Grooming Dept kindly sent me three shaving soaps and aftershave to try, and this morning it is L’Avventura‘s turn. I was prepared to like the shaving soap because I already liked the motion picture.
The soap is a fougère whose scent notes are “Lime, Grapefruit, High Elevation Lavender, Galbanum, Saffron, Resin Accord, Texas Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Birch Tar, and Patchouli.” I would not expect “fougère” to emerge from that, but it definitely has a fougère character. And the lather is lovely, one of the spinoffs from the Kairos formula, it features lamb tallow and emu oil:
Water, Stearic Acid, Lamb Tallow, Castor Oil, Cupuaçu Butter, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Green Tea Extract, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Isostearic Acid, Shea Butter, Tucuma Butter, Illipe Butter, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Betaine, Fragrance, Lauryl Laurate, Jojoba Oil, Beta-Sitosterol, Rice Bran Wax, Daikon Seed Extract, Polyglyceryl-4 Oleate, Linoleic Acid, Ethylhexyl Olivate, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Trehalose, Emu Oil, Tamanu Oil, Argan Oil, Oat Oil, Xylitol, Allantoin, Sodium Lactate, Glyceryl Caprylate/Caprate, Glyceryl Laurate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tara Gum, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium Extract, Sodium Gluconate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Tocopherols, Marshmallow Root Extract, Chamomile Extract, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Lanolin, Sea Buckthorn Extract, Sacha Inchi Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hyaluronate.
I used my Zenith B02-A28 bleached boar brush, whose price is €15 and loft is 64mm. This puts it close to the Omega Pro 48 (price €15, loft 65mm) and the Antica Barbiera (€82; loft 62mm — the manufacturer does not reveal the knot dimensions, so I measured it myself). The Omega Pro price is converted from US$ because I couldn’t find the price euros; I wanted to price all brushes in the same currency for ease of comparison.
The Zenith is still not quite broken in — I had to reload for the third pass to get as much lather as I wanted — but it is already a good performer. In terms of feel and performance, I would rate the three brushes as: good – Antica Barbieria; better – Zenith B02-A28; best Omega Pro 48.
One problem with the Antica Barbieria is its undisciplined knot: the bristles do not fall into line to make a smooth knot. The Omega Pro 48 is excellent in this regard, and the Zenith B02-A28 is better than the Antica “Barbieria.
Once lathered, I took my RazoRock German 37 — a very fine razor — and did a comfortable and efficient three-pass shave, leaving my face smooth for the aftershave — in this case, Grooming Dept L’Avventura aftershave splash. Technically, it’s a spray, not a splash. I believe that the point of the spray delivery is to moderate the amount, not that the lotion be sprayed directly onto the face. I sprayed a small amount in my cupped palm, rubbed my hands together, and applied the lotion by rubbing my face. It’s great stuff:
Highlighted Ingredients:
- Black Algae Extract¹
- Watermelon Extract
- Wakame Extract
Ingredients: Water, Propanediol, Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer, Green Tea Extract, Sodium PCA, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerine, Niacinamide, Betain, Fragrance, Acacia Gum, Xylitol, Allantoin, Inositol, Saccharide Isomerate, Borage Extract, Black Algae Extract, Watermelon Extract, Wakame Extract, Chamomile Extract, Sodium Levulinate & Sodium Anisate, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Gluconol
Some of those ingredients are unfamiliar to me, but when I copied the list and pasted it into CosDNA for analysis, I see that they are all kind to one’s skin and have various missions in nurturing the skin.
An extremely satisfying shave.
The coffee this morning is a 50/50 blend of two of Fantastico’s coffees: Sumatran Nusantara and Carrizal. Specifically, it was all the leftover Sumatran Nusantara (16g) and enough Carrizal (15g) to make my usual total of 31g. Today I’ll be picking up a new coffee, to be revealed on Saturday.
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¹ “Black Algae Extract contains large concentrations of various nutrients, such as B vitamin complex and numerous proteins. It is also one of the few natural substances in existence that contain gamma linolenic acid – a rare fatty acid that is believed to keep skin fresh and healthy looking.” Source