2018 shave #108 (DE:16 SE:38 Str:56 Cart:2)
Feather SS w/ Feather Proguard (3)
A&E Grecian Horse
Plisson synthetic in Shave Revolution 24mm handle
Witch Hazel & Alum
Nivea post shave balm
A&E Grecian Horse AS
I would like to title this shave....
Breakfast at Penhaligon's
So with high expectations I open the tub. I don't know what Josh was smoking, but this is NOTHING like Endymion. Ah well, it doesn't smell bad, just not distinctive. I couldn't really tell what it smelled like. I lathered it up, and got more of a sweet note than I got from the tub. It doesn't explode into lather. Rather it starts as a dense rich creamy lather and slowly expands as you add water. It took quite a bit of water to get it to my straight shaving consistency and I might should have added a bit more.
Then I lathered my face. THERE IT IS!!! The heavenly scent of Endymion swept over me. The choirs began to sing and Josh was very much redeemed. I will have to get a few more shaves in with it, but this could easily secure a spot in my top 5 favorite soaps to use. The shave itself was good. Without thinking about it I used a different grip for the 2nd pass on my cheeks and I think it will work out better than what I've been doing with a little practice. The neck was still awkward, but I pulled a BBS out of it with just the SS. The cheeks reached a three pass DSBBS bordering on DSBBS-G. I didn't think I was aggressive with the shave, but the outcome was reflected in the alum sting all over. I'll take it. And I could still smell the soap after all my post-shave routine.
The AS was another story. When I splashed it on, I got pancake syrup 100%. Not earthy maple syrup, but the sugary, glass bottle that looks like a woman. I've experienced this before. Well, not the syrup smell, but AS that needs a moment to dry down to get to its actual smell. Well, slowly the Endymion emerged. It took about an hour, but the syrup smell is very faint and maybe just imprinted on me more than actually still present. I only have one use left of my Endymion sample, so I'm saving that for travel, but this is very nice by itself and I'm hoping it will last.