2 band

steve

Dr Harris Marlborough & ikon 102

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SOC 2 Band Badger brush
Dr Harris Marlborough Shaving Soap
Ikon 102 Slant on Tuckaway handle
Sputnik (2)
British Sterling Aftershave

First go with the Marlborough soap, performs the same as the Windsor soap with a nice thick creamy lather, but with a subtle woody scent.

Tons of lather built up with the SOC 2 band brush. This brush has plenty of backbone and really soft tips. Definitely a great brush for the price.

I tried out the tiny Tuckaway handle with the 102 slant. On first look you wonder how such a small handle will work, but it does work really well and makes the razor easy to manoeuvre around your face.

Very smooth results all round with the sputnik on its second shave, these blades are cheap but very good. I almost want to stock up on more.

All rounded off with a good splash of British Sterling aftershave, a really nice scent which always reminds me of a cross between old spice and Trumpers Spanish leather.

All in all a really good shave. I went for a barbershop shave earlier this week and although the experience is very relaxing it just wasn’t as smooth as I can get at home, but obviously a much nicer experience than trying to use a shavette at home!

steve

Strop Shoppe Austin

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Another good shave from the mongoose, here is today’s setup:

Myrsol Emulsion
Semogue Owners Club 2 Band
Strop Shoppe Austin
Satin Mongoose with Dr Bomber handle
Kai Sharp Blade (2)
David Beckham Instinct aftershave

First try of the Austin soap today, from the tub it isn’t the strongest of scents but it seems to get stronger once lathered up.

I got a very nice lather that was nice and thick and slick. I do find with the Semogue that’s it’s a very stiff brush but with nice soft tips. Plenty of backbone to load up a hard soap but you really need to use painting strokes to get an even lather.

I’m still not impressed with the Kai sharp blade, it’s just not really sharp enough to get a nice close finish. I’ll push on for a couple more shaves as it’s still cutting, just not as good as I would like.

I finished off with the David Beckham Instinct aftershave which has a really oily consistency and a bit tacky. It leaves the skin nice and soft but after this sample is gone I won’t be buying a bottle, I think I just prefer a more alcohol based splash.

Still I think I found quite a good place to take my SOTD photos, the box I’ve recently been using to store my newer soaps in the bathroom gives me a nice stand to take some shots.

steve

Mickey Lee Soapworks Hallowed Harvest

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Myrsol Emulsion as preshave
Semogue Owners Club 2 band
MLSW Hallowed Harvest
Schick Dial Injector @ 7
Personna blade (2)
Homemade Bay Rum
Ricardo L’homme Sport aftershave

A very nice shave today. First use of the Mickey Lee Hallowed Harvest soap after buying this a few weeks back. It has a similar smell to the Drunken Goat soap but with spices, I guess that’s down to it having ale in the soap formula.

The Semogue 2 band badger brush has plenty of backbone so loading up the soap is easy, it also has really soft tips which feels good on the face. For the money this is a really nice brush that I’d recommend.

I face lathered starting with swirling the brush around to work the lather into my skin and lifting the stubble then began painting the lather on with brush strokes and soon had a nice thick lather ready to shave with. As with other MLSW soaps the lather is nice and thick and slick with good protective qualities.

I upped the Schick adjustable to 7 today for all 3 passes and got a nice smooth close shave with no irritation.

I finished off my shave with a splash of my homemade bay rum which I’d added a bit more scent to but it could still do with a bit more. I’m going to separate some out and add some menthol crystals to see how that goes. As I was lacking in scent I tried a splash of Ricardo L’homme sport a friend gave me. It’s also a little light in scent but has a minty bay rum scent that’s pleasant if a bit fleeting.