Razor: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Aluminium DOC
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Rubberset Silvertip
Soap: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Briar
Aftershave: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Briar
When I was doing some social media browsing the other day I came across a post from Doug announcing Briar is about to be re-released. I figured it was the perfect time to do a Briar shave. When I first started tradition wet shaving, a friend sent me some samples to get me started and Briar was one of the scents that really jumped out. Unfortunately, at the time there wasn’t much PAA to be found North of the border. I had to do some forum hunting and was able to come across a great deal on a Briar soap and splash (as well as a Tombstone set). I jumped on it.
Briar is quite the unique scent. It offers notes of Tobacco, Oak, Vanilla, Musk, Labdanum, Rose and Leaves. Up front you are met with the subtle sweet rose and vanilla. There is that nice punch of tobacco and a nice grounding in oak, labdanum and musk. It is masculine but slightly floral. You can also pick up that subtle dried leaves note. It isn’t in your face, it is very subtle and a great bridge to the fall season. It is a truly unique blend.
This particular offering I have in the crown king formula, which works quite well for me. I honestly prefer it to the CK6 formula.
Loading the soap is very easy (almost a bit too easy, be careful not to overload). Lather is very easy to come by as well. It can take some water no problem. Slickness (lathered and residual) are both very good. There is plenty of cushion as the razor glides across the skin with ease, and the post shave is good as well.
And speaking of the razor, today I used the PAA Aluminium DOC. I’m still really digging this razor, much more so than the original Nickel DOC. It has some aggression for sure. Also, due to the light nature of the razor, I really have to make sure I’m not putting excess pressure while doing a pass. It can be easy to forget and ding yourself. But for being a razor on the aggressive side, I still find it very smooth.
I finished up with the matching post shave splash. The splash is a good match, although I find the tobacco/oak/labdanum/musk are more up front than the sweet rose and vanilla. After it dries down it mellows out to about the same. The scent carries with you for a while too. I can still smell it on me at the end of the day. In the elevator at work today I thought a lovely lady was going to jump me, she was chatting me up about the scent, obviously a big fan. Gotta be the musk 😉
If this scent sounds like something you might like, you will be happy to know it is releasing again soon. I would recommend checking it out. It’s been in my den a while now and it still remains one of my favourite scents.
