Tallow + Steel make impressive shave soaps and aftershaves. So far as I can tell, they make a group of soaps and aftershaves, and when those sell out after a few months, they move on to another collection. They don’t seem to maintain a stable of year-in, year-out varieties that are always available. Thus Grog soap and aftershave and Dark soap and aftershave, which I purchased a few years back, are now gone and I imagine will not return. That’s too bad, in a way,, because both are quite wonderful, but OTOH, keeping them around would doubtless mean fewer new varieties.
Cognac is strikingly good. The fragrance I like a lot, but I find it difficult to describe a fragrance, and here the makers help me out:
Cognac (38%) | Oakwood (21%) | Vanilla (18%) | Orange (8%) | Tobacco (7%) | Cocoa (6%) | Jasmine (2%) | 100% natural aromatic extracts from botanicals.
They offer a page that lists the ingredients of their various products, along with a paragraph on the reasons for, and virtues of, each ingredient, but the simple list for the soap is:
Stearic Acid + Water + Organic Argan Oil + Organic Glycerin + Organic Castor Oil + Organic Safflower Oil + Potassium Hydroxide + Tallow (Pasture-Raised) + Organic Coconut Oil + Bentonite Clay + Sodium Hydroxide + Vitamin E + Silk + Natural Fragrance (Botanical Extracts)
I used Omega’s Mixed Midget (boar + badger), soaking it before use (because of the boar). This is a 20mm knot with a 43mm loft, though the loft feels higher: good resilience but also good flexibility and ample capacity. I notice that it’s available on Amazon for $20. It did an excellent job.
The razor today is an Edwin Jagger head on a stainless steel bulldog handle a good combination, and the result was quite good, though with extra effort — so I replaced the blade following the shave.
Tallow+Steel’s aftershave is first-rate and has toner+balm properties, doubtless due to the excellent choice of ingredients:
Organic Witch Hazel + Organic Aloe Vera + Water + Organic Glycerin + Organic Quillaja Extract + Organic Rose Hydrosol + Organic Calendula Hydrosol + Alcohol + Organic Willow Bark Extract + Organic Cucumber Extract + Organic Licorice Root Extract + Organic Rosemary Extract + Leuconostoc / Radish Root Ferment Filtrate + Lactobacillus + Coconut Fruit Extract + Natural Fragrance (Botanical Extracts)
It’s a water-based aftershave (despite the presence of a little alcohol, used as a preservative), so cross-border shipping is not an issue.
Altogether a great start to the morning.