Razor: Schick Injector Type E
Blade: Schick Injector blade
Brush: Semogue Excelsior 820 Boar
Soap: Fine Accoutrements American Blend
Aftershave: Fine Accoutrements American Blend
Day 4 of #7DaysofBarbershop. Today I’m using Fine Accoutrements American Blend. For many, this is the scent that sets the bar for barbershops. This is based off of Rive Gauche pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurent. Scent notes on this are rosemary, star anise, bergamot, lavender, cloves, geranium, coumarin, patchouli, guaiac wood, vetiver and oakmoss.
This is a very well blended cologne scent, a very upscale barbershop. It opens with a subtle anise (not as bold as the Crown Shaving offering from yesterday) and dries down to an earthy and powdery vibe. Scent strength on this is about a medium.
I know a lot of folks aren’t big fans of the Fine Accoutrements base but I’m not in that camp. This is a hard triple milled puck of tallow soap. When I purchased it, it arrived in a cardboard box. My OCD tendencies needed me to print a label and put it in a plastic tub (I grated it and pushed it in the tub, worked perfectly). The soap itself lathers quite easily and can take some water. You will get a higher volume lather and not the rich glossy lather the newer bases are quite popular for. Once you have it dialed in (don’t under hydrate it) cushion is quite good and slickness is above average (lathered and residual). Post shave can be a touch drying, especially if you under hydrated the soap, but if you have it dialed in properly, this is on the edge of passable without a post shave. This won’t win any performance awards but if you dial in the hydration point you will get a very comfortable shave with fantastic scent performance.
The matching post shave from Fine is all about the scent. This is a pretty basic alcohol splash. There is a touch of menthol but other than that, it is pretty much alcohol and fragrance. It won’t do much for your skin but what it does well is perform on the scent level. You will carry this scent for a while after your shave and it does project for an aftershave.
I’ve decided to give Semogue another try. My previous one started to fall apart and hit the bin. Their boar knots are highly regarded and I’ve never had much luck with boar brushes. I figured I should acquire another and really put it through its paces to see if I can figure them out. This one still has some breaking in to do, but I was able to whip up a great lather today. No complains to start the week.
