Razor: Rex Ambassador
Blade: Polsilver (3rd and 4th use)
Brush: Frank Shaving Two Band
Soap: Pré de Provence No. 63
Aftershave Balm: Pré de Provence No. 63
Over the weekend while in Tabula Rasa, a local self-described stationery store at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, I picked up Pré de Provence. They have a balanced selection of wet shaving products from Europe such as Edwin Jagger, Floris and Kent as well as domestic artisans such as The Holy Black. In addition to wet shaving products this particular store has books, pens, leather bound journals and all kinds of other items associated with old world hobbies. If you’re ever in town or a local it is worth checking out.
As much of an affinity I have for our American artisans I’ve made a point to obtain more products from Europe and some brands like Baume.be and Antiga Barbearia de Barrio have made it on my list of favorite staple shave products. PdP is a vegan soap originating from France and contains shea butter as an active ingredient with No.63 being described as a scent that is “aromatic, warm and spicy” according to the product description on their website. Once I smelled it off the puck it was more pleasant than I recall from the last time I used it, cologne-like, more clean and less earthy.
I’ve had No. 63 in the form of a brushless cream and the matching balm for a couple years and have only reached for it a handful of times. Although brushless creams have their place on the market and can be practical for travel, I find they diminish the day-to-day experience many of us are looking for. In the coming days as I use this setup I am intrigued to see how the brushless cream would actually do as a pre-shave in conjunction with the soap. Overall the performance was wonderful in regards to slickness and post feel. It took a little extra effort to build the lather but we can chalk that up to my inexperience with this soap for the time being.
