Jelly Rings Review by Cape Cod Wet Shaving

Hey everybody, how are you doing? John Bonam here from Cape Cod Wet Shaving. I have a quick video review for you. The set that I’ll be using in this video will be available tomorrow, February 7th, which is a Friday, in 2025 as of the filming of this. This release was originally scheduled for Valentine’s Day, but it has been pushed up to tomorrow. So, I wanted to get a quick review video out there.

The set in question is called Jelly Rings, from a collaboration between Jerry Plusa and Frank Misa from Strike Gold Shave. I was fortunate enough to test this before it was even named Jelly Rings, and I really liked it. It turns out I’m a big gourmand guy, and this is a gourmand scent. The scent notes include raspberry jelly and chocolate. I wrote down three scent notes and forgot one; oh well.

When I tested this, I really enjoyed it. This is the new base from Strike Gold Shave, and it’s phenomenal. I think his prices have actually gone down even though he improved his base. The only feedback I gave Frank was that I wished the raspberry scent was stronger, and he basically acknowledged that. So, we’ll see if he increased the intensity. I also have the matching splash with me.

This was sent to me for free by Frank and Jerry, so thank you guys for that. I’ll be using it on camera. As I mentioned, I really like it a lot. I love gourmands, and this one is exceptionally good. I love fruity gourmands, especially citrus and plum, but there aren’t many raspberry scents out there, so that’s probably why I like this one so much.

For the sake of the shave, and because it’s about 10 degrees outside—well, more like 20—I’ll be using cocoa butter balm after the shave since I’ll be going outside shortly. I want to add some moisture back into my face.

For the shave, I’ll be using my brand new Merkur L handle Barber pole razor with a Rex blade; this is the fifth use of the blade, and I find that I can push these Rex blades quite far. Now, I’ll go ahead and lather off-screen and then we’ll get to the shaving. Be right back.

Alright, everyone, I wanted to show you the soap. It’s a bit on the darker side, and it smells so good! Just look at that lather I’ve created. The base is very nice, and I really like the goat milk and tallow in it. If I remember correctly, it also contains dragon fruit and chamomile; I enjoy the dragon fruit in there as well.

If you like gourmands, you’re really going to love this. But if gourmands are not your thing, I’d say still give this a shot. It’s very chocolatey and definitely a gourmand scent. I’ve never personally tried jelly rings, but they remind me of those mini chocolate donuts. Oops, I just got some on my nose! These jelly rings have raspberry in them, and it’s a New York thing; I wish I had tried them so I could at least say, “Hey, I’ve had those.” However, I can assure you I haven’t tried them yet, but I definitely want to because they smell delicious.

I love the collaborations that Shave Data does with different artisans across the community, and this one is especially good. I also loved the one they did with Irina, the pine-scented one; that was really good. I should have used it over Christmas time, but I’m not sure if I did. It would have been a fitting Christmas scent—green, red, and white—so I’m getting a little off topic here, aren’t I? This is why I call my stuff first impressions rather than reviews because I tend to meander all over the place rather than focusing on the product.

The soap and splash will be available on Friday at StrikeGoldShave.com, so make sure you pick that up. I don’t believe there’s any limited edition, but it would be very cool if there were; I’d definitely pick it up because of how much I like this. I wouldn’t want to smell like raspberries and chocolate every day, but my 10-year-old daughter really loves gourmands, and she especially likes this one for obvious reasons since it smells like berries and chocolate.

An added bonus is that my wife thinks it’s amusing that I love gourmands. She jokes about how I should buy lip gloss, but she’s very cool about it. I enjoy when I get a new set that piques her interest; it’s a huge bonus! Usually, when I walk past, I stick my neck in her face, and she just says, “Yes, very nice”—TMI, right?

The soap is very slick and thirstier than his last base, which I’ve noticed, and it’s a bit softer when loading your brush. I used a V-Lon Spanish horsehair brush, and I wouldn’t say this is a soap that you want to bloom. I mean, you could if you wanted to, but I would just recommend doing a quick swirl and then bowl load or face lather. Otherwise, you might overload quickly, as the soap is on the softer side.

