Phrygian roses seem to have a light fragrance
Dr. Jon’s Rose of Phrygia uses his Vol. 3 formula, and the lather was excellent in consistency and performance, but to my nose the fragrance was light (especially compared to yesterday’s shaving soap...
View ArticleI do love the way Organism 46-B smells, that cunning devil
The tub of Organism 46-B I have is Phoenix Artisan’s Kokum Butter formula rather than the soap in CK-6, but both are really quite good. PA’s Starcraft brush easily aroused a great lather with the...
View ArticleTobacco-themed shave
Tobacco is today’s theme. Chiseled Face Sherlock fits the bill, since it has a warm tobacco based scent blended with toasted caramel, black pepper, moist dirt, and finished with a touch of leather,...
View ArticleSometimes a shave really hits the spot
You coffee drinkers have doubtless noticed how you can drink the same coffee, brewed the same way, every morning, and on some occasional morning find that the cup of coffee is unusually delightful in...
View ArticleCavendish CK-6 and the iKon X3
The monday shave is always a pleasure and this mornings is hard to beat. I realized that the Rooney Style 3 Size 1 I used has a longer loft than many of my brushes, which contributes to its fine feel...
View ArticleFirst Night on Planet Earth and Rockwell’s Model T2
Exceptionally good shave today, I must say. First Night on Planet Earth (FNOPE) is a big “yes” for me: it’s a CK-6 soap (though also available at a lower cost in the Kokum Butter formulation, which is...
View ArticleMilksteak and Mk II
My Maggard 22mm synthetic worked up one of those luscious milksteak lathers from Declaration Grooming’s Cuir et Épices shaving soap, and with that applied, Fendrihan’s Mk II razor, mine with the...
View ArticleLove Bombs — occasionally, but sometimes it doesn’t
“Love Bombs” might be used in the Cole Porter song “Down with Love” (sung at the link by Bobby Short), but probably we are not to read it as a sentence. It does have a good fragrance: Dark Chocolate,...
View ArticleAfter the Rain, an Ascension to a perfect shave
After the Rain is one of Declaration Grooming’s Milksteak soaps, and a fine soap it is. My Keyhole synthetic seemed to love it and loaded itself with a lovely lather. Three passes with Phoenix...
View ArticleTertius and Edwin Jagger, with Pinaud Clubman on the side
The brush is Bruce, from Italian Barber, and it loved Tertius, giving lots of lovely lather. Tertius is another ultra-premium soap, this one from Ariana & Evans — great lather, fine fragrance:...
View ArticleThe Table of Contents outline for the Guide now fixed
Somehow a link on the “Sources for the Guide” page was broken — the link shows in outline form the Guide’s full Table of Contents. The link has been fixed.
View ArticleThe Great Monday Shave; or, OMG! What a fantastic shave!
From time to time — and more frequently as you gain experience — you’ll have a shave that simply could not be better. That happens more often when conditions are right — for example, and 2- or 3-day...
View ArticleLighting strikes again — Impeccable shave with a great (new) slant
Early this month, Mark asked me about the Fatip slant Lo Sorto. I had not heard of it, but hey! a slant! So I finally ordered it, and it arrived yesterday — and there it is, in the photo. Handsome...
View ArticleGoodfellas/Parker slant, Barrister & Mann’s Cologne Russe, and a soft, dense...
It occurred to me this morning as I was lathering with my Yaqi 22mm Soft Cashmere Synthetic Hair Orange Handle Shaving Brush (their description) that this sort of knot — very soft and also very dense...
View ArticleMeißner Tremonia in the US
I think that Meißner Tremonia has probably abandoned the US market. You’ll note that the label is in German, not English, unlike other Meißner Tremonia soap sold in the US — though this one still is...
View ArticleAchilles and the Game Changer
The base of Simpson’s Emperor (here, the 3 Super), like the brushes in the two previous posts, ends in a knob, but the top is different — the Emperor sets the knot into a kind of modified Persian Jar...
View ArticleRockwell Shaving Cream with the iKon stainless-steel slant — and Penhaligon’s...
Rockwell included a sample of their shaving cream with the Model T2 I ordered a while back. I came across the sample and thought I’d give it a try. The tab at the top is a cut-off, not a tear-off as I...
View Articlel’Occitane Cade and the original Rockwell Model T
As a matter of practice, for Cade shaving soap I use a brush with a synthetic knot, which has always produced a very good lather. With a badger or boar knot, my experience is that the lather is too...
View ArticleThose razors from the good old days: Not quite so good as all that
I do treasure my tub of J.M. Fraser shaving cream. I have enough to last, thankfully. (It’s no longer made.) It’s a very effective shaving cream, though its strength is in its performance, not its...
View ArticleA coffee morning because I quit coffee (again)
I had gradually moved to coffee as my morning beverage, and then for the past two or three days skipped it for one reason or another. Then last night and into this morning I had a headache — not...
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