Razor: Karve CB on B OC
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Ever-Ready Boar
Soap: Highland Springs Green Door
Aftershave: Highland Springs Green Door
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
This is a new release that I was super excited for. I love a good fougère and I knew Chris and Mary had this scent in the works for quite some time. When I saw this release announced I instantly jumped over to the Stonefield Shaving website to get this in my cart tout suite. I’m not sure if I was the first to order, but I had to be close.
This scent is a very well done, approachable fougère scent. It has notes of Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Teakwood, Fern, Lavender, Yuzu and Vetiver. The Oakmoss/Lavender/Fern sets up that traditional fougère DNA that is instantly recognisable. There is a bit of that spicy grass vetiver undertone but you also get a really nice hint of sweet teakwood poking through. There cedar and yuzu are quite subtle but brighten it up a touch. If you like a traditional fougère or you if you are interested in trying one for the first time, this would be a terrific add. This scent is a big win in my books.
The base for this is in their tallow formula. This base is made with love, they render the tallow completely themselves. It is a very soft base so be careful not to overload, it doesn’t take much. A couple quick swirls and you are ready to lather. The base will take a lot of water, but once you get used to that, it is very easy to lather. Cushion excellent, slickness excellent and post shave gets full marks. Now that I’ve used this base several times I’m really getting top performance out of it. Scent strength on this is on the stronger side of medium. Any stronger and it would be cloying. They used the perfect amount of restraint here.
The brush today was my vintage Ever-Ready with the original boar knot. I’m not a huge boar fan but when I saw this classic in fantastic shape, it had to be mine. The knot was so well cared for I couldn’t bring myself to re-knot the brush. I gave it a solid cleaning, a bit of conditioning and it sprang to life. This small/tall knot won’t be for everyone but paired with this soft soap and this small lather bowl, I was able to whip up a fantastic lather.
A finished it out with the matching splash. This non-alcohol splash gives a really nice blend of skin food and scent. It won’t carry with you all day but your skin is left feeling fantastic as it absorbs very well. A great finish to a great shave!
All for now – J
