This time I remember Steve Riehle’s suggestion that I photograph the razor with the top visible so that the DOC (double open comb) is more apparent.
But first, the (wonderful) lather from that tub of Dr. Selby’s 3X Concentrated Shaving Cream. The fragrance is certainly pleasant — lavender, a classic choice for shaving soap — but the headline attraction is the quality of the lather and the ease with which it’s made, in this case with a nifty travel brush from New England Shaving.
Phoenix Artisan’s Ascension is a terrific little razor — I have two copies, just in case — and it did an excellent job easily this morning: three passes, perfect finish, no damage.
Aion Nourishing Balm is something new — it’s an aftershave that, as the catalog copy says, goes beyond an aftershave. This is a quintessential aftershave balm, whose total focus, as the name suggests, is on skin care and skin nourishment, not fragrance. Indeed, the product seems to have no fragrance, a definite benefit if you are going to be in close quarters (as on a plane). If you do want fragrance, you can of course use an EDT, where fragrance is the primary goal.
The ingredients in Aion Nourishing Balm:
Green Tea Extract, Water, Kukui Nut Oil, Moringa Oil, Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride, Squalane (Olive), Argan oil, Propanediol, Cupuaçu Butter, Radish Seed Extract, Brassica Glycerides, Glyceryl Laurate, Glycerine, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Pracaxi Oil, Oat Oil, Xylitol, Beta Glucan, Seaweed Extract, Kelp Extract, Jojoba Esters, Galactoarabinan, Beta Sitosterol, Ginkgo Biloba Extract, Edelweiss Extract, Echinacea Extract, Serine, Proline, Taurine, Inositol, Histidine, Bisabolol, Sodium Levulinate and Sodium & Anisate, Gluconolactone & Sodium benzoate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Tocopherols.
What does all that mean? Here’s an explainer.
It feels very nice and leaves my skin feeling good — much like Grooming Dept Rejuvenating Serum. I’ll have to use these side by side to compare.
The tea this morning, #2 in the run-through, is Murchie’s Baker Street Blend, a favorite: “Lapsang Souchong, smooth Keemun, rich Ceylon, Gunpowder, and floral Jasmine.”