Razor: Gillette Fatboy on 4
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Brush: Copper Hat Synthetic
Soap: Barrister & Mann Behold The Whatsis!
I’ve always had a bit of a strange relationship with Barrister & Mann products. I find their packaging/labeling to be some of the best in the business (usually…. more about that below). Performance for their product line never disappoints. They offer some really unique stories and ideas but often the scents turn out to be over complicated or don’t make sense to me. This particular offering falls into that category.
I remember hearing that the Seuss tribute soap was coming and was pretty excited. I’ve always been a big Dr. Suess fan. I have some Dr. Suess books. I’m pretty sure one of the books pictured from our family collection is as old as I am. My parents read Suess to me and I read Suess to my son. The lessons in the books hold up just as well today as they did when they were written.
Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the THINKS you can think up if only you try!
– Dr. Suess
And then I saw the packaging and it was a bit of a let down on that front. Gone is the nice smooth walled jar used to hold the product. In it’s place they chose a cheaper blue plastic container with curbed green lid. It feels small, and the soap inside this inset walled jar makes for a tougher load. I knot what they were going for with the blue/green but it just doesn’t do it for me. The whole packaging feels a bit hokey to me. I would have preferred to keep the classy B&M packaging with a bit more refined artwork.
But that is just packaging… let’s talk about the soap. This offering is in the new excelsior base, and it was my first time using it. I’d say it is a big upgrade vs the reserve and glissant bases I have experience with. It loads quite easily and performs like a chance. Slickness (lathered and residual), cushion and post shave are all top shelf. I can’t complain about the performance. Scent notes are grapefruit, rose, childhood memories (tangerines, sugar cookies, and dryer-warm blankets). I get the fruity notes of the grapefruit and tangerine up front and when lathered I get sugar cookie and bounce sheet. Seriously, that is what I pick up, bounce fabric softener sheet. And here is lies my issue, why would I want a soap to smell like fruit, cookies and dryer sheets? It just doesn’t make sense. Sure, it tells a good story but in the end, it has to be something I want to use. This has been a common theme for me along many of the scent offerings, they tell a good story but the scents come off over complicated and not working.
If you like the artwork/packaging, are a Suess fan, and you either like the scent or can get past it, I can really see how someone would really dig this product. It would tug at the heart strings and there performance won’t disappoint. For me, this one is a pass.
