Razor: Timeless .95
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (4th use)
Brush: SawDust Creations “Caramel Latte”
Soap: Pré de Provence No. 63
Aftershave Balm: Pré de Provence No. 63
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.
