Razor: Rex Envoy
Blade: Gillette Wilkinson Sword
Brush: Tournure de bois White Synthetic
Soap: First Line Shave Fallout (v2)
Aftershave: First Line Shave Fallout
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
A day late on this one (seems to be a standard thing for me of late). I decided to take part in First Line Friday this week using Fallout from First Line Shave. If you don’t know about First Line Shave, time to research it up, they are an artisan you need on your radar. They have figured it out. This particular offering is in the v2 base but the v3 base is elite level good and they have the packaging/artwork on point. The next big step for me to see is how they scale. I’d love to see them hit more retailers including at least one of the major Canadian vendors. More people need to know about First Line.
As I said above, this particular offering is in the v2 base. V2 is not a bad base, to the contrary, it is quite good. It loads and lathers easily and has really good cushion and post shave feel. The slickness is a bit average for me. This is 100% remedied in v3. Would I rush out and re-buy the soap in v3? No, the base is more that fine for good shaves. I am however excited to see they have transitioned everything to v3 from now on. The scent on this is based on Yves Saint Laurent Tuxedo. I believe that fragrance has been discontinued which is too bad, it is an absolute banger (stealing from Ken326 here). Scent notes on this are Violet Leaf, Bergamot, Coriander, Rose, Black Pepper, Lily-of-the-Valley, Ambergris, Patchouli and Bourbon Vanilla. I have trouble pulling out individual notes or describing this well blended cologne other than to say it is bold, masculine and perfect for evening wear. I think it would be a bit over the top for the office or the heat.
I’m featuring another new brush from Tournure de bois today. I saw this handle on his Etsy page for a bargain price and I pounced. I had this white synthetic knot sitting here for a while and I knew it would be perfect for it. The knot is a bit springy and overly synthetic feeling but I love how it looks. Surprisingly it still loads and lathers extremely well. I can for sure see this getting a lot of use in the winter.
I wrapped up the shave with the matching aftershave splash and can say not only is it a perfect match, it is strong enough to carry with you few hours. I was still picking this up as a skin scent 6 hours later. Really excellent performance.
Very happy to have more stuff from this artisan on the way. All for now – J
