I'm Back with a Bang...

So it's been an eventful week over here, what with floods, big projects at work, and a mini-vacation, I haven't really been up to blogging much. But Now that things are settling down, I've got stuff to say!


Tsuyu is drawing to a close, apparently...though the 2 feet of rain we've got so far this week would seem to argue against that fact...and I figure it's about time to change things up a bit. Which is good timing, because on my little vacation in the Big City, I picked up some new stuff. Yay new stuff!


First off is a face familiar to most wetshavers, a puck of Art of Shaving Sandalwood soap. AOS is, of course, a famous name in wetshaving and the soap is generally described as excellent. Many people say it's identical to the Valobra Shave Stick, which means it should be a truly great shave soap. The sandalwood scent on this one is not too strong coming out of the box, but that's meaningless...it's on the face where it counts, and I can't wait to give it a try! Especially since I paid WAY too much...I was excited to actually find wetshaving goods in a shop, so my resistance was weakened.

The same thing would explain my next purchase, a BADGER BRUSH!!!! Why would I buy one of these, when I am an avowed Boar lover? Because 1.) It was in a real live shop (see above) 2.) It has a lovely maple handle and 2.) It was really well-priced--about $25 for a 22mm knot Badger brush with a matching stand. I'm still not sure what to do with it, but it's nice to look at! It's from Marks & Web, a Japanese company, which makes me happy. I like finding signs of style and life in the Japanese shaving culture, and they had some excellent smelling and well formulated organic soaps that also caught my eye. I'll probably pick some up off the net before too long.


And finally, there's a new soap: Narcissist for Men Shaving and Facial soap. This is sold by a Japanese company called Tree of Life, which is apparently an Organic/Ayurvedic toiletry company. The soap itself lists its country of origin as America, and the ingredients aren't too far off base: Soap Base (Olive Oil, Palm Oil, and Coconut oil), Bentonite clay, Fragrance, Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Shea Butter and Tocopherol. The olive oil worries me, but again, just finding this stuff made me lose a bit of self control, so it came home with me.

The scent coming off this one is very clean and simple, a touch of cedar perhaps--something like D.R. Harris Marlborough, but not as full or as interesting. I'm curious how it does, and I'll give it a try today.

I'll try this stuff out over the coming week and give you guys a complete rundown--I'm hoping I might have found some new winners!

Also, be on the lookout for the post-Tsuyu roundup, and a new projuct I've just finished up.

Enjoy your shaves!