Shaving Product Review - Barrister and Mann "Night Music"
Today's SOTD is courtesy of Barrister and Mann Night Music #soap and #aftershave combo!
From my #MailCall the other day (http://tinyurl.com/jalqtdv) you can see the goodies that came from #BarristerMann as mentioned; two samples of their Classic Splash along with a baggie of Sweet Tarts and a mesh bag to hold the soap... Which was wrapped in black paper and fastened with Valentine's Day themed stickers. Top notch packaging again, as we're getting accustomed to from B&M!
Night Music is based on the relatively new glissant formulation first used in Le Grand Chypre - which I talked about in this first impression and also reviewed extensively. It's quite exquisite, really... Providing thick, creamy lather with plenty of cushion and slippery glide. Just when you thought B&M couldn't make a better soap - they did.
As another point of reference, I've reviewed Lavanille extensively before as well. I point this out because Night Music draws from that scent, mainly in the way of vanilla (vanillin). This soap therefore oxidizes - that is, turns brown (even more so) - like Lavanille! When I first opened up the tub, the soap was a luxurious dark brown color, clearly from being exposed to the air during curing. It made for some interesting lather! Brown, like chocolate mousse. Really neat. Looking at the tub from the side, the soap itself looks like chocolate frosting on a vanilla cake (as only the topmost layers are exposed to air).
As for the exact scent of Night Music it's more than just vanilla. It's described as:
We blended heaps of vanilla with peppery bergamot and silvery iris to form the core of the fragrance, then layered the whole thing on top of 5 different musks to create the raunchiest, naughtiest fragrance we’ve ever smelled in shaving. We finished it off with just the tiniest fraction of strawberry, so light that you’d probably never even know it’s there, to sweeten the design and make it just a little bit more fun.
...I find Night Music to be a "sweeter, gentler Lavanille" actually. The bergamot, iris and strawberry definitely sweeten up the darker, deeper scent of that, adding complexity. Not that it's floral or fruity by any stretch... Add an intoxicating blend of musks - and it's just absolutely decadent! It has excellent performance and longevity as an aftershave/cologne.
Hardware today was the #Merkur #Futur razor fitted with a #PolSilver blade on shave three while the #BSB Shaving Brush whipped up the chocolate-looking, vanilla-smelling lather in the #GTP scuttle .
If you're a fan of Lavanille or just looking for a lighter, sweeter version - you cannot go wrong with Night Music! It's a lovely, lovely scent and now features the excellent performance of the new glissant base as well. Another winner from B&M - so much so that it's getting really hard to pick a favorite these days.