Shaving Product Review - Tallow + Steel "Shag"
Value (Cost, Packaging and Performance)
Lather (Density, Glide and Feel)
Post-shave (Healing, Moisture and Feel)
Scent (Quality, Strength and Longevity)
Shagadelic, baby, yeah! If you fancy a Shag there's none other than the limited edition Shag by Tallow + Steel in the form of #soap and #aftershave! Made for the Wetshaving sub-reddit group.
Dirty, Smokey, and Green - Shag transports you to the back of a groovy 60's VW bus. You wont have trouble getting this one started though. Shagadelically blended to bring your shave the good vibrations. Hang loose!
I won't cover the performance of the soap and aftershave, as I've covered that fairly extensively in my Tallow + Steel First Impression a while back as well as my review of Dark and my review of Rainforest. Suffice to say, it's outstanding on all fronts as the metrics above show.
The scent of Shag will be both different yet familiar to #tallowandsteel fans. It has that same vibe sniffing the tub, yet once lathered - really opens up. The official notes are patchouli, vetiver, guaiacwood, lavender, cade, and bergamot. The aftershave (nay, "Aftershag") is really where the scent blossoms, free of the soap base. It's a surprisingly complex scent, at least on the open. You get the bergamot initially up top and in the middle, but as it dries down it starts to lean more on patchouli - but with a supporting cast. If you're not a fan of the traditional Hippy Shower™ that is patchouli, fear not. While it's definitely discernible, the vetiver tempers the earthiness by making it more woodsy, supported by the cade (prickly juniper) which is smoky and phenolic. The lavender and guaiacwood add some "purple flair" (the latter smells like rosy violets) lending slightly sweeter, floral hints.
The scent strength is pretty robust, both in the soap and aftershave. After application of the latter, it fades down to a normal level with average projection. Longevity is outstanding as I could still detect it as a skin scent a full twelve hours later! I'd place the longevity well within (and more towards the latter) of the 4-8 hour range.
As mentioned, this is a limited edition made for the Wetshaving sub-reddit group. The soap was $25 USD, the "aftershag" $20 USD and the "collection" (combo) $45 USD, which included free shipping in North America with $10 International Air Shipping (collection only). The pre-order period ran two weeks from February 14-28, 2017 with orders shipping by March 10, 2017.
Hardware for this psychedelic shave included the black #StandardRazors razor with a #PolSilver blade on shave four while the #BSB Shaving Brush easily whipped up the thick, creamy lather in the #GTP scuttle where it stayed nice and warm, like a VW Bus without air conditioning.
I'm a fan of Tallow + Steel as they make excellent software with (very) unique scents. The skin feel is exemplary and it too has a very unique feel - both in application and dry down. Shag as a scent is the longest lasting of those I've tried so far and totally my cup of tea (yes, I'm a patchouli fan). Interestingly, Tallow + Steel is currently in the middle of rejiggering their soap base - as a result, you won't find anything in stock on their website currently. Along with the new base will be all-new scents. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I'm also very curious as there's little room for improvement on an already excellent range of products!