Razor: Rex Envoy
Blade: Voskhod
Brush: Tournure de bois 26mm Cashmere Synthetic
Soap: Noble Otter Rawr
Aftershave: Noble Otter Rawr
“and the walls became the world all around”
That is a quote form one of my favourite books that my son has grown up on, Where the Wild Things Are. The quote jumped out at me for being the perfect thought for Covid times, how I’m feeling the need to make my little home space the world these days. That is one thing wet shaving has always brought me, a way to escape for a little bit of time every day. Sometimes it takes me to a memory in the past, other times I’ll will transport me to a place, reminding me of a somewhere I’ve been or a destination I want to get to. This particular offering, the label alone took me back a few years to reading this book at bed time with my son. I didn’t even read the scent notes, I bought it 100% off the label.
Rawr is an offering in the newest Noble Otter base (at the time of this writing). Scent notes are bergamot, sweet orange, neroli, dandelions, atlas cedarwood, vanilla and musk. This is a soft, creamy and sweet floral scent. The neroli jumps out (which honestly is my least favourite scent note in wet shaving) along with a subtle creamy sweet vanilla. But the biggest note that pops is dandelions. As someone that gets those pests in the yard, I can definitely pick out that scent and it reminds me of spring/summer. Scent strength is about a medium or a touch less. That is good because this scent would be cloying with any strength to it. It’s a nice scent but nothing I’d use very often, something I can enjoy for a moment in time but not something I want to smell like.
I really like how Noble Otter soap performs. It loads and lathers very easily. I don’t get that uber rich creamy lather like some of the newer bases but it still has plenty of cushion and slickness. No complains regarding post shave either as my skin was left feeling most excellent. The matching splash was very close in scent but I’d say I pick up a touch more of the sweet orange as well. Scent strength is about the same, nothing that will carry for any significant duration. There is also a touch of menthol to give just a subtle cooling but not offend the skin or the scent.
Another thing I love about Noble Otter is the packaging. The branding is top notch in that it has a consistent look but is also different for each release. They look interesting and tell a story while being consistent with their lineup. I just wish I could find more scents of theirs that were keepers. Not a huge win on the scent with this one but no complains about the shave. All for now – J
