This is the fourth shave in the current boar run, the first with an unbleached boar, and I have to say that the unbleached knot performs exceptionally well. Its feel and performance was better than yesterday’s bleached Zenith B02 A28 with essentially the same-sized knot (same loft — 64 mm — but the B02’s knot has a diameter of 28m and the Zenith 80B XSE‘s knot’s diameter is 27mm) and also noticeably better than the Antica Barbieria. It already is close to the Omega Pro 48, so perhaps after this Zenith is more broken in, it will match or even surpass the Pro 48. (I’ve very curious what a Pro 48 with unbleached boar would be like.)
My best advice now: If you get a boar brush, get either the Omega Pro 48 or an unbleached Zenith brush, and IMO the longer the loft the better.
The soap is another from the gift pack Grooming Dept sent me, and it’s a reprise of his earlier Coattails, this one named Coattails Redux. The fragrance is exceptional: “Saffron, Rose, Spice Accord, Oud, Vetiver.” The formula, a variation on his Kairos formula, has these ingredients:
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.
The leather today was exceptional — superb creamy thick consistency — and I think the brush itself had something to do with that. The fragrance, of course, was solely due to the soap. I notice that this brush, unlike yesterday’s bleached brush (which has had the same number of uses), maintained the lather through all three passes
My Above the Tie model R (the same model now is called R1) did an exceptional job for a non-slant razor and left my face exceptionally smooth after 3 passes with no extra effort required.
A small splash of Coattails Redux aftershave finished the job. This has the same alcohol-free, oil-free formula as yesterday’s aftershave, and it does leave my skin feeling nice and smelling good.
The tea today is Mariage Frères Bangkok in Love®: “This blue tea with a cheerful aroma of caramel, with notes of liquorice and anise, has been imagined to evoke the festive atmosphere of its colourful markets, the timeless charm of the temples reflected in the water and the joie de vivre of its citizens. Rose petals, ever present in the In Love collection, add their elegant notes to the composition.”
(“Blue tea” is the name Mariage Frères gives to oolong, which means I steeped this at too high a temperature. So it goes. I shall reprise the tea tomorrow at the right temperature to see whether I can detect a difference.)