... with Snake Bite shaving soap and after shaving tonic from Fine Accoutrements
The Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3
The Soap: Fine Snake Bite
The Razor: Ever Ready 1912
The Blade: GEM
The Lotion: Fine Snake Bite
THESHAVE
"I'm so excited," sang The Pointer Sisters. But they didn't stop there. They wanted to elaborate. They went on, enthusiastically, "And I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control and I think I like it."
Now, I'm not a fan of The Pointer Sisters. I mean, I haven't got anything against them personally: I've never met any of them, after all. Musically, though, they're not my cup of tea. I'm more of a 50s rock n roll, 60s garage and era-spanning soundtracks sort of a person, with a lot of stuff in between. But when it came to thinking of a song that went straight to the heart of the matter and said more or less what I wanted to say, The Pointer Sisters' I'm So Excited sprang immediately to mind. I mean, I wish Lavern Baker had sung something appropriate, but to be honest I didn't feel that my thoughts about this shave of the day were particularly well-reflected by quoting:
I thought I was a snake
I started crawlin' on the ground
I thought I was a dog
I started barkin' like a hound
I thought I was coyote
Howlin' at the moon
Stumblin' and a fumblin'
Like a flip mighty goon
Lavern Baker - Voodoo Voodoo
or
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dee
I'm as happy as can be.
Jimminy cricket, jimminy jack,
You make my heart go clickety-clack.
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dee.
Lavern Baker - Tweedle Dee
I could go on*.
So The Pointer Sisters it is because, I might add, I am extremely excited and I actually can't hide it and I am, indeed, about to lose control and I definitely, definitely think I like it. Snake Bite shaving soap and after-shave lotion has been on my shaving wish list for quite some time now and in a moment of depravity I bought both. It just seemed to make sense as one would perfectly complement the other. These words of justification ran around like naughty voles inside my head as I added both to my Executive Shaving online basket.
Now, some of you may be mocking my choice of razor for this shave, as the obvious choice from my modest collection would have been Fine's Marvel DE safety razor, just to keep the shave fully in the family. I don't know why but I found the Ever Ready 1912 calling to me** from the Cabinet of Fear*** and it seemed to fit the shave.
I didn't use a pre-shave. I was tempted to use PAA's menthol Cube, but I thought that would be overkill. So I opted for soaking my face in a sink of warm water. Keeping my head submerged lets me practise holding my breath and I get the chance to make bubbling, underwater noises and pretend I'm Jacques Cousteau. Then it was straight in to the soap puck to load the brush and onto the face. The soap certainly does wake you up. It gives your face an all-over tingle. More than a tingle, actually. It's like the ice-cool menthol is actually in your face and working outwards as opposed to other menthol-type creams and soaps which, by comparison, feel like they're just on the face.
Now. The Snake Bite after-shave lotion. I don't have many lotions in Doctor Cabinet's Cabinet of Terror**** but the ones that I do have I use very sparingly indeed as I don't want to overpower the house with pungent wafts. On this occasion I probably used half the amount that I normally would. I'm pleased I did. It's strong. It burns. It makes you go, Heck! That's intense. The reports of the burn - but it's a very cool, refreshing burn, I might add - lasting for some considerable time afterwards aren't made up or exaggerated. After a good ten minutes, my face still felt like I'd stuck it into a vat of mint ice cream. I'm really not exaggerating here*****. I was sort of resigned to the lotion not living up to its hefty reputation, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It actually does live up to its reputation and therefore earns its rightful place in Marcus Doome's Cabinet of Cabinets******.
Fine Accoutrements' Snake Bite shaving soap: 10/10
Fine Accoutrements' Snake Bite after shaving tonic: 10/10
* But I'm not going to. We'd be here all week.
** Not literally, of course. That would be weird.
*** Or, put simply, the bathroom cabinet.
**** Or, put simply, the bathroom cabinet.
***** I'm really not.
****** Or, put simply, the bathroom cabinet.
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