Razor: Yaqi Mellon
Brush: DS Cosmetic Captain Synthetic
Soap: Noble Otter Thé Noir et Vanille
Aftershave: Noble Otter Thé Noir et Vanille
It has been a while since I last tried Noble Otter. I previously had the Nectar Amissa soap and splash. It was OK, the scent I wasn’t crazy about, the performance was above average but it didn’t excite me by any stretch. Since then, Noble Otter has re-branded, changed the packaging and changed the formulation. I was excited to give it another go. I was understandably excited when I was able to get my hands on a Thé Noir et Vanille set.
Thé Noir et Vanille (translates to Black Tea and Vanilla) is their take on having a late night tea in Paris. Scent notes are Bergamot, Loose Black Tea, Jasmine, Strawberry, Vanilla. Scent strength on this is mid-strong. Off the puck you get the dark and slightly spicy black tea notes along with the prominent sweetness and fruitiness of the Jasmine, Bergamot and Strawberry. The Vanilla serves to bridge the notes. It is quite a unique scent. I don’t know if this would be something I’d use often, but if you are a tea lover, this would be a huge win scent wise for you.
Performance on this is a huge improvement over the previous formula. It loads easily and creates very luxurious lather. Cushion remains very good (the high point of the previous formula for me) and the slickness is great. Residual slickness carries very well allowing buffing without any visible lather. Post shave on this is fantastic. My skin was left feeling great once the shave was complete.
For the post, I used the matching splash. This is an alcohol base with some skin food in it. I get the typical alcohol burn with a nice hydrating finish. It is a really nice product. I did find that while this complimented the soap, the scent wasn’t as complex as the soap. Still a really nice finish to a fantastic Friday shave. Big thumbs up for the reformulation and re-brand.
