MAYhem 2018!!!!!
May 1 - Самое славное все русское бритье для Международного дня рабочих
Razor - Soyuz 1
Blade -
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Soap - "Start" Russian Shaving Cream
Brush - Russian Boar - seriously - it's a brush. Kind of
Post- Alum
Sorry I'm a bit late tonight but I've been working on this for over an hour. Hey, we can't have MAYhem without some extra work, right? I've been very quiet about my plans. Partly because they are changing daily and partly because I didn't want to give away a perfect start to May. It's International Worker's Day in the Motherland. May Day, the traditional celebration within the Soviet Union and other countries that now celebrates the common man - the worker bee in the hive. Ok, so maybe it's a grain of salt thing, but there it is.
What better way to start May than with an "all Russian shave"! Every product used, except the alum which doesn't count, is a product of Russia. The Soyuz 1 razor (my name for it) with its wonky angles on the edge, those slightly curved corners and all the other glorious imperfections that make shaving a challenge. The Rapira blade - Moscow steel! The shaving cream is all Russian and is called "Start", but that's a transliteration not a translation. Above the name it essentially says "shaving cream" and underneath it says it includes vitamins, essence of chamomile and daisy. It actually has a nice aroma to it, soapy with touches of the scents mentioned. The brush? Well, let's just say it's as cheap as a brush can get and still be a brush. It's a boar, super shedder, pretty sure the handle contains remnants of Chernobyl, you know, typical Russian engineering.
So how did the "brush" handle the shave cream - and better yet - how did the cream work? Well, surprisingly well actually.
The lather was quite nice, actually, and very slick. Surprisingly slick. As in, Arko or better slick. As far as cushion it wasn't bad either, though I had to go back to the mug for the second pass. This little brush doesn't hold much. The feel of the brush was quite scritchy and it shed about a dozen bristles which, given its small size, is a lot. As for the shave itself it wasn't bad as long as I remembered to watch angle and adjust as I felt the wonky parts come into play. The finish was a DFS. Better than I thought, and the alum wasn't bad at all. Since finishing about an hour ago I've noticed a slight burn to my face, almost like it's irritated and it may be. I can't vouch for the actual ingredients in the cream after all. The good news is....nothing that the cream touched during the shave is glowing.
My wrap up on this shave? Proof once again that you don't have to have high priced shiny gear with the best brush and soap to get a great shave!!
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