Razor: Yaqi Mellon
Blade: Voskhod
Brush: Yaqi Synthetic
Soap: Oleo Soapworks No. 11
Aftershave: Oleo Soapworks No. 11 Splash
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
It has been a while since my last theme week so I figured one was long overdue. This theme week I will be highlighting barbershop items with #7DaysofBarbershop
First off, what makes a barbershop scent? There is no hard and fast rule that clearly defines the humble barbershop scent. For some it is defined by that powdery talc note. Others lean on the the rich leather from that vintage barber chair or a rich masculine tobacco. Some define it by a very traditional shave scent like Bay Rum, or maybe you fall in the camp of a long standing product scent that you would commonly find at an old school barber like a Floid Blue, Pinaud Clubman or Proraso Green. The common theme is that it evokes a memory or a calling back to days when men would gather at the barbershop for a quick shave and a haircut for two bits. For me, I find I like all styles of barbershop as they bring a little something different to the table while all evoking that same experience. What better scent profile to highlite for a week of shaves.
I’m starting the week off with my newest and current favourite barbershop addition, No. 11 by Oleo Soapworks. I have to admit, this was a blind buy purely based off packaging but it has been a huge win. I keep going back to it. This is on homage to At the Barbershop by Maison Martin Margiela. Scent notes on this are bitter orange, basil, black pepper, lavender, geranium, rosemary, tonka bean, leather, moss, white musk. I get that slightly smokey/sweet and rich leather, a touch of floral and almost an anise vibe to it. I can just picture kicking back in a leather barber chair back in the day. This does’t have a lot of powdery notes to it, which suits me just fine. I keep going back to this set because it smells so damn good. I am going to have to save up for the matching original fragrance.
Oleo has been a real refreshing surprise to my den. This loads and lathers very easily but still performs like an elite level soap. It is easily in the top 5 performers in my den and I can dial in the lather with any brush in little to no time. Slickness is excellent and post shave is fantastic as well. If I had to give it a touch of a knock it’s that so far I’m finding all their scents just a touch lighter than I would like and the matching splashes are pretty basic formula wise. This scent falls in at around a medium and while it does carry with you in a subtle way for a couple hours, if the strength was amped up just a touch it would be the perfect balance.
A great shave today to start up Barbershop week. What are your favourite barbershop sets? Play along this week by tagging your SOTDs on social media with the hashtag #7DaysofBarbershop so I can see what products I might be missing out on.
All for now – J
