Alt-Eleven with a soft brush, and then Baby Smooth

This Mühle silvertip has a wonderfully fluffy knot that is soft and pleasant on the face—rather like the G.B. Kent BK4, in fact, though obviously a very different handle treatment. The handle of this Mühle brush is quite hefty, in fact. The lather from Phoenix Artisan’s Alt-Eleven was thick and creamy, the RazoRock Baby Smooth did its usual superb job. A dot of Alt-Eleven balm, and the day begins.

Darkfall today, with the lovable little iKon Shavecraft 101

The Icarus formula by Declaration Grooming is one of those praised by Mantic59, and I can see why. My Simpson Emperor 2 Super made a really fine lather from their Darkfall, one of the soaps made with that formula. The name is explained at the link:

Darkfall is a spicy oriental designed to capture the spirit of fall in the rural south. Agarwood, amber, and benzoin provide a deep, warm base for the cinnamon and clove top notes. Birch tar adds a slight smokiness that represents the ever-present smell of burning leaves that heralds the arrival of fall in Georgia.

It really does have a fine fragrance, and the lather is made from these ingredients:

Stearic Acid, Water, Castor Oil, Avocado Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Mango Seed Butter, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Bison Tallow, Lamb Tallow, Colloidal Oatmeal, Goat’s Milk, Lanolin, Bentonite Clay, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Fruit Extract, Salix Alba L. (White Willow) Bark Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tussah Silk

I did note in the loading that I needed to add one driblet of water, and I see now the reason: the presence of clay—Bentonite in this case.

I suspect that the nice soft feeling my skin now has is to some degree the result of those ingredients—and clean living, of course.

The iKon Shavecraft 101 is a remarkably good razor, comfortable and efficient with no tendency to nick despite that efficient. The head alone is $40.

Three passes, perfect (i.e., complete and undamaged) smoothness, and a good splash of TOBS Shaving Shop aftershave. The day already is looking (and feeling) good. (I find that the 5 minutes I spend in shaving serves as a launchpad for an appreciation of the day by focusing my mood in positive directions.)

Catie’s Bubble Waterlyptus

I had to add just a touch more water, then loaded the brush easily, and the lather was wonderful. The eucalyptus fragrance helps reduce the sweetness of the watermelon, and altogether it’s a very nice soap indeed.

Three passes with my Feather AS-D1 and my face was BBS—though extremely comfortable, this razor is quite efficient for me.

A splash of Saint Charles Shave’s Bulgarian Rose with Lemon aftershave, and another day is well begun.

Merkur White Bakelite Slant and a note on inexpensive aftershaves

A bay rum morning. RazoRock’s extremely nice little Keyhole brush ($10) produced a fine lather from Phoenix Artisan’s Bay Rum and the white bakelite slant did its usual terrific job in removing all traces of stubble easily, quickly, and safely. Then a splash of bay rum aftershave from the plastic bottle that seems to have gone through some hard times.

This is one of several inexpensive aftershaves I got from Appleton Barber Supply, a good source for such things. (Link is to the aftershaves section.) This is one of the many vendors listed in the Guide.

Spice shave

Barrister & Mann’s Reserve Spice shaving soap has a great lather and a great fragrance, with the fragrance particularly attractive this morning. The lather was created with my Rod Neep brush, and the Merkur Progress proved again its excellence as a razor: three passes, perfect result, no problems.

A splash of Booster Oriental Spice—and that, too, had a fragrance that fit my mood of the morning—and the weekend starts on a good footing.

J.M. Fraser and Thayers Lemon

J.M. Fraser is a fine shaving cream, low-cost and effective, with a light lemon fragrance. With the Simpson Emperor 3 I made a good lather, and the extremely nice iKon stainless open-comb deliver a great shave. A splash of Thayers Lemon witch hazel with aloe vera finished the job. This one is an “astringent,” which means 10% alcohol (as opposed to a “toner,” which has no alcohol).

Cavendish in CK-6 formulation

I really like Phoenix Artisan’s new CK-6 formulation, and they are now releasing some old favorites in that formula. I bought Cavendish CK-6, Cavendish being an old favorite of mine, and the RazoRock 400 synthetic made a wonderful lather from it.

Three passes with my Gillette 1940s Aristocrat left a face perfectly smooth and ready for a splash of Cavendish aftershave. This is one whose fragrance lasts, and a very nice fragrance it is, too.

The oxtails are now in the oven at 210ºF for the day, recipe given earlier. I ended up slicing the carrots rather than cutting them into chunks. Recipe revised.