A cascade of comparisons from today’s shave
No photo today, but some notes: D.R. Harris shaving soap (in stick) is better than Golddachs Classic: thicker, finer lather; slicker face. Simpson Wee Scot (from before the Vulfix acquisition) is...
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Three Zenith boar shaving brushes
I have named the brushes. From L to R: Athos, Porthos, Aramis. A fellow Mastodonian commented on the quality of Zenith boar brushes — a brand that’s new to me — and once I looked at the brushes, three...
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Løthur Bourbon: terrific fragrance, terrific lather
The Razor Company just recently started offering Løthur shaving soaps and aftershave, and I tried the Bourbon version. “Bourbon” in this case refers to the biscuit (UK) or cookie (US) — from...
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Jumping the gun with my new boar brushes
Taking Porthos for a spin @Mayana noted that they do not take their new boar brushes through a break-in period (loading, lathering, rinsing, and letting dry, repeated daily for a week). Instead, they...
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Bleached v. Unbleached Boar Brushes
Unbleached boar brush First-use indications strongly suggest that unbleached boar shaving brushes perform (and feel) better than bleached. It’s still early days, but I have to say that I’m impressed...
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A beautiful boar brush with l’Occitane Cade
The Zenith 506U XSE This morning I used the third of my new boar brushes, the one I named “Aramis” because it is the most handsome and elegant of the three: a pretty boy in brush form. I again used a...
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Pomp and Dark Rose
The great Omega Pro 48 and the Eros slant Pomp is a Grooming Dept exclusive to The Razor Company. It’s a Donkey Base soap whose fragrance notes are “Bourbon whiskey, Dark Rose, Dark Fruits, Dark...
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Blissful shave
The Antica Barbieria bleached boar brush is coming along, breaking in nicely. It easily made an excellent lather from Grooming Dept Sandalwood Nobile, a Kairos formula shaving soap. The Kairos formula...
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L’Avventura and a Zenith bleached boar brush
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....
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Unbleached boar seems better
Zenith unbleached boar brush, Grooming Dept Coattails Redux, and Above the Tie R This is the fourth shave in the current boar run, the first with an unbleached boar, and I have to say that the...
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What a great lather!
Zenith 506U XSE and Mallard formula Visage The brush, a Zenith 506U XSE, has an unbleached boar knot (diameter 27mm, loft 56mm) and a very pleasant olive-wood handle. (I mentioned earlier that I now...
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Another fine lather, from an earlier Grooming Dept Mallard formula
.I had to try Grooming Dept’s Mallard formula again right away to enjoy again that spectacular lather. I had not recalled it being so great. This morning I picked Mallard Corretto, already a favorite...
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A satisfying Monday morning
The makings of a fine shave Amber Rose is a Grooming Dept soap exclusive to West Coast Shaving. It’s currently $22 (30% off — and that seems to apply to all the Grooming Dept soaps). The soap has an...
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More Mallard
. Another Grooming Dept Mallard-formula soap, but again the older formula. My Rooney Style 3 Size 1 made a very fine lather, and the Yaqi Tile razor head on a RazoRock stainless handle did a...
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Semi-novelty’s benefits in shaving
Rooney Finest, Grooming Dept Ketoret, and the Yaqi Mercury I use a different set-up for every shave, and with just over 60 razors in rotation, it takes just over 10 weeks to get through them all. (I...
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Experimental no-brush oil shave
Today’s product lineup Today I tried a shave using the Conditioning Shave oil (which also can be used as an aftershave, similar in feel to Grooming Dept Rejuvenating Serum). I did my usual prep, using...
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New method for a great third pass
Ingredients for a great shave experience IGrooming Dept’s proprietor told me of a new technique for the third pass, the against-the-grain pass. The rationale for the method is that shaving is by...
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The Third-Pass Trick
The third-pass method I learned from Grooming Dept’s proprietor works extremely well, and today I discovered another benefit. I used Grooming Dept Visage this morning. This soap has a pleasant...
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Still working on the new third-pass habit
Ingredients for a great shave In the previous post, I commented on the power of habits — first cobwebs, then cables. But habits require practice to settle, and my new third-pass practice missed a beat...
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Habit settling in, and good tools
I do like this little Thäter brush. The dome shape of the knot is a good change of pace, and it had no problems developing a fine lather from Rustler’s Ridge, a soap made from Phoenix Artisan’s CK-6...
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