OK, so the Eagle landed last night.
I spent the wee hours sorting through what I already have tried and that saw a few things returned to the box, including the Myrsol Agua Balsamic, Edwin Jagger stuff, Proraso Red, Thayers Lavender, a bunch of blades…including some sneaky blades - Derby and Merkur…tsk, tsk…..
Next I sorted what I wasn't so keen to try - noting how much there is I had to be discerning. Well I didn't do that great a job of culling as the only things that went back were the Palmolive and the David Beckham Instinct (yuck!)
So out in the spare room is lined up a few things I am pretty darn excited to try. Noting the two-week (max.) timeframe, I will leave the samples reserved for my keeping to after this fortnight. Occams pre-shave soap samples, Simpsons Cream and Occams Lime.
Anyway, day one and I had me my first shave:
Brush: Semogue 1305
Soap/Cream: Occams Original Cream
Razor: Weber PH
Blade: Personna Blue
After-shave: Genuine Oglalla Bay Rum, Lime and Peppercorn
Read the little
Occams flyer that came with the box. I thought if
@Occams reckon that you only need a pea-sized amount to provide a rich lather then I'd see if it might help domesticate the feral pig I recently caught - damned obstinate 1305! So added a little to the knot, slapped it to my post-shower wet face and BAM! Lather, glorious rich lather. Mate there his no mistaking that
@Occams knows how to concoct an effective soap. Consistency was great and, as promised, the soap is forgiving of water. I was thoroughly impressed with the performance of the soap. The scent on the other hand was, well a non-event really. Be honest I'm looking forward to trying the Occams Lime post-box as I suspect we'll have performance and scent. Oh yeah!!!!
Next the
Personna Blue. To orientate you on my expectations, my benchmark blade at the moment is the PermaSharp Super. I find them a notch above the IP Reds, so I admit to suspecting that the Personna Blue would resemble its Israeli cousin. Well I'm sure the Occams cushioning protection helped its cause but I must say I found the Blue a very impressive blade indeed. Very smooth and plenty sharp. No real bite, though when I really challenged it - ATG under nose - it did peep into a capillary. No dramas and that little nick stopped at the touch of cold water. I'll be taking a few of these blades before passing the box onto
@Mark1966 to test these out a little more - as they just might be a contender for a bulk purchase.
Since it was such a fine shave I thought I'd risk not polishing off with my go-to Speick or Myrsol AB. Instead I thought I'd be a little game and cured the closing pores with a splash of
Oglalla Bay Rum, Lime and Peppercorn. Slapped it on as I would any of my usuals and, oh boy, did it slap me back. This stuff's got quite the bite!!! The burn went on and on and on. I'd count about five minutes of a little-more-than-warmth to the face. But after the little scorching it feels quite nice. Funny thing is that I am not a fan of cloves, they burn my stomach and dominate any dish they seem to be added to. But this wasn't too offensive at all. I don't need more stuff in the bathroom and so I asked the missus to have a whiff - this should see it out the door quick smart. Smelt once, looked at me, smelt it again…a little deeper this time, closed eyes and says: "Mmmm that's really interesting", another smell, "I think I really like that". Oh boy!!!! Let's see if I wake with a blotchy red face that negates my looking for a little more of this. Not much left in the bottle, so I've tightened the lid and it's back in the box. Honestly if I fare OK come morning I might get me some of this….or the Captain's Choice. Hmmm….
So I'm not a night shaver ordinarily, but I'm glad I broke the routine. All three new items were gooduns. The Oglalla a big surprise, the Blues bear repeating and the Occams worked well but I reckon the Lime will be the better.
