Just completed day two of a five day visit to London. Last week the wife and I were in Paris for six days. Will give a brief review of Planet Rasior later. Today, I started the day at Truefitt and Hill where Gino performed a straight razor shave. I've read a number of reviews on B&B about getting a shave in London, the majority not so good, and decided why not? I was greeted at the front door by Gino himself and he escorted me to his chair. After a brief introduction, he began to explain what was about to take place. He asked if I had any reactions to scented shaving cream, of which I replied, no.
My shaving experience began with him placing a number of towels around my neck and upper chest. He then applied a generous amount of pre-shave oil to my face and neck and massaged for about a half of minute. Next a hot towel was applied to my face and neck and remained for about a minute. The aroma of the pre-shave oil and hot towel was very nice with a citrus scent. Once the towel was removed, he finished preparing a cup of T&H Sandalwood cream and slowly began to apply the cream to right side of my face with a medium sized best badger brush. Of course it was a brush made for T&H and could be purchased in the store. He stopped a couple of times to add more water to the brush before continuing. Once he was satisfied, he moved to the left side of my face and repeated the process. Lastly, he applied cream above my upper lip.
With a shavette in hand, Gino began a WTG pass down the right side of my face to my jawline. He stopped momentarily and completed a WTG pass on my neck. He then placed some cream back on the right side of my face only and did a XTG pass stopping at the corner of my mouth. He then repeated the same process of a WTG and XTG pass on the left side of my face and a WTG pass on the left side of my neck. He then focused on my chin and upper lip where he did short WTG and XTG strokes. He paid close attention to the corners of my mouth. A hot lemon scented towel was placed on my face and neck for a minute and removed. He then massaged Sandalwood ASB on my face and neck for about a half a minute. He allowed about a half a minute for the ASB to absorb into my skin before lightly tapping on my face several times. The entire experience lasted 30 minutes.
Some observations about the experience. I was disappointed he did not shave ATG on my face. I had a feeling he would not attempt a ATG pass on my neck. Was it a BBS? No! I would judge it CCS. By late afternoon, I could feel I needed to shave again. Gino was very professional and answered all my questions. I told him I had been DE shaving for about seven months and he smiled. He said it was very important to properly prepare for shaving by using the right product for your skin. A good cream or soap along with a good brush is the key. He said it did not matter what type of razor you used but he preferred a straight himself. He suggested I take a straight shaving class which is offered by T&H. He also suggested I face lather rather than bowl lather as the oils of the cream penetrate your face better directly as opposed to being lathered in a bowl. Before I left, I picked up some West Indies Lime cream for my nephew along with some Grafton and Ultimate Comfort cream for myself. I could not forget the pre-shave oil and some Grafton ASB. I walked out $180.00 lighter but no less happier. The experience of going to such a venerable establishment as T&H is priceless.
I was then off to D.R. Harris which is up the street from T&H. I purchased an Arlington shave stick along with two porcelain cups and a soap dish. The store manager stated that they would be moving to a new location because the owners of the building sold it and the entire building was being renovated by the new owners. DRH has a location at Piccadilly in addition to the new location they will move into which will be on Bury Street. They will return to their current location at 29 St. James Street in 18 months.
The next stop was around the corner on Jermyn Street at Taylor of Old Bond Street. Here I purchased some Sandalwood cream for my nephew and some Sandalwood ASB for myself. I did stop at the Bates Hat Shop next to TOBS and picked up a sweet Charcoal Grey Homburg for my hat collection. Tomorrow, I go to Trumpers and stroll down Saville Row to window shop.
In closing, shopping for shaving items in London is pure heaven. I've yet to go to Pastuer's in New York, but that is on my bucket list. I have to thank so many kind people on B&B who have shared so much about the art of shaving with me over the last seven months. It has made this trip to London even more special.
My shaving experience began with him placing a number of towels around my neck and upper chest. He then applied a generous amount of pre-shave oil to my face and neck and massaged for about a half of minute. Next a hot towel was applied to my face and neck and remained for about a minute. The aroma of the pre-shave oil and hot towel was very nice with a citrus scent. Once the towel was removed, he finished preparing a cup of T&H Sandalwood cream and slowly began to apply the cream to right side of my face with a medium sized best badger brush. Of course it was a brush made for T&H and could be purchased in the store. He stopped a couple of times to add more water to the brush before continuing. Once he was satisfied, he moved to the left side of my face and repeated the process. Lastly, he applied cream above my upper lip.
With a shavette in hand, Gino began a WTG pass down the right side of my face to my jawline. He stopped momentarily and completed a WTG pass on my neck. He then placed some cream back on the right side of my face only and did a XTG pass stopping at the corner of my mouth. He then repeated the same process of a WTG and XTG pass on the left side of my face and a WTG pass on the left side of my neck. He then focused on my chin and upper lip where he did short WTG and XTG strokes. He paid close attention to the corners of my mouth. A hot lemon scented towel was placed on my face and neck for a minute and removed. He then massaged Sandalwood ASB on my face and neck for about a half a minute. He allowed about a half a minute for the ASB to absorb into my skin before lightly tapping on my face several times. The entire experience lasted 30 minutes.
Some observations about the experience. I was disappointed he did not shave ATG on my face. I had a feeling he would not attempt a ATG pass on my neck. Was it a BBS? No! I would judge it CCS. By late afternoon, I could feel I needed to shave again. Gino was very professional and answered all my questions. I told him I had been DE shaving for about seven months and he smiled. He said it was very important to properly prepare for shaving by using the right product for your skin. A good cream or soap along with a good brush is the key. He said it did not matter what type of razor you used but he preferred a straight himself. He suggested I take a straight shaving class which is offered by T&H. He also suggested I face lather rather than bowl lather as the oils of the cream penetrate your face better directly as opposed to being lathered in a bowl. Before I left, I picked up some West Indies Lime cream for my nephew along with some Grafton and Ultimate Comfort cream for myself. I could not forget the pre-shave oil and some Grafton ASB. I walked out $180.00 lighter but no less happier. The experience of going to such a venerable establishment as T&H is priceless.
I was then off to D.R. Harris which is up the street from T&H. I purchased an Arlington shave stick along with two porcelain cups and a soap dish. The store manager stated that they would be moving to a new location because the owners of the building sold it and the entire building was being renovated by the new owners. DRH has a location at Piccadilly in addition to the new location they will move into which will be on Bury Street. They will return to their current location at 29 St. James Street in 18 months.
The next stop was around the corner on Jermyn Street at Taylor of Old Bond Street. Here I purchased some Sandalwood cream for my nephew and some Sandalwood ASB for myself. I did stop at the Bates Hat Shop next to TOBS and picked up a sweet Charcoal Grey Homburg for my hat collection. Tomorrow, I go to Trumpers and stroll down Saville Row to window shop.
In closing, shopping for shaving items in London is pure heaven. I've yet to go to Pastuer's in New York, but that is on my bucket list. I have to thank so many kind people on B&B who have shared so much about the art of shaving with me over the last seven months. It has made this trip to London even more special.
Good story but sorry for the finished article you got 
