Shaving Product Review - Barrister and Mann "Orange & Cedarwood" and
Barrister's Reserve "Spice"

My fourth in a series of SOTD as part of #BarristerWeek where I use a discontinued flavor. Today we have Barrister and Mann Orange & Cedarwood #soap with Barrister's Reserve Spice #aftershave finish!

I won't talk about the lather performance; it's essentially like all #BarristerMann white/black label soaps. Not quite as slick and nourishing as the latest glissant formulation but it's still very much at the top of the food chain. A quick 25-30s of loading and a healthy dose of water nets ample, extraordinarily dense and creamy lather with very good lubricity and face feel. Absolutely no complaints from me on this formulation. So then, let's talk about the real story here - the scent. It was described as:

Sweet Orange and Virginia cedar essential oils. Classic French scent, very clean and masculine.

I'm a sucker for citrus scents; witness my affection for Through the Fire Fine Craft Sucker Punch and Chiseled Face Santa Paula Citrus combos. I had high hopes for this discontinued soap offering. Unfortunately, it was a little bit of a let down. While it smelled lovely and slightly more complex than a single note; the only two notes of orange and cedar, while blending well together - it didn't really grab me - the scent strength was a bit light. I thought it may just be a side effect of the age of this soap, having been discontinued a while back (citrus notes are unfortunately rather volatile) but it turns out, it was done this way on purpose so as to avoid potential skin reactions from the citrus. I like my scents strong, especially citrus, but this one's definitely more subtle... The scent was orange forward; sweet rather than zesty on a base of cedar; and a lovely version of it.

I finished off with the new and upcoming Barrister's Reserve Spice aftershave which I reviewed extensively in the past. It performs absolutely wonderfully and gave me a good five to six hours of scent. Once I get my full-sized bottle, I can apply it a little more liberally, which will surely help all around.

Hardware for today's main event was courtesy of the #StandardRazors razor going strong on a #PolSilver blade on shave four while the #BSB Shaving Brush handled things in the #GTP scuttle.

As a lover of citrus scents, I was hoping for a healthy dose of both orange and cedar here. While they blended nicely together, overall the feeling was somewhat disappointing. I craved more of both. Nevertheless, performance was as expected - that is to say, lacking absolutely nothing. Good stuff. But I can see why this wasn't more popular. Cedar is being overdone these days, and as a citrus scent it lacked that "wow" factor.