularly priced at $23.99 now on sale for $7.20. He has four black gold dollar razors that are not on sale, but they are priced at $28.50, making free shipping a great deal. Again, this free shipping is only available until the 17th. After that, the deal for free shipping will be gone.

There’s a Minion brush for $40.50. I still want to buy one of those. As for anything else I noted, there’s the soaps, splashes, and all the other things you typically expect. Now, let me show you my setup. I have a Gillette Silver Blue loaded in my Muhle R89, and over here, I have the Edwin Jagger DE89 with a Gillette Silver Blue loaded in it as well. So, we’re doing a comparison between the DE89 from Edwin Jagger and the Muhle R89.

Both razors have a first-use Gillette Silver Blue. I absolutely love Gillette Silver Blues; I have hundreds of them stocked up. Years ago, I made sure to stock up on them again, so with a little luck, I’ll never run out of these Russian-made Silver Blues.

The razor heads are not the same. If you didn’t see my previous video about that, I’ll put a link to it in the description. The blade gap on the Muhle R89 is .018 of an inch, while the Edwin Jagger DE89 is more efficient with a .028 of an inch blade gap. The exposure and the angle are very similar, but they are slightly different and are not made in the same facility. Edwin Jagger manufactures their razors while Muhle produces theirs in Germany.

I’m trying really hard to eliminate the word “aggressive” from my shaving vocabulary. I believe that this word is overused in this community, and not in a good way. Just like how in my videos I often say “um” too much, and how Valley girls say “like” all the time, I think “aggressive” has a negative connotation. In my opinion, a razor that shaves better is more efficient, not aggressive.

In light of that, I’ll do my best to avoid using aggressive to describe my shaving experience. A couple of years ago, Geo Fatboy discussed this in a video of his, and I’ve been trying to eradicate it from my vocabulary ever since.

Now I want to share a method I’ve used for years to determine whether a razor or even a specific blade is more efficient than another. I do this with Gillette Tech razors as well. For instance, I have two razors here, the Muhle R89 and the long-handled 38C, which is basically a longer version of the 34C. I have many other razors that I do this with, from Gillette Super Speeds to Rockwell and beyond.

So what we’re going to do today is something I’ve always done to test efficiency. I’ll make sure everything is nice and ready to go.

For the third pass, let’s see. I’ll turn off this fan over here. Okay, for the third pass, I’m not going to puff my cheeks or anything—just going to go for it without even tightening my skin.

Can you hear the feedback? I can feel it, and I hope you can hear it too. Now I’ll put that down, grab my bowl, and I want to note that there’s a mirror directly below you. I’m not going to tighten my skin for this pass.

So, I’ve just used the Muhle R89 on the left side for all three passes, and now I’ll use the Edwin Jagger DE89 on the right side for all three passes as well. Super quick, I’m just going to switch sides. I’ll do everything like I did for the third pass and listen for any feedback. I suspect I will feel a distinct difference as well.

Now we’ll take the Muhle and move it over to the right side. What we should discover is there’s less feedback than what I experienced with the Edwin Jagger on the left. In fact, it feels like there’s really nothing going on down here.

Now let’s put the Edwin Jagger DE89 on the left side where the Muhle has just been, and we should hear more feedback than we got from the Muhle.

It’s hard not to stretch my skin—old habits are indeed hard to break! You should have heard that, and as I can feel it, you’re probably noticing a significant difference as well.

So I’d love to hear if you’ve tried any similar methods for determining efficiency. I understand that it may not feel scientific, especially compared to measuring blade gap, but that’s one of my favorite ways of gauging performance in a practical sense.

If you don’t have a feel gauge, I suggest getting two Gillette Techs. If you don’t have any, I have a few old ones that I’m happy to send your way. Gillette Techs can usually be found for about $5, $10, or $15, as long as they’re in decent condition and not damaged.

If you have any questions about your techs, feel free to message me! I’m going to rinse off real quick and get ready to share some vintage razors I’ll be giving away as part of my membership giveaway. If you haven’t checked that out, I have the Brush Fund, and once a quarter, I’m giving away a brush to the members.

The Brush Fund is $1.99, and the first brush I’m giving away is my UMO ST1 regular density, which has a black chubby handle. I haven’t decided yet which razor I’m going to give away for the Razor Fund, which is $4.99 a month. I’ll have more information on both fan-funding efforts in an upcoming “Rambles, Rant, and Razor” video.

Don’t forget about my little Star Wars-themed doohickey—Galactic Witch Hazel from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements. They’re currently out of spray bottles, and Doug had no idea until I contacted them about a month ago. I really prefer the spray application, and I wish more splashes came in spray bottles.

Lastly, remember the free shipping at Strike Gold Shave until the 17th. This is a cotton candy gourmand, and it does initially smell like cotton candy—especially in the top notes. You need to shake it very well, as I believe Matthew Lawrence discussed in his video.

It seems to have something to do with the skin foods in the product. The alcohol scent dissipates quickly, and the more you use it, the easier it becomes to spread the fragrance evenly, thanks to an emulsifying agent.

Regardless, the fragrance is fantastic. My wife absolutely loves it! It has that cotton candy aroma for the first 20 to 30 minutes, after which it blends into a more caramel-vanilla gourmand. It’s reminiscent of Killian’s Single Malt. It truly is fantastic.

Would I wear it in blistering heat? No, I wouldn’t consider any gourmand fragrance a hot weather fragrance. However, it is a standout cotton candy gourmand unlike any other product in your den. It smells similar to Killian’s Single Malt, with its unique twist coming from the added fig and raspberry notes.

If you enjoy those scents, I’m telling you—grab this one! It’s excellent stuff. I absolutely love it.

I also have Galactic Aloe Vera in the fridge, and I meant to grab that earlier but forgot after rinsing off. This is aloe vera in a Galactic Aloe Vera bottle from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements.

Thank you, Frank, for the incredible offer! I will not earn a dime from your purchases at Strike Gold Shave, but this free shipping option until the 17th is fantastic. Frank and Jerry worked together on this, and I can’t thank them enough.

I would love to work on getting more offers like this for you guys in the future. Thank you all for being here and watching! The 2K subscriber giveaway continues to grow, and I can hardly believe it. Moon Soaps has participated, of course, and so has PAA.

We’ll talk about more new offers in an upcoming “Rambles, Rant, and Razor” video. Remember, it’s the little things that count. So take care, and don’t forget to say no to drugs. See you next time!

This content has been published with permission from the original author.