Later On

I just received yesterday an order from Gifts & Care, some of which is shown in the photo. The (horsehair) brush is particularly beautiful—more beautiful with more subtle color gradations than shown by the photo above. As I posted last night on the Pogonotomy forum:

I got two of the “professional” brushes with wooden stub handle protruding from a convex brass ring, the bristles issuing from the ring. No markings whatsoever except for some decorative engraving on the brass. No lettering, no label, no ID. I think the idea is that if you’re truly a professional such blatant labeling is at best needless and at worst insulting. And with the two brushes I have, labels would be as redundant as carefully labeling transparent glass salt and pepper shakers “SALT” and “PEPPER”: hardly necessary, eh? The boar is a creamy white, and the horsehair—and this is what struck me—the horsehair is this amazingly beautiful color produced by a variety of bristles: gray, sorrel, brown, beige, … It had not previously occurred to me that a brush could be beautiful just for its color. And I like the form factor as well: it’s a comfortable handle to use and looks distinctive. And, of course, I appreciate being enough of a professional that I don’t need no stinkin’ labels.

The wooden bowl of La Toja shaving soap has a lid cut from cork, with the bottom of the lid uncut, showing exactly the profile of where the bark grew next to the sapwood. In the photo above, the dark part of the lid is that portion of the cork-oak bark.

The soap is quite nice, and I vigorously worked the brush to get a creamy lather. I was about 75% successful: creamy-ish lather. But it was first use of the brush—which had a non-unpleasant horsey smell that will quickly fade with use. But it’s a smell that I like, unlike (say) the funkier smell of some boar or badger brushes.

The brush is more resilient than my other horsehair professional (which I gave to a beginner as part of a full kit). It’s not unlike the Plisson brass-handled Chinese Grey that The Wife got for me in Paris. I’ll have to use them side by side to compare.

A fine lather, and the Red Ring Eclipse did its useful deft job of uncovering the wonderfully smooth skin underlying the jagged stubble. A splash of La Toja’s “Hombre” aftershave—I detect a cinnamon note, I think—and I’m ready for the day.

Of course, “Hombre” may not be the name of the fragrance—maybe it means simply “Pour l’Homme”. I was struck by how the word “hombre” has connotations in English that it probably lacks in Spanish. In Spanish, as I understand it, the word simply means “man,” whereas in English it has a connotation along the lines of Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and the (pre-cancerous) Marlboro Man.

Tomorrow’s shave will be an unveiling of a highly innovative new design in safety razors. Be sure to check back—and please send early any suggestions or requests regarding soap, brush, or aftershave…