Had a nice shave this morning with a cream and aftershave, neither of which I've tried before. In fact, I had never used an aftershave splash until today.
The cream was TFS Cuore di Lavanda soft soap. It's an Italian soap, despite the appearance of the brand (Tcheon Fung Sing), and I had gotten a sample of it from Garry's Sample Shop in a small plastic container. It's soft enough that I could swipe a bit out and smear it on the bottom of my bowl to lather up with. It lathered very well, without much effort. The aroma was a somewhat fresh, soapy scent with a light floral aspect to it. As well as a hint of maybe citrus..? In any case, I enjoyed the fragrance. I made a wetter lather for my straight shave, but it still provided excellent protection and lubrication on the skin. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this one, if you haven't tried it. Looks like there are a couple of places that sell this soap. (shaving.ie and BullGoose, at least. I'm sure there are others.) It's not overly expensive, and it's a great soap. I'm sure I'll add this one to the collection, once I use up the sample (which was a generous size, I might add).
The aftershave was Barbon (another sample from Garry's). It has a fairly traditional scent to it, and a fair bit of menthol. I used a good dash of it in hand and patted and wiped it on, instantly feeling a mild burn, followed by a strong menthol cooling sensation. The menthol lasted several minutes, and I even still had a light chill on my face as I headed out the door to work. Loved that feeling. However, I had a couple of cream samples that my wife described as smelling like "old man", and I'd probably have to say that this sort of fits that bill for me. It's something I could see my grandfather wearing, because it was traditional from that time period. Not a bad smell, by any means. Just not for me. But my face feels nice, smooth, not tight or dry. If you enjoy the traditional fragrances, you'll really like this one.
I have a few more samples from Garry's that I'll probably review in the coming week or two, including a few more AS splashes that smell fantastic.
Anyone else have any feedback on these two products? Feel free to chime in and add to the discussion.
ETA: If anyone's curious about sample sizes from Garry's, just let me know. I'll snap a few pics.
The cream was TFS Cuore di Lavanda soft soap. It's an Italian soap, despite the appearance of the brand (Tcheon Fung Sing), and I had gotten a sample of it from Garry's Sample Shop in a small plastic container. It's soft enough that I could swipe a bit out and smear it on the bottom of my bowl to lather up with. It lathered very well, without much effort. The aroma was a somewhat fresh, soapy scent with a light floral aspect to it. As well as a hint of maybe citrus..? In any case, I enjoyed the fragrance. I made a wetter lather for my straight shave, but it still provided excellent protection and lubrication on the skin. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this one, if you haven't tried it. Looks like there are a couple of places that sell this soap. (shaving.ie and BullGoose, at least. I'm sure there are others.) It's not overly expensive, and it's a great soap. I'm sure I'll add this one to the collection, once I use up the sample (which was a generous size, I might add).
The aftershave was Barbon (another sample from Garry's). It has a fairly traditional scent to it, and a fair bit of menthol. I used a good dash of it in hand and patted and wiped it on, instantly feeling a mild burn, followed by a strong menthol cooling sensation. The menthol lasted several minutes, and I even still had a light chill on my face as I headed out the door to work. Loved that feeling. However, I had a couple of cream samples that my wife described as smelling like "old man", and I'd probably have to say that this sort of fits that bill for me. It's something I could see my grandfather wearing, because it was traditional from that time period. Not a bad smell, by any means. Just not for me. But my face feels nice, smooth, not tight or dry. If you enjoy the traditional fragrances, you'll really like this one.
I have a few more samples from Garry's that I'll probably review in the coming week or two, including a few more AS splashes that smell fantastic.
Anyone else have any feedback on these two products? Feel free to chime in and add to the discussion.
ETA: If anyone's curious about sample sizes from Garry's, just let me know. I'll snap a few pics.
