05.VII.2023
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Lather: Nivea Protect & Care Shaving Cream
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Brush: Muhle Rytmo Synthetic ash handle
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Razor: Fairschenkt GC 2.0 plate II
- Blade: Bic Astor Stainless (1)
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After shave: Solea D'amaris Fresh Water (Davidoff Cool Water dupe)
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Post Save: Dr. K Soap Company Cool Mint After-Shave Balm (a heavy cream, very little goes a very long way)
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EdT: Pino Silvestre Original
The Shave:
This is my first time using Nivea shaving cream. It is a very pleasant cream to use, although more thirsty than I expected.
The lather it makes is perfectly serviceable; it has above average cushioning and glide, decent residual slickness, and a very pleasant and neutral post shave feel. What really impressed me however was the stability of the lather. It never seemed to dissipate or change qualities from application until it got shaved. I shave slowly, so lather changing between parts of my shave is normal, but it didn't happen with this cream.
The typical Nivea fragrance is very pleasant and clean, and for me represents the essence of hygiene and cleaning, as we had products scented like this since I was a kid.
All in all I'm very impressed with the cream and its performance, and I'll definitely keep using it. I suspect it'll just get better once I optimize the lather making for it.
The After Shave is also a new acquisition - it's a cheap drugstore A/S - , and I chose the Cool Water dupe today because it fits very well with the notes in the Nivea, and because it is also very barbershoppy for me, as that's the smell that came from every hair care and grooming salon when I was a kid.
It is notably alcoholic, which is why I followed it up with Dr. K.
It is a very consistent and heavy cream due to the beeswax content, so very little is needed. It's mostly superfluous in the summer, but it helped today.
The Pino Silvestre EdT is also new to me, and from a cheap scent, I cannot ask for for more. It is named after a pine forest, the bottle looks like a pinecone, and it smells exactly like a pine forest after the rain. Sharp, earthy, ozone-y, and mossy, it is a simple scent that evokes the feeling you get when reaching the forest line after a tiring hike and the cool humid air of the forest hits you....
I like it, it might not be particularly special or fitting for summer in general, but it's 20 C where I am with rain and storms, so it works.