Clik here to view.
Going for the supple soft smooth shave — and just missed it
Now that my attention has been drawn to the supple soft finish of some shaves, I naturally want that to recur. It would be easy if I knew exactly the cause, but shaving involves quite a few variables....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rockwell 6S 3R and Star Jelly again
I decided to try Phoenix Artisan’s Star Jelly once more, but after shaving with a different razor. My Simpson Duke 3 Best made a terrific lather from Alt-Eleven, which is the standard Phoenix Artisan...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Smooth Soft Supple Result again, with CK-6 and GC .84-P
I would say that this time it’s a combination of Phoenix Artisan’s CK-6 formulation (here in Dapper Doc’s Old Time Lilac & Fig) and the RazoRock Game Changer .84-P. The prep was a pleasure. That’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Dead Sea and the S1
That’s a pretty sharp image for a 1/2 second exposure — thanks Craig B for the tip on using the timer. I went aggressively after the smooth supple soft shave today, with (a) The Dead Sea, which seems...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Great shave and more ruminations on “novelty” soaps and scents
An extremely nice result this morning. I did change the blade in the iKon 102 after the first pass, this time using a Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge. I did have the benefit of a two-day stubble (and an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dark Chocolate, a good novelty fragrance
In reflecting on yesterday’s shaving post, I thought I should make clear that novelty fragrances are not ipso facto bad — indeed, they can be quite enjoyable. Phoenix Artisan’s Dark Chocolate that I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another novelty — and a very nice one: Chiseled Face’s Summer Storm
After some period of time, it becomes oxymoronic to refer to something as a “novelty,” since newness is the essence of novelty. (I recall a new construction at my alma mater that was called “the new...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mickey Lee’s Bee Witched: Honey fragrance
Another very pleasant limited-run novelty soap, and I have to say I do like the honey fragrance. L’Occitane makes this soap and this soap, but neither is a shaving soap. I could do with a honey...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pumpkin pie fragrance: novelty? or not?
This soap from Seifenglatt (now known as Smooth Shave, I believe) certainly has aspects of a novelty fragrance, but OTOH it is a reasonably complex fragrance — and spice fragrances are a traditional...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Honeysuckle: Unusual, but not a novelty
Although honeysuckle is an uncommon fragrance for a shaving soap, I don’t see that it can be termed anything other than a floral. If honeysuckle is a novelty fragrance, then so must be rose, which is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tallow + Steel Grog: A nice take on Bay Rum
I like Tallow + Steel Grog quite a bit, but Tallow + Steel rather quickly retires fragrances to bring out new ones. I’ve not tried any of their current collection (some of which I notice is already...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tallow + Steel again, and the venerable Merkur 37G
My Plisson horn-handled HMW12 is a very nice brush, and I do like the unusual fragrance of this soap. The Merkur 37G (C = chrome, G = gold) has been around a long time and remains a very good slant....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Garden Mint — and a collection up for sale
I very much like this shaving soap from Wickham Soap Company. Peppermint is fairly frequently found in shaving soaps, but spearmint (the mint used a mint julep, for example) is much less common. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The pleasure of a good vintage razor: Gillette 1940s Aristocrat
After a good prep with the La Toja shave stick and Edwin Jagger synthetic (very like the gen 2 Mühle synthetic used yesterday(, I found my 1940’s Gillette Aristocrat delivering an extremely pleasant...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Floris No. 89 and the Fine Marvel
Just another fine shave: the Wet Shaving Products Prince is a fine little fellow, and the lather from this almost-vintage Floris No. 89 shaving soap was excellent in fragrance and consistency. Fine’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Coffee to start the day right
Stubble Trubble closed its doors some time back, so I’m happy I have this generous tub of Up & Adam with an espresso+vanilla fragrance. And it makes a great lather, with the able assistance of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charming shave and the way experience is not even so much as the iceberg’s tip
A very pleasant shave this morning, with an extra-creamy lather I attribute to the fineness of the (synthetic) bristles of the Yaqi Target Shot brush, whose handle is camouflaged so that you can shave...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tobacco today, and a perfect shave
I brought out the heavy-hitters and they delivered. RazoRock’s 400 synthetic seems to have bristles about as fine as yesterday’s Yaqi, and the lather it made from Phoenix Artisan’s Cavendish soap was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dark-Chocolate shave
A little pick-me-up for midweek: dark chocolate seemed just the ticket. My Simpson Chubby 1 Best made a good lather, but I didn’t catch must fragrance this morning and so I naturally thought...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Declaration Grooming’s Milksteak Base shaving soap
I finally decided that I had to try Declaration Grooming’s new formulation: Stearic Acid, Water, Castor Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Vegetable Glycerin, Bison Tallow, Mango Butter, Avocado Oil, Shea...
View Article