Shaving Product Review - Barrister's Reserve "Cool"

Value (Cost, Packaging and Performance)

Lather (Density, Glide and Feel)

Post-shave (Healing, Moisture and Feel)

Scent (Quality, Strength and Longevity)

Comparing to Floïd Blue or Myrsol Blue (F/Extra) is this faithful recreation with top-shelf, modern ingredients from Barrister's Reserve called Cool #aftershave - now with matching #soap!

Perfect for a hot day, lightly mentholated Barrister's Reserve: Cool is refreshingly light and crisp. Based on a classic Italian barbershop staple, notes of bergamot, lemon, and lavender combine for a bracing, invigorating scent versatile enough to wear with your favorite cologne.

This post is more for the sake of completeness, really. For the full (and extensive) background, check out my first impression of Barrister's Reserve aftershaves and specifically, my review of the Cool aftershave (and scent). I've already done a review of the Spice soap as well. There's not too much to add, except for the scent characteristics of the soap.

The scent strength of the soap is on the lighter side of medium which is nice, crisp and refreshing. Just like the aftershave, the potency lies in between Spice and Classic. It's no small wonder that products like Floïd Blue or Myrsol Blue (F/Extra) were popular, despite the former's discontinuance. It's still a bit weird, but I guess the numbers just weren't there for Floïd. As a reminder, it's a powdery, leathery, fresh and clean "barbershop scent." It's an enjoyable lather that's thick and creamy with excellent cushion and just as good a primary and secondary lubricity. The soap itself is quite soft, and will be softer in consistency compared to both Spice and Classic which is "unavoidable due to the fragrance compounds." Combined with the aftershave, the scent longevity is a solid 6+ hours and the resulting face feel is sublime; soft, moisturized and light. As a closing note, I want to point out that unlike the aftershave, the soap contains no menthol which I thought was a strange choice.

Hardware for today was... You guessed it... The #TimelessRazor - this time with the .68 gap, straight solid bar base and cap with the original Pineapple handle. Same #PolSilver blade from earlier, on shave three. I wanted to see how this gap performed for me after a week of using some otherwise aggressive hardware... I need a break. I also put the original handle back on to get the full experience. So how was it? The milder gap was indeed quite mild - so much so that I questioned its efficacy. Between the smooth solid bar and cap, it goes without saying that this shave was super smooth and mild. The blade feel is there, but much less than with the .95 gap and scalloped solid bar or open comb base plate(s). However, by the time I got done with the third pass, my worries were assuaged. Despite the mild feel, it's certainly efficient! While I didn't get the BBS shave of the more aggressive gap, it wasn't that far off. It didn't leave any stray whiskers in the usual spots (that mild razors often leave me with) and without requiring extra strokes. That's a win in my book! The only negative I've realized is the handle... It's longer than I'm used to these days and on the heavy side. At first, my fingers were getting a little fatigued - but that subsided as I continued my shave.

Of course, as I mentioned a few days ago - I'm going to write-up an extensive and detailed review of the Timeless Razor with all these insights. So keep an eye out for that.

A fine, fine shave for this easy, breezy Friday. Most impressive software and hardware. I look forward to the full release of the soaps next Friday which will finally make my three aftershaves feel complete. I also look forward to further experimentation with this razor. So far, it certainly impresses.