Shaving Product Review - Barrister and Mann "Sandalwood" (Latha)

Beaver Woodright "Ghost Ship"

A sample continuing SOTD my with Barrister and Mann Sandalwood Latha #soap and Beaver Woodwright Ghost Ship #aftershave!

This is my seventh review in my #SandalwoodShowdown series! The samples today were provided by Alex Gonzalez - thank you!

#Barristermann makes some of the finest products and scents for today's wet shaver; I'll admit that I'm a huge fan. The top tier soaps and aftershaves have been spoiling me for most others, especially lately. How does the new(er) Latha line hold up? I have to say that Latha performs very well and I feel that it actually performs above its price point.

I was able to whip up abundant lather that was creamy in consistency with generous cushion and glide. The scent is described as notes of black currant, sandalwood, and amber which I found to hold true. I definitely got the sweetness of the currant, tempered by sandalwood and amber, which were a little weaker to the nose. All around a really nice, subtle profile that I could see using every day and different from all the "me too" sandalwood scents out there. The scent strength was a lighter-medium. I did find that the face feel properties didn't quite compare to the higher tier soaps from B&M which is to be expected, as the Latha line has a subset of the ingredient list (see below). I also found that the lather dried up slightly in between passes in the scuttle... But nothing that a couple of drops of water and a quick swirl or three of the brush couldn't fix right up. This could be due to using a sample and not having dialed in the soap yet.

Latha:

Aqua, potassium stearate, sodium stearate, potassium tallowate, sodium tallowate, glycerin, potassium cocoate, sodium cocoate, fragrance, argania spinosa (argan) oil, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, sodium citrate, sodium lactate, tocopherol acetate

White label:

Potassium stearate, sodium stearate, potassium tallowate, sodium tallowate, aqua, glycerin, potassium ricinoleate, sodium ricinoleate, lavandula officinalis (lavender) oil, fragrance, juniperus virginiana (virginia cedarwood) oil, coconut milk, potassium kokum butterate, sodium kokum butterate, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, potassium cocoate, sodium cocoate, lanolin, allantoin, silk protein, tocopherol acetate

For the finish, I went with a similar "fruity sandalwood" mix in the form of Ghost Ship from #blackshipgroom. I had used the soap previously (see here: http://tinyurl.com/j7nfozr) which I found slightly underwhelming - but the aftershave was quite nice! The scent is described as "sandalwood, grapefruit and our very own black amber mix." I got primarily grapefruit, with hints of sandalwood and amber. On the dry down, the grapefruit receded and left the sandalwood and amber towards the base. I don't have the exact ingredients handy, but it contains (at least) alcohol, witch hazel, aloe, vitamin E and menthol. The resulting face feel was pleasant; on the slightly drier side (as in, not tacky whatsoever). The scent strength was a lighter-medium - but longevity only so-so. It faded after a few hours.

Hardware for today's shave consisted of the #Merkur #Futur razor fitted with a #PolSilver blade on shave two, while the #BSB Shaving Brush did the deed in the #GTP scuttle.

A very nice shave today! Two excellent scents from two different artisans in the same vein; "a fruity sandalwood." The performance of both products was solid, but not necessarily a standout... And that's nitpicking a little. For the money, you can't beat the value of Barrister and Mann Latha soap - though I had hoped the Beaver Woodwright Ghost Ship aftershave scent would have lasted longer for the price. Face feel was on par however.