Head & face shower shave. 4 days growth.
Technique: WTG / XTG / ATG/clean-up.
Prep: Shower.
Soap: Barrister and Mann - Night Music
Brush: Ever-Ready 100T w/TGN Finest
Razor: Above The Tie - S1 w/Triad Rolling Hex 316 Brushed Stainless handle
Blade: Astra Superior Platunum(2)
Post: Barrister and Mann - Night Music
Pay-off: Movie Night - Deadpool in IMAX
I'll make this one quick and dirty since I need to be off to the movies!
In the interest of time, instead of just repeating myself with regard to B&M's Glissant base's performance, I will just stipulate that it is unsurpassed in all aspects of soap performance. Any of B&M's soaps utilizing this base is flawless. If you're looking to experience a high-end performing soap à la the likes of Martin de Candre, Acqua di Parma, and so on, save your money and look no further.
Now to the scent: I used to say I wasn't a vanilla fan. Since delving into the artisan side of wetshaving products, however, I've changed my mind. Previously, I'd associated vanilla scents with the artificial, nauseatingly sweet scent in air fresheners, flavored coffees, and even cheap women's perfumes. I know what real vanilla beans smell like because I use them periodically, and the aforementioned facimiles don't even come close. Since I'm not a perfumer or a chemist, I don't claim to know what the artisans use to achieve the vanilla scent, but I do know that many of them yield accurate reproductions of what I smell when I handle vanilla beans. So, now that I'm kind of a vanilla fan, it doesn't mean I want to smell like vanilla myself. Until now, I've considered it to be somewhat feminine.
When I lathered up Night Music, "feminine" was not my impression. The vanilla is certainly up front, but it's a spicy, almost smokey vanilla that reminds me of aged Madagascar whole bean pods. I emphasize the inclusion of pods because they add a slight woodiness to the profile.
Into my second pass, the woody, spicy vanilla sweetened up a bit. I suppose that's from the hint of strawberry, but I really can't identify the strawberry per se. It just sweetens it a bit, keeping it elegant, without making it smell like candy. Just as the sweetness hightens, it is soon mitigated by an aggressive but pleasant muskiness. At this point, you really don't want the shave to end. This truly is a sexy scent.
I couldn't tell you how long the soap scent lasts by itself because I was compelled to use the splash in order to sustain that goodness throughout the evening.
Have a great evening, gentlemen!