Razor: John Clarke & Son Sheffield 3/4″
Brush: Copper Hat Synthetic
Soap: Highland Springs Barbershop
Aftershave: Highland Springs Barbershop Splash
Other: Thirsty Badger Scuttle
It is a chilly day on the prairies today. Our neighbours to the west and south have been hit with a big snow storm with a possibility it hits us today. It felt like a good day to break out the scuttle for a warm shave. And since I was working the hot shave today I figured why not work the barbershop angle using a barbershop set and a straight razor shave.
I reached for Highland Springs Soap Company Barbershop. I’ve had this soap in my den for a while but didn’t have the matching splash until recently. I opted to hold off on using it until I had the set. I had the old formula soap that I upgraded before even using it. This splash I believe is the previous formulation, which I also have a bit of experience with from a Mystic set I used to have.
The scent on this is described as a powdery scent with hints of Bay Rum, Sandalwood and Patchouli. It is a bit of a different take on the barbershops I’ve used in the past, and that is a good thing. I really like this scent. I get the powdery notes and a bit of earthiness from the Patchouli (it is quite subtle so if you aren’t a fan of Patchouli don’t let it turn you off). I also get a bit of a vanilla/tobacco type sweetness that I don’t see in the scent notes. Sandalwood could be playing into the sweetness a bit. I don’t really pick up the Bay Rum. Scent strength is on the stronger side of medium which is just perfect for the style of scent. And man, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this soap base is fantastic. It is a vegan base, but performs as good as any tallow out there. It holds it’s own with the big players. You get a lower structure lather but very dense, glossy and luxurious. It whipped up easily with this beauty old school style Copper Hat synthetic brush in anodized aluminium. If you like the old school look, like a tall and heavy handle, this will be a big win. The lather held up well to the heat of the scuttle. Slickness is great and post shave is fantastic.
For the post, I used the previous formulation of splash. In the past I found this formulation was a bit tacky but surprisingly that wasn’t the case today. My guess is that the scent ingredients in the Mystic splash were probably the contributing factor to the tackiness. No issues with this guy, a nice witch hazel and skin food based splash. Skin felt nice and hydrated even after the slightly heavy handed straight shave (Still educating myself on that, but no cuts, weepers or cleanups today). Scent matched well and is strong enough that it will carry for a while. A big win on this set and a great shave for a cold winter’s morning….. oh wait, it is spring. Gotta love Saskatchewan 🙂
