I saw mention of Wholly Kaw’s La Supérieure shaving cream in Sharpologist, and on looking further into it, decided to give it a go. The Dulci Tobacco fragrance sounded good (and it is, as it turns out):
Warm and spicy with Tobacco, Vanilla, Nutmeg, Cacao, Tonka Bean, Plum, Sandalwood, Cashmeran
And the ingredients looked good:
Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Glycerol Monostearate, Glycerin, Propanediol, Cetyl Betaine, Alkyl Polyglucoside, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Sulfated Rincinus (Castor) Seed Oil, Gossypium Herbaceum (Cotton) Seed Oil, Cetearyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Xanthan Gum, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sunflower Seed Oil, Beta Carotene, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sucrose Palmitate, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
I let the brush soak while I showered, then wet it under the hot-water tap, shook it a few times, and twirled the tip in the shaving cream, then moved to my face to work up the lather. The lather does have a very good fragrance, on the light side, and the Fine Marvel razor glided easily through the stubble. I’ve noted that some razors seem more sensitive to Grooming Dept’s pre-shave, and the combination of the pre-shave and this lather — plus doubtless the razor design — made the glide quite pronounced.
Three passes to a smooth face, then rinse, dry, and apply a splash of Valley of Ashes aftershave. A good start for a sunny day.