Razor: DS Cosmetic DS-D8 w/ RazoRock Barberpole
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge Yellows
Brush: Wild West Brushworks 26mm Brown Synthetic
Soap: Ariana & Evans Ouddiction
Aftershave: Ariana & Evans Ouddiction
Other: Bond No 9 New York Amber
It was a rainy and cool morning when I woke for my morning shave. I figured it was a good day to pull a more robust scent. Luckily this new offering from A&E just arrived. I was a bit nervous picking it up as I’ve had a lot of reactions with the A&E/Club stuff of late, along with a bad negative reaction with another honey-scented soap…. but the price was right and it got me to free shipping on a deal I was working. I figured what the heck.
Ouddiction is a release from A&E in their OG Kaizen base. Scent notes are Bergamot, Honey, Oud, Rose, Tobacco absolute, Saffron, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Patchouli. To my nose, this is a very honey-forward oud scent. The honey is very natural smelling and very sweet. I can pick out a touch of tobacco and definitely vanilla but the honey and oud are primarily what comes through. Scent strength is strong. It is a powerhouse. I find this fits perfectly in the family of the A&E Club releases The City (Sandalwood & Oud) and Wake the F* Up (Coffee & Oud). If you like sweet and powerful scents, this would be a big win for you. It for sure isn’t a scent to take lightly and is absolutely suited to the cooler months.
It has been a while since I last used Kaizen (I moved all the ones I had because reactions were becoming commonplace) but I remember the base being quite good. It performed very well and it was honestly easier to load/lather than I remember. I’m thinking as the soap has aged and dried out a touch, it has made that soft/super thirsty base work itself out a bit. Top marks on all metrics and, I’m happy to say, I had no skin reactions today with the soap or the splash. No issues with the shave, it was a great one, however, the scent wasn’t really a win for me. It was a little over my sweetness threshold. It will likely move to the sell/trade pile.
Once the scent had started to fade from the splash (it was a while) I decided to top it up with Bond No 9 New York Amber. I received this in a frag lot a while ago and today was the first cool day I could use it. I can say it doesn’t read Amber to me at all. A subtle rose with a bit of sweetness and woodsiness overtop of the base of oud. It is a nice (and powerful) scent but like the Ouddiction, probably not a keeper.
Scent wise today wasn’t a big win but I can’t complain about the shave.
All for now – J
