Shave Count (DE: 358 SE: 7 SR: 398)
Pre Shave-
Splash and go
Shave-
J Allen SR
Vulfix Badger
DG Darkfall soap
Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Witch Hazel
DG Darkfall AS
The Process-
Happy Thursday to ya! So on deck today is Declaration Grooming Darkfall. This is a set that I picked up on a BST for a decent price and it was one that I have been wanting to try. A woody, spicy, oriental type scent ... yes please. So yesterday, it smelled warm and spicy on the puck. Today, I think it smelled a bit musky on the puck. At least I think that's what I smelled because my sniffer sucks. Anyway, it smelled a bit different than yesterday. So yesterday's excitement was turning into today's cautious optimism. So I grabbed a badger and got to it. Upon lathering, I think the musk really became more pronounced. I fell from optimism to ... uh ... something. So I kept hammering away at it and the scent really didn't waver or dissipate. Maybe this soap is a bit older/drier and needed to be bloomed because I was not overwhelmed with a decadent slick lather. Anyway, had enough for three passes and some left for a post shave.
40 laps on leather this morning for the Allen and got to it. Went with my standard three pass shave of WTG, XTG and ATG with no drama to report. As I mentioned, the lather was not exactly what I was expecting. It was low volume and not as slick as I would have liked. Again, I think that was a hydration issue that should straighten out with a few shaves. A usable lather and a good shave ... not horrible. The Allen did miss a smidge in my trouble spots, so we'll call this a DFS for the win!
Wrapped it up with a splash of water and a pat dry. A splash of the Witch Hazel and followed up with a splash of the AS. Everything was ... everything was ... right as rain? I was kinda hit with sensory overload. There was just a kaleidoscope of scents that hit all at once, fighting to be noticed. I know about the blending of complex scents and all ... blah blah blah. But this kinda caught me off guard. That faded fairly quickly and the musk came strong to the surface. Oh the muck. Then the menthol kicked in and gained momentum. I had some kinda musky menthol thing going on and I was almost in a panic. If that was musk, it seemed a bit much. And I know the missus hates musk. Hmmmmmm. Anyway, I sit here several hours later and the dry down was something. The musk did begin to fade and some of the warmer notes peeked out. So it did mellow and wasn't too bad, but I think I still catch bits of musk. I'm just wandering how the soap/AS will unfold after several uses, we shall see. Life is good!