Razor: Haward Safety Razor
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Ever-Ready Two Band Badger
Soap: The Copper Hat Island Hopper
Aftershave: Catie’s Bubbles Le Marché du Rasage
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
Today I was thinking back to my summer vacation, wanting to be back touring Victoria, BC and hanging out by the ocean. I figured a nice cool ocean themed shave fit the bill today.
For the soap, I used The Copper Hat – Island Hopper. I picked this up from their storefront in Victoria so it was the perfect soap for the occasion. Island Hopper is described as reminiscent of wild moss and meadow flowers found while hiking and island hopping the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Scent strength on this is very mild. Once bloomed with some hot water, it opens up a touch but it is very subtle. I describe is as fresh, slightly sweet and slightly herbaceous.
Picturing what it might be like around the coast these days, I opted for a cold water shave. I used hot water only to bloom the soap, bringing out the scent and softening up the puck for loading (a must with this soap). The rest of the prep, shave and rinse was all with cold water. Loading this soap is a bit tricky due to the very hard nature of the puck. I did need to reload prior to the third pass today. I was able to get a really nice lather though. Slickness (both lathered and residual) are good and the post shave on this is great. You could easily skip a post shave.
I have to say, the Haward safety razor is impressing me. It is on the milder side but it is very smooth and efficient enough for a mild razor. I needed all three passes but it was an exceptionally comfortable shave. Paired with the cold water it was invigorating shave for sure.
For the post shave today, I opted to carry the aquatic vibe and use Catie’s Bubbles Le Marché du Rasage. This to me is like Davidoff Cool Water with a powdery barbershop vibe to it. Scent is nice and strong enough to carry the scent. Performance paired with the Copper Hat soap left the skin feeling fantastic. A great shave to end the weekend.
