After reading all the good things about DE shaving and finding information on where to get the hardware I set out on a Singaporean shaving shopping spree. The only place that still caters to wet shavers is Mustafa, a 24/7/365 shopping extravaganza at the heart of Little India. It's too bad that a country that has such a long history of gentlemen sitting at verandas and sipping tea while occasionally shooting a tiger (not to mention the pirates 
) has succumbed to the commercial pressure of electric razors and Gillette Fusion. Living in this city is fast and people apparently don't take time to shave anymore because there are no other places in the whole country that sell the original stuff. Anyway, when exiting the MRT (subway) station at Ferrer it's hard to miss the orange colors of the Gillette Fusion sunscreens that seem to have taken over Little India.
Mustafa
is the largest department store in Singapore. When entering at ground floor level there are rows upon rows of cartridge shavers awaiting the customer. Looking at the back of the row I finally found what I was looking for. First of all, I needed to buy a brush. I must confess that for the last few months my shaving experience has been limited to the aforementioned Fusion and the free can of "goo" that came with it. The veteran shavers on this esteemed forum however seem to insist that proper shaving soap and a brush will result in clean shaven cheeks and no razor burn. So a brush it is. The good news is that Mustafa has a wide selection of brushes (described in another thread here), The bad news is that they're all synthetic. I decided to go for a nice looking Omega brush with a white handle. This piece of equipment set me back S$8 or US$5.87. Not bad since the only alternative so far is the Body Shop brush that costs more than twice as much. Then the soap. My wife bought me a tub of Body Shop shaving cream which actualy brought me to this whole wet shaving thing but it gives me a fair amount of irritation. I read about Tabac shaving soap and even that it is readily available at Mustafa's. Lo and behold! A whole shelf of Tabac and at a reasonable price as well (S$9.80, US$7.19). Nice! 
The last (and most important) part turned out to be a disappointment. There were two kind of DE razors, one branded Lord and the other with katakana written on it. Both were plastic and I really want a metal one. It turned out that there was only one metal DE razor left and it was broken 
. So unfortunately I have to keep my Fusion for a little longer. Oh, by the way, they do have a selection of straight razors but I'm not going to go there just yet 
The next day.....
This morning I had my first shave with the soap and brush I bought yesterday. The stick is very easy to use and smells like my grandfather used to when he just had shaved (very soap like). The Omega brush has a nice grip and doesn't become slippery at all. Together the brush and stick make a thick creamy lather that was very easy to apply to my face. I will look for a softer brush though because the bristles are a bit too hard for my face.
The Fusion seems to have trouble shaving with a proper lather. With the Gillette foam-in-a-can there is enough friction to cut the hairs fairely close. With the Tabac lather however, the blades glide on my face but don't seem to cut at all. I think it has to do with the strip of stuff (aloe vera or something) that combines with the soap and makes my face a bit too slippery. No nicks at all though and a lot less irritation. After rinsing my face I ran the razor a few times more across some stubbled areas but it shouldn't be like that in my humble opinion. The feeling was a lot fresher then with the foam so the stick stays.
All in all, my quest isn't over yet. I've set my eyes on a Vulfix badger brush and maybe a Merkur Futur. Then there are so many shaving accessories, soaps, creams, oh my!
Like they say on another forum I frequent: sorry about your wallet
Conclusion:
Tabac shaving soap:
Omega synthetic brush:
Experience so far (with Fusion):
but compared to electric:
) has succumbed to the commercial pressure of electric razors and Gillette Fusion. Living in this city is fast and people apparently don't take time to shave anymore because there are no other places in the whole country that sell the original stuff. Anyway, when exiting the MRT (subway) station at Ferrer it's hard to miss the orange colors of the Gillette Fusion sunscreens that seem to have taken over Little India. Mustafa
The last (and most important) part turned out to be a disappointment. There were two kind of DE razors, one branded Lord and the other with katakana written on it. Both were plastic and I really want a metal one. It turned out that there was only one metal DE razor left and it was broken . So unfortunately I have to keep my Fusion for a little longer. Oh, by the way, they do have a selection of straight razors but I'm not going to go there just yet The next day.....
This morning I had my first shave with the soap and brush I bought yesterday. The stick is very easy to use and smells like my grandfather used to when he just had shaved (very soap like). The Omega brush has a nice grip and doesn't become slippery at all. Together the brush and stick make a thick creamy lather that was very easy to apply to my face. I will look for a softer brush though because the bristles are a bit too hard for my face.
The Fusion seems to have trouble shaving with a proper lather. With the Gillette foam-in-a-can there is enough friction to cut the hairs fairely close. With the Tabac lather however, the blades glide on my face but don't seem to cut at all. I think it has to do with the strip of stuff (aloe vera or something) that combines with the soap and makes my face a bit too slippery. No nicks at all though and a lot less irritation. After rinsing my face I ran the razor a few times more across some stubbled areas but it shouldn't be like that in my humble opinion. The feeling was a lot fresher then with the foam so the stick stays.
All in all, my quest isn't over yet. I've set my eyes on a Vulfix badger brush and maybe a Merkur Futur. Then there are so many shaving accessories, soaps, creams, oh my!
Like they say on another forum I frequent: sorry about your wallet Conclusion:
Tabac shaving soap:
Omega synthetic brush:
Experience so far (with Fusion):
but compared to electric: 
