Razor: Rex Envoy
Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge Yellows
Brush: Tournure de bois 26mm White Synthetic
Soap: Noble Otter Hamami
Aftershave: Noble Otter Hamami
Noble Otter continues to be a conundrum for me. I love the branding and packaging. The label artwork has a consistent theme while each design still pops and stands on its own. The scent note breakdown on the side label is a fantastic touch that all artisans should take note of. I like the base, I find it easy to lather and gives a really rewarding shave. Unfortunately scents have been pretty miss for me. I haven’t come across anything offensive, most are pleasant but don’t really stand out enough for me to keep. The one real home-run I found scent wise was firefighter but that suffered from a scent strength that was just a bit too light. I do really like the company and want to support so I keep up the hunt trying to find that perfect fit.
Hamami is another one of those attempts. I picked this set up on the buy sell trade boards. Scent notes are Saffron, Bergamot, Petitgrain, Jasmine Absolute, Geranium, Wet Stone, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean. It is described as a clean, wet floral inspired by a Turkish bath house. That description is pretty spot on. It opens with a floral accord and I would say it is based over what is pretty accurately described as wet stone. I’d say it reads cool without any mint notes and there is a subtle sweetness to the scent. That base fragrance aspect reminds me a bit of a crisp cool water running in a stream at spring run-off.
Would I say this scent is a win? Well, no. It isn’t a bad scent, quite the contrary, it is quite nice and would be an excellent spring scent if that is your jam. Scent strength would be about a medium, which isn’t a problem for me at all. But I would say that this scent falls in that nice, but not really for me scent profile. As such I’ll be moving this to my B/S/T pile and will continue my hunt for the perfect Noble Otter scent. If the description of clean, wet floral does sound appealing to you, I’d say it is a pretty accurate representation and would be an excellent pickup.
Scent win or lose on this one, you can’t argue with the performance. I had a fantastic shave today. BBS and my skin was left feeling nice and hydrated. Hard to argue with that. All for now – J