It’s really nice stuff, and it’s not overwhelmingly aromatic, so you won’t step out of the bathroom smelling like you smeared this all over your clothes. It’s probably around a medium scent strength; if you bumped up the raspberry, it would be on the higher end, but the balance between the raspberry and chocolate is quite nice. They’re pretty evenly matched in the scent profile.

This brush is different because you can hear it flopping and slapping against my face. It’s a bit floppy, but when you use it, the bristles are dense. While it doesn’t have a lot of backbone, it applies beautifully. I love this brush and while horse hairs can be divisive, if you get a thick enough knot, they are just excellent. Personally, I prefer them over synthetics.

The post-shave feel of this soap is really nice, and I’m excited to have the splash to use. Thank you again, Frank, for sending this to me. I was a bit panicking because I have another review video for a different product that I’ve been sitting on for a while, and life just kept happening. So when Frank reached out and mentioned the change in the release date, I realized I had to get this video done. Frank’s a good dude!

You can see how creamy the lather is, and to be honest, I think I could have added a little more soap to thicken it up. I feel like I might still be underdosing it. It is a thirsty soap, and sometimes I tend to add too much water too quickly. While I’m trying to balance that, I end up with way more soap than I need for the shave, which is fine—but it’s a waste of soap. I’m trying to teach myself to find a better balance with thirsty soaps.

By the way, we’re supposed to get some snow tomorrow. The other day, we got about four inches, and my kids had a half day at school. We woke up to about four inches, and by the time they both got home, it had melted because it hit around 49 degrees. My daughter, who just turned 10, was devastated because she loves playing in the snow. We have a secret “sledding” spot in our neighborhood that the homeowners don’t mind us using. We’re very respectful of their property, so they let us keep it to ourselves.

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll get to take my kids sledding, which is exciting. Oh, did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow? I feel like he has seen his shadow the last four years in a row. This Merkur razor is really nice; they say it’s one of their top three sellers, and I have wanted one for years. I’m glad I finally got one. It’s milder than I thought it would be, but I like the heft of it; it’s a heavy razor and a two-piece with a UNS screw.

Alright, let me rinse off, do the post-shave, and any touch-ups—I’ll be right back.

Wow, that was some good stuff! I really like the post-shave feel with this soap; it’s very pleasant. The splash is made with powerful ingredients that will help prepare and protect your skin after shaving. Yes, I believe it! The ingredients include rose water, and oh man, I have a toddler who’s not even two yet, so it’s just delightful chaos right now.

I didn’t shake that well at all—sorry, not my best first impression!

The splash smells delicious. You can definitely smell the raspberry more than the chocolate in the splash, which I like. And oh man, my kid is really throwing a fit! I hope it’s not distracting anyone.

Anyway, this stuff absorbed right in. The splash is nice; oh, that’s good! I’d recommend using that. I’m hoping it doesn’t overwhelm the raspberry scent, but I don’t think it will. I did use a little more than I intended, which is typical for me.

If you ever see this set, I’d recommend picking it up. I actually found the original cocoa butter that we used for my wife’s stretch marks when she was pregnant, and then out of the blue, I discovered the new formulation at TJ Maxx or one of those home goods stores. I was curious, saw the product, and thought it would be good to try.

So, just to recap, Jelly Rings will be released tomorrow, February 7th, on StrikeGoldShave.com. I really like it, and you should definitely try out the new base—it’s fantastic! I wouldn’t say it’s better than the old one; it’s just thirstier and softer, and once you find the sweet spot, that lather really explodes. You just saw how well it applied!

Oh yeah, all this time, I’ve been sipping on a raspberry bubbly drink.

I appreciate all of you for tuning in. If you’re interested, be sure to grab it. Thank you again to Frank and Jerry for creating this awesome set. If you aren’t already a member of the Shave Data group on Facebook, go join! It’s probably my favorite group on Facebook. Jerry is very involved and does a great job running it.

Thank you for watching, especially if you made it to the end. Sorry again about the background noise. Until next time, look out for another review video from me. Take care, happy shaving, be safe, and take care of one another! See you later!

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