Razor: Karve CB on C
Blade: Assured Dollar Tree Blades
Brush: Spiffo Two Band
Soap: Ariana & Evans NYC
Aftershave: Fine Accoutrements Santal Absolut
#samplesaturday and today I was in the New York state of mind. I fired up my NYC playlist on Spotify and lathered up this offering from A&E. The NYC soap is an exclusive for Pasteur’s Pharmacy in New York. I’m told this is the holy grail of wet shaving destinations. My friend Jonathan at Stonefield Shaving recently returned from a trip to New York and he picked this up. He was gracious enough to send me a sample. I’m torn if I should be happy about it or not.
Why you may ask? Well this scent is friggin awesome! I absolutely loved it. It is what I would describe as a sophisticated or metro fougere. It has that fougere vibe with a smokey and sandalwood kick too it. It’s really difficult to describe because it is so complex. Very masculine. Scent notes are Lavender, Geranium, Orange, Anise, Chamomile, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Cedar wood, Hay, Cardamon, Musk. If I was in NYC I would literally start the car and head to Pasteur’s to pick up a set. Oh ya, and this is the Tallow and Goatmilk base which is a fantastic performer. Seriously, if you have an opportunity to pick up a set, do so. Thanks Jonathan!
The blade today was the Assured blades that came with the $1.25 razor from Dollar Tree. Knowing this was a great soap base, I loaded this blade in my favourite razor to give it a fighting chance. The blade packaging is decent, double wrapped. The blade itself has no visible markings. I got a decent shave with it but I wouldn’t say it is a great blade. The Karve has given me a half decent shave with even the worst blades (OK, not all the worst blades…. looking at you Tiger Blades) so I’ll have to run this again in a couple other razors for a complete review. It didn’t feel tuggy but I could tell it wasnt as sharp or smooth as my typical blade choice. I tossed it after one use. I’ll do a few more 1 and done shaves with the blade to give a more complete review, but my initial impression is that they would do in a pinch.
For the aftershave I paired with my Fine Santal Absolut. This Sandalwood scent is a workhorse in my den that I pair often when I don’t have a matching splash. Scent strength is decent and it smells great. I really would have loved to continue the NYC today, but for now this will do the trick.
