Razor: Yaqi Mellon on a Windrose G3 Handle
Blade: Wilkinson Sword
Brush: Oz Shaving synthetic
Soap: Lather Bros Howling Winter
Aftershave: Lather Bros Howling Winter Balm
Winter is coming….. scratch that, winter is here. I took this photo yesterday when an appearance of snow hit… a sign of things to come. Today, it is here, likely to stay with 2+ inches of snow. Fingers crossed we get one more blast of fall, but I think this snow is here to stay.
This offering is one of two from Lather Bros, created to pay tribute to Game of Thrones. Soaring Fire (an homage to Dior Fahrenheit) is the fire tribute and this Howling Winter set is the ice. Howling winter is a play on Davidoff Cool Water, with the mint note played up. To be honest, I thought this one wasn’t going to be a win for me. I find mint usually overwhelms the senses and is all I end up smelling. And while Davidoff Cool Water is a pretty classic aquatic, I have a couple other aquatics in my den that set the bar high for a shave soap.
Much to my surprise, this set is a hit. I’ve used it several times since acquiring it and it works for me. The mint is definitely dialed and and is primarily what you notice off the tub. Once you lather the soap, the Cool Water vibe with all its aquatic goodness really punches through. The dry down on the post shave leaves you with that classic fresh aquatic scent. Scent strength is mid strong off the puck but tones down (or better yet, rounds out) to medium once lathers. I quite liked the soap base. Lathering was easy and I got a nice dense lather with good cushion. Slickness was excellent, I almost dropped my razor when shaving. Post shave was above average, not amazing but more than sufficient. I could have skipped a post shave but I had the matching balm, so why not. This balm performed quite well. I did find it a touch heavy to start out with but it absorbed well and left the skin nice and hydrated. There was a touch of menthol to add some cooling but this by no means is a frigid set. Scent also carried quite well for a balm. This is a soap you could wear year round for anything casual.
The razor today is my Yaqi Mellon head mounted on a Windrose G3 I recently picked up (on free shipping Tuesday). This handle is offered by RazorsandMore on etsy. I’ve always liked the look of this handle, which I’ve come to learn is originally a Wolfman Razors design. It is stainless steel, has nice weight and is super comfortable to hold. It paired nicely with on my my favourite razor heads. A great combo for a great shave.
