Razor: Karve Bison
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge Yellows
Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Retro Red Sparkle 26mm BOTI Synthetic Classic
Soap: First Canadian Shave / Thirsty Badger Shave Company Goodfellers
Aftershave: First Canadian Shave / Thirsty Badger Shave Company Goodfellers
Other: Givenchy Gentleman Boisée Eau de Parfum
This one has been in the works for a while (years would be accurate). In the early days of the BBS.Live show, the running gag was the amount of Canadians winning prizes. The term #CanadianMafia was coined and at that moment I knew I wanted to do something with that. I’ve always had this vision of doing some limited releases with Canadian artisans to promote the awesome work they do and Randy with First Canadian Shave was a logical first choice. His software base is fantastic and he was also along for the BBS.Live hijinx.
The artwork was a play off of our #CanadianMafia tshirt design. We took inspiration from the classic Goodfellas movie and put a Canadian spin on it. For the scent, there were a few options that I wanted to try (an earlier sampler was sent out to a few people in another scent) but we landed on one of my favourite fragrance lines, Givenchy Gentleman. I have the entire Gentleman lineup and Boisee is one of the standouts.
Boisee is described as Woody, Floral and Spicy. Scent notes on this are Black Pepper, Iris, Cocoa Bean, Burning Wood and Sandalwood. The woody/floral/spicy description is an accurate one. In the shave soap/aftershave format, the notes are all there but I’d say they come out a little differently. They play the same notes but emphasize different syllables of the lyrics. In the fragrance, you get that strong pepper spice, woody base with an Iris floral along for the ride. But in the shave format, the spice is toned down and the iris is more prominent over a subtle woody base. The result is a clean, slightly powdery and slightly woody fragrance that is perfect for the Canadian (or any other) Gentleman. The scent strength on this is on the milder side. It will not be slapping you in your face during or after your shave. I’d describe it as more of a warm hug that wraps around you for the shave. It would be perfect for days at the office or paired with almost any woody, floral or spicy cologne you may want to wear for the day.
Performance on this is a standout for me. I really enjoy First Canadian Shave products. The soap is very easy to lather and gives that rich/dense result that is slick and protective. The post-shave product is also really nice on the skin. If you don’t have any First Canadian in the den, you should add some. Goodfellers itself? Well, that may or may not make a comeback. I leave that in the hands of Randy at First Canadian. I believe the first run was sold out, but he may do another limited run here and there in the future should there be demand. For me, I’m happy to have this one in the books and am already spinning ideas for my next collab.
A great shave to start the cold cold cold weekend. All for now – J
PS – OK, maybe not all for now….. I can’t leave without mentioning that Trotter Handcrafts brush. What a looker eh? I met Paul at the Idaho meetup and he is a stellar dude. His brushes are second to none in quality. His pours are so clean and classy and I’d say his brush finishing is the best I’ve come across. I have 3 now in the den but I expect I’ll be adding more in the future.
