Shaving Product Review - Barrister and Mann "Tangerine & Ylang Ylang" and
Barrister's Reserve "Cool"

My fifth in a series of SOTD as part of #BarristerWeek where I use a discontinued flavor. Today we have Barrister and Mann Tangerine & Ylang Ylang #soap with Barrister's Reserve Cool #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:

A bright, heady combination of tangerine and ylang ylang essential oils. In order to avoid an overpoweringly floral smell, the fragrance has been balanced so that the ylang ylang is detectable and supports the tangy citrus of the tangerine, but is not overwhelmingly heady.

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, like yesterday's Orange & Cedarwood SOTD. Unfortunately, it was a little bit of a let down for the same reason(s). While it smelled lovely and slightly more complex than a single note; the only two notes of tangerine and ylang ylang, while blending well together - the scent strength was fairly light. It's a side effect of the age of this soap (citrus notes are volatile, but tangerine especially so) and was also done this way on purpose so as to avoid potential skin reactions. I like my scents strong, especially citrus. This one's definitely more subtle... The tangerine was sweet as was the ylang ylang; a sweet floral - perfectly suited for each other.

I finished off with the new and upcoming Barrister's Reserve Cool 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. It was a hot day, so the extra cooling of the menthol was called for.

Hardware for today's main event was courtesy of the #StandardRazors razor going strong on a #PolSilver blade on shave five while the #SOC brush had it's way in the #GTP scuttle.

As a lover of citrus scents, I was hoping for a healthy dose of tangerine here but overall the feeling was somewhat disappointing. I craved more of probably my favorite of the citrus scents. Nevertheless, performance was as expected - that is to say, lacking absolutely nothing. Good stuff.