Razor: Rockwell 6s on 4
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Platinum Blacks
Brush: Spiffo! 24mm Two Band Badger
Soap: MacDuff’s Soap Company Autumn Cabin
Aftershave: MacDuff’s Soap Company Autumn Cabin
Other: Caption’s Choice copper lather bowl
Autumn is one of the most visually stunning seasons around these parts. Our abundance of leafy trees turns to shades of gold and auburn amongst hints of the green evergreens. My wife loves it, as it is the perfect backdrop for portraiture. Unfortunately, it also seems to be the shortest season in these parts. We aren’t long for the fall with heavy blankets of white snow and cold weather on the way. You can feel it in the air. It isn’t rare by this time to have our snow already sticking around for the season. We’ve already had our first snowfall but luckily it didn’t stick for long.
MacDuff soap company has a series of seasonal scents in their cabin series to evoke thoughts of the season. I already have Spring and Summer Cabin so naturally, I had to pick up the newest release of Autumn Cabin. I didn’t even look at the scent notes, I just wanted it to be near completion of the cabin set (yes Winter Cabin, I’m coming for you). When it arrived and I took a sniff off the puck, I instantly knew this was going to be a perfect fall scent. Scent notes on this include Balsam Pine, Cedar Leaf, Juniper Berry, Vanilla and Toasted Maple. At first sniff, I didn’t pick up any sweetness at all. Just a smokey, woodsy fall scent, but as it lingered the maple really came out. It isn’t overly sweet but adds that tone and richness to the smokey and woodsy base. Now that I have discovered the maple, I can’t not pick up that subtle sweetness. I’d say scent strength is about a medium that is just perfect. This scent is fantastic, and I can see using this all times of the year when I’m longing for the days of fall.
The soap itself is the same v4 I’ve been raving about since it was released. Very soft, so be careful not to overload, but easy to lather. It is elite level good by all metrics. I finished off with the matching splash which comes across a little more smokey/woodsy but dries down to the perfect pairing. I didn’t really have a fragrance that would compliment this scent so I figured I’d go a different direction later in the day after the splash scent was gone. Happily, it is now several hours later and I can still pick up this wonderful scent. No further frag needed.
MacDuff has really done the work since v2. The base has gotten better, they have addressed the shortcomings of previous base issues, they moved to wide mouth tubs and lastly, with this release, they have upped their label game to full waterproof labels. I’m super excited about how far they have come in such a short time. I know I may sound like a broken record, but if you don’t have some MacDuffs, you need to add some today. And if you are looking for a great fall scent that might give you an impression to our Canadian Autumn, this set is one I would definitely recommend.
All for now – J
