Shaving Product Review - Tallow + Steel "Dark"
Today's SOTD features an up-and-coming artisan (and rightfully so, IMO) - Tallow + Steel and their #soap and #aftershave from the Dark collection!
The three parts of the Tallow + Steel review are:
If you saw yesterday's #MailCall and first impression of #tallowandsteel then you'll have a good introduction to the artisan and especially the line of products [that I got]. Today's review is specifically about the Dark scent, of which I have the soap and aftershave. They call this combo a collection.
Let's start with the soap. It's on the softer side of a hard soap (but not a croap). The scent strength is on the stronger side of medium bordering on strong. It smells a little different than the aftershave, sharper in certain notes. Probably a side effect of different mediums plus tallow and lanolin. I get a strong ginger and peppermint vibe, tempered by cocoa, along with the other notes dancing about. As for performance, the soap produces ample, creamy lather with very good primary/secondary lubricity. It was a true joy to shave with and has a wide tolerance for water; adjust to taste. Rinsing it off my face, it was quite unique in that it left my face "squeaky clean" feeling. This made applying the aftershave also a unique experience, in the way it felt... Kind of cool, actually.
The aftershave is touted as having "...the convenience of a splash, combined with the moisturizing qualities of a balm." I can agree with this. One should be careful in applying too much, as it can get a little tacky - it's hydrophilic (water attracting) in nature, especially in high humidity... Yet in drier air (e.g. air conditioning) it settles down rapidly. I only know this because I applied it generously, eager to get a heavy dose of the scent... Which opens with a woodsy bang, then settles in quite nicely. In fact, once dried down, the more subtle coffee and cocoa notes come to the front. It's been about three hours since application and it's starting to fade a bit overall, but I'm still getting hints of the scent. I was hoping for a bit more longevity... But this is due in part because of the high quality EOs used, which are more delicate in nature than FOs. It's alcohol-free, which may play a role - and as a result is burn-free as well. In any event, the face feel is excellent by any measure as my face feels soft, supple and moisturized; not tight or dry in the least.
Hardware today included the #StandardRazors razor with #Gillette 7 O'clock (black) blade on shave four, #SOC brush and #GTP scuttle. Results were BBS - this soap seems to shave close (ever notice how some do that?).
Overall, I'm quite impressed by this Tallow + Steel offering. The soap did everything a top notch soap should - as did the aftershave. As I indicated yesterday, the scent of Dark is manly, woodsy and awesome. It goes a bit more coffee/cocoa on dry down. I give both products a thumbs up, and can't wait to use Rainforest tomorrow! That review will be part three.