Last Pass: Van Yulay's Shave Dad Coffee Soap
Good morning. Howdy. Welcome back to A Texan Shaves. I don’t think I’ve done a video this early in the morning in a long time. Can’t tell you the last time. It’s about 6:00 a.m. here on a Thursday. I got this last night, and I’m making the video now because of the theme.
This is Shave Dad Last Pass. A collaboration between Van Yulay and Shave Dad Jerry. You’ve probably seen the blitz that started yesterday. Look at that label art. And I’ll tell you straight: it smells incredible. I have the splash as well. This dropped on Friday the 17th on Van Yulay’s website.
What Is Last Pass?
Here’s the product description:
There’s nothing quite like that final pass of the razor when the lather has done its job and the shave is nearly complete, and the reward is waiting. Last Pass captures the moment with the rich, comforting aroma of freshly brewed espresso. Bold notes of dark roasted coffee beans, smooth espresso, and a hint of roasted smoke that creates an unmistakable scent of your favorite coffeehouse without overwhelming the senses. Warm, inviting, and deeply satisfying. This fragrance delivers the feeling of enjoying that first perfect cup of coffee after an exceptional shave. Whether you’re starting your morning or savoring a relaxing weekend shave, Last Pass is a tribute to two timeless rituals, a close, comfortable shave and a great cup of espresso. Finish strong, because every great shave deserves a last pass.
Scent notes:
- Top: freshly ground espresso beans, roasted coffee
- Middle: dark French roast
- Bottom: smoked roasted wood accord
I have my coffee before my shave, not after. But if you’re an after-shave coffee drinker, that’s fine. There are no rules. This one was made for you.
First Impression Off the Puck
Coffee soaps are all over the place for me. Either they’re so overpowering you feel like you’re swimming in used coffee grounds, or they’re blended with enough other things to make the coffee bearable. Coffee is hard to work with. The fragrance can take over a soap incredibly fast.
What impresses me about this one is how many different coffee notes Van Yulay packed in there. And still, it’s not in my face. It’s not going to blow my head off. What I actually get, right off the soap, is more of a mocha note. Chocolatey. A little dark. I’m liking it a lot.
Van Yulay’s piped pour on this soap is beautiful. I really love that she does that.
I also have the splash, and as I always say, the splash is where the full story is. That’s where the magic happens. But off the soap alone, I’m already optimistic.
The Hardware
For the brush, I’m using the Duracell with the Pure Bliss. And for the razor, something new: this is from the Cajun Blade. His new ACR-1. I’ve got it in the gunmetal color. There’s the box, and on the bottom of the razor: ACR-1, with Eric’s logo. This is a first use. I have not used this razor before. It’s already loaded with a blade.
We’re doing a head shave with Shave Dad’s the Last Pass.
My Morning Routine
I wake up, make my coffee, have a cup, and then get into the shower. I always shower-shave in the morning.
When I first started wet shaving, I was doing head and face at the same time. I was addicted immediately. I wanted to shave more. So I made a decision: head in the morning, face in the evening. Separate products, separate sessions. That’s when I became a twice-a-day shaver. Yes, twice a day. I shave my head in the mornings in the shower, which is why you don’t see many head shaves in the videos. Then I shave my face in the evenings, usually because of a video I’m making.
The schedule gets thrown off when I’m on Shave Masters. I’m the only head shaver on the show, so I do a head shave every episode. That means I can’t shave my head Tuesday morning. I have to save it for the stream. Typically I only do one shave on Tuesdays now. Sometimes I’ll shave my face in the morning, but usually I’m saving that for content too.
That’s the thing about being a wet-shaving YouTuber. It’s hard to just shave for yourself. You don’t want to pass up opportunities for content. Shave schedule’s all over the place.
When I travel, I go back to doing head and face together. Schedule goes out the window on the road.
What’s your routine? Morning shave? Evening? Let me know in the comments. There are no rules. Your routine is your routine.
The Shave
First thing on the ACR-1: the knurling on the handle is outstanding. Right away. And I could feel the efficiency on the very first pass. You can probably hear it in the video. Definitely some blade feel, some tooth to it. I went slow and light because I had a couple of spots with small scabs I didn’t want to catch.
Even going careful, I could tell there wasn’t going to be much cleanup. That’s just the way it felt going through the passes. The razor is plenty safe, just not familiar yet.
Then I went over one of those spots. Opened it up. Little nick right there. That’s on me, not the razor. When you shave every day, you don’t give nicks time to heal. I try to tell myself to lay off for a couple of days when something scabs. I get antsy. Can’t do it.
The lather from Last Pass was excellent. Monica’s base takes some water, keeps asking for more, and then it builds into something thick and dense. And once it’s all going? It smells like a coffee shop in here. I could barely tell the difference between the soap and my actual coffee sitting on the counter.
I need to say this while I’m thinking about it: this soap was sent to me for the purposes of this review. I did not mention that earlier. Thank you to Jerry and Monica, genuinely.
Final Thoughts
After the rinse, I got to the splash. That’s the full story, and Van Yulay held it up. Last Pass in the splash was warm and inviting, and it rounded out what was already a solid scent. That mocha quality I got off the puck came through in the lather and again in the splash.
If you’re into coffee scents and worried this one might overwhelm, it doesn’t. The different roast notes give it some depth and the whole thing stays in the coffeehouse lane without taking over the room.
Guys, if you are not in the Shave Dad Facebook group, do yourself a favor and join immediately. The link is in the description. If you subscribe to my channel, I will personally vouch for you to Jerry. Not that it’s needed. All are welcome. And if you haven’t been to shavedad.com, go check it out. Articles, news, men’s health, wet shaving content. Sign up for the newsletter. If you’re a YouTuber, there is a special section for you to sign up and get your content linked. Your content stays yours. They post transcripts and links to your videos, and you can have them take them down anytime. It’s a great resource.
Last Pass is available Van Yulay’s website. Thanks for watching, guys. Find your peace in what and where you can.