Razor: Gillette Fat Handle Tech
Blade: Feather
Brush: Wild West Brushworks Bobcat
Soap: Ariana & Evans NYC
Aftershave: Ariana & Evans NYC
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
I was super excited for this mail call yesterday. I’ve wanted the NYC set since I got a sample back in February. Scent notes on this are Lavender, Geranium, Orange, Anise, Chamomile, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Cedar wood, Hay, Cardamon, Musk. This is a fougere with a metro vibe to it, very masculine. Scent is mid-strong off the puck and really comes out once lathered in both strength and complexity. This A&E tallow and goat milk formula is one of my favourite bases as well. While you won’t get a huge pillowy lather, the creamy yogurt like lather is very slick and has a fantastic post shave feel. If you don’t have a soap in this base you are really missing out.
For the razor today, I pulled out an old classic, my Made in Canada Gillette Fat Handle Tech. This is the mildest razor I own (and one of the lightest) so I paired it with a Feather blade. I find Feather blades a bit too sharp for me and tend to not get the smoothest shave on the first go. Today, paired with the top shelf software and the mild razor, I got a really smooth 3-pass shave. No irritation and no weepers. This will be a combo I will revisit.
I finished off with the matching splash. This formulation carries the scent strength from the soap, has decent longevity and has a nice skin food formula. No burn at all and the skin felts great after the post. Very happy to have this set in the den.