D.R. Harris Marlborough Shaving Soap in Mahogany Finished Wood Bowl, 100g

Go-to barbershop scent

I feel weird calling this a barbershop scent, because it’s really not, but has grown on me like one. It’s very soft and not in-your-face as a lot of producer’s scents are these days, and i like that. It’s pleasant to smell and isn’t punchy, and still wafts throughout the room as you shave with it. Scent-wise it’s exactly what it says. Sandalwood and cedarwood. It’s not a “soapy” sandalwood quite like proraso, but a “wood” sandalwood, like….the actual tree, i guess. And it’s cut with cedar. If i had to guess, red cedar, as there’s a bit of a “funk” i find red cedar usually has. This might sound simple, but it yields a surprisingly complex scent that’s gourmand-wood-forward with hints of clean smoke, buttero saddle leather, and talcum powder throughout. It’s an insanely weird combination I didn’t like at first, but it kept growing on me over time until it became a go-to for me. It’s like if Proraso Red went in to a life of crime and worked in the back alleys of an english city as an illicit barber. Performance wise, it’s not bad. It produces a thick foam and really does best with a denser, large-knotted brush. I really have no complaints about the shave; it leaves you feeling slightly dry post-shave, in a way that comes across as “cleaned and trimmed”. It doesn’t leave a film-like feeling. The bowl’s incredibly pretty, but it’s abyssmal for shaving in due to its height being level with the puck. Hold the puck in your hand or get a shaving bowl. It’s 3.5” diameter, if that helps you find one. Aside from that, it lasts forever. Like, absolutely forever. You’ll get your money’s worth from this soap.