June 12, 2024 - CREAM
- Brush: Munnin Woodworks Mother of Pearl APShaveCo G5C 24mm
- Razor: RazoRock Hawk v2
- Blade: Feather Pro Guard (15)
- Lather: Gillette - Pure
- Post Shave: Maurer & Wirtz - Tabac
- Fragrance: Calvin Klein - CK One Shock For Him
Challenge: Den Tour pic 1 - the shelves of shaving; pic 2 - soap box; pic 3 - post-shave box; pic 4 - frag box; pic 5 - razor box; pic 6 - under sink storage; pic 7 - bathroom drawer; pic 8 - overflow has gotten… pic 9 - kinda crazy.
Once upon a time, Gillette Pure was my Drug Store Day lather. It used to be available in my local Wallgreens stores. It’s not on shelves anymore. I guess it didn’t sell. There’s not much fragrance at first. I got a faint green powder and laundry musk in the soap while aloe seemingly hangs in the air. This cream is fluffy. The cream went from the tube, to my hands, then to my face, which was messy. I shouldn’t have rubbed it between my fingers. It made my hands soapy. It looked thin on my face at first. After a pass with the brush it morphed into pasty proto-lather. It puffed up quickly once I started adding water. I hydrated it until lather flung off of my brush. The slickness was okay, but not as good as the appearance of the lather led me to believe. It was at least a bit better than the Barbasol on Canned Goop Day. But, it was drying. The fragrance came out more when it was hydrated. The powder note was more prominent and smelled more distinctly of lavender. Overall, it’s a safe fragrance for a commercial product. It’s similar to what canned foam smells like. It’s non-offensive, and that’s probably the nicest thing I can say about it.
Today’s theme leaves the fragrance options wide open. I started by picking hardware and software that are physically black and white for my SOTD pic. Out of those options, I liked the idea of using other mass-market products in tandem with Pure. I won this bottle of Tabac in a PIF from /u/loudmusicboy. It’s the only Maurer & Wirtz product I’ve used. This fragrance is the most old man thing I’ve ever smelled. To be fair, it’s an old man who has taken care of himself and still cares about his appearance. I’d hate to smell the chain-smoking alcoholic on oxygen wearing a half open bathrobe old man fragrance. It’s floral. I get a mix of carnation, rose, and maybe some jasmine. This is that stinky rose note that modern fragrances have veered away from. It's soapy and woody at the same time, like this was cut from a soap tree. There’s a grassy note in there. Given time on my face, it does kind of smell like tobacco (I’m still uncertain whether tobacco is actually a note, here). It’s definitely old-fashioned. I have a lot of vintage razors. I appreciate seeing what older generations shaved with, and the trends wetshaving products have gone through. So, I’m happy to have this in my den.
I picked Calvin Klein CK One Shock For Him because of the black bottle, and because I thought it would go well with Tabac. The first smell of this makes me think “warm spicy.” It’s woody, but I get a hit of powder up front. Tobacco sits at the edges of the spice notes. There’s a hint of sweet citrus. After dry-down, the tobacco note comes through more. I get a note of amber in the base. The amber and powder combine into a sweet note resembling vanilla. I think it smells better after dry-down. Longevity is short. This doesn't have a lot of depth. It's a bit old, but not outdated. But, it's nice to splash on when I want a hit of tobacco.
#photocontest - Black and white
#FOF