Razor: Gillette Fatboy on 3
Blade: Personna Platinum
Brush: Omega Hi-Brush synthetic
Soap: Barrister and Mann Reserve Cool
Aftershave: Barrister and Mann Reserve Cool splash
Barbershop. This is own of the scent families that I’ve always found a bit confusing in the wet shaving world. It covers a wide variety of scents. I’ve seen companies that would cover their barbershop category with talc, citrus, alcohol, wood, tobacco, bay rum, sandalwood, and/or leather. Confused yet? Me to. It can mean so many things to so many people. The important thing is that it evokes the sense you are in the barbershop, enjoying a cut or shave and the kinship you get from being in a traditional barbershop.
To me, Reserve Cool is the first barbershop soap that his my den that really transported me there. Bergamot, lemon, and lavender with a slight powdery note. There is a touch of menthol to give it a nice cool feeling to go with the crisp scent. To me, this just screams old school barbershop. The base itself is B&M’s reserve base. I find it very similar to the glissant base, it loads and lathers very easily into a very slick and glossy lather. Today I even had a bit of trouble holding the Gillette Fatboy for the shave, it was that slick. Luckily I was able to navigate my way thru a 3 pass shave without any collateral damage 🙂
I whipped the lather up with this Omega Hi-Brush synthetic. This definitely isn’t my favourite brush. It performs quite well, loads and lathers nicely, but I find it has a springy back bone and feels very artificial. It does the job, but I have synthetics I prefer over this every time. I do think it would make for a good travel brush.
I followed up the shave with the matching splash, a perfect match for the soap. Menthol is subtle so don’t let that scare you away. I wish it was dialed up a touch but with winter hitting us on the prairies this morning, the lack of menthol was probably a good thing for the walk to the vehicle.
Stay warm out there friends 🙂
J
