Sometimes — and with practice and good products, fairly often — a shave will almost resonate with “great experience.” It helps if one doesn’t use the same setup every morning. However fine the fragrance, however pleasant the razor, daily use will desensitize the shaver to the sensations of the experience so that what once was bright and distinct gradually loses it luster and becomes diim and vague. With a different setup each morning — different brush, soap, razor, and aftershave — the experience maintains a freshness even while recalling previous experience. You get both the pleasure of a fresh experience and also from the memory of previous encounters, like returning after some months to a favorite restaurant, or like encountering a friend after a long absence.
Such a shave I had this morning. Whenever I return to the Pro 48, now well broken in, I inevitably think, “What a great brush!” Phoenix Artisan’s CK-6 lather is always strikingly good, and Dapper Doc’s old-fashioned lilac & fig fragrance was again fresh and distinct to my nose, a most welcome renewal of acquaintance.
RazỏRock’s Baby Smooth is a remarkably good razor, one that delivers extreme efficiency with great comfort. Three passes left my face smooth and ready for a splash of lilac & fig fragrance. PA aftershaves have a lasting fragrance, so this one I will enjoy through the day.
If I shaved with this same setup for a week or two, the impact would lessen, and what was remarkable today would soon become ordinary and expected. Of course, people vary. Some enjoy novelty, while others find comfort in consistency. I am a novelty seeker, and for me a novel experience has sharper edges and brighter colors, and that I like. YMMV.
This morning I recalled some inexpensive but quite good shaving sticks, and I’ll finish this week with four of them.