Today’s shaving soap, Arianna & Evans Tertius, includes beer:
Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Aqua, Goats Milk, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Shea Butter, Beer, Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Aloe Juice, Avocado Oil, Apricot Kernel Seed Oil, Lanolin, Agave, Sorbitol, Slippery Elm, Sodium Lactate, Xanthan Gum, Emu Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, Silk Amino Acid, Colloidal Oatmeal, Yogurt, Tussah Silk, Marshmallow Root, Fragrance
It makes a very nice lather, today with my treasured Plisson European Grey badger brush, a gift The Wife brought to me from Paris. It took me a while to realize how very much I liked it because I had been accustomed to silvertip badger, but this brush is now one of my favorites. It has a wonderful grainy feel on the face, and it does a terrific job.
This week the soaps have featured one or another form of beverage alcohol:
• Monday: Scotch whisky (Strong ‘n Scottish, by Meißner Tremonia)
• Tuesday: Kentucky Bourbon whiskey (Achilles, by Van Yulay)
• Wednesday: Black beer (Black Beer No. 1, by Meißner Tremonia)
• Thursday: Oatmeal stout (Oatmeal Stout, by Mystic Water)
• Friday: Guinness stout (The Drunken Goat, by Mickey Lee Soapworks)
• Today: beer
I can’t think of any shaving soaps made with wine, but surely there must be some. I think a good Amontillado or Oloroso sherry would work very well, I think, or a good sweet vermouth. Perhaps such soaps are out there, but I don’t know of any.
The razor is Charocoal’s Edwin Jagger clone, though today I noticed more blade feel that I associate with the EJ head. Perhaps it was the blade (a UK Wilkinson Sword). Even with the blade feel, it was a comfortable shave (no threats, no damage), and the final outcome was an extremely smooth face.
A splash of Lustray Coachman with a couple of squirts of Grooming Dept Hydrating Gel finished the shave and launched the weekend.
The tea this morning is Murchie’s Balmoral Blend: “a strong, traditional, rich blend of bright Ceylon and malty Assam teas.” I also like a blend of those two with Keemun. They blend to order, and I think I’ll try 1/3 Ceylon, 1/3 Keemun, 1/3 Assam sometime — perhaps soon.
