Razor: DS Cosmetic DS-S9 w/ RazoRock Barberpole
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge Yellows
Brush: Spiffo! 24mm Two Band Badger
Soap: Catie’s Bubbles Lancaster Leather Luxury Cream
Aftershave: Catie’s Bubbles Lancaster Leather Splash
Other: Caption’s Choice copper lather bowl
Happy Thanksgiving! Here in Canada we are celebrating Thanksgiving weekend. This year we kept it kind of low-key, just my little family of 3 (plus dog). Even then, I still managed to post my SOTD one day late. Go figure.
Today’s shave I’m using Lancaster Leather from Catie’s Bubbles. This set had come highly recommended by some friends of mine. It is in their luxury cream base so I really wanted to give it a try. Catie’s Bubbles doesn’t get as much love as it used to when I started wet shaving but they still make a great product and deserve to be highlighted more. I’m particularly impressed with this cream base. This base is very soft, quite similar to the MacDuff v4 in texture. As such you will want to scoop it in a bowl or into the knot of your brush. I took my Captain’s Choice copper lather bowl for a spin today and not only does it look cool, but it was also very comfortable in the hand. With the bowl and the luxury cream, I found it very easy to dial in and lather. Super simple, a great beginner product for anyone to work with. And while it was simple to lather, you aren’t penalized in any of the metrics either. Lather has great cushion with good density and is very slick. Post-shave is nice too. This doesn’t feel like some of the elite bases but it is still very much a step above the average bases out there.
Scent on Lancaster Leather is a bold and masculine blend. It is definitely on the stronger side. Scent notes include Dried Fruits, Bergamot, Aldehydes, Geranium, Leather, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Amyris, Cedarwood, Cardamom, Frankincense, Musks, Vanilla, Benzoin. This isn’t the soft and sweet leather of a baseball glove or new leather jacket. This is a bit sharper with a lot of spice and the dried fruit coming through. There is also some woodsiness and tobacco at play as well. The splash is a really nice pairing for the soap but I’d say it is a bit less sharp. That is a good thing in my books, it makes the scent much more wearable. The splash itself is a blend of alcohol/witch hazel/skin food ingredients and has a nice balance of sting, post-shave comfort and scent strength. Not elite, but still pretty good.
I’d have to say, if you want a different take on a leather scent, a man’s man of leathers, this one is for you. For my taste, while I can see the appeal, the scent doesn’t hit home for me. I considered keeping it because I enjoyed the base so much but I was able to pick up another Catie’s set in a scent more my style so this one will be finding a new home. No complaints, but I know this will be a home run for someone else.
Hope all my fellow Canadians are getting full of turkey today. All the best and all for now,
J
