Razor: Paragon ‘The Ace’
Blade: Gillette Wilkinson Sword
Brush: CSB Plisson Synthetic
Soap: Soap Commander Fortitude
Aftershave: Soap Commander Fortitude balm
You eat with your eyes. It is an age old saying that restaurants refer to when planning how to prepare a dish for the customer, how important it is to excite the eyes and how it will affect the enjoyment of the meal. In my case, I guess I shave with my eyes. In the case of Soap Commander, I’ve always been intrigued, but until recently, I never picked any up. For me, the branding isn’t appealing and the over-sized tubs wouldn’t sit nicely with all the other tubs on the shelf. That has absolutely nothing to do with a decent shave, but for some reason, that has always been a big determining factor when buying shaving products (or products in general)
However, Canada Post has offered a free shipping item every Tuesday this month so I have taken the opportunity to do some wheeling and dealing and traded some lesser used software in my den for a few new things to try. I was happy to be able to pick this guy up in trade and to finally give the product a try. The soap itself was really nice. Hay, Tobacco and Rum. Off the tub this has a sweet, boozy tobacco smell, not overpowering but not mild either. For me it is about a 5 or a 6 out of 10 on strength. It loaded and lathered very easily. Once lathered I was able to pick out the hay note a bit more, it seemed to software the Tobacco rum a bit. I got a really nice, silky lather that I found had nice slickness and cushion. Post shave I’ll have to use a few more times to get a better feel for, as I was using a new razor today. It was a really nice soap.
And speaking of new Razor, I was given this from the fine folks at Paragon to give a try. I was really surprised at the heft on this razor. There is a minimal amount of knurling but there is some nice curvature to give solid control of the razor. The head itself, I found it to be on the aggressive side. I could feel the blade for sure, not something I’m used to. It wasn’t my most comfortable shave but you cant argue with the results, a really close shave with no nicks or cuts.
For the post shave I used the matching balm. I found this to be a bit thinner than some of the other artisan balms I’ve used, which to me is a good thing. I sometimes find the others a tad heavy. The scent was a bit lighter and to me didn’t have the nice match I was hoping for. There was a surprising menthol chill to the balm that I liked, but I’m wondering if that thru the scent a bit for me. The performance of the balm was really good but the scent was so-so on this.
All in all a pretty darn good shave. It is a reminder that we do shop with our eyes. What is on the inside is a big factor that will determine if the purchase is a win but you cant forget that triggering that purchase is just important.
Have a great Friday folks!
