Razor: Yaqi Mellon
Blade: Gillette Wilkinson Sword
Brush: Ever-Ready Two Band Badger
Soap: Italian Barber Amaci
Aftershave: Italian Barber Amaci
Other: Thirsty Badger later bowl
Italian Barber Amaci was the first shaving soap I used when I started tradition wet shaving. I had attended an intro to wet shaving class and came away with a starter kit containing a boar brush, a RazoRock razor, an assorted set of blades, a blade bank and this particular shave soap. As such, it will always carry a bit of nostalgia in my den.
The soap itself is a softer Italian style shaving soap (many would call it a croap). I love the scent on this. Scent notes are Red Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Spices, Amber, Musk, Hay, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Patchouli. The scent notes leave the impression it is a complicated fragrance but really it isn’t. It is a very bright and clean scent. Grapefruit is right up front, blending with the other subtle citrus notes. There is a nice touch of sweetness as well from the Amber and Vanilla. The Patchouli shouldn’t scare you off, honestly I don’t pick it up at all. This has no dark, dirty or earthiness to it. Scent strength is on the lighter side of medium, it doesn’t stick around long but it is very present during the shave. This would be an any occasion wear type of scent.
Performance is average, nothing that will blow you away. It lathers very easily, gives adequate slickness and post shave. It doesn’t hold up against the higher end software but it will still give you a great shave and at a price-point that is only a few bucks, it is a great beginner soap. I picked up the matching aftershave as well and although it does carry the scent, longevity isn’t really there. It is pretty much a straight up alcohol aftershave without any skin food in the mix.
Regardless the shortcomings of this set, it is still a great starter product and should be welcome in most dens. This non offensive scent should work for any wet shaver, I’d consider it passable as unisex as well. If you have a friend considering a hobby, you couldn’t go wrong starting them off with this…. and if so, like me, it will always have a place in their den.
