What promises to be an ordinary shave achieves a glow of excellence as it unfolds, each step finding its own special quality.
First, the soap. When I bought this shaving soap — Green Irish Tweed, by Creed, which created the fragrance — it was outrageously expensive, but I wanted to try the real thing, not “Green Irish Tweed Style” soaps, of which there were many. (Creed no long sells shaving soap, so far as I can tell.)
The soap is triple-milled, and it has (of course) a wonderful fragrance. It also makes a damn good lather: creamy and thick in consistency. It is a first-rate soap, and this morning I totally loved the Mühle silvertip badger brush I was using. I like the look of the brush — look at the size of that knot in full bloom, and the handle sets it off: it’s like a bouquet in a vase. The knot is quite gentle, and sometimes that seems like not enough presence, but this morning it felt just perfect: a wonderful lather softly applied.
Just as beauty depends heavily on the beholder’s eye, so the pleasure of an experience grows from the expectations and receptivity of the one having the experience. This morning, soap, fragrance, lather, and brush all see totally pleasurable.
My Rockwell 6S — I am currently using the R4 baseplate — has always been a favorite. With any of the baseplate “settings,” R1 through R6, it’s extremely comfortable — on my face and in my hand. (The knurling on the Rockwell handle is particularly nice: good grip with no sharp, prickly points.)
The razor is also highly efficient with any baseplate. The R4 today produced perfect smoothness: no effort, no damage, three passes.
A splash of Chatillon Lux’s Gratiot League Square finished the shave. It’s a great fragrance: “tobacco, leather, rose, clove, nutmeg, sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla, musk, bergamot, and amber.” They no longer offer an aftershave, but the eau de toilette works well as an aftershave if you augment it with a couple of squirts of Grooming Dept’s Aion Hydrating Gel.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the shave, and the result is outstanding, if I say it myself.
The coffee this morning is again Fantastico’s Guatemala Santa Clara Altos Dos, but my jar of beans is close to empty so soon I’ll be trying another variety. This one’s good, though: “Full-bodied, rich, balanced. Chocolate hazelnut cream pastry, vanilla, subtle red berry.”